The Shack, by William Paul Young
The Shack is a fictional book, but it spoke truth to my heart and is a treasured favorite of mine. It is the story of a man named Mack that spends a weekend with God in a shack. Mack gets to do what we all crave to do: he gets to spend time with God and ask God all the questions on his heart. In the first few chapters Mack and his family experience a tremendous loss. His youngest child is kidnapped and murdered. God invites Mack to meet at the place that holds his greatest loss and pain. There he encounters God in triune form. Although Mack's family refers to God as "Papa," God the Father appears to him as a loving black woman that is more of a mother figure. This makes sense because Mack had a difficult relationship with his earthly father and he cannot see God as father or papa when he first meets God. The Holy Spirit appears as an Asian woman that loves to garden, and Jesus (as one would expect) shows up as a man of Middle Eastern descent. He is a carpenter and a fisherman. Later he even gets to meet Sophia, the manifestation of God's wisdom. It is an incredible story and one that can only be understood when read and experienced for oneself. I highly encourage you to read it if you haven't already.