Today I play catch-up.
In my ever-to-be-humble opinion, Francine Rivers is a master storyteller. Her Mother's Dream captivated me and left me wanting more. This story follows Marta from her teenage years in Switzerland where her father was harsh and unloving toward her. She left her family to do the job her father thought best for her and started on a journey that shaped her life.
She eventually marries and comes to America. She has 3 children, including a daughter she loves so much but is so worried about that she doesn't effectively convey the love that Hildie needs to thrive. The cycle that was started with Marta and her father now finds its way to Hildie. Hilde believes her mother does not love her because of how she is held at such an emotional arm's length away from her mother.
Hilde grows up, marries, and has a family of her own, and the cycle starts to repeat itself with her daughter Carolyn. In Her Daughter's Dream Carolyn's grandmother, Marta, comes back into the picture and wants desperately to undo all the wrong she did for so many years with Hildie, but it just causes more resentment to build and drives more of a wedge between Hildie and Carolyn.
Carolyn grows up feeling just as lost and lonely and unloved as did her own mother. When she has a daughter, May Flower Dawn, once again the cycle of hurt and misunderstandings is begun.
It is not until May Flower Dawn becomes a mother that the horrible cycle starts to be broken and decades of hurt begin to heal.
These books kept me up past my bedtime for several nights. I learned so much from them. I feel blessed to be given the chance to read fiction and learn so much. Mrs. Rivers is a Christian author and weaves Biblical truths throughout her stories. These books encouraged me to speak out in my own family--to do so with love, but to let my loved ones know my thoughts and feelings so they do not get stuffed way down inside and cause me to imagine problems where there are none. It is so important to keep lines of communication open--especially within families. There are so many hurt, broken families that could have been spared so much pain if they had just communicated.
I highly recommend these books as they will be entertaining, but at the same time encourage you to form stronger bonds within your own family.
No comments:
Post a Comment