by  Martha Fuller

- on writing O, Sweet Master:

 

I had a vision/dream when awakening one morning.  I am not sure if I was fully awake or not.  I saw the boy Jonathan on the porch, tied to the rail, agonizing over what was happening inside his home.

 

The story is about his family who endure a life altering situation and must  learn to live with its far reaching effects.  Their individual struggles reflect how many of us would react as well. The main characters are a Scot, Rohan MacVoy, and his Jewish wife, Miryam, who have ventured west to homestead.  They have two sons, Jonathan and Joseph.  Joseph narrates parts of the story as he looks back in time.  Another central character is Dan, a man whose own past he would like to forget.

          

I have written about the need to ask for forgiveness, and to receive forgiveness, especially from our Creator - and to give it to others.  We all have made, or will in the future, make bad decisions – or we have let our lives get out of control.  We all need forgiveness. 

 

We all need the love of God and we need the Savior’s redeeming work to lead us to Him.  I believe the characters are real because I have based them on the people that I know and love.  They share common attributes of humor, courage, brokenness, and joy.

 

The timelessness of God’s message comes through a little easier in a setting which is less complicated by the trappings of today’s society.  I believe this makes the book more relevant.  The current trend of using abortion to get around an inconvenient pregnancy relates to the book deeply. 

 

I want readers to love Jesus and to rest in His way of working things out for His own purposes instead of clinging to their own rationalizing for the way they handle their hurts and anger. I have prayed with people for God’s healing from their deep emotional pain and have also experienced His hand of mercy and strength for myself as He has healed my wounds.