Runaway Bay - Chapter 18
Everlasting Father
From Chapter 18:
When my fourth child, John Patrick, was only two years old, my stepdad gave him a small toy guitar. The gift was a spontaneous purchase made on a weekend getaway with Mom. My stepdad saw the guitar in a gift shop and felt compelled to buy it for John …
“O, Death, Where Is Your Sting?”
The video above is a beautiful ending of the book. It is from Easter Sunday this year (2025). We drove up to Wichita Falls to visit Mike, aware that he was rapidly declining. Amy wanted to tell him the manuscript for Runaway Bay was complete, and read the last chapter to him.
Part of the last chapter describes John Patrick receiving a toy guitar at age 2, and how much he loved that guitar! Amy closes with, "Whatever signs my stepdad saw, he interpreted them correctly—for John is now an excellent guitarist." Since John had his guitar with him, it seemed appropriate to play it at that point.
John picked the song "Christ is Risen" by Matt Maher, which testifies to the resurrection power of Jesus that has defeated death - forever. As he sang, I am sure Mike (in the foreground, you can just see the back of his head) was listening intently, aware that he would very soon be called home by the One whom John was singing about.
A couple of words about this website of “bonus material” for Runaway Bay:
Amy didn’t create it … Thomas did. You may have already guessed that the “I” in the captions isn’t Amy, but me - her husband.
( She doesn’t really like websites. Or QR codes for that matter. Or bulleted lists like this one - a dead giveaway that she didn’t write this part. )Therefore I don’t mind making the shameless plug - if you are enjoying her phenomenal book, would you be willing to put a review on Amazon? As Amy’s “publishing partner” the one surprising thing I’ve seen is this: people love her writing, and even volunteer their time to email or text her with their responses … but getting them to post a quick review on Amazon is a whole ‘nother level of hard.
( Here’s the link, if you’re so inclined https://a.co/d/9BbaoX2 )
Thank you so much!
Amy and I celebrating our 35th anniversary in Phoenix, Arizona.