Hello, Jolene Navarro here. Si Dios quiere. Google translate
cannot always be trusted. If you hear a native Spanish speaker say Si Dios quiere they are telling you they
trust God in everything, the good and the bad. To have faith that God is always
good, even in the middle of a storm. It
means to completely trust in God’s will. If you plugged it into the internet
you might get – Yes, God he wants. LOL! I think there is a great deal lost in translation.
In my September release The Soldier’s Surprise Family, the
heroine Anjelica Ortega-Garza has been raised to live this way and for the most
part she does. But as we know believing something and living something are two
different things.
As I write this my husband and I are driving to San Marcos
Texas, delivering things forgotten as our four children transition to living on
their own. For the first time in twenty-five years we are the only people
living in our house.
I did try to raise them with natural consequences – I didn’t run to the school to deliver homework or lunches left behind. It was supposed to teach them not to forget the stuff they needed. I’m here to tell you it didn’t seem to work. Maybe it did and they would be even worse than they are now. They did manage to remember most of their belongings. I'm sad with all four leaving at once, but Si Dios quiere.
I did try to raise them with natural consequences – I didn’t run to the school to deliver homework or lunches left behind. It was supposed to teach them not to forget the stuff they needed. I’m here to tell you it didn’t seem to work. Maybe it did and they would be even worse than they are now. They did manage to remember most of their belongings. I'm sad with all four leaving at once, but Si Dios quiere.
What does this have to do with Si Dios quiere? Life is full of changes some are big and will
crumble the foundation you are standing on, while others are small and sneak up on you. But through it all we have to know how to live in God’s will.
Life consistently changes, it always has and always will, all
the while staying the same. Sometimes Si
Dio quiere can tear your gut out. When you
get a call that you mother has been taken to the hospital with what looks like
a stroke you start praying, you pray for her to be healed and fine. But
sometimes prayers are not answered the way you want. My grandmother held my hand as she prayed for
God’s will and to align the desire of our hearts with God.
What if God’s will is not my will?
This is the truest meaning of faith. To look around and know
that God has you and you will grieve but you can’t get lost in the changes of
life. You have to trust in God so that you can live fully and find the purpose
he has for you, a purpose only you can achieve.
In The Soldier’s Surprise Family, Garret Kincaid has returned
from war and a divorce mentally scared and doesn’t trust anyone, especial God.
When he discovers he has a son he didn’t know about, a son
that has his own PTSD issues he knows he has to accept help. Falling in love with his
landlady, Anjelica wasn’t part of the plan. Yet even Garrett can’t deny that
love has begun building a family right around him. He learns to trust God’s
will.
Expert from The Solider's Surprise Family:
Anjelica kept her gaze on Garrett’s
face as he started at the top photo of the boy. Not able to resist, she peeked
over his arm and saw a serious little boy with Garrett’s green-gray eyes starting
back at them.
Garrett pressed his hand over his
eyes.
Moving back, she wanted to give him
space to collect himself. A broken heart was nothing new to her, but to watch
such a controlled man fight to hold it together made her want to wrap him in
her arms.
He handed her the photo,
paper-clipped to an information sheet. “I don’t know how to do this, being a
father.”
“We can make it work.” She blurted
out. Thinking of what happened to those two small children, she knew they
needed a home full of love and good memories. Tears burned her eyes. “We have
to make this right for them. We have to bring them to a real home.”
He looked at her. “We?”
I loved writing Garrett and Anjelica's story of healing and faith. Si Dios quiere. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts, pictures and my latest story.
Posts
Beautiful thoughts, Jolene. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to let God have complete control and simply trust Him. He has our best interests at heart even when we don't understand it and the storm we're going through feels like it will never end.
ReplyDeleteYes, it can be hard to see the light. The hardest is letting go of the need to understand and just trust. Thank you for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post. It s hard to see God's plan sometimes but when I look back I can see his hand in every aspect of my life. Even in my darkest hours he was there. I live by 'Be still and know I am God.' Hard to do at times. A good post for Labor Day, Jolene!!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful post, Jolene. We started on the empty nest journey last year at this time. But after a summer with one college aged kid at home, we're going through the separation phase all over again.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh about the forgotten things. :) I've been there in trying to make them responsible. But it can be difficult to let them suffer the consequences! :)
What a beautiful post, Jolene. I was writing a scene recently where the heroine is dealing with just these questions and her need to control versus her need to trust in God's will. One of the things I love about writing is the chance to explore ideas like this through our characters.
ReplyDeleteYour book is sitting on my bedside table. I'm just waiting for the chance to jump in.
Lovely post, Jolene. This is something I'm learning in this season, but, as you said, it is so much more difficult to do when in the midst of pain or suffering.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new release!