Comment for a chance to win a copy of Stranded
By Stephanie Prichard
“Where
are all the kangaroos?” I peered out the car window at the Australian
countryside north of Geelong. The land looked no different than what I’d left
in the United States—acres and acres of gently rolling farmland. Except … shouldn’t
there be kangaroos hopping across the road … echidna as road kill … maybe an
emu strolling among the sheep?
“Kangaroos
don’t run wild in farmland, Mom. I’ll take you to see some tomorrow.”
Ahead
of us, a car in the wrong lane aimed itself straight at us.
Three
weeks later, the kangaroos, echidnas, emus, and I had everything straightened
out. I returned home in love with the land of Down Under, its people, and its amazing
creatures. Everything except driving on the wrong side of the road.
Had
the first settlers in the New World felt a similar awe at the strange land they
set their feet on? We join them at Thanksgiving in expressing gratitude for a
land of liberty and opportunity, a land in which we are free to worship God and
live to please Him.
We
even figured it out about driving on the right side of the road—but it’s still
the wrong side. Wrong because spiritually, ever since Adam and Eve, the world
has been driving away from God, not toward Him. Our greatest gratitude as
Christians is for a Savior who became The Road, the way back for us to God.
And
it only gets better. The Road takes us to a perfect land—Heaven, where there
will be no more sin, no more tears, no more death, but God Himself dwelling
with His people. Can it be any better than that? God with us, in person!
And,
hey, since “creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21), who
knows what fauna and flora we will encounter? Think of all the plants and
animals that have become extinct. What a wonder that will be to see them! After
my trip to Australia, I’m hankering to see a Tasmanian devil!
Thanksgiving—it’s
our feast from the day of our salvation to the day of our arrival in eternity
with God. How are you doing? Are you chowing down with an attitude of
gratitude?
MEET STEPHANIE:
Stephanie is an army brat who lived in many countries
around the world and loved it. She met her husband at Drake University in Des
Moines, Iowa, where she majored in English/Literature. She and Don have lived in
Indianapolis, IN, for forty years, and in retirement have turned to co-authoring
novels now that their three children are busy raising a beautiful crop of
grandchildren for them.
Back cover summary of STRANDED
:
All Marine Corps
reservist Jake Chalmers wants is to give his dying wife a last, romantic cruise
to the Philippines. Unable to save her in a mass murder aboard ship, he washes
ashore a jungle island, where he discovers three other survivors. Heartbroken
that he failed to save his wife, he is determined not to fail these helpless
castaways.
Federal prosecutor Eve Eriksson rescues a young girl and
her elderly great-aunt from the same ship. They badly need Jake's survival
skills, but why is he so maddeningly careful? She needs to hurry home to nail a
significant career trial. And, please, before Jake learns her secret that she's
responsible for his wife's death.
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