BLESSED CHILD by Ted Dekker & THE GIFT by Richard Paul Evans

THE GIFT by Richard Paul Evans, reminded me of BLESSED CHILD by Ted Dekker, (and even a little bit of the movie, THE SIXTH SENSE ). They are both tales of boys with remarkable gifts of healing.

THE GIFT is the story of Nathan, a lonely guy with a tormenting secret from his childhood. He meets a young family - Mom Addison, daughter Lizzy, and son Collin. Collin has a gift of healing people, yet this gift comes with a cost; the more he heals, the more life drains out of him. In fact, Collin has Leukemia. Those who love him struggle to protect him from his "gift", while wondering if stopping him from helping people so that he can survive is the right thing to do. After Nathan meets Addison, Lizzy and Collin, his life is changed in ways he could have never predicted.

BLESSED CHILD is the story of Caleb. This little boy survives an attack on the monastery where he lives in Ethiopia and is brought to the U.S. by Jason (a peace corp worker), and Leiah (a red cross nurse). They soon discover how special this little boy is, and also that his enemies have continued to pursue him. We gradually learn who his enemies are, and why they want him, but that's only one problem. The other problem is that Caleb has powers - he heals people, and this has everyone who meets him debating where his powers come from. Millions of people want a piece of this boy - some for their own healing, and others for their own selfish profit. In the end, Jason and Leiah have to take extreme measures to keep him safe from all who want to harm him.

Both stories have similar characters. In THE GIFT, Nathan has scars from his childhood; In BLESSED CHILD, Leiah has physical scars - her body is disfigured with burn scars. But both of these characters struggle with feelings of inadequacy, and an urgency to help the helpless. In THE GIFT, Collins' deadbeat dad comes back when he finds out that he can profit from his son. In BLESSED CHILD, the minister who becomes Caleb's guardian organizes "events" at which people can buy high-priced tickets to come receive healing.

BLESSED CHILD is based on this scripture: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Caleb has his gift simply because he has unwavering faith in God his Father and in the fact that God can heal. His relationship with God is very real to him.

THE GIFT is based on this scripture: God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. Collin crosses into the afterlife, and returns to this world with his remarkable gift. He also sees and speaks to dead people - hence my comparison to the SIXTH SENSE. Although you get the idea that the author is referring to God and heaven, he doesn't quite come out and say it.

Both books were great - I read both quickly. THE GIFT especially seemed to go fast. The chapters were short and it felt like I kept turning pages. BLESSED CHILD was non-stop action from the first line, as is Ted Dekker's style. His books are always hard to put down.

Despite the similarities, both books are worthy reads on their own merit, although I am a big Ted Dekker fan and would favor his book if you asked me which I 'd recommend more. Not that THE GIFT is not as good - it's just that I have been a Ted Dekker fan for a few years. As a matter of fact, I would definitely pick up another book by Richard Paul Evans now that I've enjoyed THE GIFT. While Dekker's book has action, suspense and plot twists - Evans' book was the kind that makes you ask yourself what choice you would make if you were in that situation. Similar themes, yet different experiences!