Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™!
We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors
who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few
posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog
throughout the next few days.
We’re
giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as
some items (books, a gift pack, music CDs) from the contributors! Enter now on Facebook or at the Pearl Girls blog. The winner will announced on January 2, 2013 at the Pearl Girls blog.
If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of
charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe.
Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.
***
Year of Adversity Brings Joy
By Leslie Gould
I’ve been writing Amish fiction
for nearly three years now—telling stories about non-resistant people
who live a simple life. It’s a nice reprieve from my own life.
When my husband, Peter, joined
the Army Reserve back in the mid 1980s, I wasn’t thrilled about it. Nor
did I believe him when he said he’d probably never see action. Sure, the
Cold War was ending and—for a short time—all seemed well in the world,
but I had a degree in history. I knew better. I didn’t want to be a
controlling wife (as new to the job as I was!) and come out and say he
absolutely couldn’t do it. And it did help that he was joining a medical
unit. Still I had my reservations.
We’ve been far more fortunate than many military families, but still
it’s been quite a ride. The first exciting episode began in 1990 when
Peter flew to Germany on Christmas Eve to work in an Army hospital
during Desert Storm, leaving me behind with our two young sons. During
the next twenty years, Peter went from being a Lt. to being a Col. and
commanding a unit. Countless maneuvers and a mobilization occurred
during that time, but his Army Reserve career culminated in his
deployment to Afghanistan in 2011.My days throughout last year were an odd combination of hearing the daily news from a war zone via Skype and then writing about the plain life of the Amish. By last December I was working on my third Amish novel of the year while, in contrast, Peter and his field hospital staff had cared for hundreds of NATO soldiers and Afghan nationals, endured ten months of rocket fire, and continued to grieve the killing of one of their own.
Surprisingly, what seemed like it
might be our worst Christmas ever, even harder than in 1990, wasn’t.
Our four children (one teen and three young adults now) rallied to help
make it a memorable day. We counted our blessings—Peter was well, we had
all we needed, and God was at work in the life of our family. The
result was an underlying joy, deeper than what we’d felt during past
Christmases.
In reflection, I wrote: When it started, I thought 2011 might be
one of our worst years. But it hasn’t been. Sure, it’s been one of our
hardest, but a lot of good has come from it.That was evident on Christmas morning as we Skyped with Peter. We were so thankful for the good connection and for all of us to be “together” that we hardly noticed we really weren’t.
This December, Peter is back at
his civilian job (as a manager for a hospital corporation) and also
commanding a nearby Army Reserve unit, which means one weekend a month
and plenty of evenings—but no rockets or causalities.
I’m working on a new Amish novel
and still enjoying my “time” with those who practice non-resistance,
which doesn’t discount the appreciation I have for my husband’s service.
I’ve even grown to the place where I’m thankful he joined the military.
They’ve served each other well.
Our year of adversity resulted in a deep joy. I’m pretty sure it will carry over to this Christmas as well.
***
Leslie
Gould is the award-winning author of fifteen novels, including the #1
bestseller and Christy Award winner The Amish Midwife, co-written with
Mindy Starns Clark. Her latest release is Courting Cate, a retelling of
the “Taming of the Shrew.” Leslie lives in Portland, Oregon with her
husband, Peter, and their four children. www.lesliegould.com
No comments:
Post a Comment