Heaven Is for Real free essay sample

Sadness, happiness, excitement, joy, and astonishment are only but a few of the emotions you will endure while reading the book Heaven is for Real, the amazing story of a brave and eccentric little boy named Colton Burpo. In March of 2003, what seemed to be a seemingly typical family trip turned into a terrifying fight for Todd and Sonja Burpo’s little boy’s life. Even after months of injury and illness within the Burpo family, Colton’s incident tops them all. The strength of this little boy, even at the young age of only four, is truly inspirational. This book truly portrays the crazy days, weeks, months, and even years that follow the frightening experiences that this family had to go through. In February of 2003, the Burpo’s decide to take a family outing. The Butterfly Pavilion is their destination of choice, and the family couldn’t be any happier to get away. We will write a custom essay sample on Heaven Is for Real or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After Sonja’s miscarriage, Todd’s shatter leg, round of kidney stones, and hyperplasia; a vacation is precisely what they need. The Thursday before they’re to leave, however, Colton isn’t feeling well and had complained of a stomach ache. Their babysitter, Norma, calls Sonja at work to report a plunge in little Colton’s sickness. After a trip to the doctor, the Burpos find that the stomach flu is the cause of Colton’s poor health. They see the fun-filled trip slipping away as soon as it had come, and nobody in the household is content. But, by morning, Colton is up and feeling well again; the Burpo’s then set out on their adventure. They soon made it to the Crawl-A-See-Um right outside of Denver, and the kid’s stop to see the many tarantula exhibits. These draw Cassie and Colton Burpo in like magnets. The kids are easily amazed by the many eight-legged creatures, which shock the children with everything that they do. They soon see Rosie, the spider you can hold in exchange for a sticker. Cassie holds her, but Colton is afraid, so they make their way on through. After visiting the many aquariums, they make their way to the butterfly pavilion. They see a monarch fly by, enjoying the beauty of the beautiful orange creature. Sonja, remembering the kids want to swim, insists they leave. As they walk by Rosie, Todd asks Colton if he wants to try and hold Rosie. Colton is positive that this time, he will do it. He ventures up to Rosie, holds her, and gets a sticker. He leaves feeling triumphant as they leave. After swimming, the Burpos head to the Old Chicago Restraunt in Greeley to eat with Pastor Steve Wilson and his wife. While sitting around the large, round booth, they talk about their churches and enjoy Italian food. Todd and Sonja decide to visit Pastor Wilson’s church the next day, as Rebecca Wilson divides her time between the conversation and coloring with the kids. Colton’s eery quietness isn’t noticed throughout the dinner, until Colton makes a remark about his stomach again. They Burpos decide to cut the dinner short, after Colton and Cassie both decide they aren’t feeling well. Colton’s statement comes true, as he throws up all of that night. Soon the next day, they decide to take Colton to the hospital. â€Å"Could it be appendicitis? † Sonja asks the doctor, fearing for bad news. Colton squirms, afraid of the IV as any kid would be. He assures her that the blood test don’t show this, but they don’t know what has happened. As Colton’s health gets worse, Todd and Sonja worry for their son. Then the worst thing yet happened, the shadow of death. Todd sees it on Colton, and afterwards they decide to take Colton to the Great Plains Regional Medical Center. Calling ahead to let the doctor know, they set out towards the center. Todd and Sonja blame each other throughout the whole trip, but when they reach the center and the doctor has gone to lunch, they’re out of people and reasons to blame. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor comes in and looks over Colton. They perform a CT scan, and send the Burpos into a secluded waiting room. â€Å"I think this is it,† are the only words Sonja can muster out as she cradles Colton’s limp body. Five tiresomely long minutes later, a Radioligist comes out to let them know Colton has a ruptured appendix and needs emergency surgery. They wheel Colton away on a gurney, preparing him for his surgery. He thrashes, screaming for his dad, as they put the IV in his arm. Anger flashes in Todd’s eyes, realizing that he may have waited too long and might not see his son alive again. He rages at God, assuming he is going to take his son before he had the time to even live. After the surgery is over, Todd is asked to come back. All the fear and anger leaves his eyes, when he is told that his son is conscious and has been asking for him. Todd and Sonja are amazed at how much better their son feels, looks, and seems. They are told, seven days after checking into the hospital, that they can take their son home. After packing the mulititude of toys and clothes, they go to leave. The elevators are sliding shut, when they are told they cannot leave. New pockets of infection show in Colton’s CT scan, in his abdomen. Sonja, completely exasperated, has a breakdown. The church comes to pray with Colton shortly after, only praying for one simple thing: gas. They are told that if Colton passes gas, that it would be a good sign. Within an hour, the prayer was answered. Colton felt better the next morning, and doctors were shocked at this miracle. After what seemed like forever, Colton and the rest of the Burpo family can finally go home after this horrific event. After they go home, life seems to go back to normal. It wasn’t until four months after Colton’s surgery, on their Fourth of July trip, that they realize their son has witnessed something extraordinary. On their way, Todd jokingly asks Colton if he wants to go back to the hospital. The response he gets is far from what he expects, however. Colton proceeds to tell him that the hospital is where angels sang to him and he sat in Jesus’ lap. Todd and Sonja laugh it off, thinking Colton had imagined the whole thing. They continue to believe so, until he tells them exactly what they were soing, and where, during his surgery. He also offers more information, spread over the next years. Days, weeks, and months all came with new information. â€Å"Did you know that Jesus had a cousin? Jesus told me his cousin baptized him,† Colton informed his father one night. He tells his dad about a horse that he petted, God’s beautiful eyes and clothes, his crown, and God’s â€Å"markers,† nonchalantly one night, as if he were talking about what he ate for lunch. When Todd realizes that by â€Å"markers,† Colton means the nails in Jesus’ hands and feet, he knows that he can’t be making it up. Todd and Sonja are amazed at all the things he knows all of a sudden. The normal nights come often, but the talks about supernatural phenomenons become spaced out. Colton begins to talk about his Pop, who died before Colton was born. He also tells his dad that he knows that Jesus told him to be a pastor, and when he agreed, Jesus was very happy. He also told his mom that he knows he had another sister, but she died in her tummy. He tells her that she looks like Cassie and is dark headed, like Sonja. He also says that she didn’t have a name, because they hadn’t named her yet. When Sonja begins to freak out, Colton explains that she’s okay and that God adopted her. Colton also tells about God’s throne room, and makes one point in particular stand out: God loves the children! After Colby is born, they realize they have to hire a babysitter. They decide in a very mature for her age 8th grader, named Ali. All is well, until one night they come home to Ali crying. When Sonja asks her why, she says that Colton was crying and tells her why. Colton, after being put in bed, tells Ali that he misses his sister that died in mommy’s tummy. When he begins to cry, Ali holds him until he finally cries himself to sleep. This isn’t the only serious thing Colton says about Heaven. One night, while at home, he tells his dad that the angels have wings to fight off Satan. He tells him that there is going to be a battle, and that Todd will have to fight in it. He also tells that he sees the power God sends his dad during church, while he preaches. Todd and Sonja now believe Colton more and more by the passing day. 2007 is the first time that the Burpos told about Colton’s indifferent, to say the least, experience. Todd now found himself with more and more questions about Heaven and what his 4 year old saw. One woman, in tears, approaches and asks if Colton might have seen her stillborn baby in Heaven. He asks the woman that if she believes that God loves her as much as God loves him, and if he loves her living son as much as he loves his living son, then why wouldn’t he love her unborn child as much as his? At this moment, he knew that God had sent him the power to help that woman; the same power Colton had claimed to have seen God shoot down. Years have passed since Colton’s accident, but his story is and will be known for many more years to come. The amazing experiences that this family went through are truly touching, and this book portrays that beautifully. From cover to cover, it’s a book you will not want to put down. Colton’s story is amazing, and as the nurse once told Todd Burpo, â€Å"There has to be a God, because this is a miracle. † Heaven is for real free essay sample Todd Burpo Main character, author and narrator of the book. Father to Colton, Cassie and husband to Sonja. Works as a pastor for a small Christian church and has a garage door business as a side job. Cassie Burpo Oldest child of the Burpo family. Sister to Colton. And is said by her father to be â€Å"a slightly gangly 6 year old. Smart as a whip† (Burpo 3). Colton Second main character in the book. The youngest member of the Burpo family. Almost 4 years old. Colton was said to be: â€Å" a smart, funny little guy with a black-and-white way of looking at life. Something was either fun (LEGOs) or it wasn’t (Barbies)† (Burpo 4). Todd Burpo is a very strong believer in god. Breaks his leg, Gets kidney stone and has a cancer scare but over comes all his obstacles with the help of his family Colton gets sick during dads work trip forcing Burpo family to head back home. We will write a custom essay sample on Heaven is for real or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"he was a smart, funny little guy with a black-and-white way of looking at life. Something was either fun (LEGOs) or it wasn’t (Barbies)† (Burpo 4). Todd and Sonja were not receiving any answers from the Imperial Hospital on Colton’s diagnosis, the Burpo family heads to The North Platte Hospital to see if they can make Colton feel like himself again. ?Questions? Does Colton actually die on page 27 when sonja says: â€Å"he was a smart, funny little guy with a black-and-white way of looking at life. Something was either fun (LEGOs) or it wasn’t (Barbies)† (Burpo 4). Personal Reflection In the book Heaven is for Real , I read about the Burpo family. I found it hard to connect to the character Todd Burpo because of his devout religious views on life. Although I was baptized, I grew up in a Unitarian Universalist home and was never educated on the bible, this makes it challenging to understand the many connections that are made by Todd during the book. From my reading so far, it seems as if Todd believes that everything we do is elicited by god. In other words Todd believes that everything has happened for a reason as gods greater plan for all of us. 9/3/13Journal Entry#2Pages: 28-59 Burpo family finds out that Colton’s appendix has ruptured. Colton begins to die slowly and is rushed in to surgery Todd begins to take his rage out on God despite being a Pastor I think soon in the story the readers and the Burpo family will learn about Colton’s trip to heaven For me having Todd be a Pastor definitely changes how the book is written and how characters react to different situations. Burpo family were struggling with paying the bills until friends, family and strangers begin to send money by mail to help out with paying the cost of Coltons surgery Weird/New words: Humbling, Predding, Coaxing Finally after many surgeries and being able to go home, the sign of life (pink cheecks, big smiles) begins to show up on Coltons face. Personal Reflection As a reader I realize that throughout Coltons healing process, Todd begins  to act more as a father than a Pastor. This changes my views on the book because it allows me to look at Coltons experience through His father Todd without being hindered by the perspective of a religious leader. throughout the toughest times for the Burpo family Todd expresses his anger and sadness to the readers, something he hadnt done previously. I now realize that because he had shared his feeling I was able to make more of a connection and have a deeper understanding of the troubles he went through. Isabella Phayre-Gonzalez Summer Reading Assignment English 9H/ Mr. Green 9/7/13 Summer Reading Assignment 2013-2014 9/2/13 Journal Entry#1Pages: 1- 27 Sonja Burpo Mother to Colton and Cassie. Has a master in Library Science. Plays on the adult softball team with her husband Todd. Todd Burpo Main character, author and narrator of the book. Father to Colton, Cassie and husband to Sonja. Works as a pastor for a small Christian church and has a garage door business as a side job. Cassie Burpo Oldest child of The Burpo family. Sister to Colton. And is said by her father to be â€Å"a slightly gangly 6 year old. Smart as a whip† (Burpo 3). Colton Second main character in the book. The youngest member of The Burpo family. Almost 4 years old. Colton was said to be: â€Å" a smart, funny little guy with a black-and-white way of looking at life. Something was either fun (LEGOs) or it wasn’t (Barbies)† (Burpo 4). Todd Burpo is a very strong believer in god. Breaks his leg, Gets kidney stone and has a cancer scare but over comes all his obstacles with the help of his family Colton gets sick during dads work trip forcing The Burpo family to head back home. Todd and Sonja were not receiving any answers from the Imperial Hospital on Colton’s diagnosis, The Burpo family heads to The North Platte Hospital to see if they can make Colton feel like himself again. ?Questions? : Does Colton actually die on page 27 when sonja says: â€Å"I think this is it† (Burpo 27). Personal Reflection In the book â€Å"Heaven is for Real† , I read about the Burpo family. I found it hard to connect to the character Todd Burpo because of his devout religious views on life. Although I was baptized, I grew up in a Unitarian Universalist home and was never educated on the bible, this makes it challenging to understand the many references that are made by Todd during the book. From my reading so far, it seems as if Todd believes that everything we do is elicited by god. In other words Todd believes that everything has happened for a reason as gods greater plan for all of us. 9/3/13 Journal Entry#2Pages: 28-59 Burpo family finds out that Colton’s appendix has ruptured. Colton begins to die slowly and is rushed in to surgery Todd begins to take his rage out on God despite being a Pastor I think soon in the story the readers and The Burpo family will learn about Colton’s trip to heaven For me having Todd be a Pastor definitely changes how the book is written and how characters react to different situations. The Burpo family was struggling with paying the bills until friends, family and strangers begin to send money by mail to help out with paying the cost of Coltons surgery Weird/New words: Humbling, Predding, Coaxing Finally after many surgeries and being able to go home, the sign of life (pink cheeks, big smiles) begins to show up on Coltons face. Personal Reflection As a reader I realize that throughout Coltons healing process, Todd begins to act more as a father than a Pastor. This changes my views on the book because it allows me to look at Coltons experience through the eyes of his father without being hindered by the perspective of a religious leader. Throughout the toughest times for The Burpo family, Todd expresses his anger and sadness to the readers, something he hadnt done previously in the book. I now realize that because he had shared his feeling I was able to make more of a connection and have a deeper understanding of the troubles he was experiencing through. The Burpo family were taking a car trip to see Todd and Sonja nephew, Colton begins to talk about his visit to heaven. Colton tells his father that he had met John The Baptist and many other characters from The Bible. Colton begins to explain the different things that he witnessed in heaven. -Colton’s Idea of Heaven Jesus- Bright white clothes with a purple sash that crossed his soldier down to his hip (purple being the color of kings/loyalty). Said by Colton to have beautiful eyes. Jesus had â€Å"red markers† on his palms and the tops of his feet (this â€Å"red markers† were bloody scars that Jesus had from his crucifixion). â€Å"Had hair on his face† (beard). And wore â€Å"a crown, and it had this this diamond thing in the middle of it and it was kind of pink†(Burpo 66). Everyone in heaven has wings except for Jesus. Everyone uses their wings to fly around from place to place. Colton says he was only in heaven for 3 minutes. Todd infers that since Colton couldnt have done the things he had in only three minutes that â€Å"Heaven time† is different than â€Å"earth time† Personal Statement Even before I began reading â€Å"Heaven is for Real† I already knew about Coltons idiosyncratic experience because I read the back cover. Instead of being lured in to read more of the book, I was already informed of the what the majority of the novel will be about. In my opinion this makes the book more predictable, and not as interesting to read. One of the things that the book lacked in this section of chapters is something that keeps you wanting more. Instead I found myself hoping the book would end soon; I think this was the result of already knowing what the upcoming events would be. Todd and Sonja continue to ask Colton questions about the things he did, and the things he saw while he was in heaven. I think that sooner or later Todd will share to his church Colton’s story of his trip to heaven. While riding in the car, Colton shares that he saw Pop; Todd’s grandfather. For many years The Burpos were worried about wether or not Pop was happy and if he had made it to heaven. It was a relief to everyone that there was proof that Pop was happy in heaven, and awaiting everyone to join him. While in heaven Colton finds out that he has a sister that died in â€Å"the belly of his mommy†. This was one of the grand moments for Sonja because she knew that her baby was safe in heaven. In this section Colton begins to tell his father about â€Å"The Throne Room of God† and what it looked like. Through out these pages Colton expresses multiple times how much God loves the children. Todd becomes worried about Colton because Colton did not fear death instead Colton answers to death as â€Å"That means I get to go back to heaven! † -Colton’s view of The Throne Room of God Really Big. Jesus sits to the right of God. The angel Gabriel sits to Gods left side. Personal Statement 9/6/13 Journal Entry#5 Pages: 115-150 Since Todd is the town pastor he has to pray for the family’s that are loosing a loved one. One day Todd brings Colton with him. Colton have been gone to heaven assures this old man at deaths beds rest that the first person he will see in heaven is Jesus. Colton tells his family that no-one is old in heaven and that everyone is middle aged except for the children which are still growing until they become â€Å"middle aged† and then stop growing. Todd is told by Colton that he will be going to fight in a battle that is coming soon in the future. Todd will be fighting against â€Å"monsters†. Todd infers that Colton is talking about the battle of Armageddon. Ever since Colton went to heaven Todd and Sonja have been trying to see what God looks like through the eyes of Colton; they show him different pictures of God made by artist around the world. None had ever been right until Todd shows Colton the picture of God painted by Akiane Kramarik a twelve year old prodigy Personal Statement What I admired most about â€Å"Heaven is for Real† was how the book came to an end. As hope and happiness was restored in The Burpo family I nearly forget about Colton’s traumatizing near death experience. But for Todd Burpo thinking about loosing his son must have been one of the most hurtful feelings he could possibly have endured. Although Todd is a devoted religious leader and everyone tells him how lucky he is to have a son that went to heaven, he still put his family first; he would rather have his son be a normal kid than see him come close to death again and thats one of the most important messages of all. ?-Akiane Kramariks’s painting of God at age 8 II. Author Response In the novel â€Å"Heaven is for Real† there are many characters that make up the amazing story that it’s turned out to be. Although this novel is all about Colton, the boy who visited heaven, the character that stood out to me the most was Todd Burpo the father of Colton, the author of this novel, and in my opinion the lead of Heaven is for Real. Todd starts out the book as a average guy with the job of a Pastor, in a normal family, with everyday struggles. Todd went through a broken ankle, kidney stones, and a cancer scare. But little did he know the biggest journey of his life was yet to come. With a son that went to heaven and with the prayers God had answered, Todd Burpo ends the book feeling both grateful and remorse for the things his 4 year old son went through. Even though Todd’s life was led by Christianity he still wouldnt put his son through the pain he endured even if they lead to Colton’s story’s of heaven. Thats what I liked most about Todd Burpos’s character. Since Todd Burpo is a pastor and believes that everything we do is connected god, the minimal amount of dialogue he has in the book is quickly related back to his thoughts on religious views that he shares with his readers. The author Todd Burpo, who is also the lead character of the book, formatted the novel so that with every chapter you would learn something new about the family that you didnt know before. This approach in my opinion was made so that the reader would stay interested in the book. From doing some outside research and watching interviews with the Burpo family I learned that while disputing the name for the book, Colton(almost 8 years old at the time) told his parents that all he wanted people around the world to know was that â€Å"Heaven is for Real†. Everyone seemed to like the name and it stuck. I think personally that even though the words â€Å"Heaven is for Real† were not the most formal words to use, sometimes the words of a child are the most straight forward and are at times easier to understand. III. Self Reflection The book â€Å"Heaven is for Real†is about a father named Todd Burpo and the story of his four year old son who visited heaven, came back and was able to tell his story to the world. Throughout Heaven is for Real I realized some things about me as a reader. For the first time in a while I’ve been able to finish a book from cover to cover. The novel itself in my opinion wasnt very good literature but it intrigued me to learn about heaven in the eyes of a Christian. This also leads me to say that in some way this book was difficult for me to read because of the many references made to the bible; which in my case were not easy to understand. A strategy I used to finish this book was listening to the audio while I read at the same time. The reason I made the decision to listen to the audio is because it generally takes me about 2 minutes to read each page of the book and this causes me to lose interest before I get to the end. I chose this novel because it was one I had bought a while ago and I never got a chance to read it until now. The book was one that I had hoped to be interesting; which it was. I have no regrets reading Heaven is for Real but it wouldnt be something I would recommend to someone as a â€Å"great book†. Although reading about heaven and Christianity was very intriguing the next book I hope to read is â€Å"Gathering Blue† by Luis Lowry which is about Kira an orphaned girl who is left to an ambivalent future.