Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns
If you think Jesus would have come into your home that day and not issued a strong rebuke to the head of household, you are mistaken. These words of condemnation have been haunting me for days now. They aren’t all that different than the soundtrack I play in my head on an almost-daily basis. It’s…
I am nesting. On Saturday I emptied the refrigerator. Last summer’s homemade pickles in their jars. The bread ends that seem to multiply on every shelf. The eggs. The milk. The fruit and veggies. All of it sat on the floor or the counter as I carefully removed the shelves and wiped them down with…
I’ve heard that life is like a highway. And it definitely seems like that sometimes. The pace of life swirls around me at dizzying speeds. We’re all so busy. In such a hurry. Always somewhere to be, something else to do. I’m a get-to-the-point, get-there-quick kind of girl. I don’t like to waste time on…
This week is a significant one for patriotism and remembering, and though I didn’t plan to review this book this week for that reason, I’m glad it worked out that way. Freedom’s Ring by Heidi Chiavorelli weaves two momentous times in the life of Boston, Massachusetts: the Boston Massacre and the Boston Marathon Bombing.
There was so much for me to love about this book: the back-and-forth between time periods, the Boston setting, the theme of finding the true source of strength in difficult circumstances. The middle of the book had me turning page after page and because I visited Boston for the first time this year, the setting was easy to imagine.
(Disclosure: I received a copy of the book from the publisher. Review reflects my own opinion.)
If I have complaints it’s the beginning and end, and they are probably just personal preferences.
Overall, I enjoyed the historical thread following Liberty Caldwell through the events leading up to the American Revolution and the contemporary thread following Annie David through the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing. The trials and lessons both women face are tied together well, and it was fun to discover the events that connect them.
A strong debut offering from an author I will continue to follow.
“Never forget.”
It is the mantra of this day we call Patriot Day, when we think back on the days surrounding September 11, 2001.
Can I confess something to you? It has always rubbed me wrong.
At first, I was cynical: Never forget? Please. We as a people are notoriously forgetful. Will we keep this tragedy before us daily? “Always” and “never” are words we should seldom use.
Lately, my reasoning for disliking these words has changed. When I think of someone saying the words “never forget,” I hear an undertone of bitterness. A hardening of the heart. Something like “I will never forget what you did.”
It’s a subtle difference but I wonder what would happen if we changed the words from “never forget” to “always remember.”
Read the entire post at Putting on the New, where I write on the 12th of each month.