Book Review - The First Love by Beverly Lewis
This is a sweet and heartwarming story by Beverly Lewis. I enjoy this author because while the Amish are not immune to the struggles of life - it seems as if their life is simpler and I am always drawn in by the story.
Maggie is a young teenager who loses her Mom just at the time when she needs her. Not only that, her father very quickly remarries following her mother's death. Given the number of children he has to raise, Joseph did what he thought was best for the family by marrying Rachel. This story is of a tragic time in their family life and how trusting God is difficult but necessary.
Maggie also has a health condition that does not allow her to function as other teenage girls. She felt that finding someone to marry her would be difficult because of her condition. Maggie attends revival meetings with her cousins and meets people who encourage her in the faith and also testify to God's healing in their lives. So Maggie begins to pray for healing in her own life. As it often happens, healing is not always immediate and it does not always happen in the way we want it. For Maggie it was a lesson in trusting God and his ways.
While the story does not center on Maggie's first love, I felt that her growing relationship with God was an important part of the story and was her first love as a teenager. She had a deep desire to know God better. In the end, she is able to deepen her relationship with a childhood friend and develops a relationship with him.
I loved the way Lewis ended the book with an epilogue that resolves the story for us. While the family had many struggles, they didn't give up on one another or God and God saw them through.
