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Brave the... what?
14 August 2024 I realize that there may be some questions raised about why my publishing company is called “Brave the Pall Publishing, LLC” The questions are valid, but so is my reasoning for this denomination.
The term pall (pronounced “pawl”, sounds just like the name) is not one frequently used; apart from a particular definition pertaining to funeral homes. However, there is more than one meaning for pall. My affection for this word is derived from multiple facets of my life.
“Pall” can also be defined as dense, black smoke; or a heavy shroud of fog, with low visibility.
I’m a firefighter by profession, and I hold the title very guardedly. The responsibilities with the job are immense! The expectations my community has for us who wear “Fire/Rescue” on our backs and the American flag on our sleeves weigh heavily on me. I am constantly reminded to consider what image I present when in the community, but more importantly, what knowledge/skills/abilities I will bring to the scene when someone’s life hangs in the balance.
One of the most dire circumstances in which someone of my profession can be placed is a structure fire. One thing that continually surprises people is that when you run into a burning building, your sight is greatly inhibited. Unless you are directly upon the fire, your world is black and you are unable to see your hand in front of your face.
Some read this and probably shudder to think about being abandoned in that veiled environment. That’s justified. Something you have to learn in the fire service is to stay low and calm your breathing. Steady yourself. Feel the heat. Let it guide you to your target. As a firefighter, you are trained to operate by feeling, so that you can move and accomplish what you must, even if your sight fails you.
Despite that training, when you first plunge into the void for your debut structure fire, it will stop you in your tracks for a moment. It is then that you must decide whether you will let fear guide your next actions, or you will hold fast to what you know is necessary and how you must accomplish it.
In this way, it is imperative that (for the sake of others) firefighters must brave the pall.
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As an author, I have given countless hours to creating stories with layers of significance. There are times where the flow of writing is a steady, experiential stream that fills pages of content. Other times, the writing has to steep like french press coffee (which is a beverage that certainly encouraged inspiration, at times). There were periods in writing Id that I steeped on a scene for a week or two straight. I didn’t merely want to generate a linear narrative, but I wanted the symbolic ties to interweave across the breadth of the story. Now, I may not have actually been widely successful in that effort (I’ll leave that up to you, dear reader), but most of the information presented in the story carries multiple levels of implications. Literary analysis is something I get giddy talking about amongst fellow enthusiasts.
All that being said, I have taken a risk. So have many dreamers before me. My style of literature may be broadly cherished, or it may be rapidly discarded. I would love for many people to enjoy and promote my work, but the future is uncertain. I commit, regardless. I believe in the work. I believe in the meaning behind the stories, and I want to bless other people by it.
So, whether or not my work takes flight, I will brave the pall of uncertainty and continue to produce works with purpose and passion.
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Finally, to marry two themes that perhaps seem entirely incongruous: Faith and Thrillers.
Why would anyone broach the religious crowd with scary stories of mind-bending, spine-chilling thrills? Why would anyone waste time discussing religious themes in the midst of thriller novels? Seems like those genres should be unrelated. Perhaps there should be some affixed delineation…
Or… The uncertainty many feel about eternity, ghosts, demons, angels, and the supernatural is at the fundamental core of their internal tension. What if we explore these haunting questions through tales of dark mystery, twisted villains, resilient survivors, and spiritual warfare?
What if we plunge into the suspense and exhilaration of a frightful story, feel the fear well up as darkness encroaches, and yet we endure? Thereby, we might find a worthwhile reward for having crossed through the shadows.
Perhaps… to arrive at hope and to possess a lasting sense of peace, we must first brave the pall!
Virtus et Fides 19 February 2025 The young and idealistic have presumed such of me on occasion, “You’re a firefighter, you must be really brave!”
It strokes the ego to be called “brave”, but I don’t have to try very hard to recall instances where my courage was less than desirable, and hesitation caused delays to performing essential actions. It’s not flattering to share that, but it’s true. Then there were times where I plunged headlong into dangerous deeds that I possibly should have calculated a little more thoroughly, yet rose victorious. It seems strange to think that the same man could one moment be hesitant to address a threat, then in another instance have already faced the problem and eliminated it before realizing what happened.
So… am I brave? Best answer I can give is “sometimes.”
Yet, there is another attribute that I believe correlates to the dichotomous intricacies of bravery.
There have been long seasons of my life where my faith was such that I need only think in silence “Father” and my prayer was met with a sure and overwhelming sense of my Creator’s presence beside and within me. These are such precious and sacred moments! Seasons ripe with these fruitful prayers are satisfying and peace-giving in a way that nothing else in the world could be.
By unfortunate contrast, I have lived through many periods of time where all I felt when speaking His name was my voice deaden against the farthest surfaces of the room, or simply be consumed by the open air around me.
This is not to imply that a sensation alone is evidence of faith, but the aforementioned transcendent affirmation is a remarkable thing; a subtle, tender, and pure gift from a God who is omnipotent, yet intimate. If the Holy Spirit interprets our prayers, then the unspoken desire to delight in God by those tranquil moments is as marvelous a worship as any song.
However, faith is best marked in how we act (and especially how we pray) when no one else is around, how we treat other people, how we prioritize time, in what we make important to us, in avoiding something because it offends God. All that being said, none of us are consistent in these regards.
“So… what are you saying, Levi? That courage and faith are alike because how much of them we have is never the same on any given day?”
Well… yes, but wait… there’s more!
Just as the disciples begged Jesus to increase their faith after He had just explained to them several teachings about temptation and forgiveness (see Luke, Chapter 17), and likewise Paul describes sending Timothy to exhort the Thessalonians in their faith (see 1st Thessalonians, Chapter 3, verse 2), so too do we come to find that courage is an attribute that can be strengthened.
It is self-evident that each person is allotted differing measures of courage and faith. Some are naturally bolder than others. Some possess a stronger sense of belief than others.
However, I taught the youth group recently that faith is a gift from God but the application of that blessing in life is our responsibility. Likewise, courage is a gift from God, and similarly our daily decisions either fan the flames of bravery, or stamp them down to nearly snuffed embers!
All of this, I have presented to you, dear reader, to declare the new motto of Brave the Pall Publishing, LLC: “Virtus et Fides” (“Courage and Faith”). I chose these two traits to build a company upon because they are provided by God to every man, woman, and child. With that gift is the charge to grow in courage by daily being brave in the little things. Along with that (and more importantly, I might add), we are to place our faith in the one sure Foundation, and daily act in a manner that He prescribes and models in the person of Jesus Christ.
When night closes in, when flames rage, when the weight of the world is too much, the one who will remain standing is the one who chose to be brave in the small decisions and faithful in the “trivial” things on that same day, the day before, the day before that, and so on.
So, for all you adventure-loving souls, like myself; what does it take to brave the pall?
Virtus et Fides!