Today, it’s my pleasure to host a dear friend, Elizabeth White. Here’s Elizabeth.

In the course of writing a book about a professional ballet dancer, one of my favorite characters from Scripture came to life-a woman who knew Jesus as friend, teacher and Lord. Mary of Bethany, as best I can discover from studying New Testament commentaries, was the rebellious younger sister of Martha and Lazarus.

We don’t know exactly what sins she had committed, but she knew the forgiving mercy of Jesus of Nazareth to the point that she dumped a pint of priceless nard on His head. She then bathed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair, anointing Jesus for the sacrifice he was about to make. Her faith endured testing when her brother Lazarus died-but exploded in joy when he was raised to life by the Teacher.
So what does Mary have to do with my fictional ballet dancer? Well, Gilly Kincade first showed up as a teenager in my 2007 release Off the Record. She had sass, artistic talent, and a passion for sharing Christ-so much passion that she launched a waterfront homeless ministry called “Peanut Butter and Jesus.” I couldn’t resist following Gilly’s career as a burgeoning ballet star in Tour de Force, set to release in early May.

All of us, even strong believers like Gilly, face trials that test us and strengthen us. Often the very thing that makes us unique or favored is ripped away by circumstances or our own mistakes. Shattered dreams can either send us into self-pity or bitterness or they can force us to seek after God. In Tour de Force, Gilly is chosen to dance the lead in a new Christian ballet by brilliant young artistic director Jacob Ferrar. The Sweetest Perfume, based on Mary of Bethany’s sacrifice, seems like the perfect vehicle for Gilly to use her gift of dance in God’s service. But when the gift smashes like an alabaster jar in her hands, she must rebuild her faith and figure out where her attraction to Jacob fits into the mix.

I truly identify with Gilly. More than once my dreams have come crashing down, forcing me to submit to whatever God has planned and trust that He knows best. And time after time I have found Him faithful. Once I thought I would have a career as a singer. When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, I mourned for a bit, then shrugged and went on with raising my children, teaching music part-time, and writing fiction for a hobby.


A few years later I sold a novella and realized God had supplied me with a new dream. But the publishing industry is one long lesson in delayed gratification and humility. I’ve learned that all “gifts” ultimately belong to God. Ten years and fourteen novels after that first novella, I’m teaching high school chorus again and wildly happy spending my days with music-crazy inner-city teenagers. My definition of sacrifice, like Mary of Bethany’s and like Gilly Kincade’s, is submitting back to God what already belongs to him. My source of strength. My source of joy.