**This post may contain sponsor, affiliate, and/or referral links. I have been given Anna's Crossing by Suzanne Woods Fisher free of charge in exchange for this review. However, the opinions in this post are my own. For more information please read my full disclosure statement here. **
Are you going through something that you can't see to the other side? And you don't know what's going to happen?
Are you recently unemployed worried of what's to come? Did you just get diagnosed with cancer and you don't know what the future holds ?
Are you going back into the work force after years of staying at home?
Has life changed from how you expected it to be?
There are times in everyone's lives where God will put us in situations when all we can do is depend on him. When all sense of control goes out the window and we are just plain scared.
The unknown is a scary thing especially when you cannot control it at all.
I can imagine that's the feeling the first group of Amish felt when they made the dangerous journey across the Atlantic ocean to the new world in the 1700s. Unsure of what the new world would hold for them if they made it safely across, because even that wasn't a guarantee.
In Suzanne Woods Fisher's new book Anna's Crossing she takes us back to the Amish Beginnings as we follow Anna Konig and her amish community looking forward to the freedom to practice their faith in the Americas. Unsure of the voyage across the vast ocean and what is to come Anna has to place her life in Gods hands - giving up all control.
It seemed to be past time for words, until Christian rose to his feet in the middle aisle and read from Psalm 91 in his Bible, offering heartfelt thanks.
"'He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the distraction that wasteth at noonday…for ge shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways… With long life will I satisfy him, and shed him my salvation.
A sudden revelation paid a visit to Anna. This was the point of the story of St. Julian of Norwich and her long illness. Even in the midst of great gales, they could know peace."(Emphasis mine- TJ)
-Anna's Crossing, Suzanne Woods Fisher
Bairn, the ships carpenter, has been living on ships for most of his life and he isn't thrilled that the Peculiars are taking this journey with them. Haunted by nightmares of his past he tries everything to leave it behind, but Anna's presence reminds him of it.
With vivid imagery that pulls you in, while reading you will feel like you are there with them on that boat every step of the way. By the end of the book you will be left wanting more, not because it was incomplete but because you didn't want it to end.
Though some of the parts, such as the romance included were predictable, the ending caught me completely by surprise. I love when that happens! I can definitely say that I fell in love with the characters and the story, which is why I recommend this book to anyone who loves Amish and Historical fiction.
"'Mayhap you put an expectation on the Almighty that He has no plans ta meet. What will you do when al hope is gone?'"Broken expectations aren't meant to crush our hopes, but to free us to put our confidence in God alone. They aren't meant to make us give up, but look up."
-Anna's Crossing, Suzanne Woods Fisher
What I love about Christian fiction novels and especially in Suzanne Wood Fisher's work, is that there is always a bigger lesson to be learned while reading. I know I have read more than 5 of Suzanne's books, all of which I have post-its and post-its full of lessons I have taken just by reading her books. Anna's crossing is no exception.
Through the storms, sickness and death - there was one thing that Anna had that allowed her to persevere no matter what the circumstance - her faith and trust in God. It is a lesson we can all take away:
When the unknown is waiting just ahead in our own journey, all we have to do is trust in the Lord and know he is in control.
"The love of God is like the ocean. You can see it's beginning but not it's end."
-Anna's Crossing, Suzanne Woods Fisher
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
Psalms 46:10
A good review. Nice pictures! Definitely a lesson we all need to learn (again and again): "When the unknown is waiting just ahead in our own journey, all we have to do is trust in the Lord and know he is in control."
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