{"id":3617,"date":"2019-06-27T14:05:59","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T14:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crazy4fiction.com\/?p=3617"},"modified":"2021-09-28T20:46:18","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T20:46:18","slug":"cultivating-contentment-author-pam-hillman-on-change-and-contentment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.tyndale.com\/crazy4fiction\/cultivating-contentment-author-pam-hillman-on-change-and-contentment\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultivating Contentment: Author Pam Hillman on Change and Contentment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In The Crossing at Cypress Creek<\/em> <\/a>by Pam Hillman, when Irishman Caleb O\u2019Shea arrives in Natchez, Mississippi, he isn\u2019t planning to stay there long. But things might just turn out very differently.<\/p>\n

If you’ve ever had life turn out to be the opposite of what you had wanted or even planned, you know it can be difficult to be content. In this post, read what Pam Hillman wrote about change and cultivating contentment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I have never liked change. Change makes me nervous.<\/p>\n

I used to pride myself on my \u201cstaying\u201d power. I worked for the same company for 28 years, after all. I\u2019ve lived in three different homes throughout my life, each within a few miles of the others. It takes me months to decide if I should trade cars, then even longer to research what kind I should invest in. I debated buying a new laptop for over a year. That\u2019s a little extreme, don\u2019t you think?<\/p>\n

My natural inclination is to do the same tried and true thing over and over. However, as I\u2019ve grown older and more confident in my ability to adapt, I\u2019ve discovered that some change is good and oftentimes needed.<\/p>\n

Even then, I don\u2019t make major decisions lightly. I prayed about quitting my day job (you know, the one I\u2019d had for almost three decades) for years. It was a good job, with wonderful Christian employers and coworkers, people I had grown to love. But I longed to work from home. I ended up juggling that job, pursuing publication, and moonlighting on staff for a writers\u2019 organization for several years before God said it was time. He made a way\u2014a way I would never have dreamed possible. And just like that, in the space of a couple of months, I was working from home, filled with peace that I\u2019d done the right thing. I haven\u2019t regretted that decision. Not once.<\/p>\n

But in those years of waiting on God\u2019s timing, I cultivated contentment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In Philippians, Paul says he\u2019s learned to be content in whatever state he finds himself. We know a lot of the change in Paul\u2019s life was not by choice but was forced on him. Yes, after his conversion, Paul was fully committed to spreading the gospel and going wherever God sent him, but I wouldn\u2019t think that beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck, and house arrest were necessarily what he expected. But he was content because he relinquished control to God. Before his conversion, he was the one in control. Or so he thought.<\/p>\n

And therein lies the rub.<\/p>\n

According to Psalm 37:23, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Not to say that a good man or woman can\u2019t get out of step with God\u2019s plans. We can. And that\u2019s what Caleb O\u2019Shea did in my novel The Crossing at Cypress Creek<\/em>. Big time. By most standards, abandoning his family in Ireland to crisscross the globe as a mercenary and a soldier of fortune was out of step with God\u2019s will for Caleb\u2019s life. But who of us hasn\u2019t misstepped at some point in our lives? God has a way of putting us back on the right path regardless of the detours we insist on taking. As Caleb draws closer to God\u2019s will for his life, the things he thought he wanted are no longer important or even desirable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t even begin to say that I\u2019ve had any kind of horrific change thrust upon me. My life has been blessed beyond measure compared to the life of Paul, or even the lives of my fictional characters.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019d like to think that in similar circumstances, I would believe and accept that God is always in control. I\u2019d like to think that, like Paul, I can be content in the direst of circumstances, trusting God to hold me up and pull me through until He\u2019s ready to orchestrate the next big change in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Buy<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n
\n

The Crossing at Cypress Creek<\/em><\/strong><\/a> by Pam Hillman<\/h2>\n

\"TheSailing and soldiering around the world has taken Caleb O\u2019Shea far from his native Ireland, so he never imagined that a promise to see a fellow crewman safely home would practically land him on his brother\u2019s doorstep. After spending years away from his family, Caleb isn\u2019t certain what kind of reception he will receive when he steps foot in Natchez, Mississippi. The one thing he knows for sure is that he won\u2019t stay long.<\/p>\n

Since her sister was kidnapped by river pirates six months ago, Alanah Adams has taken special care to avoid drawing attention to herself. Those living in the rough-and-tumble settlement of Cypress Creek might even think she\u2019s addled. But when she stumbles into Caleb and his friends in Natchez, she appears to be the picture-perfect lady.<\/p>\n

Caleb only catches glimpses of the mysterious and beautiful Alanah before she disappears. But a chance encounter with her at his brother\u2019s logging camp near Cypress Creek leaves him uncomfortable at the thought of the young woman traversing the dangerous area alone. At a crossroads in his life, Caleb must decide whether he wants to give up the worldly adventures he\u2019s been seeking for one closer to home.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

\"Order<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In The Crossing at Cypress Creek by Pam Hillman, when Irishman Caleb O\u2019Shea arrives in Natchez, Mississippi, he isn\u2019t planning to stay there long. But things might just turn out very differently. 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