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providence_h12055_680Today Wednesday Writers welcomes Barbara M. Britton, author of the Biblical Fiction Tribes of Israel series which begins in October. She’ll be talking about the origins of Providence: Hannah’s Journey. Be sure to read the whole blog so you don’t miss her book trailer and excerpt. And now, I’ll hand it over to Barbara.

Thanks, Catherine.

While I was teaching chapel to elementary school students on the subject of young people in the Bible who did great things, I came upon the servant girl in the story of Naaman (II Kings 5). We don’t know much about this brave girl. She doesn’t even have a name. But we do know this girl came from Israel, knew of the prophet, and was captured by a band of enemy raiders. She is so confident in the work of the prophet that she tells an enemy army commander’s wife to send her leprous husband to Israel to be healed. Wait? Aren’t these the raiders that captured her? Yet God uses the words of a foreign servant girl to set into motion the spread of His kingdom.

I hated to leave this girl in captivity. The Bible never tells us if her wisdom won her freedom. So I decided to use one of God’s plot lines and write my own story. The servant girl gets a name—Hannah. She is captured because she leaves her home in search of the prophet. And she relates to Naaman because she has her own deformities in need of a healing touch. And of course, there’s a romantic thread throughout the novel. Hannah finds an honorable man, Gilead, to help her on her journey.

“God is in control even in the chaos of life” is the theme for my novel. Little did I know that as I went over the galley for “Providence: Hannah’s Journey” I would battle the chaos of breast cancer. God is always faithful. He was faithful to me during my cancer journey and you will find, despite all the conflict that Hannah endures, God has everything under control in her story too.

Excerpt from Providence: Hannah’s Journey

 

Hannah bit her lip to keep from weeping. She was a fool to think her plans would be fruitful. God had cursed her. Her own people shunned her. Even Gil’s mother refused her.

“Daughter.” Gil’s mother brushed her hand against Hannah’s cheek. “My son is a good man. If you have need of him, he will find you.”

“But how—”

A man bellowed from within the house.

“Shhh.” The woman’s eyes widened. “I must go.”

“May I leave word?” The door closed before Hannah’s request could enter. Hannah wondered if a life with Azor would be filled with such worry. Not ever speaking of her past or of her curses.

Turning the corner into Gil’s alcove, she collapsed beside the barrel where she had taken refuge before. “Come to me Gil,” she breathed. “Did you not speak of hope and mercy?” Her chest constricted as if the bronze hoops of the barrel had bound her ribs.

Her head snapped up on occasion when men’s voices neared the sheet. But Gil’s boisterous laugh never came. Her prayer had fallen on deaf ears. Again.

 

About the Author

britt-068aBarbara M. Britton lives in Wisconsin and loves the snow—when it accumulates under three inches. She writes Christian Fiction for teens and adults. Barb has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Barb kicks off her Tribes of Israel series in October with the release of “Providence: Hannah’s Journey.”

Connect with Barbara at: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads,

Buy her book at: Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Pelican Book Group

 

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