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​ From the Desk of Darlene N. Böcek Faith-building Sci-fi Fantasy Stories

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Happy Easter Reader ! He is risen…indeed!

Death Where is thy Sting?

My hard-to-find novel, Tim Reynolds, Detective: The Death of Noah Black takes place in Portsmouth, Maine. The choice of location stems from a tragedy that happened there in 1798 that impacted my life permanently.

It was the loss of parents Temperance and Seth Walker.

I did a bunch of research when I first heard their story–and some day I have a mind to write about it.

Here’s what the gravestone says:

This stone erected
by parental affection is sacred to the Memory of NANCY,
TEMPERANCE, & SAMUEL WALKER,
three promising children of
Mr. Seth & Mrs. Temperance Walker,
who were lovely & promising in life, & in
their deaths were not divided; being sum-
moned to the tomb in the short space of four
days: at the age of 12, 6 & 4 years. ​
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Insatiate Archer! could not one suffice?
Thy shaft slew thrice; & thrice our peace was slain,
And thrice within the space of four short days.
Thus morn the Parents sounds responsive rise.
Cease our dear Parents unavailing sighs,
In realms of bliss we wait your fond embrace,
Where we behold the Saviour face to face.
O bow submission to the chast’ning rod
And bless a taking, as a giving God.
Mar. 1798.

It’s a sad story full of heartbreak. We can well imagine–perhaps we know of someone whose family was lost in a tragedy. (Research hints that perhaps it was from dysentery that their lives were lost.)

But even in death, there is a whisper of hope. Do you see it? In the first four lines of the poem, the parents grieve in sorrow. In the last five lines, the voice of the children speak comfort to their parents.

“In realms of bliss we wait your fond embrace
where we behold the Savior face to face…”

Christians alone have this confidence–because of Easter.

The Christian graveyards here in Izmir have similar stories from that time period. Before the advent of things like penicillin and standardized sanitation methods, sickness and child death would abound.

Facing tombstones every Sunday in the church yard reminded people of ages past of the fleetingness of life. How we must always be prepared. The Memento Mori (“remember death”) tombstones with skulls and crossbones were a weekly call to consider your ways.

When we share with our friends why Easter is important and why the gospel (meaning “good news”) is the story of our faith–we bring hope in a world prone to decay. Hope, as in the ‘words’ of Nancy, Temperance, and Samuel. “We wait in bliss.”

We know that since Christ rose from the dead, we have hope imperishable. Life eternal waiting for us, because of his death (forgiveness) and his resurrection (promise of our own resurrection).

As you celebrate this holiday this year, may it be a special time of reflection.

Interesting fact: Good Friday this year is April 3. Jesus died on April 3, AD 33.

Book News PS-I’m in the middle of a book cover resonance test. Click below to get a ‘peek’ at the options that are being tested. I’d love to hear your opinion on them. Write back with your thoughts.

God be with you. With all gratefulness for the Cross,

Darlene

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