The Greatest Miracle

Miracle on Maple Street by Linda Wood Rondeau

The Fiction Story:

Brian McDougal promised himself that he would never abandon his wife and child the way his father had abandoned him and his mother. But everyone knows what value a human promise holds. On Christmas Eve 1999, seven years in to being a husband and father, a secret is revealed that drastically alters his reckoning. An ever advancing sense of mystery is maintained throughout this book by two unfolding and alternating story lines. One follows Brian's mother through the early 60's and the other set on Christmas Eve, 1999 when Brian learns an old family secret as well as a new one concerning his wife. It would seem as though history is doomed to repeat itself. If Brian wants to over come the challenge before him he must learn from his parents secrets and keep himself from repeating history. But human promises being as frail as they are, and the human heart being as depraved as it is, Brian Mcdougal will need a full out Miracle.

The Gospel Story:

Well, we've said the key word, Miracle, and with it we move in to the Gospel Story.

The reader will be happy to discover that the Good News is in there but they will also find that this book has its heavy share of bad news too. It is a story that illustrates how sin causes a terrible mess, not only in the sinner's life, but also in the lives of those who are near. The consequences of lust, anger, jealousy, pride and fear all raise their nasty heads before a miracle finally occurs.

Thankfully, God has made promises that can not be altered. Unlike man, God's reckoning cannot be turned. Miracle on Maple Street might make you think of one such promise stated in Romans 8.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

In the case of Brian McDougal, all of his family's past secrets and trials serve as a culminating lesson helping him deal with a difficult secret from his own generation. That in itself is quite a miracle, but I like to think this story goes further. It was not overtly clear, but It would seem that Brian realizes that neither a lesson learned, nor a man-made promise is adequate to keep his humannatured heart from repeating family history because when his own trial hits he finds himself walking the streets in the wee hours of Christmas morning, praying and contemplating.

Enter: The greatest Miracle of all. To be honest, I half expected this story to be more of a typical "Christmas miracle " story with an amazing and impossible occurrence to bolster up the hearts of the characters. Well, I take that back. I suppose that's what may have happened after all. When Brian's wife asks him about what made him come back he responded with the somewhat encrypt answer, "I had a talk with the Lord."

I'll be less encrypt. My hope is that the miracle that occurred on Maple Street was nothing less than a regenerated heart, yet another one of God's rock solid promises.

*Disclaimer: Before recommending this book, which Fiction Candle does, it must be mentioned that it addresses some mature content of a sexual nature - namely, premarital sex and rape. Each are handled in a responsible fashion without licentiousness.

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Until the next book, remember Christ the author of salvation and the reader of our hearts.

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