When the heat is turned up
Some of the hardest writing we dois the in-process kind, where there is no conclusion neatly tied with a bow. It’seasier to put it all down when we know the outcome, because don’t we all love asunny ending? But this is where we are.
The heat has been turned uparound here for months, beginning last fall with another heart stent for Jerry,followed by more testing leading to a cancer diagnosis for him just before Christmas. Thenwe had his and her pneumonias from which I am still recovering. This week, heunderwent surgery for the cancer, and it has been something from which to recover.
To a lesser degree, throw inthere one of my publishers going under leaving three books stranded and anotherunder contract dangling. Though I have since been blessed to receive anothercontract for the newest book from Elk Lake (thank the Lord), I have had tolearn the publishing process to get the other books back up and going. Hugelearning curve.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “Whenyou walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set youablaze” (Isaiah 43:2). These words written for a beloved people, included thoseon a coming day a few hundred years later when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednegorefused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, and were bound and throwninto a furnace so hot it consumed the soldiers who put them there. Yet, when Nebuchadnezzarchecked on them, he saw not three, but four men in the fire “unbound and unharmedand the fourth looks like a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:23-26).
These words penned so long ago are also meant for us and what a comfort they are. No matter how hotit gets, there is God’s promise to be with us in the flames. On the days, whenit seems there’s no end to the hard stuff, we remember that when Shadrach, Meshach, andAbednego came out of the fire, not only were they not burned, “there was nosmell of fire on them.”
So here, we are in process, warmaround the collar, but thankful that once Jerry recovers from this, he shouldnot have to have any further treatment. We remain hopeful my situation willresolve in the Lord’s healing time.
If you find yourself in a similarplace, know the Lord is with you no matter how hot it gets. Keep up your hopeand cling to him. He has not left you alone. As a recent song title declares, “Thereis another in the fire.”
var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24260977-1']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();Beverly Varnado's most recent book is In Search of the Painted Bunting, a middle grade historical from Elk Lake Publishing, #1 in new releases in its category. She is also the author of several small town romances from Anaiah Press including her latest, A Season for Everything. All are available at Amazon. To explore the web version of One Ringing Bell, please visit bev-oneringingbell.blogspot.comTo sign up for her newsletter, go to http://eepurl.com/dHNdsX Beverly Varnado copyright 2023
