Silver Girl: Book Review

Elin Hilderbrand has been one of my favorite authors for about a year now.  Her stories are often set at on Nantucket beach and her characters are always relatable and interesting.  In fact, Hilderbrand is one of the only fiction authors I have ever found interest in.  Last summer when I was working at a used book store I ran across her novel Summer People.  I shocked myself by selecting a fiction, but quickly fell head over heels for the book.  I wouldn't put it down until it was finished.

Hilderbrand's stories are perfect for warmer weather.  In fact they are responsible for a lot of my beachy daydreams.  I always feel like I'm on vacation when I am reading about the lives of her coastal characters.

Two weeks ago I found "Silver Girl" on the shelf at my local library.   Because I love Hilderbrand I knew it would be good.  Indeed I was right, it was another read I could not put down.

Silver Girl is the story of two women who have been best friends since birth, essentially.  The story starts when they are both in their fifties and encountering some very rough times.  Through scandal, death, separation and humility, the two women lean on one another and support each other's weaknesses.

Meredith and Connie go through so much throughout the book.  The novel depicts a true picture of love, forgiveness and friendship.  Though men may come and go, the friendship between women has power to stick forever.

It took me a while to understand the meaning of the title, but once I did the story was that much deeper.  There were so many hidden themes and messages that I wish I had someone to sit with me and pull these things out.

Though much of the story is wrapped in devastation and disappointment, it is hope that keeps the characters alive and joyful.  Sometimes we need to read about other people's lives so we can better appreciate and understand our own.

 Although this is a spoiler alert, I am going to bring up the tiny detail that Meredith had a wonderful relationship with her father.  His love for her gave her confidence to conquer life head-on.  As I found myself mesmerized with the story of her father, I couldn't help but be deeply reminded of the love of my own father and how I often times take that for granted.  This of course, I believe was a bigger picture of the father's love for us.  Even in our lowest hours, he is always there with us and he never leaves.

There is also a pressing importance on healing and finding strength within yourself.  At the very end of the book we see tough and strong Meredith break down into sweet vulnerability with herself.  She spent enough alone time with herself that she finally felt confident in letting down her pride and fully feeling the emotions she had experienced.

Alone time is such an important part of the self-growth process.  I feel that when I am home alone or living by myself I seem to grow twice as fast.  I challenge myself with activities I wouldn't do around others, and I am always finding new ways to entertain myself without depending on others.  The reflection and meditation one finds inside themselves is full of restoration qualities, plus the more a person fills themselves up with the presence of God alone, the more easily they can pour out love and affection towards others.  It's a win-win cycle.

Overall I learned a few lessons from Silver Girl,  and I felt many emotions that caused me to see things more clearly in my own life.

I highly recommend this book as a relaxing summer read to bring you sympathy, joy and forgiveness.

Born to Break the Chains

I heard a song the other day while listening to my favorite radio station, K-Love.  I'm terrible at understanding lyrics with just my ear, so I always catch parts of a song--missing the point of it until I later go home and google the lyrics.  Well, this was one of those songs.  The artist was singing about birthdays, and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what birthdays had to do with Christianity.  So I looked up the lyrics, and nearly fell to the floor as I understood the meaning of the song.  It's absolutely beautiful.

If you get a chance, look at the lyrics to Casting Crown's "Just Another Birthday" by clicking here.

Then take a moment to watch this video featuring the lead singer, Mark Hall:

What a precious Daddy that young girl has.  Mark was right when he explained we all need a loving father figure to pour into us, making us feel secure and safe.  This truly is one of the staples to a solid life, and those without it are far more likely to crumble.

In the lyrics posted above, we walk through a young girl's life, up until the age of twenty-one.  She first tells us of how heartbroken she was when her Daddy never showed up.  Then we see her again a few years later.  She has tried to fill this huge void in her heart with everything possible--sports, friends, alcohol, boys, even sex.  I for one can't blame her for doing this.  She used logical sense to turn towards the things that the world says "make it all better."  She is trying to fill her desire for a father.

At the end of the song, this young mother is watching her daughter laugh and play at her birthday party.  Thanking God for his grace and redemption, she whispers softly to herself, "You are my happy birthday, and you were born to break the chains."

This young girl may or may not know her father either, but her mother has a heavenly hope that surpasses all question and doubt that this young life will survive.  Her mom found the way to peace and restoration, and through that she will train up her child.  This is breaking the cycle.  

You see, the young mother in the song faced many choices throughout her life.  One of those choices was to keep her baby or abort it.  Another could have been to accept the bible study invitation her friend extended to her.  And one of the most important decisions she had, was the one to choose God.  Not just the safe, Americanized Christian God who asks us to go to church on Sunday and be nice to one anther.  No, this woman chose the real thing.

She wanted a God with passion and intimacy.  A God who wants to love her through and through to the very depths of her soul.  A God whose grace humbled her to the point of brokenness, so broken, in fact, that she remained that way until he walked her through the long and bitter-sweet healing process.  

This is the God who filled her void.  This is the God who made her whole and new again, the God who gave her hope and life to pass on to her children, regardless of her circumstances or income.  This woman chose to be a cycle breaker.  She chose to break the cycle of fatherless homes in her family.  No longer did she want to follow in the mistakes of those before her.  This time, she would choose differently, and she would choose right--a decision that will affect her family for generations to come.

Rise up cycle-breakers.

How will you choose?

A Father Who Protects

As I stated in my last post, I recently watched the movie Courageous and absolutely loved it.  While the entire film was heart-wrenching and edifying, my favorite scene by far includes one of the fathers giving his daughter a promise ring, and a promise to go with it.

His short speech paints the perfect picture of what fathers are supposed to be from the time their daughter is born, to the day they walk her down the aisle.  God  gives us fathers to protect and guide us while we wait for our husband.  This is a channel God uses to speak, protect, love, and guide us with.  This is why the Bible makes so many references to obeying your parents.

So what if you don't have a father?  What if you have a Dad who's not a Christian?  Maybe you have a Christian Dad, but he hasn't stepped up to the plate in guarding your heart.  If you do have a Dad, regardless of his walk with the Lord--you can pray for him, encourage him, and show him respect through small acts of kindness.

No matter what your Dad situation, you do have a heavenly Father who is perfect and holy.  His grace covers any fault your earthly Dad has or had.  If you are willing to follow, submit, and listen to him, he will guide you through the courting process and lead you to the man he has picked out for you.

So many people go wrong when they say they are following God with their love life, yet they are searching, striving, and stressing about who and when they will get married.  The truth is that freedom comes from letting go.  God knows the timing, the prince, and the story, so why not let him write it the way he designed it?

In the book "When God Writes Your Love Story," Leslie Ludy writes a whole chapter on how beneficial her parents were to her courtship story with her husband Eric.

"When I first began to truly learn how to give God the pen to write my love story, one of the first things I felt Him lead me to do was to invite my parents to be on my team through prayer and accountability.  

It was as if he softly reminded me, 'Leslie, I have placed your parents in your life for a reason.  They have a special wisdom and anointing that I have given them, especially for your life.  Don't ignore the built-in teammates I've provided for you.'"

Respect your father this week.  He wants to be a part of your love story as much as God does.