Dear poetry and Christ enthusiasts,
Today I present to you a discussion about poetry and Christ, rather than a poem about Christ itself. As many of you know, I’ve been working on my current project: an epic poem recounting Saint Brendan’s journey to find the lost Garden of Eden. This project has been so outside my realm of comfort I don’t even know where to begin!
It’s been years since I’ve written any fiction, and now I’m weaving a book-length story within the boundaries of heroic couplets following an iambic pentameter meter.
There have been many moments of doubt about this project. Is this doable? And if it is, is it worth it?
When I first started the project, I thought the rules of rhyme and meter would hinder the development of the story itself. Now that I’ve written a quarter of the first draft (8,000 words have never felt like a bigger feat!) I realize that the exact opposite is true. Sometimes I start writing a chapter thinking the story is going to go one way. Yet, as I start to rearrange words in their lines like puzzle pieces to fit their rhyme and meter, I can see the Holy Spirit moving those pieces for me. He’s showing me the way these pieces fit, and I follow; thus beauty unfolds.
Through this project, I’ve come to notice the spiritual life of meter and rhyme. The rules of meter and rhyme are like the rules of life God gives us: the Natural Law. It’s within these rules that we can find beauty within our lives. God gives us these rules because He wants to work through us and create goodness for us.
A campus minister once told me that God doesn’t want to fight our own will; He wants to work with us. Sometimes, however, we need be realistic about the different paths laid before us while being attentive toward the desires God places on our hearts.
I never planned to meet my future husband while on mission in Haiti, become a Navy wife, and travel the country while giving birth to future saints. I had other plans in college, but I let God guide my story and it turned out much more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
This project has been so life-giving, and while it has a long way to go, I enjoy seeing how the beauty unfolds. And I can’t wait for you to see it too.
As I mentioned a bit in my last newsletter, I’m currently in a hard season. My family is preparing for deployment, and it’s been a long year of tending to my kids in specific ways. We’re also preparing to move to a new city as soon as my husband returns home.
This has been a tough year from me, and one in which I have barely tried to sell my children’s book, Fools for Heaven. This is my last effort to sell some copies before the year ends and we move onto a more exciting season of life.
I would really love to sell some copies of the book and not lug around all of them in a moving truck, so please consider doing some Christmas shopping early this year!
MIAMI FRIENDS: If you reserve any number of copies to purchase between now and Black Friday, I will drive them down to Miami for pickup and charge only $15 per copy. This is the best deal I will ever offer- a lower sale price AND zero shipping fees!
EVERYONE ELSE: I’m offering a month-long 20% sale through my website between now and November 7th.
You can also find the book for sale with free shipping through Thy Olive Tree Market.
Thank you all for the support you have shown me so far; it means the world!
Through Christ,
Steph Petters
Praying for a smooth transition for you and your family, Stephanie.
Thanks for sharing about the opportunity to purchase Fools for Heaven. I look forward to reading it.