“If God has taken the time to order our stories, then I want to live the story He’s written. He’s been doing this for millennia upon millennia so I know He’s better at it than I am.” (p. 224)
Ecclesiastes 3 verses 1 and 2 state: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted.” In Rebecca Seitz’ latest novel, Scrapping Plans, the Sinclair sisters are in a season filled with upheaval that leaves each of them questioning God’s design in all that is taking place in their lives. Every member of the family is facing change at a life-altering level, and because of that, the reader is left reading at a frantic pace trying to keep up! The Sister’s Inc. series has jumped to another, deeper level in this installment, and throughout each event, the family exercises the same loving support that has become the hallmark for this series.
Oh, that each of us could live daily in the blessed peace that the Lord is directing our every step – even when things don’t turn out as we planned. Scrapping Plans is a lovely play on words in this instance, because it not only represents the wonderful scrapbooking that lies as the centerpiece of the Sinclair sisters relationships, but it also represents the lesson we all must learn in our spiritual life – to scrap our own plans in favor of God’s much better plans! Joy is the sister upon which the primary focus falls in this story, and she and her husband both cling very tightly to the plans that they have made for themselves and their future. When they face a challenge that they simply have no control over, they have to learn that God’s plans are always better than anything we could possibly dream!
The other sisters are each facing changes in their own lives, and their father Jack is working through one of life’s greatest challenges that sometimes follows the loss of a spouse. At every turn, the story weaves in many of life’s most difficult circumstances, and each moment is usually discussed over scrapbook pages and plenty of chocolate. From unexpected travel plans to unexpected loss and expansion, Scrapping Plans takes the Sinclair’s to a place of acceptance and understanding of God’s perfect plan being worked out in their lives.
I will end with a hearty a-men to a statement Joy makes toward the end of the story. I pray this is true in my own life as well: “No matter the story God writes in our lives, I choose to follow His plan.” (p. 230)
Each Sister’s Inc novel grows richer and sweeter with the telling, and they all showcase the unique personalities of each Sinclair sister. I eagerly look forward to the release of the next novel in this series!
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