“Getting an important message across to fewer people is more important than getting a less significant message across to more people.”

This was Harold J. Reid’s response when asked what he hopes people will get out of his just-released novel.

“Having Christian elements in my book might mean it’ll appeal to fewer people,” he explains, “but it does have a higher purpose.”

Birth of a Novel

Heaven Bound?—Harold’s third published work—is about Joseph, a man who has stopped attending church and must complete community service hours at a retirement home after damaging a neighbour’s property. It follows his faith journey as he re-encounters God and is led to consider his salvation and what being saved means.

After he finishes his hours, Joseph realizes he liked being at the home and continues his duties.

While there, Joseph connects with an elderly woman named Marie, and they form a bond through shared loss. Joseph tells her 21 stories. These standalone short tales provide entertainment through mystery, suspense, drama and humour. Some are lighter fare while others deal with serious subjects, such as alcoholism and pride.

Harold briefly considered publishing these mostly secular stories on their own, but says, “I was inspired to write a book that contained Christian elements, and I was able to work my existing stories into its narrative.”

Call to Action

Harold attributes his inspiration primarily to two factors.

The first was through attending funerals. He has attended many and has always heard people say that their loved ones are “going to a better place.” Though it can be difficult for people to hear—and we have no way of knowing for sure, as only God truly knows people’s hearts— Harold notes that this is not necessarily true “if the deceased was not a believer.”

“This thought kept eating at me,” Harold explains. “I felt I needed to write something about salvation through faith and how this must occur to be with God.”

The other factor was his need to call lapsed Christians back to church, and to inspire attending members “not to take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted.”

Accessible to Everyone

Harold likens Heaven Bound? to a country album that ends with a gospel song. The album might have 10 songs about a variety of things, but it closes with a focus on God.

“That’s the last thing the audience hears,” he explains. “It stands out in the minds of people who wouldn’t normally listen to gospel music. The book is like that; readers can enjoy it, but the novel’s conclusion hits them with several strong and impactful Christian thoughts.”

Harold believes this approach will get through to people who might be turned away by the thought of a religious book. Humour and entertainment make the novel accessible to secular readers, who can appreciate it for its stories and narrative, while encountering a message of salvation.

Journey to God

Since Grade 5, Harold has been “fascinated with the stories of Jesus,” and although not brought up in a Christian home, felt that “there had to be more to life than eating, sleeping and working.”

However, it was not until he became a husband and father, and unknowingly settled only a few minutes away from the newly founded Georgina Community Church (formerly Jackson’s Point Corps) in Ontario, that Harold began to give his life to God.

Through a combination of events, from getting the church phone number after seeing a Salvation Army truck outside the Jackson’s Point camp and “accidentally” calling it instead of a TV repairman, he and his wife, Judy, became Christians.

Harold feels they were directly led to God and The Salvation Army.

“Once I came to the Lord, it fulfilled what I was looking for. It didn’t matter what happened after that.” 

Writing and Spreading the Word

Though now 78 and “mostly” retired, Harold knows that “Christians can be of service no matter what their age,” and he is determined to continue “serving God through writing.”

His interest in writing and storytelling began in high school. Harold authored a weekly cartoon for a year called “Stick to the Word,” which was based on a different Bible verse each week, wrote short stories and created scripts for puppet shows while working with youth.

“Through my work, I hope I can help someone find God when they wouldn’t have, bring someone back to church or help churchgoers to be in awe of God’s free gift of salvation.”

Heaven Bound? was released in March through Friesen Press and can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle, Google Books and other sites.