I thought, this week, instead of a typical blog post, I would post a small excerpt from the first novel I wrote and had published, “The Four Corners.” I’m currently writing the sequel, “The Four Corners of Darkness,” so my head is in that space right now. The following is approximately the first page of a chapter entitled “A World Aware” and it occurs almost half way through the book. My hope with this post is that it can spark some conversation. I’ll paste, below the excerpt, links to where you can find me on various social media platforms. I’d love to know what kind of thoughts this excerpt generates about both the scientific and spiritual implications.
Without further adieux:
Like a plant, every person begins as a seed. Each seed contains the genetic make-up, passed on through the generations of family members in the lineage of the father who produced that seed.
It is then placed in the mother’s womb where it adds the genetic make-up from her lineage. The mother of all plants is the earth itself and, therefore, that womb is the soil the earth provides. For people, the womb is inside the mother’s abdomen.
Both wombs provide protection from the outside environment so that the seed can grow and start the process of becoming what it was created to be. Inside both wombs, the seed is provided with the nourishment required to mature into the plant or person it needs to become before it is ready to enter the outside world.
However, once the plant or person has entered that world, it is not meant to be detached from its mother just yet. The plant still has its roots embedded in the womb it came from and the person, while not physically, still does as well.
Both continue receiving nourishment from their mother. The plant still gets it directly from its mother’s womb. The person, however, can then be fed by either parent. Or, even another person.
In the outside world, the protection of the mother’s womb has significantly decreased. Both plants and people are still growing into what they were created to be but that growth is determined by additional factors. Not the least of which, physically for the plant and spiritually for the person, is how much exposure they have to both the light and the dark.
Excerpt from “The Four Corners” used with permission from Electric Quill Press, LLC.
Find C.S. Elston on: Twitter – @cselston; Facebook – facebook.com/cselston; LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/cselston
I don’t often quote or promote celebrities but, 
“Doesn’t matter what it is, earn it. A good deed . . . reach out to someone in pain, be of service. It feels good and it’s good for the soul.”
You have a soul. Treat it well. Two of the best ways to do that are communicating with God through prayer and treating others well.
A thought that I had never had until recently, and now suddenly can’t let go of, is the idea of summer as a Sabbath season. The two are already similar in the sense that they are meant for rest. Not necessarily rest in the sense of lying down and taking a nap but, rest in the sense of relaxation, connection and renewal.
When I think about the Sabbath, which I celebrate on Sundays, I think about church and spending time with family. God rested on the seventh day and so should we. But, what if we took this summer and treated it like an extended Sabbath? Obviously, most of us can’t get out of going to work. That’s out of the question. But, we can intentionally slow down. We can strive to make it a season of connecting with family and friends, growing closer to the Lord, and recharging our proverbial batteries.
The old adage that “time is money” is dead wrong. Sure, they have things in common. For example, they can be spent both wisely and foolishly. They can be used selfishly or to serve others. And, in both cases, some of us have more than other people.