At this time of year folks are thinking about resolutions and starting fresh. On New Year’s Day we had and event that doesn’t happen very often where I live in the Arizona desert. We had snow.
I was reminded of this verse in the Bible, Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” NRSV
When God forgives our sins, he gives us a big do-over. Everything is new again. Annie Payton, the heroine of my latest release, SECOND CHANCE REUNION, looks at her life that way.
Here’s a snippet from the book in which she is thinking about her future.
Doubts crowded Annie Payton’s mind as she paced in front of the windows looking out on The Village of Hope’s campus. Redbrick buildings with white Georgian columns formed a quadrangle around an expansive lawn. Tall pines and majestic oaks accented with maples and flowering dogwoods added to the beauty of the scenery.
She always loved early spring in Georgia, when the dogwoods dressed the landscape in lace. The pleasant warmth of a late March afternoon helped to take away some of her anxiety as she waited to meet with the lawyer who hopefully could help her get her kids back. Could this place really return hope to her life?
The scent of newly mowed grass wafted through the open window. Closing her eyes, she breathed deeply and wished she could mow down all the bad things in her life and make it fresh and new. But isn’t that what God had done when He’d covered her sins with His grace? Why did she doubt that God had forgiven her?
The click of the door on the far side of the room made Annie turn and look. A man, with his back to her, talked with someone in the hallway. Annie braced herself for this meeting and prayed that the decision to come here was a wise one.
When the man faced her, Annie gasped. What was Ian Montgomery doing here?
Annie is trying to start over, and in order to do so, she has to rely on God. Putting God first is the best way to have a new beginning.
Do you have a special Bible verse that talks about new beginnings?
You can find a longer excerpt and buys links for SECOND CHANCE REUNION here.
Merrillee Whren is an award-winning author who writes inspirational romance. She is the winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award for best inspirational romance manuscript presented by Romance Writers of America. She has also been the recipient of the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award and the Maggie Award for Excellence. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of thirty plus years, and has two grown daughters. She has lived in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Florida but now makes her home in the Arizona desert. When she’s not writing, she spends her free time playing tennis or walking while she does the plotting for her novels.
It’s not exactly about second chances, but Romans 8:8 says “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” I love that God doesn’t hold our sins against us when we ask for forgiveness. That’s a sort of 2nd chance, I guess.
Sounds like another great book, Merrillee :)
Thanks, Becky. Romans 8:8 is a great verse. I love the whole 8th chapter of Romans. It is so encouraging.
Merrillee, lovely post :) Wow, I didn’t realize it snowed in the Arizona desert – very pretty!.