Predicament Avenue became a predicament for me to be sure. A story that was originally so clear in my mind soon became a journey through the different facets of grief. A journey shrouded in the fear of death, the fear of grief in its aftermath, and the fear of choosing to live again. As the story evolved, each character drew from one element or another of this grief.
Effie feared death.
Anderson feared grief.
Norah feared living.
But Sebastian? What did he fear? He feared himself. The inadequacies of who he felt himself to be as a father, instead cheating himself of the greatest gifts God can bestow.
And then there’s Isabelle, or “Her” as we knew her through most of the story. A sinner. An evildoer. A woman easily manipulated, broken by the struggle between right and wrong.
Is grace given recklessly? No, it is not. It’s given through sacrifice, rooted in the preciousness of love and life. It’s given by surrendering to the One who laid down His life. It is a recognition that without the hope offered by the Savior who so willingly gives, who overcomes evil, we will live in fear. In the clutches of fear that suffocates and drains us.
No. Grace is costly. But it is ours. And in receiving it, we find our weakness infused with His strength. His hope. His future.
Live it.