Faith, Fiction, and the Hard Stuff

Today, I want to talk to you guys about the big E—Emotions.

When I first started reading as a teenager, I gravitated toward light-hearted themes that didn’t dive too deep. Even as an adult, after my love for reading had grown by leaps and bounds, I still tended to shy away from the heavy stuff. I mean… life is hard enough, right? Why would anyone want to read about it?

But as I matured, I began to realize something important—those beautiful scars from my past had shaped me into the woman I am today. Without them, I wouldn’t be me.

It’s the same way when I’m writing my characters. Their struggles, heartbreaks, and triumphs become a huge driving force, shaping them into the strongest, truest versions of themselves.

I often feel the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit while I write. He leads me to put my heroes and heroines through situations I never would have imagined on my own. Sometimes, those scenes are painful to write—especially the ones involving abuse.

I’ve been blessed with a good man who loves me deeply and would never harm me. I was raised by wonderful parents and never knew what it meant to be an abused orphan. And yet, when I write those scenes, I can feel the weight of them as if I’ve lived them. I believe that’s a gift from God—to empathize, to step into someone else's shoes, and to tell their story with authenticity and compassion.

Don’t get me wrong—I have plenty of my own scars that I pull from in my writing. The death of my beloved biological father when I was just fifteen taught me how fragile and fleeting life can be. A close family member endured years of abuse in silence, and the helplessness and anger I felt when I learned of her pain drove me to my knees. I’ve been hurt by people, and—much to my shame and regret—I’ve hurt others, too.

So, what am I getting at?

Well, it took maturity and a whole lot of Jesus to realize that the hard times—the valleys—make me truly appreciate the view from the mountaintop. We tend to take the mountaintops for granted if they’re all we’ve ever known. But it’s in the valley that God plants our flowers. It’s in the valley that we learn how much we need Him.

That’s why my characters need valleys, too.

Because like me—they also need Him.

We must go through the valley to appreciate the mountain top.