During the writing process, Elisheba would often slip and call our book Ninety-Nine her Book”. It would always frustrated me. It is her story, most of the characters are formed from her life, and all what makes the book beautiful and readable is hers, but I also added my heart to it and feel that God used our abilities together well, and it really is “Our book”.
I later realized then that she would called it that because of the great attachment that she felt to Ninety Nine, much like a mother would call her child,”my baby”, even if the father is in the room. It isn’t a mutually exclusive word, but a more enduring word to show the awe that something so wonderful like Ninety Nine could grow inside of her.
Throughout the process, I did feel like the father. Initially, I was the spark in her life that brought the pregnancy and inspiration but that couldn’t be it. As the book was forming, I wanted to add teaching messages where I could and write scenes, but sometimes they would not fit. I finally had to relent and accept that she was the one that had to carry our baby because in reality, the story was based off her life. I built the house and did my best to form an overall outline for her to follow, but ultimately she was the one that had to form our baby and make the house beautiful.
And that’s how it should be.
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