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One of the first songs I learned, and many other children will learn, was Jesus Loves Me. My mom used to tell people that whenever I'd get in trouble, I'd start singing about how Jesus loved me and she'd be hard put to punish me. She said I sang it all the time, and my grandparents testified to that fact. I was only a toddler at the time, but there's something profound about a child clinging to that very basic fact and belting it out when the situation became dire. When I was in trouble: Jesus loved me. When I was alone: Jesus loved me. What I was playing: Jesus loved me. Even when I was up to mischief, he still loved me. I think I understand why Jesus told his disciples that unless they became like a child, they would never be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven. The older I get, the more I understand what he meant. As we age, the world plagues us with lies about us, doubts about our abilities, fears of the unknown, and conflicting facts about right and wrong. As I've grown, I've found I tend to loose fact of that one simple truth: Yes, Jesus love me. YES, Jesus loves me. Yes!!! Jesus loves me because that's what the Bible tells me is so. In my stories, I've gotten a bit of flack over how my characters dumbly leave the path time and again. I might not be able to defend myself on the reviewers sites, but I can here. Let me ask, just a general question to those of you who are reading this... Have you always stayed right on course? Have you never made bad decisions? Have you never doubted where you were going or sought for an easier way? I know for a fact I can not answer yes to any of those questions. I've gone off course too many times to count. I've let fear rule my steps instead of God's word. And I've often sought the easier way rather than the true way. I forgot that basic, simple truth I knew when I was just a toddler: That Jesus loves me and he has me. The Bible is full of promises that God has my life in his hands when I hand it over to him. So yeah, I'm going to write stupid characters who do humanly stupid things. I firmly believe that since God created us to be human, when he could have created us to be anything else, He honestly doesn't mind when when we act the part. Our humanness, our dumb decisions, our miserable mistakes and our troubled thoughts are what creates a basic need for Him. In all our humanness, he's able to pull us in and cover us in his arms of grace.
So when I write stories, I'm going to write characters who are flawed, broken... yet loved despite their flaws and brokenness. Because we live in a sinful world that hurls mud and casts stones that hurt and break. There is an enemy force that fears our potential. That potential that's brought about by God's love for us. If only we can grasps that basic truth with a child-like faith, then we can become a formidable force in this world.
If people get nothing else out of my stories, I pray and hope they'll get this one thing: God loves us! He loves us how we are, right now, with all our flaws and brokenness. He loves you. He loves me. Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners. (Romans 5:8) He didn't come here to condemn, but to save. (John 3:17) To walk with us once again, as he did in Eden, as we travel our paths in life. As we climb the seemingly insurmountable mountains. And even as we wander off the trail after something that seems good, but isn't. Through all that, He loves us... if we'll let Him. If we'll only believe that. As I child I truly did believe that. Wholeheartedly. As an adult, I have to fight to keep that child-like faith that despite life's difficulties, despite my mistakes, that promise still remains true. Whether you read my fantasy or romance stories, I hope that message comes through loud and clear. No matter what, you are loved. No matter what. I'm leaving a couple of videos for you. Words that spoke to my heart and continue to speak and uplift my spirit. If you have time, take a listen. Blessings and Peace and remember to be kind of one another. JC
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Author InfoJackie Castle is an author, artist and dreamer. She lives in Texas with her husband, two grown children and her dog, Banjo. She looks for the extraordinary in the ordinary in everything she experiences. Archives
August 2023
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