Through Rushing Water by Catherine Richmond

“Ignore the rushing water. Ignore everything that tries to pull you under or knock your feet out, or obscures your view. Plant your feet on solid rock.”

Through Rushing Water is the story of Sophia, a French teacher in New York in 1876.  Her life was all planned out and everything was going great until the day the man she thought she would marry announced his engagement to one of her close friends.  Feeling the need for a change, Sophia signs up for foreign missions expecting to be sent to China.  Instead, she ends up teaching the Ponca Indians in Dakota Territory.  While there she realizes that some of the things that she really valued meant nothing compared to the vital necessities that these Indians lacked.  She valued money, fancy dresses, a fine reputation while the Indians only wanted food, shelter, clothing, and a place to call their own. 

While working as a schoolteacher at the Dakota Territory mission she meets Will, the missionary carpenter to the Ponca tribe.  She immediately notices something different about him. He is quiet and reserved but instead of looking down on the people he is helping, he has learned their language and determined to be the best that he could be in spite of the overwhelming circumstances of extreme poverty and utter helplessness. 

Together Sophia and Will strive to make a difference while ignoring the rushing waters of circumstances.  Sophia writes letters to congressmen and politicians asking for help and interest in the plight of the Ponca people. Will takes a quieter approach, sharing his story with as many will listen when the Indians are moved out of their place of residence and he heads home to Omaha to pick back up his carpentry business with his brother.

This book taught me a lot about being able to look past the circumstances that may be staring you in the face and pressing forward seeing the bigger picture. That God has us in the center of his protection if we will follow his commands and let him lead us.  When we get to the really tough situations, he won’t leave us helpless. That is when he will no longer hold our hand but pick us up and carry us to the other side of the trouble.  So take heart, know you are not alone, and ignore the rushing waters! 

You can find out more here.

Covenant Child By Terri Blackstock

Hello fellow readers! I hope you have been reading!

Today I would like to share about another book I got from Book Sneeze called Covenant Child by Terri Blackstock. I have to admit that I almost didn’t finish this book because I got bogged down in the negative events that kept happening to the characters. But in the end, I am glad I finished it. When I took a step back and compared it to the life of a sinner saved by Jesus’ grace, it all began to take shape in my mind. Let me explain.

This book follows the life of Kara and Lizzie, twin girls that are heirs to the largest fortunes ever known when at the age of three, their father and grandparents are tragically killed in a plane crash. They are then snatched from the loving arms of their stepmother and sent to live with their other grandparents.  They are only interested in the money these little girls will get when they turn eighteen.  They grow up never knowing the truth and being constantly abused and mistreated learning to fend for themselves and getting into all kinds of trouble.  All the while being told lies about their stepmother, Amanda, who is biding her time, taking care of the girl’s inheritance and just waiting for the day that Kara and Lizzie can come home to her and receive what is rightfully theirs.

This book made me think of the story of the prodigal son in the Bible.  The boy took the inheritance that his father gave him and squandered it but instead of coming back to the loving arms of his father, he refuses to admit that he is better off at home and starts eating the slop of the pigpen.  He was at the lowest of the low just like these girls.  Once he got past the devil’s lies and realized that his Father truly did love him, he was able to go back and receive all that he was destined to have.

It is the same way with our relationship with Christ.  No matter what we have done in life, no matter how far down we have sunk, God is right there, like Amanda in the story, guarding what is meant to be ours, just waiting for us to get past the devil’s lies and see that he has our best interest at heart. God will always take care of us if you will allow him to. 

This is not a book you can put down halfway, you have to stick it out and make it to the end of the book to know the whole story. 

You can find out more here.