Hidden Grit or Transparent Grace? | Julie Klassen

I love that the Pearl Girls exist to share stories of “grit and grace.”

Grit and Grace–it’s who I am.

I didn’t become a believer until I was in my twenties. When I went away to college, I left behind my parents’ religion and dabbled in the foolish pleasures and excesses of youth hoping to fill the emptiness inside of me. None of which worked, of course. Thankfully, God continued to woo me until I was ready to listen. I sometimes still feel sorry for the two brave college students who tried to share the gospel with me all those years ago. Perhaps I’ll have the opportunity to meet them again in heaven—won’t they be surprised to learn the young woman who so coldly rejected their message accepted it not long after they “failed”?

I had much to be forgiven for then, and am nowhere near perfect today, which is likely the reason my novels seem to deal with the redemption of past mistakes and God’s forgiveness and mercy–gifts I’m very thankful for in my own life.

As an author, I endeavor to write novels about imperfect characters who make mistakes, but are offered second chances by our perfect heavenly father. For example, in The Girl in the Gatehouse the main character has been seduced by a dishonorable man (a terrible scandal in the early 19th century) and has been sent away–exiled from the rest of her family. She is resigned to live a quiet, lonely life with only one loyal servant for company. Thankfully, God has other plans. But will the handsome naval captain she meets abandon his own plans to pursue a woman shadowed by scandal? Or will he decide she is beneath his notice, as others in her acquaintance have done?

What about you and me? Are we quick to judge those who have fallen, or quick to offer mercy and aid? Do we gloss over our own faults and sins in the light of someone else’s more obvious failings? I hope not.

As we begin 2013, I hope to be more transparent about my own imperfections, and more outspoken about His perfect gift. Will you join me?

[image error]JULIE KLASSEN writes novels set in “Jane Austen-era England.” Her sixth book, The Tutor’s Daughter, has recently released to enthusiastic reviews. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in Christian publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. Three of her novels have won the Christy Award for Historical Romance. She also won the Midwest Book Award and been a finalist in Romance Writers of America’s RITA Awards and ACFW’s Carol Awards. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, visit www.julieklassen.com or on Facebook .