“You are defined by what you carry in this world.”

These are the words of famous sports writer, columnist, radio show host, and best-selling author, Mitch Albom who recently spoke to nearly 800 people at the Theater at North in Scranton on behalf of Hospice of the Sacred Heart.

He said that life isn’t about the money you make or the things you own. It’s about carrying kindness and compassion to family, friends, and anyone who is in need.

“We all need help,” said the writer whose inspirational books have sold more than 47 million copies, “but you don’t ask and get help from God like you’re ordering a turkey sandwich from the deli line. It comes when God decides to give it.”

Understanding awareness

Albom told the audience a story about a man who swam far out into the ocean. A large cruise ship came by and asked him if he needed help.

“No thank you,” the man said. “God will save me.”

A second boat came by as the man swam farther out to sea.

“Do you need my help?” asked a person on the boat.

“No,” said the man. “God will save me.”

A third boat came very close by and offered to bring him aboard.

“God will save me!” shouted the man again. The man soon became tired of swimming and drowned.

“Once the man got to heaven, he met the Lord,” said Albom, “and he asked why he didn’t save him.”

“I sent you three boats,” said the Lord.

“We get what God gives us and it’s not always what we want,” said the novelist who has had four movies produced from his stories. “He knew us before we were born and he’ll know us after we die.”

Lyrics and music from a popular Rolling Stone’s song flashed on the screen behind him.

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.”

Guilt and redemption

Born in New Jersey and living with his wife Janine in Detroit, Albom’s first best-selling book was “Tuesdays with Morrie.”

He spoke about his teacher and mentor at Brandeis University and a promise he had made to Morrie Schwartz that he would stay in touch with him.

“I didn’t do it,” he said. “I was too busy with building my career as a sports writer and commentator for ESPN. I was writing columns and starting to make some money. Then came the day, I was watching Nightline on TV and there was Morrie talking about dying from Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“I felt so guilty about not staying in touch. I called Morrie and we made plans that I would visit him on Tuesdays. His wisdom about how we should live while he was dying was life changing for me.

“He was afraid of dying a second death, one from the disease and another from the hospital bills he was leaving his family to pay.” After “Tuesdays with Morrie” hit the top of The New York Times best seller list, he used his profits to pay all of Morrie’s bills.

Albom explained how we have turned away from the gifts God has given us.

“God starts things,” he said. He gives a beautiful universe and the brief gift of human existence. “Man stops thing. Instead of ridding the world of cancers, we do things like make cigarettes. Instead of preserving God’s peace in the world, we make guns and kill people in wars. Instead of keeping the universe pure and healthy, we make chemicals that poison the air. Our entire lives are gifts from God and we should be returning our appreciation.”

A beautiful gift

Since 2010, he and his wife have funded an orphanage in Haiti and they continue to visit there once a month.

Albom spoke of a little girl there named Cheeka who had survived an earthquake with her mother, who then later died giving birth to another child. When only a few months old, Cheeka was diagnosed with a rare brain disease and was given just months to live. Albom and his wife brought her to the United States to live with them and receive treatments for her incurable condition.

“I was angry at God,” said Albom. “How could he allow this poor child to survive an earthquake, her mother’s death and then give her a terminal disease? The little girl was full of life and joy. Once when she was singing to me, she stopped and told me, ‘We can make a star come to us.’”

Given just months to live, the Alboms kept Cheeka with them and she lived to be 7 years old. Tears welled up in the eyes of the audience when they watched a video of her that was recorded just before she had died. With her face drooped and her words slurred from the disease, she repeated these words three straight times.

“I’m no longer a slave to fear,” she said. “I am a child of God.”

“People might say how can God let an innocent child die. Why did he take her?” said Albom, who shared that he and his wife had been unable to conceive before bringing Cheeka into their home.

“We didn’t lose a child. We were given one.”

The power of faith

Albom’s books include “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” “The Time Keeper” and “The Next Person You Meet in Heaven.” His latest publication is “The Stranger in the Life Boat,” about a group of survivors from a cruise ship that are joined in their boat one day by a man who swims up and says he’s the Lord.

The book is about having faith in times of trouble.

Albom read excerpts from his story. Before he left the podium for a book signing, he ended his presentation with a question.

“Who do you put into your life boat?”