Review: Beautiful story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 2, 2013
Andrea Hatfield is a 4th grade teacher with a love for people and an even bigger love for God. She's engaged to be married to the love of her life, Brian, and thinks her life is pretty much perfect. All of that changes in a blink of an eye when she finds out Brian is not who he seems and her dreams of finally having a family crumble. Rather than let this shake her faith, Andrea steels herself in God's word and leans on him for healing. She also relies on her friends at the church she calls home.Seth Anderson has returned to his hometown after graduating from college and becoming a minister. He is excited to start his new position as Executive Pastor at the church he grew up in. When Seth meets Andrea he is immediately taken by her. He drinks in details of her like he is dehydrated and she's the glass of ice water he's been needing. He learns right away about her engagement to Brian and how it fell apart. As awkward as it is, he reaches out, unsuccessfully, to Brian to help him through the situation. Brian doesn't want help. As Seth gets to know Andrea through their church, his feelings toward her grow. Much to his bemusement, Andrea is oblivious to Seth's affection.Brian tries to get Andrea back too little too late but realizes that Seth cares for her. He lashes out by exposing a past that Seth never would have guessed Andrea had. Can he still love someone with such a backstory as hers? Seth turns to God to resolves his feelings over her past."Could he love and accept a woman who had not only made a mistake or two, but actually had a past to overcome?"It's not quite that easy for Andrea. The more apparent Seth's feelings for her become, the more she is convinced that she is all wrong for him and his ministry. She just knows that her past will cause him a scandal and she wants to protect him from that. All in all she believes without a doubt that she isn't good enough.Andrea turns to Sara, her friend and the pastor's wife of their church. Sara quickly tries to ease Andrea's fears knowing that Andrea can related to people on a level that Sara can't because of the very past she has overcome. Andrea struggles to find peace with her past and discover who exactly she is in Christ. Seth stays strong in his faith that if Andrea is meant to be his wife it will happen on God's timing."You can't change your past, Andrea. Nor can you believe that just because you took a detour off of God's path for your life means that He has changed it for you."As Andrea continues to grow, she learns to trust in God's love and his plan for her life."God hadn't brought her out of such sorrow for her to wish away her mistakes, but He changed her life and gave her hope so that she could help others see His goodness."This book is an excellent read. All of us have a past, some more colorful than others. Her Heart's Desire takes you on a journey of forgiveness, mercy, and love; God's love most of all. It is full of practical wisdom that can be applied to our own struggles. This book is a message on accepting God's forgiveness of our pasts and forgiving ourselves in the process as well as God's faithfulness to us when we stay strong in our faith and obedience to Him. 5 stars