|
Hope for Tomorrow
Description:
When Logan De Witt learns of his father’s sudden death, he returns home to the family’s dairy farm. During his stay, he discovers his mother’s struggle with finances and his younger sister’s struggle with grief. Concern for his family presses Logan to make the difficult decision to leave his career as a pastor and stay on the farm. As a way to make some extra money, he agrees to board the teacher for their local school.
Karen Millerson arrives from Chicago ready to teach high school but her position is eliminated so she accepts the role of country school teacher. Eager to put her family’s ugly past behind her, Karen begins a new career to replace the trust she lost in her own father who had been in ministry when she was a child.
Logan and Karen both sense a call from the Lord to serve him, but neither of them expected that one day they would do it together.
Can Karen learn to trust again? Will Logan lay aside his grief in exchange for God’s purpose for his life?
Book Takeaway:
The book is entertaining and humorous balanced with serious answers to deep questions. I trust the reader finishes the book with a desire to know the Lord better and that they have a sense of hope in whatever challenging circumstances they are facing.
Why the author wrote this book:
The Story Behind the Story of Hope for Tomorrow
What inspired me to write this book:
This book is a tribute in a way, to my family and the community that has shaped me. The heroine of the story, Karen Millerson, is a school teacher. She is from Chicago and has the training to teach English at a high school level. This character is based on my grandmother, Elizabeth Van Zante. She grew up during the 1920’s and then accomplished the completion of her college education during the depression, earning her a bachelor’s degree in math and Latin. She went on to teach math at two different high schools before marrying my grandfather in 1947.
Grandma Elizabeth made the statement in an era when women had less opportunities than they do today that women could pursue a college education as well as a career, and she did it in a time when finances were challenging.
She also knew her Scriptures, and spent time teaching them to me. We worked together on learning how to memorize using The ABC Memory Plan published by the Bible Memory Association International, copyright 1969. This plan was geared toward children through the illustrations in the book and the system they used that matched a letter of the alphabet with Bible verses in which the first word of the verse began with that particular letter. I believe this early instruction in the Word of God is what aided my discernment to a call to ministry in my high school years, and the eventual completion of my religion major, earning me a bachelor’s degree at the same liberal arts college my grandmother attended so many years before.
The hero of the story also has significance. He embodies my Dutch heritage and portrays the values my family and my Dutch community hold of living out our faith in the world while doing the work of our vocation. I saw this play out in my childhood as my dad, grandfather, and uncles were both farmers and church leaders. They cared for the land and lived out their faith. The loved their families and loved the Lord. I owe much to them, so it is the least I can do to write stories that bring their values and the essence of their characters to life.
|
