I had a review come in the other day where the reader really struggled with where Daughter of Light was going. Eventually she gave up and put the book away. As I glanced over her review, I was struck by the irony that if she had just continued on to one more chapter, she would have realized the point of the book. She would have reached the chapter where Rowen finally meets the Word and finds her strength in Him. Sadly, all the reader saw was the darkness and the hurt and the anger that my characters were going through and never went far enough to see the light and hope.
Isn’t that how life is sometimes? Sometimes the paths God takes us down are dark and hard. There is a reason that David in Psalm 23 calls that place “the valley of the shadow of death.” As we continue down into the valley, everything becomes darker and darker until we come to a point where everything inside of us is screaming for us to turn back and give up. But it’s usually at that very point where we are almost through the valley. The light is just up ahead. We just need to take a couple more steps.
I’m writing this post to remind us not to give up. Many of my friends are going through some dark valleys right now: unemployment, the death of a child, sickness, and life-altering change. Those are some very hard paths to walk. Sometimes you wish you could turn around and run back to the way life was before the valley. Or you’re just so tired that all you want to do is collapse and cry on the valley floor.
Don’t give up! There is light ahead. It may not be the outcome desired, but there will be renewal. There will be strength. There will be hope. There we will finally see God and realize He’s been walking with us the whole time.
Don’t stop one chapter short. The next chapter may very well be the one that gives you light and hope.
Morgan L. Busse 
Very awesome analogy, Morgan. I actually did a guest post on another author’s blog discussing a similar topic, but I used the Swamps of Sadness from The NeverEnding Story as comparison. Great job. You just have to keep believeing and have faith, and the light will shine bright.
Thanks Bryan!
Morgan, you hit it on the nose! Too many of us give up or allow circumstances to overwhelm us when all we need to do is keep moving forward in faith until we reach the other side. It does, sometimes, take a lot of tenacity and fortitude, but the reward is so great just realizing that we made it!
So true!
What a beautiful analogy, Morgan! I have had this happen in books before even as a reader, but I do try to push through as you just never know!
Thanks Stefanie!
If there was a like and share button here, I’d push it. Thank you for this post. Sometimes we think it’d be easier to give up. But you remind me that God is still on our side and with Him, giving up should never be an option. He sure hasn’t given up on us. Thanks again for your encouragement. ( I enjoyed your Word series, by the way)
Ah shucks, thanks Heather 😍
I got the exact same reaction from someone about a first draft I’m posting on fictionpress. I even told her, just for her, that the story was not going to stay dark, and that, in fact, there was going to be some major light on shadow beatdown before the end, but she wanted that didn’t go to the depths of the valley first.