Hope Lives
In late winter 2011 I was serving as a member of the support team for North Georgia Walk to Emmaus Men's #146. It was my first experience as a servant on a Walk as I had been a pilgrim on Men's #144 in October just a few months earlier. I was a rookie finding my way in a new role.
In our preparations leading up to the Walk I heard one of the team leaders speak of Christian Action and in his talk he described a book he had read called "90 Minutes in Heaven". This man, an executive with Turner Broadcasting Sports in Atlanta, talked about the impact of this book in his own life but more importantly how- as a gift- he used it as a healing tool for a friend who had just lost a loved one. His story moved me to go out and buy the book.
Sometime that spring I read the book. What I remember most clearly even after almost five years was that the message of the book to me was not "This is what heaven is like!". Instead, what we can do here and now to make this life more like heaven? The answer for me was: By learning how to forgive myself and allowing those who love me to show their acts of Love. It is by receiving that we also give. And these acts create the heavenly environment for all those involved.
Two years pass and I am on the phone with my brother Hal and - as we so often do - we are talking about my niece Kate and her latest professional ventures and he tells me that she and her fiance Michael Polish are negotiating for the film rights to this book titled "90 Minutes in Heaven." My ears perked up as Hal went on to say that it would be the couple's biggest project of their film careers.
Kate and Michael's wedding was set for later that year over Labor Day weekend 2013 in Montana.
Leading up to the wedding I would read the book again. When the wedding rolled around the film rights deal would be completed and there was talk of filming right here in Atlanta. While in Montana and to my disappointment, I was told that it looked like the movie would be made in Utah.
The weekend and wedding was very graceful!
I remember flying home feeling that the wedding event would be my last connection to "90 Minutes in Heaven". I did pray for God's Will be done in regards to the film. After another year passing and on the phone with Hal again, I learned that the movie would be filmed in Atlanta in January and February of this year. Praise God! This time I went out and bought two copies of the book for my daughters Maggie and Jeanne. During the time of the production they would get to spend a great lunch afternoon with cousin Kate which warmed my heart.
Usually from the time production wraps to the time the movie arrives in theaters is a longer period -maybe a year or longer. "90 Minutes in Heaven" has taken about six months. This decision was driven by a calling to release the film on 9/11! It is a tender time for our country. It is a time where many of us need some hope in our lives. This movie will show many that still Hope Lives!
On Tuesday, September 1st I was able to attend the World Premier of "90 Minutes in Heaven" at the Fox Theater in Atlanta with family and friends. What a blessed experience it was. I have come to expect that many times when Hollywood produces a film from a book with religious connotations - particularly a Christian message - they will stray from the essence of the original story. That is not the case with this movie. It is true to the original book.
Post Script: Over the years since that Men's Walk #146 I have served on a handful of Walks and have never seen that Turner Broadcasting executive again. This May I got a call to serve on the July Men's #172 and lo and behold who was on that team? The man who introduced me to "90 Minutes in Heaven".
Amen Brother
Bradford Bosworth
September, 2015
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