We all deal with a variety of issues day by day. One of my cousins said,

 “It’s often easier to deal with the hero challenges than the sand-in-your-shoe ones.”

While recuperating from surgery, I’ve read several books that share different aspects of this truth.

A Hero in Faith

One of the most profound books I’ve read recently is, I Dared to Call Him Father, by Bilquis Sheikh. Bilquis is a lonely, abandoned grandmother, whose little grandson is the light in her life.

As Bilquis walks in her beautiful garden one night, she picks up a scent that leaves her distressed and fearful. She senses evil. The following day she again perceives a fragrance, this one fresh and lovely. Dreams follow, leading her to leave her wealthy home and go to a poor area of town where Christian missionaries live.

Her true story continues as the Master brings this woman, step by step, to know Him. A person of her faith would never dare to call Allah “Father.” But when Bilquis recalls her beloved father setting all his work aside, inviting her to his knee and asking, “What is it, child?” she begins to understand.

Her journey is fraught with danger and threats, but she cannot turn away from this Jesus. Challenging, insightful, evidence that God is not limited in how He reaches those He calls.

A Hero in the Dust Bowl

Another eye-opening book is The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah. This New York Times Bestseller opened my eyes to the pain, desperation, and desolation of the Dust Bowl.

Interestingly, the story begins in Dalhart, Texas, where my husband spent several years of his young life. It also speaks to how easily outsiders are blamed unfairly for economic inequities, and the violence surrounding migrants’ fight for fair pay.

This book is extremely well written and shows the grit and determination of Elsa, a woman who fights with everything in her to provide for and educate her children.

Sand-in-my-Shoe-Period

I’m in a sand-in-my-shoe period this week. Laid low with side effects of pain medication, I’ve been frustrated, in severe pain, and discouraged. But God has brought people to help, advise, and pray. Now I’m resting.

“It’s often easier to deal with the hero challenges than the sand-in-your-shoe ones.”

A Small Hero Moment

 I once ripped a big toenail as I walked from a boat to the beach in Mexico. I allowed a local doctor to pull the nail off completely, without a shot.

“I promise; I’ll be fast.” And he was.

But when he pulled the nail out, I stiffened and thought my abdomen would shoot up through the ceiling. The ‘sand-in-your-shoe’ moments came later, when I couldn’t shower, walk the beach, or step into the surf without a plastic bag affixed around my ankle.

What Season are You In?

I’d call Jesus revealing himself to Bilquis, and living through several years of the Dust Bowl, “hero” stories. Mine has been a painful ‘sand-in-your-shoe’ struggle. But in either case, our loving Father has promised to be with us. I’ve been encouraged by the examples and persistence of Bilquis and of the fictional Elsa.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

—James 1:2-4, NIV

Prayer:

Father God, you are good—all the time. Sometimes we can’t see it for the pain and struggle around or in us. But you have promised your presence, ALWAYS. I pray that our hero moments as well as our sand-in-the-shoe times will produce in us that perseverance and maturity you long to grow in us, for your sake. Thank you, in Jesus’ name.