Michael Ehret – Devotional – Part 1 of 1

Shannon here: Michael Ehret shares his take on love and romance. Comment or answer the question in this post to enter the drawing for an e-copy of his Contemporary Romance Novella, Big Love. Deadline: Aug 3rd, 11:59 pm central time. Here’s Michael:

What do I mean when I write about Big Love? Am I talking about romance? Or is it the length of a relationship or,maybe, something more?

My wife Deb and I have been married for almost 43 years. Is that big? My parents were married for less than 20 years before they divorced. Does that qualify? My grandparents, as far as I knew, came into existence married—and stayed that way until one of them laid the other in the arms of their Savior.

In my novella, Big Love, published in April by Scrivenings Press, the heroine, Berly Charles, has a specific, Disney-fied, definition of big love. Why don’t we ask her to share that?

“I want the fairy tale, the Big Love. That’s what I was sold and that’s what I bought.

“Maybe the world has changed and maybe I need to get over my Disney-fied self. Be more Belle than Snow White. More Merida than Sleeping Beauty.”

For Berly, big love is the romance she saw in “Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and “Aladdin,” that late 80’s early 90’s triumvirate of Disney successes. That kind of romance makes her hair curl, gives her butterflies in her stomach, is “meant to be,” and resolves in a kiss with a foot pop.

I’ll admit, when I wrote Big Love, which I never planned to do (a story for another time), I held in my mind the best parts of my life with Deb. Our friendship built on laughter and shared interests. The deepening of that through time. The day I “asked” her to marry me (in written words, of course, since I’m much more proficient and romantic on paper). Our wedding day when I was so “in love” I could barely speak my vows. The way she looked at me with such trust and devotion.

I did not recall, for the novella, our struggles as a couple: divorcing parents, a mother’s early death just two months after our wedding, a burglary, a fire, parents with Alzheimer’s, etc.

But, you know, if we seek a deeper, truer definition of romance—something that goes beyond Berly’s and Disney’s limited vision—shouldn’t we also look at those things? Don’t the struggles, and the ways couples get through them, count as “romantic?” There has to be more than just a foot pop and a catchy song, right?

Big Love doesn’t have much of the darker side of relationships—oh, well, it does, otherwise how would they come together, fall apart, and (spoiler alert!) come back together all in about 43,000 words? But the novella is definitely more focused on attractional romance than on slogging-through-the-mud-together romance.

Real romance can be dangerous. It burns. It sears hearts together, cauterizing the broken places and rebuilding them stronger. There is a Japanese term for repairing broken things—kintsugi—which means “join with gold.”

King Solomon knew about this kind of love. He wrote about it in his Songs.

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Song of Solomon 8:6

This verse is one of the motivating verses for my novel, Beyond December, coming in November 2024 (also from Scrivenings). It’s the story of a couple who face the most difficult of circumstances. Circumstances that break them in every way possible—and how healing comes in an unexpected way.

But there’s yet another level to understanding romance. As a Christian, I believe in—no, count on—healing. Jesus is the master kintsugi artist, after all. He knows our broken places and fills them with the gold of his presence when we trust him.

Jesus looks at the cracks in our love, at our attempts at romance, and like a loving Bridegroom, looks past them and into our hearts. He sees the love and perfection he has placed in our broken hearts and sees the transformation that love, that gold, brings.

And that is so much better than Berly’s version of romance in Big Love. Not that there’s anything wrong with attractional romance, though, right?

Let me address the elephant in the room, by sharing with you a quote from an Amazon reader of Big Love: (This review came from an earlier version of the story published as part of a 7-story collection. The new stand-alone version adds an all new epilogue, resolving the story one step further.)

“I was surprised by the one I considered the best romance in the group – “Big Love,” the one written by the only man among the writers. I suppose the moral of the tiny house story here is that, yes, men can write romance, too.”

Question for Readers: When you first think “romance” in your mind, what couple from anywhere in pop culture first comes to mind? Why? (My answer is Barbra Streisand and Ryan O’Neil in the comedy, What’s Up, Doc? Because of the humor, of course!)

About Michael: Michael Ehret has accepted God’s invitation to write and is also a freelance editor. In addition, he was editor-in-chief of the ACFW Journal magazine and Afictionado e-zine for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), was editor-in-chief of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild, and he pays the bills as the manager of Indy Library Store, a bookstore that raises money for The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation. Michael sharpened his writing and editing skills as a reporter for The Indianapolis News and The Indianapolis Star.

He’s been married for 43 years to Deb and they have three children, one dog (a mini-Goldendoodle named Tobey), and a granddog. Learn more & connect:

Michael’s Website             Michael’s Facebook

About the novella – Big Love:

Berly Charles remembers the days before her father was a successful business tycoon in Indianapolis. Growing up a razor’s edge from homelessness planted a tiny desire for home in her heart that she now, as the owner of Le Petite Maison, LLC, fills for others by building their tiny home ideals. Now she has the opportunity to take her tiny house company big time—is this the chance she’s been waiting for?

Nathan “Rafe” Rafferty is a writer for the nationally reputed architecture journal who is used to calling his own shots and covering the biggest and the best architectural accomplishments of the modern world. But when his hipster, much younger, editor assigns him to cover a new trend—tiny houses—the assignment stirs unpleasant memories and thoughts of revenge.

Can’t wait for the drawing? Worried you won’t win? Get your copy now!

Big Love

Come back July 29th for Shannon’s Book Bargains Roundup!

Come back July 30th for Betty Woods!