A Stitch and a Prayer by Eva Gibson - REVIEWED

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Stitch and A Prayer Abingdon Press (May 20, 2014) by Eva Gibson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

(No image available) Eva Gibson is the author of twenty books, including A Stitch and a Prayer, the latest release in the Quilts of Love series from Abingdon Fiction. She currently teaches Writing Your Life Story classes for Portland Community College and is an active member of Oregon Christian Writers. She has lived most of her life on the family farm in Wilsonville, Oregon, which is the setting for her novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

After her fiancé returns from the Klondike gold rush in 1897, Florence Harms sets about building a new life in her new marriage—even though the lingering effects of illness have left her weak and vulnerable. She and her young husband, Will, work tirelessly to clear the land around their Northwest cabin, content with their modest life. But then a stranger comes knocking and Florence suddenly senses a restlessness in Will’s spirit that she had never seen before. When he leaves her with only a note that tells her he will return before their baby’s birth, she is devastated, and the illness that stiffened her joints returns. Counting the days until Will walks back through her door, Florence busies herself with a Tree of Life quilt displaying a map of the farm they call home. Doubts claw at her heart as Florence struggles to believe Will’s promise to return to her. Will her labor of love—and faith in God—sustain her as she waits to see her beloved once again?

My Thoughts:

“Blessed.  I and the man I’m about to wed have been blessed.” (p. 20)

Little did Florence know the significance of Aunt Amelia’s blessing.  She and Will would have to weather many trial and tribulations as they started married life together.  Most were just the normal trials that accompanied life in the late 1800’s. Wilsonville, Oregon was a rugged western town, and when couples married they truly lived out “for better for worse.”  A lot of hard work, patience and raw faith was required to stay the course of marriages in such rugged circumstances.

Florence had already undergone some significant changes prior to her wedding day.  The realization of life’s most important relationships and joys came through very painful physical illness for Florence.  She and Will had already faced many people’s worst fear and survived.  They had no idea that they would have to fight again and again to protect the love that had become vital to their hearts.  They never dreamed they would have to go to such extreme measures to defend what they knew to be true.

A Stitch and a Prayer is a beautiful edition to the Quilts of Love series.  The story takes the reader back in time in a way that makes you feel the emotional and physical obstacles faced by the cast of characters as they sought to survive and thrive in this harsh territory.  

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Stitch and A Prayer, go HERE.