After the Badge
Nov 04, 2025 by Addison Crissone
Sunday, my second novel came out. After the Badge.
For those of you who have read its predecessor, and hopefully will read this sequel, you know that it is a story of love in the midst of loss, and faith in the face of persecution. The story's protagonist, Ruth, lost so much to the war with the Germans that devastated her home of Belgium and the Netherlands, and nearly destroyed her people.
She lost loved ones.
She lost her family.
She nearly lost herself.
She came to a point where she had nothing left. And that is when God stepped in, his truth casting light into the darkness of the night that has now become known as our darkest hour in history- the Holocaust.
The first scripture that I chose for After the Badge is Job 1:21- a verse that spoke os much to me in the season of life that I was in while writing this novel.
For those of you who have read its predecessor, and hopefully will read this sequel, you know that it is a story of love in the midst of loss, and faith in the face of persecution. The story's protagonist, Ruth, lost so much to the war with the Germans that devastated her home of Belgium and the Netherlands, and nearly destroyed her people.
She lost loved ones.
She lost her family.
She nearly lost herself.
She came to a point where she had nothing left. And that is when God stepped in, his truth casting light into the darkness of the night that has now become known as our darkest hour in history- the Holocaust.
The first scripture that I chose for After the Badge is Job 1:21- a verse that spoke os much to me in the season of life that I was in while writing this novel.
"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord."
The Lord gives, and He takes away.
Everything that we have has been given to us by our living heavenly father, regardless of whether we choose to dwell on that fact or not. We would have nothing at all if He did not first choose to bestow his blessings upon us. And so, naturally, He can do as he wishes with his gifts. He can give them, and He can take them away.
The Lord gives, and He takes away.
But He also takes away, and gives again.
The Lord chooses to take the things that feel inextricable to us from our lives so that we might further rely upon him, but He is not so cruel to not comfort us in our times of grief and pain, and He is never done belssing His children with the goodness of restoring the former higns to u once again- often in ways we least expect.
In The Yellow Badge, we read that Ruth loses so much that she held near and dear.
In After the Badge, we read as she comes to accept that loss and slowly regains what was lost.
My friend, whatever you are facing right now, whatever hard loss or deep pain that you are struggling to accept, I pray that these words have comforted you. I pray that you will turn to God with the faith of Job and lay down your pains and burdens.
And I pray that you may find a piece of yourself in After the Badge, adn that that piece will lead you further into he heart of God's love for you and me.
Everything that we have has been given to us by our living heavenly father, regardless of whether we choose to dwell on that fact or not. We would have nothing at all if He did not first choose to bestow his blessings upon us. And so, naturally, He can do as he wishes with his gifts. He can give them, and He can take them away.
The Lord gives, and He takes away.
But He also takes away, and gives again.
The Lord chooses to take the things that feel inextricable to us from our lives so that we might further rely upon him, but He is not so cruel to not comfort us in our times of grief and pain, and He is never done belssing His children with the goodness of restoring the former higns to u once again- often in ways we least expect.
In The Yellow Badge, we read that Ruth loses so much that she held near and dear.
In After the Badge, we read as she comes to accept that loss and slowly regains what was lost.
My friend, whatever you are facing right now, whatever hard loss or deep pain that you are struggling to accept, I pray that these words have comforted you. I pray that you will turn to God with the faith of Job and lay down your pains and burdens.
And I pray that you may find a piece of yourself in After the Badge, adn that that piece will lead you further into he heart of God's love for you and me.
