A Heart Full Of Christmas
Wishing For Mistletoe by Robin Lee Hatcher is the most charming Christmas Christian contemporary novel that will warm the reader’s heart and make you smile. It is the sixth book in Love On Sanctuary Shores but can be read as a stand-alone. All the books in the series are written by different authors and I cannot wait to dip into them.
This is a book about deep love. Love comes in many forms. We love because Jesus first loved us. Love is a verb. “Love was shown by what a person did.” There is the love of God for us; our love for Him; and family, friendship and new love. This love puts others above self. It is beautiful to witness love in action.
We see the importance of building a relationship with God. The Bible is God’s love letter to us. We need to open it, read it, and digest the words. “She discovered a little [Bible reading] wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy her hunger. She needed more and more.” We all want to be hungry for the word of God.
God calls us into His presence. “When was the last time she’d simply sat in God’s presence?… When was the last time she’d been content to be and not to do?” A relationship builds as we spend time together – whether that is with God or with other people.
Characters have been hurt by loss. There is the temptation to keep our hearts safe by withdrawing from life – but then we are merely existing and not living. “Don’t stop living just because there might be some pain around the corner.” God wants us to live an abundant life. We can trust His leading. “Faith demanded he trust God for what was best.” When we put God first, things will work out in His timing and His plans. “Put God first in all things, and the rest would work itself out.”
God’s great idea for planet earth was the church. The church is not a building. The church is the people who meet inside the building and then go out into the world and spread the good news of Jesus. “It’s my church family who were the constant… source of help I needed when I was at my lowest.” We need people to love, support and encourage us. “Witnessing their faith hold strong in the midst of disappointment and heartbreak had strengthened Tom’s own faith … he thanked God for them in his prayers.”
We need to practice an attitude of gratitude. Our prayers are important as they help us to build a relationship with God and each other. At times circumstances are hard and remain seemingly unchanged, even after much prayer but “prayer doesn’t change circumstances, but it does change the person who prays regularly” – Wow!
The community of Sanctuary Shore is a small, close knit one, full of warmth and compassion. There are tourists in the summer but for many winter months the island is shut off from the mainland due to frozen waters. At Christmas there are traditions that bring the residents together.
All the characters were delightfully drawn. The love between them reaches beyond the pages of the book to encompass the reader. From the youngest to the oldest, the love is tangible.
Sanctuary Shore is a place where fractured hearts can find healing. The peace and tranquility connect hearts with each other and with God.
I absolutely adored Wishing For Mistletoe and am sorry it is ended.
JULIA WILSON
