I absorbed this biography within a few days. The first portion of the book is about the younger lives of Magda and Andre, their families and how life was for them. The Trocme's are a family that is a living legacy. It was interesting to learn about their lives before they met and married.
The second portion of the biography was most interesting to me. It just seemed to get better as I turned the pages. I enjoyed learning of these wondrous people of faith who were willing to go beyond self and serve their God in the way of His leadership. They didn't follow what others were doing. They weren't so much political. But what they lived was a transparent life not separate from their faith. Their faith was a the very foundation of every choice they made. They reached into the hearts of so many just by loving them. But what I love is that they loved until it hurt. That's something that isn't easy to do. We love with our mouths, but when we truly put love into action it becomes something with possibility and hope that is far beyond our own strength and power. This is what I can take away from the Trocme family.
I would have enjoyed reading more of their own actual words. Those are the parts of this biography that truly stick with me. The author asks questions of her own and we see much of her own thoughts to what those answers would/could be. Also, here's where it gets a bit sticky for me. Vickie Reddy, Founder of We Welcome Refugees, wrote the forward. It was a lovely piece, but it was very personal of her own ideals. I related her words to what the Trocme's would have done with the refugees of today. That isn't something she could possibly answer. How the Trocme family lived was in the leadership of God for them at the moment. Today's issues like in the U.S. with the incoming of refugees or building a wall is something very different and an issue that is unlike what the Trocme family faced. I could have possibly taken her words differently than she intended, but the wording she uses is well, pretty forward. (No pun intended).
I too enjoyed the photos of this family. They are rich in how they give way to the love of these people. They lived their lives not according to how a world reacted or what a world expected. They lived in a way that touching just one life was worth it all. They opened their lives to those hiding from death.
I loved turning to the last pages and seeing their legacy alive in our world today. Many organizations started by them are still in progress today. That is just amazing!! The author also shares what happened to those in this biography, like family and friends. Their children went on to live in other areas, some in the U.S. today. Each of them continue to live a legacy started so long ago that blossomed in the hearts of those willing to not just speak about mercy, but chose to live it out as they reached into the heart of man.
The second portion of the biography was most interesting to me. It just seemed to get better as I turned the pages. I enjoyed learning of these wondrous people of faith who were willing to go beyond self and serve their God in the way of His leadership. They didn't follow what others were doing. They weren't so much political. But what they lived was a transparent life not separate from their faith. Their faith was a the very foundation of every choice they made. They reached into the hearts of so many just by loving them. But what I love is that they loved until it hurt. That's something that isn't easy to do. We love with our mouths, but when we truly put love into action it becomes something with possibility and hope that is far beyond our own strength and power. This is what I can take away from the Trocme family.
I would have enjoyed reading more of their own actual words. Those are the parts of this biography that truly stick with me. The author asks questions of her own and we see much of her own thoughts to what those answers would/could be. Also, here's where it gets a bit sticky for me. Vickie Reddy, Founder of We Welcome Refugees, wrote the forward. It was a lovely piece, but it was very personal of her own ideals. I related her words to what the Trocme's would have done with the refugees of today. That isn't something she could possibly answer. How the Trocme family lived was in the leadership of God for them at the moment. Today's issues like in the U.S. with the incoming of refugees or building a wall is something very different and an issue that is unlike what the Trocme family faced. I could have possibly taken her words differently than she intended, but the wording she uses is well, pretty forward. (No pun intended).
I too enjoyed the photos of this family. They are rich in how they give way to the love of these people. They lived their lives not according to how a world reacted or what a world expected. They lived in a way that touching just one life was worth it all. They opened their lives to those hiding from death.
I loved turning to the last pages and seeing their legacy alive in our world today. Many organizations started by them are still in progress today. That is just amazing!! The author also shares what happened to those in this biography, like family and friends. Their children went on to live in other areas, some in the U.S. today. Each of them continue to live a legacy started so long ago that blossomed in the hearts of those willing to not just speak about mercy, but chose to live it out as they reached into the heart of man.
This book was a gift from Herald Press for sharing my review with you.
Hanna Schott is a journalist, writer, and editor living in Haan, Germany. She studied French, Italian, music, and theology at universities in Marburg, Freiburg, and Heidelberg. Schott has worked as a bookseller and is the author of many books. She is a member of Evangelishe Kirchengemeinde St. Reinoldi Rupelrath.
You can find discussion questions for this book at HeraldPress.com/StudyGuides.
