When I write my reading updates and tally the books read for the year, I typically only keep track of non-fiction. Were I to include fiction novels my count would probably double or triple. Reading fiction (mostly Christian fiction, especially historical or suspense novels) is like a "vacation in an armchair" for me. I literally disappear into the pages and shadow the characters on the twists and turns of their journeys. Often stories continue to play in my head long after I've closed the cover.
Even so it's not often that a fictional account causes me to take pause and look closely at my own heart because - after all - it's just a story. However, that was not the case with Francine Rivers' new book Her Daughter's Dream, the sequel to her New York Times bestseller Her Mother's Hope.
This saga of three generations of women spoke to me for several reasons, but most of all because of the heartbreak caused by words left unspoken between mothers and daughters. The main character of Rivers' first book in the series was Marta, who fled Switzerland on the eve of World War I to find a new life in America. Her tenacity born of a difficult childhood reminded me of my own grandmother and great-grandmother - and her struggle to speak the love she felt in her heart did, too.
By the second book one generation's mistakes had spilled over to the next as poor patterns of parenting were passed down. The push to move past problems rather than resolve them set the stage for bitterness and broken relationships. Only through the grace of God and one daughter's determination to set right the wrongs of her own choices and those who had gone before her, was hope able to bloom again.
After laying this book down I found myself evaluating my own relationships. How much do I share of what is on my heart? Are there words I have spoken that have wounded my daughters or conversely, words left unspoken that have done just the same? I was challenged to care about what I say, and say how much I care.
Even so it's not often that a fictional account causes me to take pause and look closely at my own heart because - after all - it's just a story. However, that was not the case with Francine Rivers' new book Her Daughter's Dream, the sequel to her New York Times bestseller Her Mother's Hope.
This saga of three generations of women spoke to me for several reasons, but most of all because of the heartbreak caused by words left unspoken between mothers and daughters. The main character of Rivers' first book in the series was Marta, who fled Switzerland on the eve of World War I to find a new life in America. Her tenacity born of a difficult childhood reminded me of my own grandmother and great-grandmother - and her struggle to speak the love she felt in her heart did, too.
By the second book one generation's mistakes had spilled over to the next as poor patterns of parenting were passed down. The push to move past problems rather than resolve them set the stage for bitterness and broken relationships. Only through the grace of God and one daughter's determination to set right the wrongs of her own choices and those who had gone before her, was hope able to bloom again.
After laying this book down I found myself evaluating my own relationships. How much do I share of what is on my heart? Are there words I have spoken that have wounded my daughters or conversely, words left unspoken that have done just the same? I was challenged to care about what I say, and say how much I care.
1 comment:
steph I just read that book!!!!!! i loved it! and your right it made me stop and look and change some things in mine and jhocys relationship!!!!
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