Story516 | When New Life Begins

In the beginning, God created a beautiful, perfect world.  But sadly, it didn't stay that way.
In Genesis we read about how an evil serpent tempted man to destroy the luscious haven by introducing sin into the world.  From the first decision to live selfishly, lives broke.  Hearts shattered.  Blood spilled.  But there was hope - hope of new life beginning.
It started with a lost life.  God sacrificed an animal to make coverings for man, and the first drops of red blood stained the earth.  In the pain, somehow hope began.
It began as God promised a Savior to be the perfect sacrifice for sin.  The lies of the snake couldn't last forever, because a Man would come to earth to bruise the head of the serpent.  In that victory, we could hope to return to the unity man once had with his Creator.
Although that Savior came and let His own blood spill on our behalf, the serpent is still active.  He wants to continue what he began - shattering lives.  But there's always hope.  There's always God.
And that's why I wrote the short story When New Life Begins.  A new website opened up for readers this month to encourage Christians to use their arts for Christ - from writing, photography, music, and more.  I was blessed with the chance to share the story through Story516.
If you're an artist wanting to encourage others with the talents God gave you, I encourage you to contribute to this budding community!  Or if you're someone hurting, wondering why, or struggling with the lies of the serpent, I hope somehow my words are able to remind you that there's hope.  Sometimes, we want to give up, but new life begins.
So hop on over!  Read the short story and then check out the other posts on the website.
Read the story here.
I promise I'll come back and do more of my typical posts soon.  This week, I'm at my first writer's retreat, meeting some amazing sisters-in-Christ who also happen to be authors and/or bloggers!  We are savoring this time of fellowship with like-minded believers, and I hope you're also able to rest, be still, and know that He is God.
You're never alone.

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 

- Romans 6:4

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