In Tuesday's post, I mentioned the themes of my first novel: forgiveness, acceptance, and letting go of the past. At the time I began writing the story, my life was in a transition period. I was newly married, learning the ins and outs of the Army lifestyle, and to top it off, my husband and I relocated from the east coast within one month after our wedding. Talk about fast changes!
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| Photo by nuttakit |
As I adjusted to my new surroundings, I thought about people who undertake journeys for more than employment purposes. Many do it for soul-searching, peace, or to escape the past. Hmm...the motivations of my central characters were born.
In speaking to other men and women who've gone through these kinds of transitions, I found three common themes.
Forgiveness: Everyone has been hurt, angered, or offended by another person at some point in their lives. We know that in order to have peace and move forward, eventually we have to release our offenses toward that person. It's not easy, but if we don't do it, then we remain crippled and stagnant. Even if we physically move away, there's no progress if we choose to harbor unforgiveness.
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| Photo by Michal Marcol |
Acceptance: After forgiveness comes acceptance of the circumstances that led to that point. We don't have to be happy about them, just cognizant of the fact that they no longer have power over us. Which brings us to--
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| Photo by africa |
Letting Go of the Past: No matter how horrible, rotten, or heinous it may be. If we want to experience victory in the transitions of our lives, then we have to release the past into God's hands, trusting Him to do great things with our present and future. This is probably the hardest part of dealing with change. How often do we say we forgive someone (or even ourselves) but still harbor resentment over what they did to us?
These themes proved to be the undercurrent to my characters' burgeoning romance. Both the hero and heroine have troubled pasts that threaten to destroy their new lives if they don't relinquish control to God.
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| Photo by Andy Newson |