Your Value

I know I’ve been putting my fair share of “book” posts on here the last few months. It’s never been my intention to turn this into another book blog. (I have enough of those already!) But I’m pretty heavily involved in the writing community, so my thoughts are bound to go in that direction occasionally.

Today I had someone comment on my author Facebook page. She had read The Little Brown Sparrow and let me know she enjoyed it. As I’m in the middle of writing a full length tween novel right now, I hadn’t thought about that little children’s story for quite a while. So I took some time today to see how it’s doing on Amazon. I now have 28 reviews posted! Of course, when it’s free, they’re much easier to collect.

I started reading through the responses and was struck by a common theme. All of these were adult reviewers, and usually they related their desire to read the story to their grandchildren or their Sunday school class. But several times I read that the reviewer himself had been feeling low, and my little story had provided a quick pick-me-up.

It made me think, a childish lesson in self-worth isn’t really a childish lesson at all. Even as adults our value is sometimes called into question, especially if we’ve experienced a tough failure, if we’re chronically ill, if we’re handicapped, or even depressed. An argument, a rebellious child, a hard day–these can all serve to bring us down. But our worth isn’t dependent on us at all. Not on our skills, not on our performance, not on our appearance, not on our health, not on anyone’s opinion. Our worth comes directly from the fact that we are made in the image of God.

So if you’re struggling with self-esteem, with feelings of failure, or just feeling down, remember who made you. Remember who you belong to. Remember you were created with a purpose. Remember you were worth enough to redeem with the blood of the Son of God himself. That’s a pretty great pick-me-up.

Of course, reading The Little Brown Sparrow won’t hurt, either.

Caution: Taylor Davis May not Be Suitable for all Adults!

By now probably everyone who has wandered onto this blog knows I write children’s literature. And many of you probably also know I just released a new book. Well, here’s where I tell you how it will probably tick off Christians and non-Christians alike.

Taylor Davis and the Flame of Findul was a brand new sort of book for me–humorous action/adventure. Ever since reading Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series I’ve wanted to try my hand at one. But whereas Riordan writes about the ancient gods, mine has more to do with the ancient God. He’s not a main character, but his presence is certainly implied.

That right there will probably be enough to tick off some people, especially as the book is intended for a mainstream audience. What?! A book with God intended for public school children?! *Gasp!* *Shudder!* 

Yes, Taylor is intended for a general audience, therefore the Christian element is toned way down. That will probably tick off some Christians. What?! Are you too ashamed to include your faith in your book?

So who WILL like Taylor? Hopefully everyone who falls between those two extremes. Middle schoolers should get a kick out of it. It’s a wild adventure with a fantastical element to it. But instead of granting my human hero supernatural powers, I’ve given him a pair of guardian angels to help him out. Angels with eccentricities and very human-like behavior. (I know, more fodder for complaints.) Taylor has also been paired with another human, a girl by the name of Elena, who ended up part of the team accidentally and doesn’t much like it. Their job is to relight the Flame of Findul–the sword that guards the Tree of Life–before disaster happens. Problem is, Findul the firesmith has been missing for several centuries. And a 1600′s pirate who ate of the tree (hence, he cannot die) intends to stop them.

As I was writing Taylor, I came up with a whole list of stuff over which I’m sure to receive nasty letters from pew theologians. I know my doctrine has some gaping holes in it. The whole story should be taken with a smirk and a grain of salt. My intention is neither to be proselytizing nor to disrespectful but to simply tell a fun story with some good moral values hidden among the action. I hope the majority of readers take it for what it is.

Because it is enrolled in KDP Select, Taylor is only available on Amazon until August.

Kindle | Paperback

I’m Feeling Homesick

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

Over the winter I read the book Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. My Sunday school class is now working through it, and I’m getting seriously homesick for that place. Do you ever look around this broken Earth and think, I could leave all this behind without a second thought? I sure do.

Maybe I’m just starting to get to that age. As a kid, I remember being so afraid during the Gulf War, thinking the end of all things must be near. I pleaded with Christ not to come back until I’d experienced college, marriage, children. Then during my 20’s, when I struggled with debilitating arthritis for several years (a symptom of Crohn’s), I started seriously thinking how nice a pain-free life would be. Even though the arthritis has been in remission for eight years and I forget I have Crohn’s most days, that is starting to become my regular way of thinking. In fact, I turn 40 in two weeks, and instead of bemoaning the fact that half my life is past, I’ve been cheering that I’m halfway done!

It’s not that I hate my life. Quite the opposite. I eat well, sleep well, exercise, and stay busy. I thoroughly enjoy playing with my kids and watching them grow into well-balanced, godly people. I actually like my kids! I do a lot of camping, I love to get out in my garden, I enjoy creating music, and I find huge satisfaction in writing and selling my novels. I love life. But when I look at the state this world is in—ridiculous government debts, disregard for unborn and elderly life, the gay movement, broken families, a general belief in evolution, wars, famines, genocide—I start to think real seriously about living under a just and perfect Ruler. I look forward to the absence of starvation, disease, and conflict. I long for a time when we will no longer even be tempted to sin, and every relationship will be pure and unselfish.

But I love it here on Earth, you may be thinking. How can I give up sunsets, mountains, and the joy of physical movement for some spiritual realm I don’t understand? This is where I recommend Alcorn’s book again. Through careful Bible study, he shows us that Heaven won’t be all that different from what we know right now, except it will be perfected. Because Revelation 21 tells us how God’s residence, the City of God, will come down to Earth. Our final destination is not some spirit realm. It is the New Earth. God will come down to us, and where He is, that is Heaven. Did you get that? God will come to us! That absolutely blows my mind.

God created us physical beings. In the beginning, he provided us with a physical home and he called it “very good.” We blew it, but through Christ’s sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection, God has provided the means to redeem mankind and renew all of Creation. He hasn’t changed his original plan. It will be the same, only better! In fact, I find good reason to believe even animals will be made new. Alcorn uses solid scripture to present his case then uses it as a springboard to do some very interesting speculating. (He distinguishes clearly between his imagination and biblical fact.)

If you dread the thought of dying, or if you’re curious about what lies ahead, I strongly encourage you to read Alcorn’s Heaven. I know I wrote something similar only a few posts ago, but gaining an understanding of Heaven has seriously changed the way I view life and death. It’s made me homesick.

Folks, we are in for a treat. But the only way to enjoy what God has planned for us is through His Son, Jesus Christ. Shouldn’t we spread the word? Who have you shared Heaven with lately?

The Moses Conspiracy, by Susan J. Reinhardt, 2013

Today I have a fun post. Susan Reinhardt recently published her first novel and I was fortunate enough to get in on some of the excitement. I couldn’t quite get the entire book read before this was scheduled to post as part of a blog tour, but it’s an enjoyable story. A scary story, actually. It takes all the current trends in immorality, government growth and regulation, and diminishing freedoms and gives us a horrible glimpse of what if…

Ellie and John Zimmerman live in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania in the year 2025, but only it’s no longer the America they grew up in. Since the attacks, UN troops have occupied Washington D.C. Arrests happen without cause. Documents must be in order at all times. Bugging devices, tracking devices, suspicion, they’re all a way of life now. All traces of America’s Christian origins have been removed or rewritten. The government has become oppressive. And unlawful medical procedures can happen without consent. This is the environment in which John and Ellie are trying to raise their eight-year-old son, Peter. And it’s about to get worse. Not only do the powers-that-be want to erase America’s Christian past, they’re quietly working to destroy the present Christian community.

This is an extreme example of what could happen in a godless American society, a dystopian novel from a Christian perspective which settles those fears into the very near future. It’s a bit sentimental, but the story is engaging, the prose precise, the editing clean, and the price tag very lovable at 4.99. Available only in ebook format, The Moses Conspiracy can be found at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

Check out Susan’s website or connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a book to finish reading…

Could the Holocaust Happen Again?

I’ve been reading a good deal about the Rise of Nazi Germany and its connection to the creation of the Jewish state of Israel a decade later. My newest literary journey started with the purchase of Exodus, by Leon Uris through a special BookBub promotion. That book was okay, but it compares unfavorably with the Zion Covenant Series by Brock and Bodie Thoene that I read years ago. So I’m picking my way through the series again. Both are works of historical fiction, but I’ve been looking up the characters and events as I go, investigating into the truth behind the fictionalized accounts. Both have proven extremely accurate. I also picked up the first of Winston Churchill’s Nobel-winning non-fiction series about the Second World War.

Once again I am amazed at Hitler’s diabolical brilliance and his utter contempt for human life. His corrupt policies brought about the death of millions of people. In the Thoene series, I’m just at the account of Kristallnacht, the “spontaneous” reprisals to the murder of a Nazi by a Jew. I’ve found no documentation to verify that Kristallnacht was planned, but it was so meticulously organized and so swiftly executed that few believe otherwise. Even the murder appears contrived, as the victim was suspected of disloyalty within the party. Hitler often played the masses with such schemes, getting exactly the responses he hoped for, from hatred and violence of the German people to fearful appeasement by foreign powers. That fateful night in 1938 violence against Jewish citizens and Jewish property rocked the whole of the Reich. Synagogues were burned, Jewish shops were destroyed and looted, thousands of arrests were made, and many were murdered. It happened decades ago, yet it still makes me cringe. It still makes me weep.

If you’ve looked my blog over at all, you’ll see I have a love and curiosity for things Jewish. They are the people through whom God chose to send his Redeemer. As a Christian, I feel a strong tie to them. They are the tree to which I am “grafted” through faith. Christianity grew up from Jewish origins. I enjoy studying their culture, traditions, and history. I try to understand the scripture through the people to whom it was first revealed. After all, Christ was a Jew ministering to Jews. With such a perspective, I am saddened by the fact that the majority of Jews have missed their own Messiah. And I’m horrified by the way they’ve been treated throughout history, often by evil men who claim Christianity but could in no way have known Christ.

After responding to the holocaust with grief, my second reaction is always wondering if it could ever happen again. I’d like to think not, but men haven’t changed. Perhaps that generation learned a lesson, but new generations arise all the time, minus the wisdom their forebears gained with experience. That’s why history always repeats itself. Sons, like their fathers, are fallen.

So could something of this magnitude happen here in America? We don’t have the same political climate as Germany did after WWI. They were crushed, defeated. They suffered from an overwhelming sense of failure and from severe economic reprisals inflicted on them by the Allies for causing the Great War. They were ripe for Hitler’s picking, for his soothing of their pride and his promises of grandeur and power for the Aryan race. But how did it happen? Quite simply, through the erosion of morality.

John Adams once said democracy can only work for a righteous people. A self-monitoring people. America has ceased to be that. Our government has eroded. Our society has eroded. Our work ethic has eroded. Our schools have eroded. Our families have eroded. Our values have eroded. All because belief in the full authority and infallibility of God’s word has eroded. America is in an immoral state.

Could such violence and intolerance happen here? I’m not predicting an outbreak or a target, but yes, it absolutely could. At our core, Americans are no different than Germans.

America and the Persecuted Church

I’ve been thinking lately how odd this phenomenon is. When life is tranquil, we tend to drift away from God like ducks gliding across a pond. We may not actually leave the pond, but we paddle over here to pursue this interest, and we spend time over there doing that. We may cast cursory glances back at the Farmer, or perhaps we forget Him altogether. Until the waves get rough. Or a hawk flies overhead. Then we come streaming back, squawking noisily for help. It’s during those times of trouble we cultivate the closest relationship with Him. Why do we do this? Why are we always drifting to the edge of the pond during times of blessing? Why is it so hard to maintain a close relationship amid distractions?

I’ve been reading about the persecuted church this month. I’m rereading The Heavenly Man, by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway. Brother Yun is a modern pastor who recounts the often miraculous events and the mindboggling growth of the persecuted church in present day China. And I read Richard Wurmbrand’s autobiography, Tortured for Christ, for the first time. Pastor Wurmbrand lived through the Nazi and later the Communist takeovers of his Romanian homeland and spent many years in prison for his work in the underground church. He established Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) in 1967, a mission that gives aid to the families of imprisoned and persecuted Christians.

Both of these books have been challenging and eye-opening. We don’t realize how soft we are here in America. Neither do we realize the blessings we miss out on by not living on the edge of our faith as these saints do. We get so distracted by pleasures, by leisure, by hobbies, work, retirement plans, church programs, vacations, life goals, and the predictable routine of life that our focus drifts off the eternal.

We, who have every freedom to share our faith without serious repercussions, don’t do it, while they risk their lives and families to save one more soul. We have so many entertainments that we don’t always take twenty minutes a day to spend in the Word. They memorize entire books, because ownership of a forbidden Bible is so precious. Surrounded by our glut of food, medical sciences, and government safety nets, we forget our every breath is borrowed from God. They live their lives in His hand.

So who is truly more blessed, Americans or the persecuted church?

I have a burden for my country and my family. I minored in history. I still dabble in it. I’m well aware that no nation has ever pulled out of the moral and economic abyss we’ve descended into. Yet God promises to heal the land of believers who repent and call on Him. What’s the better way to pray? That God would bless America? That He would revive and heal our land? Or that He would allow rough times through which many more might be drawn to Him? It’s a conundrum that reveals my cowardice and sets my eternal perspective at war with my temporal hopes for my kids.

I guess the only thing I can do is swim close to the Farmer, trust Him with the future, and teach my kids to do the same.

Check out the resources VOM makes available online and join me in praying for the persecuted church. Tortured for Christ is available for Kindle for only one dollar.

The Great Gatsby and Heaven

Because I write novels for kids, most of my pleasure reading takes the form of middle grade and young adult selections, but I like to poke my way through classic literature as well. I usually have one going on my Kindle all the time. Over the past year or so I’ve read several books by Jules Verne, Les Mis, The War of the Worlds, The Phantom of the Opera, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Hobbit, and Frankenstein, along with several classic children’s books like Alice in Wonderland and The Princess and Curdie. I find value in checking out books that have stood the test of time. They usually contain themes that resonate with humanity across the generations. Many times these themes are positive. Sometimes they are not.

I just finished reading The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, a work heralded as a nostalgic, enchanting tale of the era of jazz. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say: “The book received critical acclaim and is generally considered Fitzgerald’s best work. It is also widely regarded as a ‘Great American Novel’ and a literary classic, capturing the essence of an era. The Modern Library named it the second best English language novel of the 20th Century.”

I say it’s a terrible commentary on a life lived without God.

Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire, though his success smacks of the underworld. He’s well-known in New York for throwing lavish parties, which are attended by all the social elite. It’s all done for the benefit of Daisy Buchanan, with whom he’s in love. His bid to woo her away from her husband ends in backstabbing and murder. In the end, the narrator laments that Gatsby was chasing a dream that was better left in the past. Yet he understands Gatsby’s motivation for looking backwards when only lonely decades stretch before. Happiness eludes us though we run toward it with our arms out. It’s a bleak, hopeless take on life. One that, unfortunately, so many identify with.

Last week, I finished reading Heaven, written by Randy Alcorn. If only I could hand out a copy to everyone who picks up The Great Gatsby! As Christians, we have the promise of eternal life. Not life with pain and suffering as we know here. Life as we’d want it to be lived here. For we will live here, on this remade earth, in the presence of God and in the absence of sin. This formula equals the fulfillment and satisfaction Mr. Fitzgerald’s characters were seeking in their gin, sex, wealth, and socializing.

As Christians, we don’t always understand what hope we have to offer the world. We don’t understand Heaven. We have this image of floating in the clouds in some disembodied state while strumming on harps. No wonder no one seems to want to go there! But Mr. Alcorn uses scripture to explore the truth about Heaven. He does it in a way that makes it digestible. He paints it in terms of what we are familiar with. After reading this, I’m telling you I’m awfully excited to go there.

Of course the ticket comes with a cost: acknowledging that there is a God, admitting that He is righteous and we are not, and surrendering to His will. That’s a price steeper than many folks wish to pay. The alternative, however, is the useless seeking and bitter disappointment of The Great Gatsby during this life and something worse after death.

I won’t be recommending The Great Gatsby but I certainly recommend you get a handle on the future life God promised us by reading through Heaven.

Peace on Earth: Reflections on Christmas, Newtown, and Heaven

“Peace on Earth, goodwill toward men.”

Christmas is the season when our hearts resonate with these words. We long for wars to end, for humans to demonstrate love, friendship, and understanding toward one another. How many wistful songs are written about this? How many poems and greeting cards? Peace is one of our most basic desires. It’s what the angels promised. But this weekend, in the midst of our seasonal celebration of peace, I wept as a young man opened fire on a room full of first graders.

How do we reconcile such a promise with a world full of Adam Lanzas, Charles Mansons, Adolf Hitlers? We can’t. That promise hasn’t taken effect yet. It was given at the first coming of the Prince of Peace, but it’s fulfillment must wait for Christ’s second coming. When he returns, Jesus Christ will rein for a thousand years. It will be a period unlike any this earth has ever know. Imagine an absolutely perfect ruler with perfect judgement, perfect justice, perfect laws. Yet, the millennial kingdom is only a picture of heaven. There will still be a final rebellion. Only after it is put down, after the wicked are judged and the heavens and earth are renewed will the angel’s prophecy reach it’s complete fulfillment.

I’ve been reading a good deal about heaven lately, and the more I learn, the more I long for it. I’m excited to realize it will be here on earth! The earth was created as the perfect habitat for people, with its atmosphere, water supply, temperature, beauty, and seasons, and that plan has never been revoked. Because Christ inserted himself into his own creation and sacrificed himself for that creation, everything he made will be remade. That redemptive work is much more far reaching than we realize. Every effect of sin will be rectified. Every effect! Anything less would be a victory for Satan.

That means earth will again be “very good,” with no sickness, no death, no drought, with food enough for all and people who will no longer even be tempted to sin. Animals, once created as immortal companions to humanity, will be renewed, gentled, and perfected (yes, I believe that means the original animals). My garden will grow without weeds. Stars, mountains, plants, earth’s natural resources, the food chain, all will revert to God’s original plan. The earth will once again be given to humanity to govern–we won’t fail this time–and the New Jerusalem, God’s own city, will come down to us. 

That, perhaps, is the most thrilling to me. God will not require us to “go to heaven” as some disembodied spirit doing unfamiliar things in some alien realm. God can exist as such. We cannot. We were created as physical beings, we’ll be resurrected as physical beings, and we will do familiar, physical things in the familiar, physical world that was prepared for us. God will enter our world and make himself accessible to us forever. How absolutely amazing is that?!

Since we will be in bodily form on the renewed earth, I think our heavenly existence will be much like the one we now experience. There will be dining, travel, music, work, leisure, friends, outings, sports, and celebrations. But there will be no sin to mar any of it. No disease. No death. All our separations will be temporary. There will be no famine, no war, no school shootings, not even anger. And we will meet Jesus. Finally, the peace we long for will be realized.

I weep for those who lost children and loved ones this weekend. As a mom with a child the same age as the Newtown victims, my heart is heavy. This world sucks. I have not lost a child, but I live with Crohn’s disease. My son has dyslexia. Marriage is a constant struggle. And my dog just lost a leg to cancer. I’ve experienced the effects of sin firsthand, and I long for their removal. But the promise of heaven is only purchased through Christ’s death and resurrection, and only those who accept his sacrifice for the payment of their sin are eligible to experience it.

If you’ve encountered the Child of Bethlehem, this Christmas you can join me in anticipating the day when “Peace on Earth” will become a reality on earth.

My Opinion on Furry Souls

I’ll probably take a lot of flack for this post, but I really don’t care. For years I’ve quietly disagreed with the leaders of mainstream Christian denominations who tell us animals will not live beyond this life because they don’t have a soul in the sense that a human does. The truth is, that’s all opinion and speculation. The Bible does not specifically address this issue, and for good reason. The Bible is God’s message of redemption for mankind, not animal kind. So its pages only hint at his intention toward animals. Therefore, my opinion on this matter is as valid as theirs. And from what I understand of scripture, my opinion makes a lot more sense.

Now I totally agree that humans and animals are different. God made man in his image and gave him a special ability to commune with him. Man holds the highest place in all creation. Yet God made animals, too, and he called them “very good.” They pleased him. And they had purpose: he made them for the companionship of man and for his own glory. God also demonstrates his concern for animals throughout scripture by providing the ark and by ordaining laws for their humane care. He provides for the wild ones. He sees them when they fall. It’s clear God loves them as part of his creation. And as you’ll see, they were meant to be an eternal part of that eternal creation.

God made three distinct groups of living creatures: angels, man, and animals. All three he created immortal. In the beginning, there was no death. Angels had a choice to follow God or not. Some did. Some didn’t. They do not taste death. Some will live forever with God; others live forever in torment, according to their choices. God made no way to redeem angels.

Man was also given the choice to love or reject God. One man’s choice doomed all mankind to death (though it is true we each reject him individually). Man also doomed all creation with himself. God provided a way of redemption for mankind which we can choose or reject. He also promised to renew all creation.

God also created animals with the intention that they would live forever. But when mankind fell, animals were doomed to death as well. They were innocent victims of man’s sin. Their innocence is accentuated by the fact that it was their blood that was shed for the remission of sin until the innocent Son of God, whom animals pictured, shed his blood once and for all. Animals did not reject God and therefore have no need of redemption. God promised to renew all creation, of which animals are a part.

Christian leaders tell us animals don’t have souls. It is true they don’t commune with God in the way mankind does. But to say they just end seems a stretch to me. Animals were created with the same unique life that men and angels share. They have emotion, spirit, personality. They love, they feel, they think, they suffer. The same Hebrew word is used to describe the unique life of men and animals. They’re animate. They live just as man does, unlike rocks, trees, or stars. In the beginning that life was intended to continue indefinitely, even though they couldn’t commune with God as man could. Why would that difference exclude them now? Why would their spirit not continue as it was meant to? How could it not, if their life was created as an eternal essence? How could the unique life God gave them just uncreate?

Also, we know there are animals in heaven. The lion and the ox, the wolf and the lamb, the white horse. I’ve been told those can’t be the same animals created on earth. Why not? If God created angels to live forever, and they do, and if God created humans to live forever, and they do, and if God created animals to live forever, and obviously they do too, why would God create new ones for heaven and uncreate the originals? That’s just not in keeping with what I understand about God’s plan for his creation or his plan for other eternal lives. Even wicked men and angels continue. Why would God not renew the original animals when all creation is renewed?

Let me emphasize one more time that man is more precious to God than animals. God strongly desires that men turn to him. That is why he gave us the Bible. That’s why he sent his Son. Man is the epitome of his creation. Animals are subservient to man. God eventually gave man permission to kill animals, to eat them, to sacrifice them. Animals turned fearful, turned predator. We are all fallen together. Yet animals are one of only three classes of creatures that God gave spirit, that he gave life. Nowhere in scripture do I see that God revoked this original intention. Everywhere I see that the original will be restored. Animals were a part of God’s eternal plan for creation in the beginning, they still are, and they will continue to be beyond the borders of this present, fallen age. Animals were created to live.

A Look Back

I haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been feeling pretty low. Most of the time it’s pretty easy to forget I have Crohn’s. In fact, many of my friends didn’t even know. That’s because I haven’t had a serious bout with it for twenty-one years. But this summer it’s given me some trouble, and I ended up undergoing surgery this week.

This whole episode has gotten me remembering last time I dealt with this. Last time I was eighteen. Last time I was deathly ill. Last time surgery came only after five years of struggling with pain, malnourishment, diarrhea and “accidents” at school, bouts of depression, classmates who (usually unwittingly) made hurtful comments, missed school, missed social events, even missed high school graduation. Last time there were a lot of tears, a lot of questions, a lot of anger, and a few fears.

But last time I also had a section of scripture that came to mean an awful lot to me. It’s Psalm 116:1-9: “I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the LORD: ‘O LORD, save me!’ The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”

I’ve done a lot of rereading of those verses lately. God was faithful when I was eighteen. He brought complete healing so my college years were nothing like my high school years. But this last round of Crohn’s got me thinking how faithful he’s been in the twenty-one years since. I’ve gotten married, had three children and, apart from a few years of arthritis (another Crohn’s goodie), enjoyed almost perfect health. As the doctors have been telling me all week, twenty-one years with no bowel trouble is unheard of!

Of course there have been other blessings; those are just the biggies. But the last two decades haven’t been struggle free, either. I’ve dealt with some things I’d never want to travel through again. But looking back, through the good and the bad, God’s been faithful. He’s the bedrock I’ve stood on, I’ve cried on, I’ve danced on. And even as Iran seeks nuclear weapons, as socialism creeps over America, as scientists scream climate disaster, that bedrock isn’t cracking. It’s as solid as ever, and the promises He made are still true.

Twenty-one years ago, Crohn’s was the vehicle God used to first make me aware of his faithfulness, to demonstrate it in a way I couldn’t miss. Sounds ironic, doesn’t it? But it’s true. And this go-round I’ve been wondering if God meant this as reminder, a look back, a refocusing on Him, because that’s definitely what it’s done. Physically, it’s been a walk in the park compared to last time, though my responsibilities are much greater. This challenge hasn’t been more than I can handle, my husband’s been a peach, I have a wealth of friends pitching in, and I’m already on my way back to full health.

God sure is faithful, isn’t he?