During a severe thunderstorm, the Cross
in front of St. Thomas' church is struck by lightening. The parish is
poor. There's no money to replace the cross. Three doctors from the
local hospital volunteer to help. Macey, a pediatric oncologist, puts
up a sign to enlist other volunteers, and Kenneth, a carpenter
working on the hospital's new addition, volunteers. When everyone is
in the house except Kenneth, the blind pastor, and his son, Charlie,
who is mute, the cross is miraculously repaired – better than new.
This is only one of the series of miraculous events that take place
in the community. Although some of the characters find it difficult
to accept what's happening, the answer is “Only Believe.”
I have mixed feeling about this book. I
think the message is wonderful. Paul says, “know that all things
work together for good to those who love God.” Some of the
characters in the book, like all of us, find this hard to understand
at times, but this story reminds us that the answer is to “Only
Believe.” This book is well worth reading for that message.
I did have trouble with the characters.
They seemed to function in the service of the message, but lacked the
spirit to make the story come from them, as opposed to acting on
them. This may have been what the author intended, but I thought the
story could have been much more riveting with stronger characters.
These characters were almost too good.
I recommend this book for anyone who is
struggling with the question of why God lets bad things happen to
good people The story makes clear that God has a plan for each of us
and whatever happens we need to believe and understand that God acts
because he loves us.
I reviewed this book for the Amazon Vine Program.
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