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Chautona Havig

Chautona Havig

Using story to connect YOU to the Master Storyteller

Last Words in the Last 5 Minutes of Life:

by Chautona Havig · 2 Comments

You’re dying.  No, really.  You are.  We all are. But what if you were dying… now? What if you only had five minutes to convey your last message to those you love most?

Just a “time out” before death to write the one message that fills your soul.

This was an exercise at last year’s retreat. Sitting in the warm, cozy living room of The Barn nestled in the mountains of Appalachia, this wonderful Christian retreat center has become my happy place.  I look forward to returning almost before I leave. Once a year—I pray I always get to come.

So with low lights, curled in the corner of the couch and laptop open, I waited for the instructions. Writing it came easy. I knew exactly what I wanted to say.  The words flowed from the moment our leader issued the challenge.

Around me, pens scratched, laptop keys clicked, pages rustled. Each person had something to say.  But then it happened.

 I broke down and bawled. 

Couldn’t read my own words because they tore at my heart.  Those I want to hear these words the most may never read them, but I’ll keep praying… keep loving… keep trusting that Jesus can carry the burden because it breaks me when I try.

I suspect we all have something like that—something we ache to say to someone. Something that burns in our hearts and our souls.  I’d prayed about these things for months—a year or more.  But somehow writing them and seeing those words on the “page” drove home the near-desperation I felt in sharing them.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the time has come for them to be received.  But that time, I trust, will come. Eventually.

In the meantime, I leave them here for two reasons.

  1. Because if I am wrong, if it is the right time, I know the Lord can and will direct those who need to see them to them.
  2. I can’t be the only one who has something burning in her heart. I leave them here as transparent vulnerability—as an encouragement. Write it out.  Even if you never send it, even if it’s rejected, share with someone.  The prayers and support of those who love you do beautiful things when the Lord holds them in His hands.

Last Words in the Last 5 Minutes of Life: five minutes

So what did I write? 

Here it is.  Unedited.  Just as I “penned” them that cold, autumn evening with a room full of godly, supportive writers sharing their “five minutes of encouragement.”

If you do nothing else, seek Jesus.  All the education, all the travel, all the family-ness is only window dressing to the real world out there—Jesus. Know Him.  [clickToTweet tweet=”Grasp His words in the Word and make them so much a part of yourself that you can’t possibly be divorced from them.” quote=”Grasp His words in the Word and make them so much a part of yourself that you can’t possibly be divorced from them.”] Your grades can fall. Borders can close in an instant. Family, wonderful and beautiful as it is, can’t save you. But with Jesus there is true life.

And know you were loved—are loved. More than I ever knew how to show or express.

I believe this is true of everyone. 

Someone out there loves you—cares about you.  Someone out there is aching to see you fully embrace the Lord and only Him. Even if that someone is only me.

Because you know, I do—care, that is. I’m not good with the emotional stuff, I fail in my attempts to support, and I’ll probably hurt your feelings at some point.  Alas, I have a particular talent for that.  Why do we always get the talents no one, including ourselves, wants?

But it’s true.  As I said on my bio page:

It means I care–about you. About your walk with Jesus. I care about the words you put before your eyes, the mental pictures those words conjure. It’s difficult to express just how much I love my brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s difficult to share just how much I love you.”

And I mean every word of it.  I care.

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Comments

  1. flocat says

    January 29, 2018 at 7:04 am

    You put a lump in my throat. Only an author could put into words the things I truly feel as succinctly as you did. I’d take 50,000 words to say it and the reader would fade away before they got the grasp of it.

    Reply
    • Chautona Havig says

      January 29, 2018 at 2:26 pm

      Aw, thanks. I think that sense of urgency that they created at the retreat helped that a lot.

      Reply

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The Because Fiction Podcast

The Because Fiction Podcast
The Because Fiction Podcast

Taking the pulse of Christian fiction

Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
byChautona Havig

I had a chat with actor and author Henry O. Arnold a while back, and boy did we have a lot of fun. His Song of Prophets and Kings series features the advent of Israel’s kings from Samuel’s birth through David hiding from Saul (so far) and onward. Listen in as we chat about his most recent release, The Singer of Israel.

 

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

What Made David Such a Man after God’s Heart?

I think this series will show us. I love that Henry O. Arnold started back at Samuel’s story to prepare us for the story of arguably the most influential king of Israel. Yes, Solomon was the wisest and richest, but David offered something that Solomon didn’t have. He was an average guy—a shepherd, no less—chosen by God to lead his country.

In a sense, it’s kind of the ancient Jewish version of a poor, everyday guy growing up to become President of the United States. If you know what I mean.

This five-book series is available as an eBook, in print, and as an audiobook, too! Henry read a snippet of it to us, and boy you get a feel for his love of Scripture and God’s people as he reads.

And if that wasn’t enough, he even gave us a hint of his upcoming Christian suspense/thriller “series. He says he has two books planned for sure, so… at least a duology, but maybe we can talk him into a trilogy at least? Get those odd numbers and everything?

The Singer of Israel by Henry O. Arnold

A singer’s voice inspires a troubled nation…A shepherd’s courage vanquishes a giant

The last official act of the prophet of Yahweh was to secretly anoint a replacement for the king of Israel who has been brought low by an unbalanced mind. The great prophet of Israel lives in fear of the wrath of the king. Then out of the hills of Bethlehem emerges the last-born son of a family of shepherds to become the unforeseen hero of Israel.

When David sings of the glory of Yahweh, this shepherd wins the hearts of the royal family and restores King Saul’s troubled mind. But when the singer/shepherd defeats the champion of the Philistines in single combat, David becomes forever known as “the giant slayer.” Saul quickly sees that David is now a threat to his kingdom and secretly plots to have him killed.

David may be the champion of the people of Israel, but he must live under the constant threat of Saul’s wrath until he is finally forced to flee for his life.

The Singer of Israel is a tale of triumph and tribulation, deepest love, and burning rivalries; the new epoch is given a voice…and it is The Song of Prophets and Kings.

You can learn more about Henry on this WEBSITE.

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Episode 215: A Chat with Henry O. Arnold
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