Where Hope Prevails

Where Hope Prevails is the third book in the Return to the Canadian West series by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan. It's a compainion of sorts to the Hallmark Channel's When Calls the Heart. If you haven't read the other books in the series or haven't seen all the esisodes on tv, don't worry you can still follow along just fine and enjoy the book.

After spending the summer with her family Elizabeth Thatcher is looking forward to coming home to Coal Valley. She enjoyed her time, but she really missed her friends, who are like a second family, and her students. She's looking forward to coming home and getting back into a routine. What she finds upon arrival though, disturbes her more than she thought. Her town is expanding and nothing seems to be as it was when she left. There are stumps everywhere from where they have cut down trees to expand the town. She hates those stumps, she views them as ugly scars instead of seeing them as a blessing of expansion.

Not only are there ugly stumps, but Coal Valley has hired a second teacher to help with all the new students moving into town due to the expansion. Elizabeth is worried how some of her students will relate to a stranger. After all, she's spent years building relationships with these children and their families. She knows their strengths and weaknesses, their insecurities and their home life. Besides she doesn't really think Coal Valley needs a new teacher, she was doing just fine on her own, thank you very much.

Elizabeth struggles to come to terms with all the changes life brings her way. Will she and Jack marry? If they do, where will they live? What about Coal Valley? Will they still need her when the new teacher arrives? Where exactly does she fit into this new Coal Valley? Will they ever remove those ugly stumps?

I truly enjoyed Where Hope Prevails. I feel like we are all a little like Elizabeth. I for one hate change. I like things to stay the same and I really enjoy staying inside my comfort zone. Just like Elizabeth, when change is hard or uncomfortable I find it ugly. I find it unnecessary and I want it gone as soon as possible. Can you relate?

God doesn't call us to the comfortable. He is constantly challenging us to look beyond ourselves to see something more. To give others a chance and show them the love of Jesus. Sure, it may not be easy, life never really is, but when you trust Him you can be assured it will lead to a greater good. Life is hardly ever what we expect it to be but with God we can manage all the ugly stumps life throws our way.

You can grab a copy here: Where Hope Prevails

* I was provided a free copy of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.