When Life and Fiction Intersect
My favourite scene from this book depicts Serena babysitting a friend’s toddler, by the name of Jed. My own grandson was the inspiration for this scene, and I loved the scene so much, I dedicated the book to him. But the very night after I submitted my draft to the editor, complete with its dedication, I received the scariest call of my life and feared the dedication would be to my sweet grandson’s memory.
Thankfully, that night and through the many weeks that followed, the Lord mightily answered our prayers (and those of thousands upon thousands of friends of friends of friends around the world), and Jed is growing into a fine young man.
But there’s another eerie connection between that same scene in the story and my life that summer–a connection I didn’t realize until I reviewed Another Day Another Dali’s bonus features while writing this blog.
Serena’s response to Matt’s plea for her to babysit was:
“…someone tried to make a bus sandwich out of my car last night. You don’t want me anywhere near your child right now.”
Matt’s face went pasty, but he shook his head. “It can’t be helped. I’ve got no one else close enough. I’ve got to get Tracey to the hospital. There’s something wrong, but she refuses to go in with Jed along. She doesn’t want him to be frightened. She almost died with the last—” His voice faltered.
A month and a half after Jed’s near fatal accident, my daughter-in-law experienced Matt’s pregnant wife’s scenario. Once again, our prayers were thankfully answered. Mom and baby (born under 2 lbs) survived and thrived. And we celebrated blessings upon blessings.
Now whenever I hear Cory Asbury’s “Death Where is Thy Sting” song, I’m immediately transported back to that summer.
Death, where is your sting?
Grave, where is your victory?
He’s alive, He’s alive
He’s risen
Have a wonderful Sunday!
Check out yesterday’s post for current freebies, deals and giveaways. Tomorrow, I’ll post the next book recipient in my 25 book giveaway to celebrate the release of my 25th book.
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Praise God for his faithfulness and so many answers to prayer!! Sandra, thank you for sharing these stories and reminding us of the greatness of God.
It was the Serena mysteries that led me to you and now I want to read them all over again. PLEASE talk your editor into allowing a fourth installment. 😁
Have a blessed day!
Judy Edwards
Nashville
Ah, thank you. It’s sweet to hear you enjoyed them enough to reread. 🙂
My joy always bubbles over at how God carried us through that summer and answered our prayers the way we longed to see them answered. I’m also incredibly humbled and awed, by the amazing support we received from dedicated emergency workers, medical staff, volunteers, friends and so many who didn’t even know us, but heard Jed’s story. My heart goes out to the children and their families struggling to come to terms with not seeing their prayers answered as they’d yearned. Our own story could’ve been so much different, and I’m so grateful we didn’t face that much scarier wilderness to navigate.
So interesting to hear how your stories imitated life, before the fact! But even better to hear how God worked in your scary circumstance and blessed your family. Would love to win this book as one of your older series. I too would love to see more of this series!
Great! Noted, and thank you so much.