The idea for the title for this book came to me by accident. Walk Slowly Through the Dark seemed to fit the story well. While most of us don't have to navigate life in the perils of the characters of this book, sometimes it feels like we are in the dark bumping into furniture on our way to the refrigerator for a midnight snack. Our big toe seems to always find that one leg of that one chair that isn't supposed to be there.

Back to how this title occurred to me. My granddaughter, Sierra, and her brothers, Devon and Zach, were in Texas with us for an extended visit one summer years ago. We were visiting my sister, Geraldine, at her home with her husband, Bob, and son, Paul. Paul had asked the boys to run a short errand for him. They had to cross the quiet street to a small store to get something for him. When they returned, he paid them a dollar each.

Upon seeing this, Sierra wanted to get in on the money train she saw before her. She hurriedly produced a glass of water for Cousin Paul. He took it and she held out her hand for payment. Now, Cousin Paul has always been one to tease...just a bit. So he asked her what she wanted. She told him something about being rewarded for bringing him water. He told her some quote about walking slowly through the dark. She was pretty young at the time. I'm thinking around 6 years old. So she took the glass of water, went back to the sink, and proceeded to walk very slowly back to him. If memory serves, he gave her a quarter. She shrugged because it was better than nothing.

Days after this occurred and I was finishing the first draft of this book, I was contemplating what the title should be. That phrase came to mind and it fit perfectly with the struggles of almost every character in the story. It is still one of my favorite titles. I believe it is also a very good story. I hope you agree.

Today. 1/25/2020, the Kindle version is free through Amazon. The easiest way to find it is to log in to Amazon and do a search for Elaine Littau. All of my books (plus a few titles by other authors) will pop up. You will see  the cover of Walk Slowly Through the Dark. Click on it and it will take you to the book page. Then you click on purchase the Kindle version and you are done.

Thank you for reading my musings today.

My Crown

When I was a little girl the television show called “Queen for a Day” was big. Mama and I watched it every day. The contestants, if memory serves, told about their needs. The lady with the most pathetic story won the prize.

They gave her kitchen appliances and things like that. I couldn’t care less about those as a three or four year old. The object I focused on was THE CROWN! I didn’t even care that much about the robe they put on her. The crown was the big deal for me.

Mama and I also watched the Miss America pageant. (Daddy was usually at work and wouldn’t have wanted to watch anyway.) That crown was a prize I coveted, but I didn’t want to have to wear a swimsuit to get it. Besides, I knew that even though any of my sisters would have been pretty enough to win it, I wouldn’t measure up to their beauty.

I found myself longing for that crown. At that time I told Mama I wanted a “prown”. I really started out young with this desire. I must have talked about it non-stop. I wondered if I ever would obtain a crown of my own.

One day, an opportunity presented itself. A wonderful woman known to me as Sister Little came to our church and held a children’s crusade. At the front of the church, on the back of the platform, were two ornate chairs. Each chair bore a crown.

She informed us that one crown was for a boy and one was for a girl. The way to earn the crown was to memorize the Bible verses she gave to us. THIS WAS MY CHANCE!

Mama helped me all during the days of the crusade to learn a verse. I knew I had won the crown. On the last day each of us stood before Sister Little and said our verse. Most of the children my age crashed and burned.

Finally, it was my turn. I proudly said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” She smiled and told me I did a great job. The next kid said, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning…”

Wait! I thought.  There is more? How did I not know this? The last child recited more than anyone. She won the crown! I was crestfallen. The second place child was given a princess crown.

When I got home I cried real tears. Jim, my brother who was in high school and was the only sibling still living at home, must have felt sorry for me. He went to the corner drug store and purchased the crown pictured above for me.

My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw the beautiful prize. I couldn’t believe that this teenager, who considered me a pest, loved me enough to give me the desire of my heart. I never looked at him the same again.

I wore it almost every waking moment. When I was in fourth grade the teacher assigned me the part of Queen Isabella in the school play. I was ready with my crown. Mama sewed a red taffeta gown for me to wear to complete the look. I had finally become a real queen.

I learned that those who love the Lord will receive a crown when they get to heaven. Now, I KNEW that would be the ultimate crown. Through my growing up years I kept that prize in mind. Of course I wanted to be with Jesus and I thought the crown He would give to me would be so sweet to have.

It might have been silly, but this thought was in the back of my mind even when I was eighteen and going to Bible College. Our choir travelled and sang in many towns. We had several quartets and trios that also performed. One quartet sang a song that struck me between my eyes. They sang, “We’ll cast our crowns at His nailed scared feet. Our joy complete in His presence sweet. Eternity’s greatest privilege will be casting our crowns at His feet.”

Somehow I had never read the Scripture this referenced. The crown had been my goal in life. It may seem silly, but I am being honest. At first I wasn’t sure I wanted to give my crown to the Lord.

As I held tightly to this future crown, I thought of my Friend, my Savior, The One Who loves me. How could I hold on to something like that when all glory and honor and praise belong to Him?

If giving this prize to Him brings Him any representation of my gratitude to Him, I gladly lay it at His feet. I think of the words of a hymn we sang when I was young: “Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face. There to sing forever of His saving grace…” Even a perfect crown, created by Him, is not as precious as Jesus.

 

 

The New Blog

When I was a new author in 2006, I learned a little about blogs and decided to publish one. The name of the first blog is nansjourney.blogspot.com . At the time I didn't realize I would write more than one book. I tried to get traffic for my subsequent books on there, but learned that most people remember author names easier than they do all the titles that author writes.

I never thought about that. Now I see the truth in that. At this writing, I am writing book ten realize that readers who enjoy my books might want to do a search for my name and find all the titles and updates. I have a website elainelittau.com , so this is a logical sister to it.

Welcome to my blog. I would enjoy reading your comments and seeing how this turns out.