"Ain't Mister God Wonderful?" ~ Anna
by: Britta, age 19, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Saturday Ramblins, Vol. 1, No. 2 (May 23, 1998)

(Editor's Note: As Britta read PapaJon's article on grief last week, his reminiscences "little 'coincidences' like … the salesperson's name being Lana," she said, brought to her mind a favorite book, Mr. God, This is Anna, by Fynn. She wondered if she might write a book review for Saturday Ramblings. In deciding to write a review, Britta says, "It seems like there is an uncanny force which drives one to read [Anna] at just the 'right' time…. It is, among other things, a very comforting and soothing book.")

I found Mister God, This is Anna, quite by accident, on the corner of a shelf in the kids' section of Waldenbooks about two years ago. I have since read it over and over and over; the book is now wrinkled, dog-eared; well-loved. I have random scribblings in the margins, and my favorite passages are highlighted. I still remember the amazing feeling after finishing it the first time.

This book is a true story about a little girl named Anna, who writes as a 6-year-old. Yet, to the people who knew her, the little copper-haired child was recognized as an angel. When 19 year old Fynn finds her, alone, downtown, in the middle of the night, he takes her home with him. It is the beginning of an amazing friendship. Fynn says, "I suppose to some extent, all children have a touch of magic about them -- like some mysterious hidden lens, they seem to have the capacity to focus the light into the darkest and gloomiest of places -- and [Anna] had it in a very high degree."

Anna's gift borders on the supernatural. She is able to clearly see things for what they are and to distinguish the pattern of things when most people only see muddle. She strips away the excess of things and gets right to the heart of the matter. She is, as Fynn states, a theologian, mathematician, philosopher, poet, and gardener (I would add musician, explorer, and inventor to that list). She has a deep understanding of patterns, systems, people, the way the world works, and of "Mister God," which is what it all comes down to in the end. Her wisdom and insight never ceases to amaze me! I find myself thinking about things I have never thought about before, and re-thinking the things I have already thought about.

At the same time I am blown away by Anna's wisdom and intelligence, and regularly reminded that Anna is a 6-year-old; silly, giggly, playful, and sweet as any. One of her gems of insight bursts out of her in between hiccupy-laughter, after having just finished a bottle of "fizzy lemonade," and the mental picture is quite amusing. Her joy oozes out through the pages of the book, almost tangible, and buries itself deep within the reader. I constantly find myself giggling at her -- her jokes, her 6-year-old way of wording things, her innocence.... even her kookiness. Some of the things she says and does makes your brain do a double-take!

Anna has had an incredible impact on the way I view life and the way I think about things. She has taught me so much, about life and death, human nature, "Mister God," and everything in between.

You know that question you often hear: "If you could meet any person, alive or dead, who would it be?"

My answer to that question is "Anna."

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