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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

3 Unexpected Lessons You’ll Love in Will Not See

by Chautona Havig · 2 Comments

The story held me captive as I wrote it. No, really. It happened with None So Blind, and it happened again with Will Not See.
But while I found myself relating to Ella in None So Blind, I couldn’t comprehend the kinds of discoveries the main character of Will Not See made about her life. Add to that a life so very different from mine, and of course, I’d be drawn to try to understand what Vikki went through.

3 Unexpected Lessons You'll Love in Will Not See

And as I did, three things stood out to me—3 unexpected lessons I loved learning as I wrote Will Not See.

1. We were designed for community.

I’ve never “met” anyone more alone than Vikki. Even Annie from HearthLand chose her lonely life. Vikki didn’t. She has no family to help her navigate these unfamiliar and uncomfortable waters.

And I just don’t think we were designed for that. We were designed for family—for community. Even David said that the Lord sets the solitary in families. God gives us community when we otherwise would have none. And that’s rather lovely.

Can you imagine it? No family, no friends, no church to help hold her up. There’s really nothing to make her want to keep going. But the Lord did that for her in my book. He set solitary Vikki in a family before she even knew Him.

Because you see, she doesn’t even have Jesus.

And that brought out a whole ‘nother thought that nearly shook me to the core. I couldn’t have planned this if I’d tried, but Ella forgot her husband, her parents, her children. Every relationship in her life—gone. Except for Jesus. Whoa. And that brings me to the second lesson I loved learning from it.

2. With Jesus, you get a fresh start.

He says we’re new creatures—old passed AWAY. But there’s a bit more… Hebrews 8 says:

For finding fault with them, He says,
“BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD,
WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT
WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH;

NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS
ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND
TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT;
FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT,
AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.

“FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,
AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS.
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,
AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

“AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN,
AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’
FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME,
FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.

“FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES,
AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

My favorite lines…

“I will remember their sins no more.” But isn’t that the one beauty in all of this horrible memory destruction? Though the Lord forgives—washes clean. We’re really good about getting historical with our sins. We pull them out of the grave the Lord buries them in and dust them off. We let them jab us, stab us, wound us deeply all over again as if Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t quite enough. We need to suffer just a bit more.

Ahem.

But these ladies don’t have that problem. THEY remember their own sins no more. How beautiful is that? Sure, they’ll blow it again. They’ll sin. But they have a week’s—a month’s—a year’s baggage to rebury each time instead of a lifetime’s.

3. Ignorance is not bliss—not always

As I wrote Ella’s story in None So Blind, I recall feeling a bit envious about not remembering my own faults—the idea that I could start over. You know, a new life Anne Shirley style—fresh with no mistakes in it.

But Ella didn’t have a seriously difficult life. She’d been a rather self-absorbed person, a flawed person. Aren’t we all?

Still, when I started writing Vikki’s story, I saw differences that made me so grateful I didn’t have her experience. Because you see, Vikki’s ignorance could have life-altering consequences. Add to that the terror that comes with knowing that you don’t know what you need to know (how convoluted is THAT?) and not having Jesus, I feel like I’d have given up on life.

Memories can hurt.

There’s no doubt about it. The mistakes, losses, failures, missed opportunities… the past can wound. And when I’ve seen people going through horrible pain due to the ugliness in their pasts, it makes sense that they could long for something to wipe it out.

But as I wrote Will Not See, I saw the other side of the loss coin. As I wrote None So Blind, I grew thankful that I hadn’t lost my memories because I wouldn’t want not to know my children—my husband. I wouldn’t want to forget friends and families.

Even if I’d had a difficult childhood, I wouldn’t want to forget ALL those memories. But that fresh start—yes. I envied it. If I could choose, I wouldn’t ask the Lord for a similar experience, no matter how much that fresh start tempted me. And it would.

Writing Will Not See did something entirely different, however. It showed me the danger that comes when you can’t remember what you shouldn’t even know. When you have no one who knows anything about you. When you wouldn’t even know how to find them if you tried.

They were unexpected lessons, and one of them was rather a hard one, but I loved them. They taught me so much.

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Filed Under: Lessons Learned Series, New Release

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Comments

  1. Lucinda says

    August 30, 2017 at 6:17 am

    Love this…have to admit, I couldn’t fathom “Will Not See” being as good as “None So Blind” and am really happy to be WRONG! I want to re-read both back to back, taking special notice of the lessons you’ve mentioned. Raising my hand at being guilty of digging up sins Jesus has buried and forgotten…

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      August 30, 2017 at 6:13 pm

      Alas, me, tooo!

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

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Episode 448: A Chat with Nancy Naigle
byChautona Havig

 I fell in love with Nancy’s writing with The Shell Collector. Imagine my joy when I discovered she has a SEQUEL! Eeep! Listen in and discover which characters you’ll find in To Light the Way Forward and what’s coming next for one of America’s favorite authors!

note: links may be affiliate links that provide me with a small commission at no extra expense to you.

It’s been three years since Nancy and I had a chance to talk, and in that time, she’s been BUSY.  So in addition to falling in love with her character, Tug, and wanting to give him his own story, she’s written a small-town duet (and maybe we talked her into a third?) as well as a romcom duo!  Think we can talk her into a third of that series as well?  Because… SPOILER ALERT… we’re getting a third Shell Collector Series book, too! EEEP!

To Light the Way Forward by Nancy Naigle

A novel of overcoming deep loss, taking risks, and learning that life—and love—often surprises you when you least expect it, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Shell Collector. “Bringing to life characters you can’t help but fall in love with, Nancy Naigle goes straight to the heart with this story of tragedy turned to triumph. A poignant reminder to never give up hope.”—Sheila Roberts, author of The Best Life Book Club Feeling adrift after the loss of her husband, Rosemary sets out to visit an old friend on Whelk’s Island, undeterred by the threat of a hurricane. Before the storm hits, she finds herself at Tug’s Diner where she quickly connects with the owner, Tug. But the storm destroys the diner, compounding Tug’s grief from losing his love the previous year. The longer Rosemary stays, the more she sees Tug’s deep sadness and resolves to help him. Together with Tug and friends Amanda and Paul, they all pitch in to help the close-knit community recover and rebuild. As Amanda and Paul reconnect after losing touch during the storm, their plans to take things slow seem increasingly impractical. While Rosemary and Tug help the young couple navigate their relationship, they also find themselves building a friendship that begins to restore them both. But can that friendship convince them that love is possible for anyone who’s willing to take a risk—even those who never hoped they’d find it again?

Learn more about Nancy on her WEBSITEand follow her on GoodReads and BookBub.

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