Monday, April 17, 2017

Wind Sentinel


When we placed my mom, who has Alzheimer's, into nursing home care in August of 2016, I grieved. To make matters worse, Mom's new home is in the middle of a wind farm, and this was difficult for me because since childhood I have had a fear of large, manmade objects. From base to the tip of an outstretched wing, these turbines stretch 500 feet into the sky. 

I was praying about this one day as I drove to the nursing home, and a thought came into my mind:  "Think of them as sentinels."  Just this one idea changed the way I felt about those huge machines. The turbines no longer seemed threatening, but benevolent; like guardian angels keeping watch over my mother. My acceptance of the wind turbines was mirrored in a gradually increasing ability to see God's wisdom and provision at work as He helped me release my mom into the care of others.  

On my drives to visit Mom, a story idea began to form in my mind about an angel who inhabits the tower of a wind turbine, keeping watch over the people below. I began taking back roads on my daily trips to the nursing home in order to drive closer to the turbines, eventually gaining courage to stop my car and stand behind the gate to an access road only about two hundred feet from one of the huge machines. Over a period of months, I took the photos at the beginning of this post, and many more. 

In early March, as I finished writing the novella length ebook, Wind Sentinel, the horrific wildfires had begun burning through Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas. A story about a wildfire became interwoven into Wind Sentinel, and when I completed the story I knew I wanted to use it to donate to farmers and ranchers who suffered such heartbreaking loss in Clark County near Ashland, Kansas.

100% of my first days’ proceeds (including preorders) from Wind Sentinel will go to the Ashland Community Wildfire Relief Fund.  Order your copy now for just $3.99, and share this information with anyone who enjoys reading with the Kindle app. The book will be delivered to your Kindle device April 21.    

The Lord can bring beauty from ashes. I’ve seen this during my 13 year and counting Alzheimer’s journey with my mom. Whenever life delivers blows we might not think we can survive, we can look for the Lord’s provision. He always comes through for us.  Blessed be His Name! 

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To make individual contributions:
Go to Ashlandcf.com or
Bring checks to Stockgrowers State Bank or
Mail to: Ashland Community Foundation/Wildfire Relief Fund
P.O. Box 276
Ashland, KS 67831
Please note: Wildfire Relief Fund in the memo line

A touching video that describes the losses endured from the wildfires of 2017 along with accounts of heartwarming relief efforts can be found here:

If you would like to donate to help others who faced devastating losses from the 2017 fires, go to http://www.beefusa.org/ and follow the fire relief resources link.

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1 comment:

  1. Oh interesting...I am no fan of those things at all. Had not realized that there was so much devastation in Oklahoma and Kansas.

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