My guest this week is Carole Towriss. Carole grew up in beautiful San Diego, California. Now she and her husband live just north of Washington, DC. In between making tacos and telling her four children to pick up their shoes for the third time, she reads, writes, watches chick flicks and waits for summertime to return to the beach. Her first novel, In the Shadow of Sinai, released November 1. You can find her at www.CaroleTowriss.com.
I was raised by a devout mother in a rather chaotic home. Although my father was an alcoholic, and evenings were often unpredictable, she always made time to sit with us at bedtime and read us a story and say our prayers with us. I knew Jesus loved me—and the world—as sure as the sun came up every morning. I had no idea this was not an idea shared by everyone.
I remember very clearly the day this belief was shattered. I grew up in southern San Diego, two miles from the beach and two miles from the border. Most of my classmates were Mexican-American. (I was in fact outnumbered about nine to one.) They were of course Catholic, at least nominally, so I had always thought they shared my beliefs. They wore crucifixes and talked about saints and feast days and mass and confession. Then in about seventh grade, on the blacktop one day at midmorning break, someone said or did something—now so many years later I can’t recall what—but I remember that action made me realize that not everyone knew Jesus loved and died for them. I was utterly shocked. Stunned. Saddened. That thought had truly never entered my mind. I think I even thought about becoming a missionary. At least for a few years.
I don’t have a dramatic coming-to-faith story. I wasn’t saved from drugs or crime or poverty. And for that I am immensely grateful. I am grateful for a mother who taught me from the cradle that Jesus loved me. And for her mother whose faith also inspired me. She was a woman who lost her husband when her girls were seven and eight years old, and took a job and took in boarders in a tiny town in Wisconsin to make ends meet. She never questioned God’s plans; she just kept going, trusting Him to care for her. And He did. I praise God for that kind of faith, and for the legacy those women have left me. I pray I can pass it on to my kids.
Besides her website listed above, you can connect with Carole here:
https://www.facebook.com/NovelistCaroleTowriss
https://twitter.com/CaroleTowriss
http://pinterest.com/ctowriss/
Look for Carole’s new novel, By the Waters of Kadesh
Kamose, once Egypt’s most trusted soldier, no longer has a country to serve or king to protect. Moses insists God has a plan for him, but Kamose is not so sure. Tirzah’s cruel husband died shortly after they left Egypt. She escaped his brutality, but now she’s alone, and once they reach their new land, how will she survive? Gaddiel, Tirzah’s brother-in-law, is chosen as one of the twelve spies sent to scout out Canaan. He’s supposed to go in, get information and come back, but all he really wants is to bring down Joshua.
Buy it at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or Deward Publishing.
