COMING HOME by Karen Kingsbury

This is a very hard story for me to critique. It is the final chapter on the Baxter family series. They were all great stories, but I am not sure I would have ended it the way Karen Kingsbury did. Was it well written - YES. Would I have put a tragedy in story like she did - NO. There is a heartwrenching tragedy in this story and although the family brings it all together in a way that glorifies their great God, I still wish it hadn't ended the way it did. I sometimes cry during emotional stories, but this one had me crying so hard I had to stop and get my act together before I continued to read. This is not the way I wanted the last book to end, but it is the way Karen Kingsbury chose to end it and she did a fantastic job of showing how ones faith and trust in the Lord will see them through even the most difficult times in their lifes. I hope and pray I never have to endure what this family went through, but I also hope and pray that my life would hope and trust in the Lord as theirs did when bad things happen.

As Ashley in this story reminded me, "Good and bad times were a part of life. As her dad always said: 'This too shall pass.' And through the years that had been true. Nothing stayed the same, except this: God's faithfulness, and the love they had for each other." And as God's Word also reminds me, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lam. 3:22-23). I will walk away from this series with a great appreciation for the Baxter family and an even greater appreciation for my Lord.