If you enjoy Amish Fiction you will love spending an afternoon reading Diane Craver's newest gem, A Joyful Break. This is the first in her new series, Dreams of Plain Daughters. If your searching for a sweet Amish story to take you away for an afternoon this is for you.
First of all I love the cover. You see the main character walking along the beach in her English clothing and an Amish young man in a carriage. Two separate lives intertwine for Rachel. The death of her mother has rocked her to the core. She has begun to question her life. She doesn't want to end up like her mother. Rachel believes that it could have been the Amish way of life that brought her mother to an early death.
Rachel is engaged to to Samuel Weaver. A sweet and kind young man. He is certain of the life he wants. He has it planned out before him. It is a life that includes Rachel, but she is questioning everything in her life.
She accepts an invite to spend some time at the beach with her aunt. Her aunt who left the Amish life. This is where the story really begins to build. This is the sweet and uncharted journey of Rachel and Samuel. This was such a tender and easy read for me.
A life lesson I can take away from this book is that there are times in our lives we need a break. We need to stop and wait to hear from the Lord. Patience and peace come from learning to wait upon the Lord. We need to give ourselves time to pray and to uncover who we are created to be, not allowing anyone to push us into being someone we are not.
Diane Craver is a talented writer. I admire her greatly. Her works seem to flow at an easy pass for the reader. Although tender and sweet, this book shows us the turmoil that Rachel is facing. Decisions are not always easy. We make mistakes, but through Rachel we see the wisdom in waiting and taking time to uncover the journey the Lord has for us.
I will be passing this one on to my mother who will treasure this story.
This book was a gift from Diane Craver for sharing my review with you.
