When I hear the word Romance, I often think of Hallmark movies where the couple goes into the relationship based on physical attraction and with the mission of receiving something from the relationship. It is rare that you find a clean romance novel where the couple is going into the relationship with the same mind of glorifying the Lord and serving the Kingdom together, but this month I found what is probably my favorite romance novel ever. Introducing, The Wish by New York Times’ Bestselling Author, Beverly Lewis. Not only is this stand-alone novel full of clean, God-honouring romance, but it is also filled with reminders of God’s loving care, provision, and power.
The Wish follows the story of two young ladies, Leona Speicher and Gloria Gingerich, who quickly become best friends when the Gingerich family moves from Arkansas to Pennsylvania and join Leona’s Amish church. Leona spends most of her free time with her best friend, and the two begin to become like sisters. When Adam Gingerich, Gloria’s brother, shows interest in Leona, and Orchard John, Leona’s cousin, begins to court Gloria, the two girls are overjoyed at the prospect of becoming actual sisters, but when the Gingerich family suddenly packs up and leaves town, Leona’s dreams of marrying Adam and spending the rest of her days as Gloria’s sister-in-law are dashed.
Leona had struggled with loneliness growing up with only one brother, Mahlon, who was much older than her and already married with children. The words of her sister-in-law, Maggie, are a good reminder for our society today, as many teenagers struggle with feelings of loneliness and isolation.
“Loneliness is a choice, remember.”
In a world with the ability to message anyone resting at our fingertips, one would think that our society wouldn’t struggle so much with loneliness, but a 2023 poll showed that "61% of U.S. teen girls reported feeling lonely most or all of the time".₁ And “nearly 3 in 5 Americans say no one truly knows them".₂
This is a sad reality, but there is One who truly does know us— from the innermost part of our being and soul, to the little freckle on our back. Just as the Psalmist states in Psalm 139:1-2,
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.”
We are not ever truly alone if we have the Lord as our Saviour, and oftentimes when we feel the loneliest, that may be the Lord’s way of showing us that we don’t need anyone but Him, for He should be our all in all. And the Lord, in His love for His children, often will give us people to call friends, just as Beverly Lewis shows in Leona’s life years later when she gives Leona a best friend in her fiancé, Tom Ebersol, one of the deacon’s sons.
“Sometimes I wondered why God gave me Gloria only to later take her away.”
This quote hit me hard while I read The Wish and I found it to be a key line throughout the novel, as well as a good reminder for my own life. Leona was given a best friend and sister in Gloria and she wished she had been born a Gingerich rather than a Speicher, for it seemed that the Gingerich family was so much sweeter and more exciting than her own. When Gloria left, Leona was heartbroken not only because she was losing her best friend, but also because she was losing what she had believed to be her future— be baptized and join the Amish church alongside Gloria, marry Adam, actually become one of the Gingerichs, and grow old with her sister-in-law close by.
Her hopes were sunk and her plans torn, but in time, Tom and her began to court and she found herself in love with him. Had the Gingerichs not moved she would have most likely married Adam and not Tom, but that wasn’t the Lord’s plan. Oftentimes this happens in our own lives, and even though we may not be able to see it in the moment, the Lord takes some of our most precious things from us to readjust our gaze and give us something better. Just as the Proverb says,
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
This verse was also true in Gloria’s life as she grappled with the decision of staying English or returning to her Amish heritage and picking one or the other for the right reasons. It was a good reminder for me while reading it for I could relate to Gloria’s struggle in a sense (not that I’m turning Amish on you all, of course, but in regards to whether I should do one thing or the other, keep a relationship or let it go, etc.). Sometimes we will reach a crossroad and both paths look safe, but we can’t simultaneously walk down both of them. Recently I have come to a crossroad in both my writing and different friendships, and both paths looked good so far as I could see, but in our frail beings we are only able to see so far ahead, which is why we need the Word of the Lord as a “light to [our] path”.
Just as Gloria sought the Lord’s guidance and assurance on which path to take, so did I, and the answer came. Not in words, not in signs, but rather in a sudden surge of inspiration with what to write in a letter to friend and in a surprise email of acceptance and in peace that the Lord was directing my steps and I was on the right path. When we seek the Lord’s guidance, He will give it, for He is always there for us and sometimes He may answer our prayers and questions with a “yes”, a “no”, or simply “wait”.
“Oh dear Lord, I wait in hopeful trust.”
Many times the Lord will give us seasons where we are waiting. Perhaps you are in a season of waiting right now— waiting for a lab result, waiting to hear back from a college, waiting to hear from a friend, or simply just waiting on God’s direction. Have you wondered why God’s making you wait? Does it feel like He is taking forever to give you the answer? Perhaps the Lord is allowing this time of prolonged silence to teach you something or to grow you in Him somehow. Or maybe he knows that you need this time to focus on something else— a project you’ve been putting off, time spent with your family, etc.
My grandfather recently was in the ER with stroke-like symptoms after already having a mild stroke a few days prior. We waited anxiously in the waiting room while they ran tests on him. My heart ached with worry and I hated having to wait to find out what was going on. Those were some of the worst hours of my life whilst also being some of the ones that the Lord grew me the most. Through this time of waiting and worrying, the Lord reminded me of various verses (one of them being Luke 12:27, of course), all of them being of a similar theme; God being my strength and refuge, not worrying but instead praying, trusting in God’s power and will.
Over the past month, the Lord has shown me through times of waiting in different hospitals how I can’t do it all on my own and that I may make my own plans, but ultimately everything is in His hands, not mine. As humans, we will run out of strength and we will feel lonely and depressed, but when we have God as our foundation we can draw on His strength and peace, which never runs out and He gives freely through prayer, Scripture, and simply His presence. Just as Leona waited years to hear from Gloria, and Gloria waited for the Lord’s guidance on whether to stay English and marry her boyfriend or to return to the Amish community and marry Orchard John, so do we go through seasons of waiting.
So, if you are in a season of waiting, do not lose heart, for the Lord has His plans for this season and seasons do not last forever. Maybe the Lord is using this season to grow you in some way. One of the verses that stuck out to me and brought me comfort as I wandered the hospital halls was Psalm 27:14, which says,
“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”
May you find comfort in this verse as well, and perhaps The Wish should be the next book you read!
Until next time, dear reader!
With much love and prayer,
~Jaycee Nosreip ♡
Note: By recommending this novel, I am not agreeing with all that Amish believe, and whilst I do hold some of the same views as the Amish in some areas, I do not agree with all they belief and am not recommending you read this novel for your theology or to “convert” you to Amish. I do believe this book holds some good reminders and biblical truths, making it a worthwhile read, but I am not condoning or agreeing with all that the Amish believe by recommending this book and I would highly encourage you to just be aware of the differing theological views the Amish hold to.
