Tag: women’s fiction

Journey to Trust

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If Christy ever thought all the uncertainties of life would vanish after her wedding day, she finds out plenty soon that isn’t reality. 

In the second installment of Christy & Todd: The Married Years, Christy finds herself facing challenges as big (or bigger!) than those she faced during her growing up and dating years. Not only do she and Todd still need permanent work, they need a permanent home. Christy longs for the security of home. Then, just before they are supposed to leave for two very important weddings, Christy’s mom faces major health problems. In a leap of faith, Christy and Todd act to keep long-ago promises…and Christy forgets something very important for her best friend Katie’s wedding!

So it is that Christy finds herself on a journey. A journey that takes her halfway around the world. 

Yes, she stops in the Canary Islands and eventually arrives at a Kenyan retreat center, but that’s not her journey’s end. While she might wish she were on a journey to answers, that’s not the real destination either. 

No, Christy Spencer is on a different journey. A journey to trust.

Have you ever been on a journey like that? Yes? Me, too. 

As Christy wonders where in the world she and Todd will call home, she sees God provide for her friend Katie. Katie is the girl who didn’t know where to go after she graduated from college and prayed and prayed until God moved. Now as she looks forward to her wedding day, her parents are disinterested. But Christy sees that God has provided for Katie in beautiful ways with a new family who love her and a sweet spot to call home (even if cockroaches are included!)

This and many other experiences bring Christy to the point where she realizes,

“If God can give a garden cottage to Katie…I’m open to wherever He leads us. Here or Newport or someplace we haven’t even thought of yet.” [1]

Have you come to that place? 

Maybe yes, maybe no. Maybe you were there once and are back on the journey. I think in some ways it’s the trip of a lifetime with rest stops and lookout points along the way. 

I think that’s how it’s going to be for Christy, too. Time (and the next book) will tell.

Until then, we can all benefit from Christy’s journey with a few helpful tips for us real-life livers.

  1. If you think your dating-and-waiting days demand strength and trust, just wait until your married days!
  2. Watching God working in others lives bolsters our own faith. What if our stories are meant to be the ones others can “read” and find encouraging? How are we doing in this? 
  3. Sometimes it takes a long time for God to give us answers to the longing of our hearts. Sometimes He gives us answers that look different from what we expect. For Christy, God eventually does provide a roof to shelter her and Todd (very unexpectedly!), but Christy first learns to practice Proverbs 3:5-6 and discovers a couple of powerful truths about where her home is.  

May we travel this journey well with Proverbs 3:5-6 as our motto. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (ESV)

[1] Robin Jones Gunn, Home of Our Hearts, Christy & Todd: The Married Years, no. 2 (Kahului, HI: Robin’s Nest Production’s, Inc., 2014), 209. 

A Tale with Tea and a Certain Tall Clock: When It’s Time to Dream – and Live!

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Spring. 

Bird songs. Flower blossoms. Sunbeams. 

It’s a time of new life and growth. A time when it just might feel like anything is possible…even dreams that have been hibernating.

Have you ever had a dream? Not the “head-on-your-pillow” kind, of course, but the “tucked-in-your-heart” kind? Have you had a dream that stayed buried for years and years? 

Then you have something in common with Liz, Kellie and Opal – the three main characters of Sisterchicks Go Brit!

Let’s take a look at this trio. 

Liz  – a tender-hearted, cautious soul with a deep passion for British literature and dreams of meeting a “tall, dark and handsome” someone face to face. 

Kellie – a go-with-the-flow yet organized woman who loves creating beautiful environments and dreams of doing it as her work.

Opal – a late-seventies lady who specializes in inspiring others to live their God-given dreams – even if it means taking risks – and has a dream of her own.

But these women are – one might say – in the autumn of life not the start-something-new spring!

Opal is the one who makes the inspiring point,

“[My] dear, do you know what the dearest kindness is that a woman can offer herself in the autumn of her years?…It is the gift of giving herself permission to take risks.” ~pg 2 Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn

Here’s a glimpse of the story from Liz’s perspective.

Ever since she was fifteen, Liz has wanted to go to England and see the fellow of her dreams – Big Ben himself. Years later and joined by her best friend Kellie and an elderly Opal, Liz’s dream comes true in extraordinary ways. But will time run out before she gets to “meet” Ben face to face? Even more importantly, will she realize and live out her truest dream of all? Come along with these Sisterchicks across the pond for a heart-lightening adventure pf merry cabbies, identical twins, castles, hot air balloons, cups of tea and the joys of unfolding dreams. 

Even from this short peek, I think we can learn a few things about those tucked-in-your heart dreams. 

  1. Sometimes dreams take time.
  2. Sometimes dreams take risks.
  3. Sometimes dreams are achieved when you help someone else live their dream. 

Now I will say that I think sometimes God gives us dreams that He intends to keep as dreams. Maybe they’re meant to be that little inspiration – that happy thought – that keeps us going through a tough time. I’ve had a few of those, so I don’t want to give the wrong impression and make everyone think all their dreams are going to come to fruition someday. Still, there are those other dreams that are simply meant to be, and God simply lets them steep for just the right amount of time.

Do you know someone who needs to live in spring even though her years put her in a different season? Perhaps you can share this story. Then you could have your own little high tea together. Or maybe you are the one who needs a little encouragement to dream – and then live!   

A note for all of my British-literature-loving friends: Within the pages of Sisterchicks Go Brit! are some fun connections to both C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. Yes, I thought you should know!