Monday, March 23, 2015

When Mercy Rains, A Novel (The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy, book one) by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Book Description: She left, heavily weighted with secrets.

But God reveals all things, in His timing. 

And He redeems them.

 Suzanne Zimmerman was only seventeen and pregnant when her shamed mother quietly sent her away from their Old Order Mennonite community in Kansas. With her old home, family, and first love firmly behind her, Suzanne moved to Indiana, became a nurse, and raised a daughter, Alexa, on her own.
Now, nearly twenty years later, an unexpected letter arrives from Kansas. Her brother asks her to bring her nursing abilities home and care for their ailing mother. His request requires that Suzanne face a family that may not have forgiven her and a strict faith community. It also means seeing Paul Aldrich, her first love.    
Paul, widowed with an eight-year-old son, is relieved to see Suzanne again, giving him the chance to beg her forgiveness for his past indiscretion. But when he meets Alexa, his guilt flickers in the glare of Suzanne’s prolonged secret—one that changes everything. 
Suzanne had let go of any expectation for forgiveness long ago. Does she dare hope in mercy–and how will her uncovered past affect the people she loves the most?

My Thoughts:  When Mercy Rains by Kim Vogel Sawyer is the first book in the Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy.  
We meet Suzanne Zimmerman, aka Suzy, who always listened to her mother except for the one time when she made "the mistake."  The mistake cost her a move and she was "removed" from her family because of the child she carried.
Suzy grows up quickly...she delivers a sweet little girl, Alexa.  She goes to school and becomes a nurse.  She has made a new life.
However, after twenty years her brother contacts her and asks that she come home and take care of their ailing mother...these mother/daughter relationships are tricky and somewhat hard to understand.
Suzanne decides it's time to go home.  She meets Paul...the father of Alexa.  Paul wants Suzanne's forgiveness and then he meets Alexa.  Paul seems to feel guilty and he seems to feel betrayed...he never knew about Alexa.
A story of love and forgiveness and also, something much deeper . . .  sometimes other people in our lives don't make the best decisions for us.  And, yet, we follow their advice and sometimes, lose what is most dear to us.  Forgiveness becomes bitterness and yet  . . .  it's the choice of life . . . to forgive or not to forgive?  Not only is it a question it becomes a way of life.  
An interesting read about Old Order Mennonites.
Looking forward to reading the second book in this trilogy, When Grace Sings.

*This book was provided for review by Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing*


  • Series: The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: WaterBrook Press (October 7, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0307731316
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307731319

No comments:

Post a Comment