@bethvogt
The Best We’ve Been, the third book in my Thatcher Sisters series, is a story about what happens when you lose control of your life.
The book releases today, during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. A time when it seems as if each one of us — no matter where we live, no matter our occupation or vocation, or where we are on our faith journey, or our cultural background — is struggling to maintain control of our lives.
We want to find some sense of the way things were before the terms “COVID-19” and “shelter-in-place” and “social distancing” became part of our day-to-day conversations.
Life before all this? It’s getting lost in the midst of schooling our children at home and “Zooming” to connect with co-workers and friends and family and wearing masks while we shop for groceries and deciding if today is the day we’re up to listening to the news, much less trying to decipher it.
We hear people say there’s a new normal coming as certain states start opening back up — there’s another new phrase for you — but we don’t know when normalcy will arrive, much less what it will demand of us.
Losing control of our lives is hard. Life before COVID-19 wasn’t perfect. We woke up to daily disappointments and challenges. But for the most part, we knew what to expect. Our personal battles? Familiar. The global battles? Familiar.
In The Best We’ve Been, my heroine, Johanna, has always relied on herself. She managed her life and survived any disappointments on her own. But when she realizes all the what’s-happening-here circumstances have spun out of her control, Johanna must decide who to trust. And trust is a frightening choice when you’ve been a loner most of your life.
Choosing to trust is an act of surrendering control too, isn’t it? We’re risking our heart with someone else by confiding in them. Relying on them. Hoping they will be there for us when we need them.
Trust is scary, but it’s the only way to have a worthwhile relationship with someone else. A real relationship. And now, more than ever, we need to choose to trust one another.
Being Brave Enough to Choose to Trust https://bit.ly/35jMsGJ #COVID19 #courage Click To Tweet 'The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.' Quote by ErnestHemingway https://bit.ly/35jMsGJ #relationships #trust Click To Tweet***
I’m celebrating the release of The Best We’ve Been with a giveaway. You could win the Grand Prize, which includes a one-of-a-kind book wreath and a custom designed trust bracelet. Two winners will receive an e-book collection of the Thatcher Sisters Series.
Comments 24
Trust none, said the honoured Bard,
who knew that which it takes;
sworn oaths would just turn and run,
mens’ faiths are wafer-cakes,
and hold-fast is the only dog,
my duck, so, darling, cleave to that
within the deathly battle-fog,
for you are where it’s at.
I loathe the pessimistic tone
but find within a truth,
for I have often fought alone,
and loneliness is proof
that in isolation’s lack
it’s only God who has your back.
The Shakespearean tag is from Act 2 Scene 3 of Henry V:
Trust none;
For oaths are straws, men’s faiths are wafer-cakes, And hold-fast is the only dog, my duck.
Author
Andrew: It’s true what you say: there are times we fight alone. You know that in a way many of us never will. But I believe God is a relationship-orientated God. And our desire for relationships with others? It’s a reflection of God’s image within us … and we are made in His image. So we trust in one another, and yes, we’re not perfect. But we do need one another.
Beth, I do agree, that we were made for relationship. I’ve seen a lot of people who I thought friends fall away lately, and I realize that this coin has an obverse; I’ve fallen away, myself, from those who likely considered me a friend. So the sonnet’s both lens, and an uncomfortable mirror.
I guess that what goes around comes around, and that I have no right to be resentful. I wish I had done better.
Author
Andrew: You’ve persevered. You’ve been courageous in the face of unrelenting pain. You’ve not forgotten “the least of them.” I count you a friend, and I always will.
Many years ago someone told me that only God can be fully trusted. She was right, over and over again. So I trust God. Happy birthday, Klotz.
Author
You’ve given me quite a birthday gift, O’Dea. 🙂 And yes, only God can be fully trusted. But he made us for relationship with others … and it’s worth the risk.
No, it’s not.
Wishing you a very happy birthday and an especially happy book release day from beginning to end. May your year only get better and better from today on until a year from now, looking back in the rearview mirror, there is no comparison to the challenges and landscape we are experiencing now. Proud of you, Beth. Hearty Congratulations! Sending you bouquets and ice cream cones if I could.
Author
Thank you for the double birthday wishes, Dee! I love to count blessings on my birthday, and they can be found even in the midst of times like this one. Other people help me be brave — and you are one of those people!
I trust, until the reason not to is revealed/proven. For that reason, I trust in God sweet friend. His word is truth. He is truth. He has never failed us, led us astray, or broken a single promise He’s made to us. #TrustGod Thank you for this reminder; and God’s blessings on your latest book.
Author
J.D., God is trustworthy, unfailingly so. And yes, people — you and I included — aren’t completely trustworthy — even though we want to be in our relationships with others. Trust is so valuable. Both sturdy and yet fragile …
Wishing you both a Happy Birthday and a Happy Book Release Day. And I understand your thoughts about releasing during the pandemic since my book releases today as well. But I learned long ago that I’m not in charge of book sales. God is.
I do all I can to promote my books, but I don’t worry about the outcome, because I can’t change it. Blessing to you today, my friend!
Author
Happy Book Birthday, my friend! Celebrating you. My prayer is that God will accomplish what concerns me … my hope and confidence is in Him. And I know the same is true for you.
Happy Birthday to YOU and your BOOK! What a great day, indeed! I love your posts and how they make me think and bring such hope to my heart. Relationships are hard and trust is even harder, but God is good and faithful no matter how others may let me down. Goodness knows I’ve let others down. I’m so glad there is grace!
Author
Thank you, Sherrinda! Like you, I’m thankful for grace. God’s lavish grace, and the grace offered me by family and friends.
Happy Book Release!
Author
Thank you, Denise! It’s been grand!
Ahh, Beth. Trust and surrender do go hand in hand. And relationships, whether with others or with God, only grow deeper if we choose to trust. And, as others have said, only God is completely trustworthy.
I LOVED Johanna’s story, and I’m so happy it’s been launched into the world.
Author
Thank you for your insights, Jeanne, and thank you, too, for your encouraging words about Johanna’s story.
Happy birthday to you and The Best We’ve Been! And Happy Mother’s Day to me…waiting for Amazon to deliver my copy. 🙂 Trust…it’s a funny thing in our home. I trust too much and my husband trusts no one. He recently retired from 32 years in law enforcement, so it’s a career side effect. It’s rather entertaining watching him make a new friend, seeing how he lowers the wall in increments. 🙂 Be blessed, Beth!
Author
Thank you for the birthday wishes, Karen. And yes, you definitely have extremes in the area of trust. My father was in law enforcement, too, for 25 years, so I understand about your husband.
You are a new author to me! Your book titles sound intriguing…..
Author
Hi, Gay: I always love connecting with new readers. And book titles are so important, aren’t they? A lot of time and effort — mulling — goe into each one. I toss ideas around with my family (a creative bunch of people) and my editors.