https://againsttheirwill.wordpress.com/2024/03/26/the-future-is-in-the-past
Category Archives: freedom of choice
One Step at a Time
Life’s waves of turmoil and despair are crashing over me non-stop, with one knocking me over and another on top of it before the prior one subsides. So, what else is new? We all go through periods of strife and pain. But, why so much, God? Why now?
As life flies by, faster each day, I find it harder to digest all that happens. First, it’s a lack of a job. Then, the loss of connection with long time friends, followed by children that move away, both physically and mentally. The hardest of all is the mental loss.
What did I do wrong? Why is my child avoiding me? My first reaction is to blame myself. I did something to alienate him. My opinions on politics, the country and the world don’t match my child’s. Okay, so that’s not the worst thing that could happen. I am thankful that he is living and well; successful in his work, happy (seemingly) with lots of friends.
There is a change, however. A gradual movement to fewer visits; visits for big events such as Christmas or Thanksgiving, or a birthday being the ones worthy of the effort of traveling. They are short affairs, with the exit at the end of the visit quick and early. It’s like, if there is too much time spent together, something might be said or done that is disagreeable.
Are there issues hiding behind the smiling facade? Secrets that would be uncomfortable if shared? Has something happened that is too painful, or objectionable to speak of? Doesn’t my grown child know how much I love him? How much I would do for him; even if I don’t like things now central in his life? That’s what unconditional love is all about. But, the same unconditional love also means doing the hard things; saying what needs to be said only because it is for the good of the receiver and it is said in love.
My husband loves to tell me (too often I think!) that truth hurts. We can know in our hearts that what is said is for our well-being, but in our heads, it hurts and we want to shun it. It comes down to the fact do we trust the person who tells us these things in love, or do we trust what the world tells us that is not necessarily the best for us or even the truth.
This is my real fear; that my child will believe the world’s lies before listening to, or even considering that what I say is the truth spoken in love. I fear he will be misled, lured down a road of lies, deceit and even betrayal. I fear that it is a road that could end in spiritual death.
When gazing upon the world’s current stage of events, it is easy to see how so many are affected by the emotion of the masses. Little to no consideration is given to the truth of matters discussed (more like shouted and screamed and threatened). Too few stop to consider the true consequences of their actions, both on themselves and on others. The pleasure of the moment, or what seems to be the politically correct thing to do, often outweighs the rationale or sanity on any given issue.
I look at these things and want to wrap my arms around my child and whisper in his ear to be wary, to watch out for the handsome devil, the cleaver deceiver. I want to beg him to stear clear of the lies that tickle one’s ears; ones that are used to coerce and manipulate.
As I take this unwelcome and uninvited journey, I realize I must give up control over the situation and plead with God for His mercy and justice. Daily, I beg Him to intervene and do what He knows is best and to help me let go of what I think is better. I pray to Him to intervene in the life of my child and his eternal fate. As my knees get calloused, I slowly acknowledge it is out of my hands. It is only His hands, which are bigger and stronger, that can hold onto my child, and me at the same time. And, through it all, faith is the only lamp I have to light the pathway in front of me, one step at a time.
Family – How Important is it?
To my characters in Against Their Will, family is important in different ways. Not only are the relationships that are typically formed between family members an important part of what the characters do and experience, but the genetic map they carry also has implications that not many people take time to consider. But genetic composition as well as relationships are two foundations on which families are built.
I attended a family reunion today. I really enjoy getting together with this group of people from my mother’s father’s family. We have much in common; we laugh, we catch up and we joke about the changes in our lives, mostly on how we’re getting old way too fast! It occurred to me, however, that family really does influence our lives and having one is not something to take for granted. While we are all born of biological parents, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we automatically have a family. Deaths occur, marriages never happen or are dissolved, children are abandoned or adopted. Many things happen in life that disrupt the flow of life via the biological family. Even non-biological families can suffer from dysfunction, or can thrive through good relationships. It is a sense of belonging to another, however, that drives so many on a quest for family in one way or another.
Lack of family is what drives Lynn McCaine in Against Their Will. As we meet her in the opening of the story, she is distraught over things she has learned about her family. She is frantic to return to the only family she knows at the time, her cat. Her search for family is a driving force motivating her to set out on a quest for knowledge. That quest costs more than her life.
Matt Grayson has a loving family. And, he is blessed to be able to appreciate them in the present. Like most of us, he takes them for granted from time to time. But, when it’s crunch time, they are there for him and him for them.
While family is an underlying theme in Against Their Will, a parallel theme is that of being there for and supporting others in our lives. When Matt and Lynn’s ill fated flight ends in flames in East Texas, Matt Grayson doesn’t stop to think about any danger he may be in, or the non-existence of a relationship with the woman in the seat beside him with violet eyes and independent hair. He is focused on one thing, making sure he gets her out alive. Why would a stranger do something like that?
How many of us would do the same? Why would we? What’s in it for us? What drives Matt to do what he does?
What rights do we have to new medical treatments?
The State Fair
We love our Twinkies, Krispy Kremes, and Oreos. We live in a country where we are free to make those decisions on what we eat. But, when our bodies need help, especially from the latest in medical research and testing, what are our rights? Are we owed access to new drugs and treatments just because they have been developed? Or, are those new discoveries the property of the entity that developed it?
This dilemma occurs in my book Against Their Will. The characters are used as test subjects without their knowledge or consent. Despite all things, cures area found for some dreaded diseases, yet others are harmed by the same drugs. If one person can get a cure from a new drug discovery, is it worth the death of three others to do so? Should we be given the freedom to continue to make our own choices; in food or lifestyle? Or, should the government regulate or dictate our choices? If we don’t take care of ourselves, do we have the right to seek medical treatment for maladies we created? Or, should we be left to suffer the consequences?
Our freedom includes the right to eat whatever we want, right?
There are no easy answers to these questions, and it is not likely this debate will go away anytime soon. It will be interesting to see what conclusions people have on this issue after reading Against Their Will. Share away, the forum is open!
Against Their Will 