This is something I posted on a writers' forum I belong to, and thought I'd share it here because I really believe it. Good fiction can bless and enrich us. It really is a gift.
*******
I don't know if I've shared this on this board, but my mom is going
through a really difficult time right now. My dad is dying of cancer
of the liver, and she is in dire need of double knee replacement
surgery, so is in constant pain herself.
She has always been the kind of person who is constantly moving,
constantly on the go, but the pain in her knees has actually forced
her to sit still a little more often. Living in Austin, Texas, she
can take advantage of the almost perenially lovely weather, so she
and my dad will sit out on their patio swing and watch their toy
poodle, Dixie, cavort around and be silly. (I will be forever
grateful to Dixie for making my mom laugh at a time when she doesn't
have a great deal to laugh about.)
The forced "down time" has also meant that my mom is reading for
pleasure a lot more than she used to. I often pass along books to
her that I have really enjoyed, and recently, that included Jane Kirpatrick's
Kinship and Courage Series--All Together in One Place,
No Eye Can See, and What Once We Loved.
I talked to my mom on the phone today, and she said she had just
finished the last book in the series, and was really missing the
characters! She said she would find herself thinking, "I wonder what
Suzanne is doing right now?" She really, really loved the books.
I just thought you authors would like to see one small example of how
a work or works of fiction can bless someone who is in a place of
pain or sadness. Entering the world of those characters lightened my
mom's load for a while--blessed her--made life a little easier. That
is truly a gift.
Thank you, Jane, and all of you who bless us with your gift.
Cindy
P.S. My mom is a wonderful woman; probably the most admired person
in my life. I wrote a tribute to her several months ago. You can
read it if you like at this link.
No comments:
Post a Comment