Have you ever been angry with God?
Oh, you might not call it that. It seems like depression, a touch of ennui, or maybe an irritableness that
you just can’t shake. Everything is going wrong. Your dishwasher breaks and spews
water all over the floor, your neighbor’s dog keeps pooping in your yard, your
bank balance is in double digits, and just yesterday, your doctor said there is
something suspicious on a scan.
Then at church the pastor speaks on
giving thanks in everything. Seriously?
In my new novel, The Shenandoah Road: A Novel of the Great
Awakening, one of my characters begins to slog through this kind of mire.
Don’t get me wrong: he’s a strong Christian, but his circumstances pull at him.
First one thing, then another, and pretty soon he’s not sure if he even wants
to get things right with God.
Hasn’t he suffered enough?
John crossed to the next tree, a massive
pine. The sharp, clean scent caused him to pause, as if inhaling the aroma
might somehow cleanse him on the inside.
He felt dirty.
He stretched out his hands to finger the
bark, tracing the wide scales with his fingers. Yes, a longleaf pine—Abigail
would want this for her book. Such a strange pattern. All trees had bark that
cracked—or even peeled—in ridges or grooves; this one felt more like tiny
plates.
And every year the tree would grow, and the
bark would break some more, sap rising to heal the wounds. Hence the piney
smell—the smell of brokenness. John laid his forehead on the tree, feeling
broken himself.
Was this the way of all things under the
sun? Grow … and break?
Oh God … out of the
depths I cry to Thee …
Maybe he wasn’t growing. Maybe it was just
sin. The filth of his murderous temper.
Create in me a
clean heart, O God …
He collapsed and found himself kneeling in a
thick bed of long pine needles, his shoulders shuddering and heaving. No tears
would come, only this shaking and gasping, like an ague that had taken him
unawares.
It wasn’t just his temper. It wasn’t just
his anger toward Sloan or Roy.
He was angry with God.
Find out what happens next as John and Abigail travel to the valley. The Shenandoah Road is available in print via
multiple booksellers and also through kindle.
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/
Back cover copy
TSR
John Russell’s heart aches from the loss of his wife, but
the Shenandoah Valley frontiersman needs to marry again for his daughter’s
sake. At first he believes he has found the right young woman, despite their
differences in background, but his faith falters when time
reveals she isn’t quite what she seemed. Can he truly love her? And what about
his own failings?
Unlike her disgraced sister, Abigail Williams obeys the
Commandments. At least, she thinks herself a Christian until a buckskin-clad
newcomer courts her. He treats her kindly but also introduces her to a sermon
by the controversial preacher, George Whitefield. Her self-righteousness is
shattered, and she wonders about their relationship. If she confesses her lack of
faith, will John continue to love her?
“Lynne Tagawa transports readers into the faith and hope,
and sorrows and fears of 18th century colonial America. While other
books feature the raw grit of frontier colonial life, this book goes deeper and
reveals the heart.” —Douglas Bond, author of numerous books, including War in the Wasteland and Hostage Lands.
“The Shenandoah Road is
an authentic and engaging journey back to the challenges of settling in the
Shenandoah Valley” —Laura Hilton, author of Firestorm
(Whitaker House, 2018)
“Raw, realistic, and historically packed, this story will
make you think. If you enjoy stories with deep theological themes, you will
enjoy this.” —Amber Schamel, author of Solve by Christmas, winner
of the 2018 Christian Indie Award
Lynne Tagawa, author of Sam
Houston’s Republic and A Twisted
Strand, lives in Texas with her husband.
Bio: Lynne Tagawa
About me:
Lynne Tagawa is married with four grown sons and three
marvelous grandbabies. She’s written a Texas history curriculum in narrative
form, Sam Houston’s Republic, and The Shenandoah Road, a
story of the Great Awakening,is scheduled to be published in 2018. Lynne lives
with her husband in South Texas.
2 comments:
The Shenandoah Road calls out to read after reading this post. Thank you for sharing.
I hope it is a blessing to you, Marilyn!
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