From The Back:
Jah, Lucy thought. Tobe would have known what to say.
"But what would he say to me if he knew the truth?" she murmured into her hands, leaning on the desk.
Alas, that was something she could not afford to find out.
The Atonement
The mistakes of the past haunt Lucy Flaud, now twenty-five and beyond Amish courting age. Instead, Lucy focuses on volunteering in both the Plain and fancy communities of Lancaster County. Yet no matter how hard she strives, she never feels she's doing enough. Then her father strikes up an unexpected friendship with an Englischer in search of a simpler way of life. Lucy forms a connection of her own with the thoughtful young man even as she rejects courtship with her longtime Amish friend. Is it too late to embrace redemption . . . and the power of love?
"But what would he say to me if he knew the truth?" she murmured into her hands, leaning on the desk.
Alas, that was something she could not afford to find out.
The Atonement
The mistakes of the past haunt Lucy Flaud, now twenty-five and beyond Amish courting age. Instead, Lucy focuses on volunteering in both the Plain and fancy communities of Lancaster County. Yet no matter how hard she strives, she never feels she's doing enough. Then her father strikes up an unexpected friendship with an Englischer in search of a simpler way of life. Lucy forms a connection of her own with the thoughtful young man even as she rejects courtship with her longtime Amish friend. Is it too late to embrace redemption . . . and the power of love?
My Reflections:
This story is a heart-wrenching reminder that our sins are not to be carried on our own fallible shoulders. Jesus gave us a way to repent and move on as if nothing ever happened, clean, forgiven...free. Unfortunately, the Amish work in different ways and their system involves public shaming and often disownment.
I so love Amish novels but this story broke my heart, probably because I have made plenty of mistakes along the way and without the redeeming God I have I would feel exactly as the main character Lucy Flaud feels: Alone, shameful and unworthy, striving to make up for past transgressions. Grace, love redemption those are the words I would describe as the crux of this book.
Three long years, this is the amount of time Lucy has been trying to pay the penance for her youthful transgressions. All of which have fallen flat. Not the volunteer work at MCC, feeding the needy or helping out at the Hospice, nothing has eased her burden. Feeling like she may very well implode Lucy tries to daily do her best to float through her long days without complaint, but when will enough be enough?
When Lucy's good friend Tobe Glick asks to go courting Lucy turns him down flat because she is determined to keep her shameful past to herself.
Dale Wyeth is interested in living a simple life. Can this Englischer soften Lucy's heart, or was one English encounter enough to last Lucy a lifetime?
Which boy will win Lucy's guarded heart, and will she be able to forgive herself enough to look to God who is the ultimate forgiver of all sin?
Readers who adore Beverly Lewis will not be disappointed with her newest novel, I know I wasn't! Tested and true this author always comes through with heart melting stories interspersed with nuggets of wisdom.
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc
THE AUTHOR
Photo courtesy of Gene Photography Beverly Lewis
Beverly Lewis, born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, has more than 17 million books in print. Her stories have been published in eleven languages and have regularly appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times and...Continue reading about Beverly Lewis
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