The Inspiration Behind “Warmth From A Window”

New! Christian Fiction Online Magazine has e-published my short short story, “Warmth From A Window”.  It’s a devotional length, but follows a lonely woman’s inner journey to peace on a cold Christmas Eve morning.

The idea for “Warmth From A Window” came years—no— eons ago when I was a young woman sitting in the church where I grew up. Back then, some mumblemumble years ago, it was called Valley Vista United Methodist Church. Not a very assuming building, probably built in the ‘50s, it had stained glass windows along the side of the sanctuary in muted colors, not the vibrant blues, yellows, and reds you see in older churches. Still, they were beautiful.

I was sitting in the sanctuary one day, not long after I had received Jesus Christ as my Savior and still had that new-love glow about me, when the sun’s rays broke through a gray and lifeless day and began to shine on the south side of the building. At first, I soaked in the warmth, imagining God’s arms wrapped around me. But soon, the relentless sun began to cook that side of the building. I had walked into the sanctuary that morning grateful to escape the winter chill, but now I was wiping my brow, contemplating moving to the north side of the room, but not sure how to do it without being conspicuous.

I am not the woman in my short story. But as often happens with writers, I used a very real scene in my own life and imagined the what-if. What if a woman struggling with her knowledge of God had been sitting where I had been? What if the warmth she felt became something she could grasp onto? What if . . .?

I don’t want to tell too much. Please click here to read her story. I can say that God met us both that day. He planted the seed that eventually became “Warmth From A Window”, and He offers it to You now.

Have a Blessed Christmas, everyone.