Pieces of my Heart Went with Them

I was thirty-eight and my husband was thirty-five, when he lost his valiant fight against cancer. Yes, he was too young to go. Our little boy was only three, and our family just right for us. But life has a way of moving on, whether we're ready or not. 

On to heaven my love went before me...

and a piece of my heart went with him.

While watching the movie Driving Miss Daisy, the part at the end, when Hoke is feeding Miss Daisy  her Thanksgiving pie, snatches my soul every time. I flash back to my dad in a nursing home. How he loved his pie!  Feeding him, combing his soft white hair, tucking him into his bed before I left for home, were rituals I feared were nearing an end. I was right to fear. The rituals did end.

One day, Dad slipped on to heaven before me...

and a piece of my heart went with him.

When death calls, I tremble at its audacity and its brusque rudeness. It doesn't care what it interrupts or how many pieces of our hearts it carries away with it. Death nibbles at our relationships like an insatiable predator, and pretends it doesn't know it has already been defeated a long time ago.

When sighs escape me, when a longing for my loved ones brings tears, I read this:

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, 

and this mortal shall have put on immortality, 

then shall be brought to pass 

the saying that is written, 

Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 

(1 Corinthians 15: 54-55, KJV)

I wipe my tears, my world rights itself, and the balance tips toward life once again. We were not made for death, but for living. And, someday...heaven.

Update on My Book Status

It's been a crazy busy summer! And my dearth of blog posts shows it. Some of my readers have asked about my Amish novel and when it will be published. Here are a few updates:

I've been contracted by Kregel Publishing for publication sometime next year--possibly summer or fall. That's exciting and I'm looking forward to working with Kregel!

I should have an assigned editor from Kregel soon. I'm also looking forward to this part of the publishing journey, though it can be difficult. Still, there's nothing like seeing your work polished to a high shine by an awesome editor. Worth every moment of angst, let me tell you.

My first novel is an amalgamation into one character the experiences of three former Amish young people who left their communities. Most of the situations described in the book are based on true accounts I've been told or read about, but are fictionalized.

I've also been contracted to provide two sequels which will be continued stories of some of the characters introduced in the first book.

I have a novel, Boomer or coming-of-age genre, being edited soon, too. I hope to offer that manuscript in a book proposal in the coming months. And there's a semblance of a prairie themed manuscript lying dusty in the drawer that's caught my attention again. Perhaps I may do a bit of work on that one from time to time.

So there's much work planned for me over the coming year and I'm anxious to dig into it! I'll keep you posted as things progress.

Thanks for your encouragement and support. I appreciate your faithful following!