Reviewer: Lori Graham
Title: Waiting For Summer's Return
Author: Kim Vogel Sawyer
Publisher: Bethany House
ISBN: 0-7642-0182-4
Release Date: May 2006
Genre/Sub-genre: Inspirational - Historical Romance
Year/Setting: 1894/Kansas
Overall Rating: 5.0
Sexual Content Rating: None
Language (Profanity) Rating: None
Voilent Content Rating: None
Kim's Website: www.kimvogelsawyer.com
Summer Steadman and her family had set out to find a new life in the frontier. It seemed so exciting when it began – a whole new world opening up for them. They made it as far as Gaeddert, Kansas before things began to go seriously wrong. In a very short period of time, Summer buried her husband and four children. The sickness was bad enough that every possession they owned was burned while Summer was recovering so she truly was left with the clothes on her back (thankfully also, the money they had brought was also saved so she did have a small amount of money to her name). What is a woman to do on her own in the pioneer? Even if there were a place for her, Summer wasn’t sure she even wanted to find that place. Wouldn’t being with her family just be so much easier??
There came a day, however, when she realized she was going to be staying here on Earth and she better figure out what to do to support herself because staying at the hotel wasn’t cheap. She approached all of the local businesses only to be turned away. When Summer was just about at the end of her rope, she was approached by a widower, Peter Ollenburger. Peter had been given her information by the local pastor because he was looking for someone to instruct his son, who had fallen and injured his ribs and was not, therefore, able to go to school.
The down side of Peter reaching out is that the community is Mennonite and they would rather Summer move on. With a history of religious persecution they are very suspicious of strangers. Not only does Peter convince her to take the job but he moves her to his homestead. Now she is staying in a shack on his property so the church elders are held at bay. Things become a bit trickier when the shack is taken out by a storm.
God certainly moves in mysterious ways for this couple. Both individuals have suffered terrible tragedy and have built walls in their own ways around their hearts. One little boy though has the power to break through for both of them, especially with God’s help.
Peter has come to understand God has worked through his tragedy to help him become a better father and thereby a better person. He has found a place of peace and calm which Summer desperately wants and this allows for the opening of scriptures. I particularly enjoyed how Kim Vogel Sawyer introduced those scriptures to the reader as well as from Peter to Summer. Summer was really hurting and if Peter had tried to push his beliefs he would have ended up alienating her.
However, Summer found her peace through the love shown her by Peter, his son and his mother in law. (I found his mother in law to be an interesting person. Didn’t speak a word of English but certainly got her point across time and time again both lovingly and completely.) The range of emotions brought out by Waiting for Summer’s Return will run the gamut – chuckles to smiles to heart tugs to tears – very sweet story illustrating both love and grace.
Lori
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