Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Monday October 29, 2007

Marianne Halbert, B.S. J.D, writes one of the most compassionate stories of those who suffer through a static life, unable to move and flow with reality due to an extreme event sometime in their life. Her story begins on page 245 of Inspiration From The Heartland. (See Link below).

Marianne's story is gripping in that it uses the searing pain of a widow who lives a pretend life. Being a pastor this aspect grabbed my attention, as I have witnessed a few people check out of reality and wander off into the pretend world I suppose in the hope the intense pretend will somehow become reality. The woman, who had been run over by life was used by the Lord to bring tender understanding into the heart of a tough contractor. The next to last paragraph in the story says about our lady, "There was no artist that could sketch her miraculous resurrection from that kind of fall. She'd never get up again."

Her fall was not physical, but a horrific emotional fall when she was much younger and life held all of her hopes and dreams. It is true that others suffer a similar tragedy and get up and go on, but some do not. The story titled, The Invisible Fence, because in one scene our lady assured our contractor a Mr. Stewart C. Manford, that she was no fool, even though another contractor had tried to sell her an invisible fence to keep her dog from running the neighborhood. She assured Mr. Manford that any fool knew an invisible fence would keep only an invisible dog from running the street. Our lady could not comprehend the underground electric fence. We know her husband's name, the neighbor's name, and the contractor's name, but the heroine remains nameless perhaps to recognize that many whom we do not take the time to find out their name are more human and full of pain than we may realize. She appears to be no one, yet you will know when you read the story that you are only one traumatizing event removed from her state of mind, living in a plastic world of your own creation.

Stewart, the fence contractor shows more insight into her pain than would many psychiatrists and certainly most religious folk that I know, when in a flashing moment, with a rare full expression smile her knowledge of her denial marches across her face, like an old time Memorial Day parade. And then, she slams the door shut and reenters her world.

We all know someone we do not understand, and therefore fear in some way. This fear is often expressed in an unwillingness to associate with the person, we do all in our power to avoid them. Sometimes the fear is so compelling that we attempt to hurt them. Children do this to handicapped children, to other children who are emotionally disturbed, because lurking just below the surface of their own skin is the same specter, just awaiting the event to launch them into a twilight zone life. Adults face the same inner conflict. One of the identified reasons for our middle to older generation's hesitancy to visit our loved ones in the nursing homes is as we look upon them in humiliation or if we understand, the dignity of the situation, we see ourselves as vulnerable and "it" could happen to us any day.

A puppy and a child play important roles in this story, so if you are anything like me, you will need a hanky as you read the deeply probing yet easy to read Invisible Fence. Marianne has effectively merged Alfred Hitchcock and Norman Vincent Peale in this amazing tale.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2007 Use with credit
Bookinfo 2 at www.LarryLilly.com

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