An incredible gift

For all of you who have yet to hear this story....get pumped!

So.....to preface: people give me a hard time for loving Francine Rivers' books. Those people have never read Redeeming Love.

I am an educated person and I enjoy reading a variety of sources and authors but no story has ever come close to that of Rivers' Redeeming Love. A good friend recommended it to me last year and since then I have been on a Francine high! To quickly some up the book, but not spoil it for those of you who will be inspired to read it when I am done telling you this story, Redeeming Love is a retelling of the Biblical story of Hosea and Gomer (the marriage of a prophet of God to a prostitute of Israel). Francine Rivers took some serious liberities with this novel, the time and setting has changed, the characters are incredibly detailed and the story is 500 pages longer than the original!
In this version, Gomer the prostitute’s name is Angel and leads a horrible life which began with parental abandonment and being raped and sold into prostitution at the age of eight. Into her life steps Michael Hosea, a religious man who talks to God. Following the Lord’s instruction, he sets out to marry Angel. The book is incredible and though Angel’s fall is great, God’s redemption is far greater.
Now I can say with certainty that I have led a very sheltered and mildly prudish life. But this book spoke to me when I read it last year and when I began working at Siena maternity home, it spoke to me again. The women at the maternity home I work at come from all walks of life. Most of their stories include drug abuse, molestation, rape, physical abuse and homelessness. The single characteristic that brings them to Siena House, however, is that they are pregnant and have no where to go.
I started working there in the fall and immediately fell in love. These women desired love, friendship and a relationship with God but their entire life they have been told they weren’t good enough by their peers, parents and their lovers. They felt stuck in their lives, haunted by the choices they had made and the men they had chosen. I knew then that I wanted them to read this book. I knew I couldn’t afford to buy ten copies of the book so I called upon the Venture community and Jim Hudson immediately stepped forward. He ordered a case of the books and I was floored! I gave all the women a copy and prayed that they would read it.

A week went by and nothing.

I knew that as soon as one woman read it the rest would follow…but who would be the first? My first week back after break I walked into the house excited for the new quarter. As soon as I put my jacket down I was yelled at from the hallway…
“ERIN!! I AM MAD AT YOU!” I turned around and saw Lynn (I’m changing their names just to be safe…)
**Sidebar** Lynn is pretty intimidating and even though she is incredibly pregnant I'm pretty sure she could seriously injure me if she wanted to.
“What? Why?” I was pretty freaked out at this point, we were the only two people in the front of the relatively large house…I was at her mercy.
“I hated that book you gave me.” She looked at me so sternly. I couldn’t believe it.
“Seriously?...No you didn’t" I said.
“It made me cry four times!” she said.
I was thrilled! We went into the office and she started gushing about the book. She couldn’t believe that God forgave Angel or that Michael Hosea loved her so much. Lynn told me she started it because she was bored but stayed up three nights in a row reading it until 2 am. Lynn explained to me that she had never read an entire book before. The story captured her and she even told me she was going to send it to her mother and also her boyfriend in prison.
Lynn and I were shortly joined by Marie and her new baby. Marie is another resident at Siena House and an incredible woman. Marie has gone through so much in her life and Redeeming Love really bothered her at first. She told me that she physically threw the book on the floor after the prologue brought up some issues she wasn’t ready to deal with. For whatever reason she kept reading and she said it really made me desire a closer relationship with Christ and was greatfull for the challenges God had walked her through.
Holy cow! These stories are incredible!
That week, Lynn wrote a letter to the Siena House board telling them that the book helped her “find the Lord”. The woman who had never read an entire book, asked the board for more books by the author! A woman from the board bought all the books Lynn asked for and shipped them to Siena House...out of her own pocket!

Please understand that I am aware that this book is not scripture, which there is no substitution for. But this story inspires and allows a person who may not know God (or a person who has grown up in the church) to begin to understand the incredible grace of our Father. I am so thankful for Venture and Crosswinds and that I am part of a community that gives. Know that Siena House is thankful and that the act of reaching out with something as simple as a novel is enough to spark an individual's desire for salvation.