Dear Reader,
I’m heartbroken to be writing my final reader letter for the Westward Heart series. What a wonderful adventure this has been. I’m truly sorry to see it end and say goodbye to Fannie, Toni, Ginger, and the ensemble cast of characters that made up the wagon train and appeared in each book.
Through Ginger, I chose to end the series with the most difficult of the three heroines to love. I see so much of me in her. Sometimes unlovable, with so much still to learn about His ways and the things that please Him. My prayer is that God will always look at me through eyes of mercy and grace and not punish me according to what I deserve, (Psalm 103:10) lest I be brought to nothing, but to discipline me according His tender mercy.
There was a lot of ugliness, illness, dirt in this book. It unsettled me a little, as my senses were engaged, imagining each scene (my imagination is VERY vivid!). The outlaws in this book were so vile and filthy, because I wanted to contrast for Ginger, the ugliness of sin with the goodness of God revealed in people like Miss Sadie, Mr. Harrison, the sweet innocence of Yuley and Alfie Harrison, and, of course, the heroic and tender grace from a man like Grant. I wanted to show a deep change from where she had come from in her life to the blessed promised land God was preparing for her.
No matter where you are today in your own life, God has a wonderful plan that involves your good. His sweetness makes me smile. His kindness takes my breath away, His love is better than life. He is the ultimate hero. Every beat of my heart is for Him. I pray that as you read this book, God showed you His great desire to pull you from the ugliness of your past. To wipe away the guilt and pain of the past and give you the peace that a child of God must come to as we learn to trust His love and grace.
Ginger asked a question of Miss Sadie, speaking of forgiveness, “If God is God, how can He forget?” Miss Sadie answers with scripture, “He forgets for His sake.” God is sovereign, He blots out our past, any confessed sin because He chooses to. It’s that simple. Our minds make it so hard to wrap around. But as far as God is concerned, it’s a matter of closing a door and never looking back.
And now, as I close the door on this final book in the Westward Hearts series, let me say thank you for taking this journey with me. May God bless you richly as you walk the journey He has set before you, and may He bring you to green pastures, sit you next to still waters, and deepen your roots in Him as He restores your soul.