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| Robin Lee Hatcher |
I have been writing novels for the past 34 years, and I have
been writing as my full-time job for the past 25 years. During those years, both
my personal and professional lives have experienced highs and lows, and I have
continued to write through them all.
But in 2005, I began a journey through grief and loss unlike
anything I’d experienced before. I was in a period of deep mourning for over a
year. The Bible tells us that God collects our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).
The bottle with my name on it must be very large because I shed buckets of
tears in those many months.
This was a wretched time for me as a writer as well. Trying
to be creative was difficult and sometimes impossible. But even with an
understanding publisher, deadlines still had to be met because the mortgage
still had to be paid. So I wrote whether I felt like it or not, and I trusted
God to take care of the words I put on paper.
While I couldn’t seem to focus on reading fiction during
that time (a difficult confession for a novelist), God placed in my hands three
stories of women who walked through dark times in their own lives and came out
on the other side: When I Lay My Isaac
Down by Carol Kent; Broken on the
Back Row by Sandi Patty; and In Every
Pew Sits a Broken Heart by Ruth Graham. These books touched my heart and
were definitely part of the healing process.
In the fall of 2006, I attended a Women of Faith event. Two
of the authors mentioned above—Carol Kent and Sandi Patty—were featured
speakers. I cannot point to anything in particular that was said or that
happened while I was there, but when I came home, the cloud had lifted. The
deep mourning was over, and I began to mend, to find my way in the “new normal”
of my life. I had personally experienced the truth of 2nd Corinthians 12:9
which says:
And He has said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most
gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power
of Christ may dwell in me.
(NASB)
Not only is His grace sufficient, but nothing a child of God
experiences is wasted in His economy. A number of years later, God took those
darkest days of my life and called me to write a novel that would take all of
the emotions I’d experienced and use them to encourage others. A Promise Kept became my work of praise
and thanksgiving to a God who answers prayers in unexpected times and ways.
None of us can know what dark waters we may be called to
pass through in our lives, but we can hold onto the promise that His grace is
and will always be sufficient. Amen.
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| About the Author |
Robin Lee Hatcher
is the best-selling author of over seventy-five books. Her well-drawn
characters and heartwarming stories of faith, courage, and love have earned her
both critical acclaim and the devotion of readers. She has been honored with
Lifetime Achievement Awards from both Romance Writers of American (2001) and
American Christian Fiction Writers (2014).
Robin is a 2015 RITA® Award finalist for her novella, Love Letter to the Editor. This is her
tenth RITA finalist nomination and two of her books have been RITA Award
winners. In April 2015, A Promise Kept
received the Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Inspirational Novel from RT Book
Reviews. Her numerous other awards include the Christy Award for Excellence in
Christian Fiction, Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards for Americana
Romance and for Inspirational Fiction, the Carol Award, and the 2011 Idahope
Writer of the Year Award.
Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the
beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching
romantic movies. She and her husband make their home on the outskirts of Boise.
To learn more, visit her website at
http://www.robinleehatcher.com
Whenever You Come
Around
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| Whenever You Come Around by Robin Lee Hatcher |
"Hatcher hits the reader’s Achilles’ heel right in the gut with her plot twists, showing us God’s ability to offer grace and forgiveness ... You will be sharing this book with your friends." RT Book Reviews TOP PICK
