Heritage & Roots

Seeking Ayita by Lin Stepp is a fabulous Christian novel and part of the Mountain Home series.

This book concerns roots and heritage as a daughter fulfills her mother’s dying wish to return her ashes to her Cherokee homeland. The mother also desires that her daughter and granddaughter spend time with the maternal family getting to know their heritage. Lin Stepp shows us the rich cultural heritage of the Cherokee. There are some wise words about character saying about what is inside us… “ ‘One is an evil wolf… The other wolf is a good wolf’… ‘Which wolf wins?’… ‘The one you feed.’ “ Within our lives, whatever we focus on will become evident in our character. As we lean into and focus on God, trusting Him, He will give us peace and lead our lives, even through death. “I am ready to go home. I know my God well.” When we know God, death is not a frightening place because our Lord is already there and He will lead us home when the time comes.

The Cherokee live simply, keeping their customs alive as they practice their traditional arts. It is important to pass down crafting skills to the next generation or the skills will die out. Lin Stepp has vividly painted not only their crafts but their homeland with her descriptive words.

Guilt is a terrible master. “A spirit of guilt is pursuing him… He feels he isn’t owed any happiness.” We were never meant to be chained to guilt. God wants us to live abundantly free.

We see that dreams still foretell things that are to come, as they did in Biblical times. If it is from God, it will come to pass.