Heavenly Inspiration for Heavenly Peace

Story ideas come and go, but some of them really stick. Those are the ones that insist on being written.

For several seasons, I worked as the wardrobe head for the small stage at Seattle Repertory Theatre. I loved that job, largely because we did small-cast shows and I got to work closely with each of the performers. We had time to chat and get to know each other.

One of the shows I worked on was a three-person drama that we happened to be doing at Christmastime. The one woman in the cast told me a story about something that had happened to her, and it really stuck with me. She had taken her son with her to the post office during the Christmas season, and he asked to take one of the gift request cards from the giving tree. She let him pick one, not thinking much of it. But later that night when she looked at the card, expecting to see a request for a toy, she got quite a surprise. It was from a little girl, asking Santa to get her mother to stop using drugs.

That struck me as such a compelling conflict. What would a person do in that situation? How could that play out in a satisfying way?

I really had no idea how that problem could be solved when I gave it to Valerie, my leading lady in HEAVENLY PEACE. But I also put Jake in the story to help her out, so she really has nothing to complain about. I hope you enjoy their story of Christmas blessings and Heavenly peace.

Have you ever found an unusual request on a giving tree? (CLICK TO TWEET)

HEAVENLY PEACE can be found on Amazon: