Marta never learned to react to Hildie apart from seeing the bad consequences of her own sister, whom Hildie resembled. Secondly, I saw that most of us in our deepest relationships would benefit from slowing down, not reacting so quickly, and learning to listen quietly to the other. Painful or not, Marta needed Hildie's "gentle as doves" way of faith, and Hildemara needed someone like her mother to show the "crafty as serpents" way. What I take away from this book is that each of us have our particular gift, beautiful in itself, but none of us are at our best without others who compliment these gifts and show us ways other than our own. Sometimes Marta had the perfect action or word for her daughter - often, she said or did the exact thing that would most injure Hildemara. And Hildemara Rose - there were times when her deep faith and ability to pray for her teacher even under constant criticism were very beautiful - then again, there were also times when, like Marta, I wanted her to show some backbone. Until she started yelling at her husband all the time and failing to trust him when it was clear that he deeply loved her and God - then I felt like shaking her. Sometimes I wanted to laugh and cheer Marta on - her fearlessness of people, her gift of challenging others and bringing out their best, was such a fun thing to watch unfold. I was able to identify with both Marta and Hildemara Rose, even while feeling the angst and the near-misses of their relationship.
She made it possible to love Marta even when Marta often says some very cruel things to her daughter. The books that dismiss the strenuous challenge of persevering with God, one moment at a time, are day-lily types of books.įrancine Rivers has the ability to write an inspiring novel without sugar-coating the hard edges of life.
Because the truth is that even while we live our faith in hope, suffering continues to exist, whether in our relationships with others, our misunderstandings of God, or in bearing the hardships others might bring, or even in recognizing, over and over again, our own weaknesses.
It makes for emotional stories that pull at my heartstrings but never quite hit me in the gut. I love that about faith fiction, but I realized at some point that I was reading them for escape in much the same manner that I watch Disney movies. I have noticed with a great many Christian novels this attempt to show that having a relationship with Christ suddenly fixes everything and makes it better.
I have to admit, this book's cover appeared to me a bit fluffish, promising the kind of tame, hopeful message dipped in sugar that some faith-inspired books tend to have.
0 kommentar(er)
