Are you a collector?
I used to collect stamps and coins and every other imaginable thing a child finds to collect. But I have one collection (besides books) that I still cherish and add to every year—my Christmas ornaments.
Some of the ornaments were lovingly crafted by my children. Some commemorate births and anniversaries. Some I crafted. But most were gifts.
Why am I telling you this?!
Because one of those ornaments, the dove photographed below, became an important symbol in my debut Love Inspired Suspense, Deep Cover (September 2011).
The undercover cop hero had given the dove to the heroine when they’d dated previously, saying, A soaring dove to remind you God is watching over you when I can’t be. She hung it from her rearview mirror. After the hero left her, it became a reminder that she needed to lean on God alone.
Later after the heroine’s world has crashed around her, and quite literally around the dove in the car, the hero sets out to rescue and return the gift as a symbol of God’s protection where he failed.
As I opened my box of Christmas ornaments this year and pulled out that dove, I was reminded of the story thread it inspired, and more importantly of the truth behind it. That God is watching over each one of us. We may not always feel that He is, but if we’ve surrendered our hearts to him, He has promised to never leave us.
As a special gift to my readers, I’ve generated some novel “Extras”. Think DVD extras, except for a novel. Things like deleted scenes, bloopers etc. You are all invited to hop over to my website and check them out. There are also two free recipe books you can download, and for my newsletter subscribers, a bonus Christmas story.
Your turn: Do you have an interesting or unusual collections?
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