Who doesn’t love to be entertained when reading a book? A quote from Emily Bainbridge, a thirteen-year-old character in my third novel (Providence) in my Apple Hill Series, says “Mom said once that reading is an escape, but I didn’t get what she meant until Dad died. It’s like I can leave everything behind and pretend I’m someone else, or somewhere else, and just forget.” Most of us love to be transported from the trials and challenges of our lives only to be dropped into the trials and challenges of others’.
But when I read a book or watch a movie or even a weekly television show, I want more than to be entertained—I want to walk away feeling something deeper than when I started. It might be gratitude, sentiment, or knowledge. And when I write a novel, I want to offer more to my reader than what they came into the experience with. In literary terms, we call that takeaway.
Writing is cathartic for me. I weave throughout the story lessons I have learned (or am in the process of learning) myself. In Illusions (Book 2 in the Apple Hill Series), there are several nuggets I hope my readers connect with—faith, hope, gratitude—to name a few, but there are two that are prevalent.
According to BibleStudyTools.com, “Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in conduct. Whether craving compliments, fearing our own image, or entertaining an overly critical view of ourselves, pride can be both glaringly obvious and deceptively sneaky.”
None of us is immune to the sin of pride, but many of us aren’t even aware when we’re in it. Paul Bainbridge, antagonist and husband of main character Corey, is an example of how one’s life can be completely uprooted when we’re more concerned with how the world perceives us than how God does. Not so unusual, but especially glaring in a lead pastor who has no trouble holding his family accountable when he’s drowning in sin himself. It’s an example of Matthew 7:3, Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
When I began teaching eighth grade, I had a mentor teacher for whom I had untold respect. She was a strong Christian woman who practiced what she preached, but she was also the most organized human being I’ve ever met—and those of you who know me, know I love to be organized. She had one rule in her classroom (which I hijacked for my own): Respect Others. She pointed out to her students that this one rule covered a multitude of issues. It’s kind of a take on the Golden Rule—do unto others as you would have others do unto you. We don’t steal from people we respect. We don’t gossip about people we respect. We’re not rude to people we respect. You get the gist.
The other key spiritual example in Illusions (forgiveness) reminds me of this classroom rule, because I’ve noticed that the inability (or unwillingness) to forgive others is the root of most relational destruction. When we hold onto bitterness, we tend to allow that emotion to hurt those around us. Every main character in Illusions struggles with the ability to forgive. I’ve struggled with the ability to forgive. We want everything to be fair and just in this life. If someone hurts us, we want them to be hurt. If someone takes from us, we want the same for them—an eye for an eye is Old Testament. But we no longer live under the Law. Thankfully, we live under a new covenant (New Testament), and it’s about grace. We forget there was nothing fair or just about Jesus Christ’s horrendous crucifixion so that our own sins are forgiven. Our response can be nothing less than to forgive others.
I remember when my daughter was young, one of her favorite lines was, “That’s not fair.” One Easter, we were at my parents’ and Nicole responded to something with this line. While I was formulating a response, my mom said, “Fare is what you pay to ride a bus, not what we experience in life.” Whenever I’m tempted to think life isn’t fair, I remember two things—Mom’s wise words and Christ’s death and crucifixion.
Comments 3
I am looking forward to reading Illusions.
Very nice post and I appreciate that you gave us substance. Looking for to the release of Illusions with you and wishing you well!
Author
Thank you so much, Delores. I appreciate your encouragement and support!