All Things Work Together For Good

 
I just finished reading a book from the “Tales From Grace Chapel Inn” series.  I did not realize that the story would be so timely for Mother’s Day.  The series is about three sisters who turn their family home into a Bread and Breakfast.  I enjoy the series, maybe because the sisters are ages 50 and up and each has her own distinct personality, talents, and interests.  They definitely do not live a sedentary lifestyle!  God uses them each in unique ways, as well as together as they bring peace and healing to those who come to stay at their inn.

This book, “Recipes and Wooden Spoons,” by Judy Baer, is one of the early books in the series, and it’s mostly about the youngest sister Jane and her struggles.  When she was born she never got to know her mother who passed away shortly after childbirth.

Jane had been away from home and away from God for many years, and in this return to her quaint little hometown and to her older sisters, she struggles with many things.  Among them is the knowledge that she never knew her mother and the emotional distance that she feels from her older sisters.  From some hidden items that she discovers in the house, she moves into a discovery of who her mother was and finds out that in many ways she is very much like her.

As Jane inwardly wrestles with issues of her past and her own faith, she is able to help a homeless man, a troubled woman who has a stroke, a harried single mother, and a sweet little girl.   She also learns how to deal with conflicts that arise with other people.  And she finds how God works everything together for good, even when there are obstacles that she and others would never have chosen to go through.

So this is not just a good story for Mother’s Day, it’s a fictional spiritual journey that just might speak to you about your own journey of life.  It will inspire you to watch for how God works things together for good in your own life.

Romans 8:28   And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  NKJV