November 29, 2013 at 3:07 p.m.
Local author publishes book: Collection consists of poetry, prose and other thoughts
Local author publishes book: Collection consists of poetry, prose and other thoughts
It was only when her husband of 58 years died in 2012 that she firmly decided to take pieces of the thoughts she'd written down for so many years and turn them into a collection to leave behind.
The second part of the book, titled "With My Hand In His," is the story of Kreft's younger sister who, after an accident, was left without the ability to speak.
"I wanted to put it together as a legacy for my kids and my family," she said. "I've been writing things like articles and poetry for years. Some have been published, but I had never written a book. I always thought I would eventually and just decided at 78 years of age to start putting what I had together into a book. Some are things I wrote up to 30 years ago. You try to keep these things, but I wondered if the kids would bother reading them when I was gone, so I decided to make a book."
The content of the book paints a picture of Kreft's life and what she holds most dear to her.
"Most of the stuff I write, I write because it's what I'm feeling and thinking. It's about my relationship with my family, my relationship with God. A lot of it was written just between myself and God. That's what I enjoy. I like to go back later and read what I've written to learn something about myself the second time around."
For Kreft, inspiration can come from anywhere. Any moment in an average day can inspire a thought that she connects to her faith or past.
"Usually I have sudden thoughts that make me want to write," she said. "I'll be reading or studying. I may even hear something on television and a thought will come that I want to share, so I'll write it down. I keep a folder that has things stuck in that's for thoughts for future writing."
Kreft didn't have much hesitation when it came to putting such a large part of herself into the public eye. The message she wanted to communicate with her writing is too important to her.
"I was a little reserved, but there wasn't much," she said. "The things that gave me the most pause are things I didn't end up putting in the book. I knew it was going to be primarily a book for people who already have a deep Christian faith. Those that don't have that relationship are going to think it's just another religious fanatic, but the goal of the book is to show these people that religion is really primarily a relationship.
"I want to share with others, both Christian and those who haven't experienced that relationship, how real that relationship is. By my age, more today than 30 or 40 years ago, I see so many people struggling with stress in culture. These things might not change if we have that relationship with God I talk about, but the peace and serenity that can be achieved may make it easier."
Kreft considers herself a self-taught writer, although she has taken the occasional writing class here and there.
"It's mostly been trial and error," she said. "I just write until someone likes it. I didn't expect this to be a big seller. I just hope it helps people who are searching for answers that our every day life can't offer."
"With My Hand In His" is available on major sites like Amazon.com and can also be ordered at Book World.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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