Of Stillness and Storm by Michele Phoenix and published by Thomas Nelson [Review & Author Giveaway]

My thoughts: This is a very well written book though a hard-on-the-heart story to delve into.

The author takes us through the courtship and into the throes of a marriage giving the reader word pictures of the manipulation of the husband over the wife in things secular and spiritual. The husband feels and intensely believes he is called of God to serve in some vastly important way and a perchance meeting with a business acquaintance leads his heart to Nepal.

He begins to maneuver his life and that of his wife and young son in that direction against the desire of his wife and strong discouragement of the church elders. Being discouraged by the elders and seeing no support in that camp, they leave the church and the husband seeks support elsewhere.

They do go to Nepal. The wife and son are left for weeks in this strange land while the husband treks into the world he feels compelled to serve.

This story brings to bear the harshness of life for those serving in foreign fields. Fiction? Yes, but so revealing in its reality. Life is not easy or always benign for this missionary. This is the modern age, but even that does not ease the life of the families serving in countries other then their homeland - especially when it is forced on them by a husband unfeeling for the family needs.

A story such as this should compel husbands, wives, churches, mission boards, etc. to fully vet candidates who seek to minister afar. Not all are called. Not all are to serve afar. It behooves all to be diligent to determine the true call of God on their lives.

About the book: "I felt torn between two worlds. Each with its own mystery. One more captivating than the other, but the other more real and breathing."

It took Lauren and her husband ten years to achieve their dream--reaching primitive tribes in remote regions of Nepal. But while Sam treks into the Himalayas for weeks at a time, finding passion and purpose in his work among the needy, Lauren and Ryan stay behind, their daily reality more taxing than inspiring. For them, what started as a calling begins to feel like the family's undoing. At the peak of her isolation and disillusion, a friend from Lauren's past enters her life again. But as her communication with Aidan intensifies, so does the tension of coping with the present while reengaging with the past. It's thirteen-year-old Ryan who most keenly bears the brunt of her distraction.Intimate and bold, Of Stillness and Storm weaves profound dilemmas into a tale of troubled love and honorable intentions gone awry.

 

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review of my honest opinion. I received no compensation for this review. Learn more & purchase a copy.