A guest post by Sarah Hanks
The second novel in my Time Sailor series, Braving Fiery Waters, comes out tomorrow, January 21 st . This time travel adventure features a mom of teens who must face her greatest fear.
While Braving Fiery Waters doesn’t contain any of the official “brave subjects” on the Brave Authors website, it’s all about courage in its various forms.
The main character, Marina, sails back in time to the Great St. Louis Fire of 1849. The burn in this (yes, bad pun intended) is that her husband was a firefighter who died on duty. Authors do this often. We plunge our characters right into the center of their deepest wounds and fears. It makes for great, page-turning fiction. But I’ve also found that God, the ultimate Author, does the same thing to us.
When I suffered with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome), the only thing that made me feel better and helped me to function was saline infusions. (After my experience, I’d never recommend this route. But it played a huge part in my journey to healing.) To receive my infusions while saving my poor little veins, I had a port placed.
Long story short, this port went septic within days, and I ended up in the hospital with sepsis. They had to remove the contaminated port without putting me under, which was terrifying. I nearly died from sepsis and was left with haunting, fearful memories over the whole ordeal.
Fast forward about a year. I still needed saline infusions. The PIC line I’d gotten in place of a port left me with a miserable rash and needed to be taken out. My veins kept blowing from weekly infusions. My arms had bruises all over them. I knew what I needed to do: get another port. But the very thought terrified me.
I brought my fears to the Lord and He encouraged me. I felt like He was going to use the moment of facing my fears to work healing in me over the whole horrible experience of my first port.
And He did! From the first consultation appointment, through years of giving myself infusions, He used this big scary thing to work His healing through not only my body, but my soul as well. I had to rely on Him like never before.
That didn’t mean the second port was without incident. The placement was rough and I ended up with three lung punctures and a difficult recovery. However, when I look back now, I see how God brought me face to face with that negative experience in order to rewrite His healing over my story. Praise the Lord for His mercy!
This is just one example of how God has done this in my life. If I were in charge, I’d steer clear of anything resembling a traumatic memory. I’m glad I’m not in charge! God sometimes brings us straight up to the trauma to work resilience and courage into us.
In Braving Fiery Waters, Marina must complete a mission to return to her time. We found out, though, that what God accomplishes in her is far more important than what He accomplishes through her.
How has God used previous hurts to make you brave? May He complete the good work He’s begun in you. I know He will!
Braving Fiery Waters
Her husband died in a fire. Now she’s heading straight into one.
Marina Stone planned an ideal family vacation, perfect for reconnecting with her two teenagers after their father’s death. But those plans go drastically away when she time sails to the White Cloud in the year 1849. Now she must face her greatest fears and complete a mystery mission before she can return to her life and children. But what if they no longer truly need her or want her?
A family vacation to South Haven, Michigan, was the last thing Aiden wanted for his summer. Having just been dumped by his girlfriend and ticket to his future, he’d rather numb his mind with adventure. But when he connects with Nevaeh, a girl whose beauty is only matched by her faith, he might find there’s no place he’d rather be. When his sister runs away, he must work with Nevaeh to help guide her home.
In this second book in the Time Sailors series, new friends join the old in a faith-filled time travel novel you won’t soon forget.
About Sarah:
Sarah Hanks is a multi-award-winning author of split-time Christian fiction. Her background in teaching and children’s ministry prepared her for exercising her creativity as a writer, now her full-time job. She and her husband have ten children, a couple of whom seem to have inherited their mother’s love for playing with words and crafting stories. Though Sarah dreams of a cabin by the beach, the family lives jammed together in beautiful chaos near St. Louis, Missouri. She buys earplugs in bulk.
You can follow her on Facebook or Instagram @authorsarahhanks.
