The Story Behind the Story: Rescued Duty
It’s time to pull back the curtain and give you an inside glimpse into the world of writing.
Oftentimes, Scripture verses penetrate my heart, and as I spend time meditating on God’s Word, the truth impacts my life, and I can’t help but want to share it with you too!
That’s when a story idea starts to percolate under the surface and I rush to find the nearest pen and paper and scribble down all my ideas. And I soon realize new characters and an adventure are about to begin!
John 1:12-13 guided my time writing Rescued Duty. This verse is a beautiful reminder of God bringing us into His forever family.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13 (ESV).
I began to ask myself questions:
What does it mean to be part of God’s family?
How does being in God’s family transcend our earthly families?
What is our responsibility with inviting others into God’s family?
As I pondered answers, the idea of foster care and adoption continued to resurface, especially as I saw families and friends close to me step into fostering and adoption.
I’ll admit I didn’t know a lot about foster care and adoption, so I started to do research. I found a blog post that talked about a Chinese Proverb centered around a red thread, which highlighted how those who are destined to meet are connected by this invisible red thread.
I took components of this tale and wove them together to remind myself and you of the beauty of being family because of Jesus, whose blood connects people from every tribe and nation and are now chosen as part of God’s family.
You can read about the red thread and its significance in this blog post.
This what-if spark sent me on the journey of writing Zack and Naya’s story.
I pray this story encourages your heart to. . .
Discover the treasure found in being part of God’s forever family–no matter what our earthly family dynamics consist of
Connect on a deeper level with other brothers and sisters in Christ–community is a gift
Invite others to be part of God’s family through the Gospel because of Jesus
Serve the children in your local community who need reminders of love and family
For His glory,
Laura
P.S. I wanted to make sure I portrayed foster care authentically so I reached out to my friend, Lisa Hoppe, who is a foster mom. She helped me edit Rescued Duty for accuracy and we chatted all about it in this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/AyV6Rfnnhls
Be sure to grab your copy of Rescued Duty and dive into Zack and Naya’s story of second chances, found family, and unbreakable bonds.