"For all the locking up he'd done, all the patients he'd managed to control with cells and restraints, there was one thing those walls could not contain. Light." ~The Lost Melody, Joanna Davidson Politano Joanna is one of my very favorite writers because I know what to expect from her stories: hope, a strong spiritual thread (which I LOVE) and a good dose of romance, too. ;)
But this book. . . let's just say it is a very difficult book to read through in the beginning. Joanna gives us a real sense of what asylums were like back in the Victorian era, the way some of the patients were treated or should I say mistreated. What was surprising was how some of these so-called "patients" were, in fact, sane. They were mentally right with it but due to unfortunate circumstances or conniving relatives they were tossed into the insane asylums and forgotten. Once you get past some of the nitty-gritty and darker parts, you begin to see the light shining brighter and brighter. The truth becomes clear. This book is needed as a guide for us, in how we view others and how we tend to mislabel people. This story helps us see the value in others--and the light they bring to this world. It helps us see how God's plans are ultimately the best, and how He sets us where we need to be in order to learn the lessons we desperately need to learn. What a journey this story will take you on, if you dip into its pages! If you're a fan of darker, historical fiction with a splash of romance, then I recommend this book. I will say, it's probably not for everyone. At times, it seemed to be a little too dark for my tastes but the further along I read, the better it got. :) Thank you for writing this story of light piercing the darkness, Joanna. Your words are inspiring and they are a call to all of us to see others the way God sees them--as precious, valuable people.
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Isn’t it amazing how God uses the seemingly ordinary, mundane processes to teach us deeper lessons? I’ve experienced this at work recently and it was such a blessing to my soul to think on.
We have a new employee and part of my job is to help train her so that she can work alongside us in the coming days and months. Training isn’t all that easy, but you don’t realize it until you’re farther along in experiences. Training, as I’ve come to experience it, is a growing process. It shapes not only the worker we’re teaching but it shapes us, too. It’s humbling as well. Training is a beautiful picture of walking in someone else’s shoes and seeing the experiences through their eyes. And it is also remembering that, not long ago, you were in the same position. You were new, inexperienced, and untrained; but patient and helpful people came alongside you and trained you. Another thing training shows us is our progress. Day in and day out, I was just going through the routine and doing what I do at work, but then training came and stopped me in my tracks. It made me pause and look back, seeing how far along I’ve really come, and it revealed the progress I had made in this workplace. Training is a part of every season—our parents trained us up since we were children, our pastors trained us in the Word, our teachers trained us in education and the basic skills we need for life. We still train, not only as employees, but we train for marathons, 5ks, and other sports. What does training produce? Growth, maturity, wisdom, and knowledge. It produces endurance, speed, and goals that are met. God trains us in His Word daily, if we are searching and seeking it. But His training is different—it’s producing different results. He is training us, here and now, for the eternity we will spend serving and worshipping and honoring Him, living our life the way God created us to in the first place. He is training us to become more like our Savior—the way He lived, loved, and saw others in His short ministry here on earth. Training can be hard, but in the end, it will be worth it. Your new employee will excel in their position, you’ll persevere to the very end of your 5k race, but most of all, God will train you to become more like Him until He calls you home to be with Him—for all eternity. "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. . . ." (Philippians 1:6) |
AuthorHi! I'm Carolyn, a writer seeking to glorify God with my words. Archives
February 2024
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