An Unexpected Opportunity to Delve Deeper

Over at Inspy Romance, one of my favorite authors, Janet W. Ferguson, shared a post on Redemption and Themes in Fiction:

https://www.inspyromance.com/janet-w-ferguson-on-redemption-and-themes-in-fiction/

She asked what theme we used. I took the opportunity to reply and discovered a few things about myself:

When I created my author blog I chose Honor Hope Home as my three central words. Several years ago, I spent a month studying Honor because I grew up in abuse and had no idea what Honor meant. Hope means it doesn’t matter how bad things are God provides a way through. Home is a mindset and doesn’t depend on a place or a person but a centered life in Christ. He is all that is honorable, the author of hope, and nowhere is home if He isn’t there. Almost all my stories have abuse survivors learning that they don’t have to stay mired in the past; it’s a lesson I’ve needed to learn. Jesus makes us new creatures in Him. Redemption is the HEA (Happily Ever After), but I think I focus more on Repentance. Sadly, too many see repentance as a punishment; I did for most of my life. Over the last few years, I’ve come to recognize it as a gift, the opportunity to change, to grow from ashes to beauty, to start fresh.

I haven’t thought about my word choices for a while. My understanding and appreciation for the words have broadened and deepened. I’m grateful I was given the chance to reflect.