Dora Hiers

Enthusiastic about Faith: God is in the details

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
So, you all know I switched to a chronological Bible recently, and I’m reading the section called The Birth of Israel which includes Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Let me just get this out of the way right now and confess that this section is one of my least favorites in the entire Bible. I was never a history buff (still not!) and I get bogged down in so many details. Exact dimensions for the tabernacle, procedures and instructions for offerings and sacrifices, descriptions of the festivals, census numbers and names from the tribes, etc. You know what I mean?

Now don’t get me wrong. Some really cool events happened in these particular books that are still applicable to life today. Like when Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law showed up to find Moses busy listening to the Israelites’ disputes from morning until evening. “Why are you trying to do all this alone…?” Jethro asked, then proceeded to lecture Moses about burnout and advised him to appoint leaders over the people to help carry the load. How many of you feel washed out, limp as a dishrag by the end of the day? Yeah, I hear you.

Every day, I pound away at the keyboard in my quiet home office, but I’m not really alone. My crazy adorable dog keeps me company inside while a wildlife parade (wild turkey, fox, ducks, geese, rabbits, turtles, squirrels, birds) entertains me outside my office window.

I usually escape the house to meet hubby somewhere for lunch, and while many miles may separate us, friends and family are just a click away. And Jethro nailed it when he talked about burnout. If I don’t schedule regular times to relax and disconnect, fatigue sneaks up and forces me to, whether through illness or just plain rebellion. And what about the 10 commandments? Who could argue that society wouldn’t be better off if more people valued and lived by these basic rules?


But over the last few days reading through these books again, I felt a little nudge.

God is in the details.

A few days later, that nudge became an audible voice as hubby’s Bible plan read aloud.

“You kept your word to David my father, your promise. You did exactly what You promised—every detail.” (2 Chron 6:15 MSG)


Cool, right? That “ahh” moment when you realize God just spoke to you!

God is in the details.

Not just the big ticket items like when you’re sitting across the desk from a doctor and you hear that terrifying medical prognosis, a look of finality and pity staring back at you. Or the day your boss calls you into his office and closes the door and the next thing you know, you’re cleaning out ten or twenty or thirty years of stuff from your desk, cramming it into a banker’s box as if all those decades of experience meant nothing, to make room for someone younger. And you better believe He’s there, His arm wrapped around your back holding you up when you’re hunched over an open grave, waiting for your loved one to be lowered into a hole and swallowed up by earth, agonizing how one second, one breath, ripped your life right out of normal and hurled it into some place unrecognizable, some place you never expected or asked to go.

But He’s also in the thousands of tiny specifics that I tend to skim over without much regard. How my body processes the foods I eat. How my stories come together, from a speck of an idea to an outline, to characters then hundreds of pages. Whether technology works on any particular day. What roads I take –or don’t take— as I drive around town. The people He plants in my path while my dog drags me around the park or while getting a carwash or my hair cut. Whether the lawn mower will crank or if I’ll have to call hubby for help.


God is there. In the details, in the minutia of everyday life, waiting for us to acknowledge His Presence just like we do during the major events.

So, instead of rushing to get to the Old Testament books I typically enjoy more like Psalms, Isaiah or Jeremiah, I’m forcing myself to slow down and savor the details.

What about you? Do you skim these particular passages of the Bible?
Which OT books are your favorites?

Crazy about Writing: Interview with Graham Decker #RorisHealing

/ Dora Hiers
“Graham Decker. Great to finally meet you.” I try hard not to blink at the strong odor, a mixture of cleanser, steel and rubber, as we shake hands, his grip firm and confident.
The man lapped a track at almost two hundred miles per hour. His grip should be firm, and with the number of wins and top five finishes he’d accumulated, he’d earned the right to be confident.
“Come in. Please.” With his trademark smile, Graham gestures for me to enter his office and sit. “Is this your first time visiting Graham Decker Racing?”
“Yes. What gave it away?”
He chuckles, the sound genuine and down-to-earth, as he settles way back in a leather chair. “Might’ve been the wrinkled nose. If you’d like, my assistant can give you a tour after we’re done.”
“That’d be great. So tell me a little about yourself, Graham. Besides the fact that you’re a highly competitive racecar driver. Everybody knows that.” I push the record button on my phone and set it on the desk.
“Let’s see. I just got married.” Graham’s face lights up and he leans forward abruptly. As if he couldn’t wait to ditch me and head home.
I couldn’t blame the guy. I’d seen pictures of his wife. “Rori, right?”
He nods.
“Wasn’t her father the—”
“Yes.” The warm welcome slips away. His jaw snaps closed tight as a jail cell.
Hmm. Interesting, but I better switch tracks. “So do you still live in Charlotte?”
“No. In Harrison at the Forever Family Animal Sanctuary. Rori’s like a llama whisperer. She works wonders with the animals that come to live with us.” Pride laces his tone. “Actually, that’s how we met.”
“Through your non-profit?”
“Yes. My sister does a fabulous job running the Foundation, but she was on bed rest because of complications with her pregnancy. She asked me to make a site visit since Rori had applied for a time-sensitive grant.”
“Not the typical way to pick up a woman.”
He smiles, wistful like, as if he remembers something special. “Rori’s anything but typical. And so was our meeting.”
“Care to elaborate?”
His mouth stretches to a grin. “Nah. She values her privacy and might not appreciate me sharing all the details. Let’s just say it involved mistaken identity and a llama delivery and leave it at that.”
He was going to leave me hanging with that juicy tidbit? I make a mental note to redirect later. “Ohhhkay. So how did you know Rori was the one? After all, you’ve been married before, right?”
“Yeah. That didn’t turn out so well, but it was my fault. God wasn’t at the center of that relationship. Unlike with Rori.” He scrubs a hand across his whiskered jaws, his expression lightening as if the sun just came out. “And Rori didn’t recognize me.”
Really? How was that possible? I have no words.
He steals a glance at the clock and drums a pencil against the desk.
I’m losing him. “So was it love at first sight?”
“Definitely on my part, but not so much hers. We had some issues to work through before she’d commit.”
“Like what?”
“For starters, I had to prove that I wasn’t going anywhere. That I could be there for her—” His cell phone buzzes, and he checks the number. “Excuse me.”
I can’t help but eavesdrop. I lean forward slightly, refusing to miss any opportunity for a scoop. Besides, I’m sitting close enough that I can almost hear her voice. At the very least, my recorder might be picking up their conversation.
“Jumbo did what?” He launches from the chair, banging my phone off the desk.
So much for that. I bend over, retrieve the recorder, and hit the off button. It didn’t take a doctorate degree to know that this interview was over.
“No problem, sweetheart. I’m just finishing up here. Be there soon. Love you.” He disconnects, mashes a cap on his head. “It’s been a pleasure, but—”
“I understand.” I do. Really. The guy’s practically still on his honeymoon. No wonder that fat grin is plastered across his face. Jealousy sprouts and curls up my spine like a weed. “Hey, does Rori have any unattached sisters?”
On his way to the exit, Graham angles over a shoulder. “Sorry. Just twin brothers, Beck and Burk.”
He dives into a sports car and cranks the engine, those high-performance tires squealing out of the parking lot. Nope. He doesn’t look the slightest bit sorry to be going home.

Rori’s Healing
Coming June 5 with Pelican Book Group

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Available on JUNE 5
with Pelican Book Group
Still stinging from the publicity surrounding her father’s death, social phobic Rori Harmon prefers the solitude of her animal sanctuary, accepting that marriage isn’t in her future. Racecar Driver Graham Decker refuses to be wrangled into a relationship by another money-hungry female. On a philanthropy mission, he arrives just in time to assist Rori with a llama birthing, but his appearance thrusts her into the media spotlight again. Has Graham found a woman who doesn’t care how deep his wallet extends? Has Rori finally met a man who will stick around when times get tough? Is healing for a hurting heart finally within Rori’s reach?

Crazy about Writing: Snickers had her cria today!

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Rori’s Journal
Date: Monday, October 15

Snickers had her cria today. Oh my stars! She’s just beautiful, and just as sweet as her mama. I hope Snickers will rub off on Jumbo. Haha. Probably not. Poor Jumbo had such a tough life until he came to live here at the sanctuary. People can be so vicious and cruel. Isn’t that why I’m here? So, I don’t blame him for being a bit cantankerous.

But I bet the new vet could!
You should have seen the on-call doc Corbin’s office sent to help. Unlike any vet I’ve ever met. I mean, really, what vet shows up at a working ranch in a fancy sports car? And the man never even dragged his medical equipment out to help with the delivery! Maybe the trunk wasn’t big enough? Or Corbin told him I was qualified? Whatever, but he sure looked a bit green around the edges. Must’ve had a long night with calls, but he handled Jumbo’s poor manners with grace and humor.
Other than appearing tired, he was mighty nice to look at. Thick dark hair. Heavy stubble on firm jaws. Cocoa-colored eyes that sparkled with kindness. A deep rumble for a voice. Not that I’m looking.
But he was here when I needed him, the first man besides Burk or my stepdad, and plans to come back as a volunteer. Yeah, right.
Anyway, Graham, the vet, named the cria, Reesie. Think it was from all the chocolate I stuffed in my mouth?

Until tomorrow, Rori

****
Available June 5
with Pelican Book Group
Amazon Pre-Order
Still stinging from the publicity surrounding her father’s death, social phobic Rori Harmon prefers the solitude of her animal sanctuary, accepting that marriage isn’t in her future. Racecar Driver Graham Decker refuses to be wrangled into a relationship by another money-hungry female. On a philanthropy mission, he arrives just in time to assist Rori with a llama birthing, but his appearance thrusts her into the media spotlight again. Has Graham found a woman who doesn’t care how deep his wallet extends? Has Rori finally met a man who will stick around when times get tough? Is healing for a hurting heart finally within Rori’s reach?