Maurita Chalice Burgett’s captivating story, “Flight 316: Reclaiming Heaven on Earth,” book one in the SheShed Series, is based on a fictional account of biblical events and explores themes of hopelessness, seeking purpose and resolution, and rediscovering faith in God. The story’s core premise is a conversation between two flight passengers who both feel lost and abandoned by God.
Grace Jackson is a model therapist: she is smart, self-sufficient, independent, respected by her peers, funny, articulate, and kind. However, she has just recently discovered that she is not happy in general and that her life has become drab, pointless, and unfulfilling. This follows her recent divorce and squabbles with her mother and sister, which have caused her to question if she is in the right line of work and if God truly loves her.
During her flight from Dallas to Honolulu, she meets a man who claims to be the biblical Adam. He is a civil engineer by profession and claims to be in need of help finding his life’s purpose and rebuilding his connection with God. According to his claims, his father had advised him not to eat from a certain tree—the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—and ignoring this would result in death, damnation, self-reliance, and helplessness. Regretfully, he disregarded the instruction and committed a mistake that completely upended his world. After hearing about his life story, Grace is enthralled. A fresh zest for life starts to resurface in her, and her past experiences with uncertainty, rage, and bitterness start to fade. What worries her, though, is how exactly to relieve such a legendary man of his misery.
The clever twisting of this Biblical tale provides a new perspective on a significant biblical period. The fabled Fall from Grace and man’s misery following disobedience are all vividly described. Maurita has skillfully explained in detail the reality of the Heavenly kingdom, sometimes referred to as Paradise. The complexities of being born-again, the difficulties faced by the wealthy in entering the kingdom of heaven, and the idea of purity are just a few of the deeper meanings of the scriptures that she has gone into great detail to explain.
Maurita Chalice Burgett’s “Flight 316: Reclaiming Heaven on Earth” dispels religious haze and makes room for a new degree of love and trust in God. It is a fun, easy-to-read book that focuses on some of the subtle but significant aspects of living a Christian life according to God’s desire. Well worth reading, it also captures the essence of God’s unwavering love.