“Paul turned back to Grandma Sinclair. Their eyes met and Grandma knew what she had to do by the look she received from her grandson. The matriarch moved through the room of people, wiped her eyes with a wad of tissue and led Paul to sit on the sofa by the front window. He plopped down and cuddled the square, brown, fuzzy pillow in the corner. He noticed how it smelled slightly of Grandma’s menthol cream, as he peered out the window, focusing his gaze down the street where he expected to see his dad pull up any minute. He only glanced back at grandma as she took him by the shoulders…
Then in a rush, the emotion hit. Paul’s little body trembled as the realization caught up…
He broke away from Grandma Sinclair’s grasp and bolted out of the house. He had to run away from the hurt. He ran and ran and ran, until somehow Uncle Wendell caught up and dragged him back to the house kicking and screaming.”
Paul could never have known that at 9-years-old his life would spin on the potter’s wheel in a major way. It would be another 20 years before that knowledge would become painfully clear. Alluded to by the above excerpt, this chapter reveals a catastrophic event that throws his entire family completely off balance.
Imagine for a moment what appears to be the model American family – Mom, Dad and their only son. The Maternal grandmother lives in a house just down the street. She comes over every day for after-school sitting and to cook dinner. In fact, when you think about it, life is rather mundane. Yet, they all seem to like it just that way.
Conversations flow easily around the dinner table, revolving mostly around regular daily events of work and school – no surprises, no raised voices, nothing of a shocking nature whatsoever. Mom and grandmother attend to the dishes while an attentive father plays catch with his son before dark. Everyone believes they are loved, valued and in the place they belong. Idyllic, yes – still, something most important is missing – the ability to truly feel, a heart that can give love and be broken, spirit, Holy Spirit, God.
Grandmother Sinclair is a Christian. She attends church and regularly invites her daughter and family to join her, though she never pushes. Occasionally, Paul tags along. Showing early signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, he likes the ritualistic nature of the service – stand up and sing, sit down and listen, stand up and sing, sit down and pass the plate…He just never got around to “getting” the true meaning of the message.
And so God decides to get their attention. Perhaps it’s a death. Perhaps it’s divorce. One thing is certain. Someone will no longer be around and the remaining members will have to dig deep- and hopefully look up- to cope.
_______________________________________________________________________
Psalm 127: 3-4 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.”
Just as the reader explores an early event that shaped Paul, Chapter Two also introduces the heroine, Marissa Rogers. Having lived a completely different childhood, Marissa was immersed in the Holy Spirit side by side with family and church family. She had no doubt about God or God’s plan for her life – well at least until it came to meeting Paul.
The pretty, Georgia Peach is filled with confidence and conviction. She takes these traits with her to a church mission trip to Haiti and there she finds both her calling and her ministry – teaching and Habitat for Humanity. She is horrified and appalled to discover the living conditions in which people find themselves.
Upon returning home to Athens, Georgia, Marissa determines to make a difference for those in her local area who are living in substandard housing situations. She learns all she can about the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate’s mission and processes. Building decent, affordable houses and hope through volunteer efforts resonates deeply with Marissa. She especially loved the idea of a hand up, not a hand out. This philosophy pairs beautifully with her own determination to guide people from downtrodden to uplifted, from desperate to hopeful, from lost to found. Eventually, she steps into a leadership role. Working directly with “partner families,” the young, Christian warrior feels their despair at hearing the application story then shares in their elation on house dedication day.
A colleague at the school where she teaches elementary special education pointed her to a column written by Paul. Taken aback by his strong point of view against all types of charity programs, she prays for strength and guidance, finally reaching the courage to challenge the well-known stranger to participate in a Habitat build day. There was something in the way he wrote that spoke to her spiritually. She believed God laid it on her heart to reach out to this jaded soul; to lead him through the torment of unbelieving to the freedom of everlasting life.
Will she be able to break the wall he hides behind? Or will he tear down her enthusiasm and optimistic heart?
________________________________________________________________________
Share your thoughts on how you think this should play out. How do the characters make you feel? Can you relate?
And…I would love to take ideas on a title for Chapter One.
Grace and Blessings…..
Darlene Nixon
Then in a rush, the emotion hit. Paul’s little body trembled as the realization caught up…
He broke away from Grandma Sinclair’s grasp and bolted out of the house. He had to run away from the hurt. He ran and ran and ran, until somehow Uncle Wendell caught up and dragged him back to the house kicking and screaming.”
Paul could never have known that at 9-years-old his life would spin on the potter’s wheel in a major way. It would be another 20 years before that knowledge would become painfully clear. Alluded to by the above excerpt, this chapter reveals a catastrophic event that throws his entire family completely off balance.
Imagine for a moment what appears to be the model American family – Mom, Dad and their only son. The Maternal grandmother lives in a house just down the street. She comes over every day for after-school sitting and to cook dinner. In fact, when you think about it, life is rather mundane. Yet, they all seem to like it just that way.
Conversations flow easily around the dinner table, revolving mostly around regular daily events of work and school – no surprises, no raised voices, nothing of a shocking nature whatsoever. Mom and grandmother attend to the dishes while an attentive father plays catch with his son before dark. Everyone believes they are loved, valued and in the place they belong. Idyllic, yes – still, something most important is missing – the ability to truly feel, a heart that can give love and be broken, spirit, Holy Spirit, God.
Grandmother Sinclair is a Christian. She attends church and regularly invites her daughter and family to join her, though she never pushes. Occasionally, Paul tags along. Showing early signs of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, he likes the ritualistic nature of the service – stand up and sing, sit down and listen, stand up and sing, sit down and pass the plate…He just never got around to “getting” the true meaning of the message.
And so God decides to get their attention. Perhaps it’s a death. Perhaps it’s divorce. One thing is certain. Someone will no longer be around and the remaining members will have to dig deep- and hopefully look up- to cope.
_______________________________________________________________________
Psalm 127: 3-4 “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.”
Just as the reader explores an early event that shaped Paul, Chapter Two also introduces the heroine, Marissa Rogers. Having lived a completely different childhood, Marissa was immersed in the Holy Spirit side by side with family and church family. She had no doubt about God or God’s plan for her life – well at least until it came to meeting Paul.
The pretty, Georgia Peach is filled with confidence and conviction. She takes these traits with her to a church mission trip to Haiti and there she finds both her calling and her ministry – teaching and Habitat for Humanity. She is horrified and appalled to discover the living conditions in which people find themselves.
Upon returning home to Athens, Georgia, Marissa determines to make a difference for those in her local area who are living in substandard housing situations. She learns all she can about the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate’s mission and processes. Building decent, affordable houses and hope through volunteer efforts resonates deeply with Marissa. She especially loved the idea of a hand up, not a hand out. This philosophy pairs beautifully with her own determination to guide people from downtrodden to uplifted, from desperate to hopeful, from lost to found. Eventually, she steps into a leadership role. Working directly with “partner families,” the young, Christian warrior feels their despair at hearing the application story then shares in their elation on house dedication day.
A colleague at the school where she teaches elementary special education pointed her to a column written by Paul. Taken aback by his strong point of view against all types of charity programs, she prays for strength and guidance, finally reaching the courage to challenge the well-known stranger to participate in a Habitat build day. There was something in the way he wrote that spoke to her spiritually. She believed God laid it on her heart to reach out to this jaded soul; to lead him through the torment of unbelieving to the freedom of everlasting life.
Will she be able to break the wall he hides behind? Or will he tear down her enthusiasm and optimistic heart?
________________________________________________________________________
Share your thoughts on how you think this should play out. How do the characters make you feel? Can you relate?
And…I would love to take ideas on a title for Chapter One.
Grace and Blessings…..
Darlene Nixon