… Well, 450 pages and 2 days later, I am finished. In Francine Rivers’ freshman offering, “Redeeming Love”, she retells in glorious detail and with overwhelmingly benevolant and gentle insight, the story of Hosea and Gomer from the Book of Hosea. This story, this book by Hosea whose God-given love for an adulterous woman, has held me captive for months now, so when my friends began raving and passed along their copy, I could do little to resist.
Unlike the Biblical account of Gomer, she weaves a whole new humanity into this woman we know next to nothing about. Nothing of God’s painstaking love story to His people is sacrificed, none of the redemptive themes strategically laid out in the Bible have been lost, and none of the love, grace, mercy, and restoration has been diluted … It’s beautiful.
With that being said, please forgive me for not having much to say or even knowing how to express it, for it’s left me feeling very raw, very exposed, very unnerved, all of which must for a reason and, therefore, good. This was a terribly painful read and it was neither because I’m a terribly emotional reader (which I’m not) or because I knew exactly what God was trying to tell me (because I don’t). It’s left me achingly aware of just how entrenched and layered my past was and still is … It’s left me so confused. My soul is throbbing and dulled to everything but the very things I don’t want to feel … Pain, sadness, angst, and an extremely unpleasant nagging and sense that there is little I can do to escape myself.
That, of course, is the point though one must suppose. There is something ugly, detramental, and poisonous still dwelling within and until this thing – whatever it is – is exorcised, I will know no peace. I will experience no true rest, and I could really go for some real rest right about now … With all of that being said, I know where my rest lies and I know Who is the giver of the peace my remembering heart so deperately needs … How grateful I am.
“Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak tenderly to her.
15 There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Trouble a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
16 “In that day,” declares the LORD,
“you will call me ‘my husband’;
you will no longer call me ‘my master. – Hosea 2:14-16
Only God could put beauty on one hand and pain on the other and lay there on the cross with both arms opened wide for us to receive. I am glad that this book has blessed you, and I look forward to hearing more about it. Talk to you soon.
i read that book a couple of years ago and was deeply affected by it!! it did wonders for my marriage, as i truly saw for the first time just how rescued i was by my husband when he chose me and married me……i believe that was the start of a more mature relationship with God as well, though it has taken a couple of years to truly get that He rescued me for eternity. i’m glad you read it and pray for you as you process all its meanings for your life!
I keep thinking about how blessed I am … A God who loves me enough to die so that I don’t have to, a husband who takes on the face of Hosea more and more everyday, and friends who love me enough to lift me up … One who I know well, another who I have yet to meet
Someone close to me once said that the light of the Lord shines through the cracks in my soul … If that is the case, I am praying for more cracks than I could ever imagine
Oh Meg, thank you for sharing your heart. I had that book sitting on my shelves for months and months collecting dust before I ever opened it…because God knew exactly when I would need it and in many ways it was like pulling back the curtains of my own life and the heart of my husband. It was such a heavy book for me. Simultaneously, God was introducing my husband to Hosea. I remember my him saying to me, “You are my Israel” and how that showed me in a tangible way, just a taste, a tiny morsel of God’s love for us. I still can’t really, truly fathom and comprehend what God’s love and peace REALLY means for my life, but I am learning every day. And while (for a season) you are left unraveled at the seams, haunted with rememberance, we both know God’s newness is upon us every moment.
I believe one of Satan’s favorite places to attack is our mind. Because isn’t it our mind that plays tricks on us? Causes us to believe our past defines us? Deceives us to believe we are less than worthy? Asserts us, moves us, pushes us to believe an exaggerated version of the truth or even worse, apathetic to the very word of God? Our mind is Satan’s playground. And so while I readily turn my heart to God, I almost must surrender my mind to Him.
You my friend are as white as snow and a beautiful princess clothed the most precious of jewels. That’s what I tell myself every morning when I wake up and we have the same inheritance! Hehe!
Much love. Thank you for sharing your heart.
I shall read Hosea. BTW – you found time to read? How did you do that?