For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
***
I am rereading the Restoration book series, suspenseful Christian fiction by Terri Blackstock. In this series of books, all the world’s computer-driven conveniences have crashed to a halt, fried by a dying star. People have to relearn centuries-old practices if they are to survive. This story makes our Covid experience look like a walk in the park. As I read, though, I wonder how I would fare if all the props I lean on are kicked out from under me.
Below are excerpts from the author’s note at the end of book 2 of 4: Night Light.
*****
Each of us is put in place for a particular time in particular circumstances
and prepared in a particular way, not knowing what God will need us for.
Some of us have experienced tragedies and crises with no answers from God
about why he would drag us through such pain,
only to find that it qualified us uniquely to do some mighty work of God
when the time of someone else’s crisis came.
And that’s how the body of Christ works.
I pray that I will not whine when God strengthens me through trials,
and that I will let him prepare me for what lies ahead —
those things for which he made me.
Those times when I can be Christ to someone who may never have met him
and show them the love of the Savior who can lift their burdens.
And I pray that when that time does come,
I’ll see the blessing in that crisis, and it won’t be wasted on me.
Terri Blackstock, Night Light