The Stranger is my fourth novel full of monks and abbeys, Welsh mountains and landscapes. Yet again I have taken my inspiration not only from people and places of the past, but also from the story of God’s dealings in my own life.
DORE ABBEY
Not long after The Healing was written, my husband and I took a little detour, on the way home from a short holiday, to visit Dore Abbey.
It sits just over the border in English Herefordshire. I had heard about it, as being a fine example of Cistercian architecture. What we found when we got to Dore blew us away. There are ruins, of course, but there are also intact walls, with signs of the original Cistercian decoration – and a roof! Part of the original abbey is still used today as a place of worship. It was a beautiful space, and deeply moving to someone who spends quite a lot of time imagining how medieval monks lived!
GRACE DIEU
Contrast that with the remains of Grace Dieu, another abbey that we had called in to see on our trip. I say remains, but a short walk along a footpath led to a gap in the hedge with a marker pointing to an empty muddy field, with a river so narrow that it was little more than a stream. Nothing remained of Grace Dieu, because it never really succeeded as an abbey.
A story began to form in my mind, right then, about a Brother from Grace Dieu having to return to Dore Abbey (their Mother House), in some sort of disgrace or despair, and finding no comfort there. I chose to use Silas, because he had already appeared briefly in The Healing.
THE URGE TO RUN?
The story of The Stranger, like all of my stories, is inspired and informed by my own walk with God. Silas has known and loved and served God for many years, but when crushing disappointment, and a forced change of life circumstances come, he can’t make sense of it. Failure and fear lead to doubt and despair, and the overwhelming urge to run from all he has known and believed.
I can write about Brother Silas’ pain, doubt, and fear, because I have known those things. I have walked through seasons where I have felt abandoned by God, where failure and disappointment have caused perceived chasms of separation between us. I wrote this story for others like me who may have felt the urge to give up on their faith and turn away, whilst knowing, deep down, that there is nowhere else to go.
OUTRUN GOD?
Like Silas, I have found that it is impossible to outrun God’s love. How He choses to speak, how He choses to restore, might not look like I expect it to. But His kindness is without end. His mercy and grace freely on offer. I might never fully understand why suffering comes, why dreams are broken, why my best efforts seem to end in ruins. But what I do know is that God loves me, He wants the best for me, He is always good, and He can turn the worst of situations around in unexpected ways. He is a redeeming God, and with Him nothing is wasted.
Which is why perhaps I could write this book, and why perhaps it will bless others in the reading.
Published by Broad Place Publishing 22 November 2024