Unusually this story commences in 1945, as Rose Yoder
reconsiders her future life. The young man she hoped to
marry cast aside his teachings and went to war. The Plain
people believe in turning the other cheek, but Jonathan
followed his convictions and enlisted as a medic. A
CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR ROSE explores the consequences for this
doubly brave young man as he returns to the community in
the Ohio farming town of Berlin.
Drafted Amish men known to Rose had been put to work
growing food or other needed work, but Jonathan worked in
the field hospitals of Europe. He meets a neighbour in the
snow - a man who went to an Englisch school and went to
fight the Japanese. Shell shocked and wandering, this
friend needs Jonathan to help him home. The good young
doctor wonders if these are the only people who can accept
his deeds.
As Thanksgiving preparations are made, Rose is finally
told
a family secret. She starts to question her identity and
to
acknowledge how grateful she is that soldiers went to
serve
and defeated the aggressors, liberating prison camps. If
she is thankful for their deeds, is she right to shun
Jonathan? Everything she has ever known says that he can
no
longer be part of their community.
The detail is excellent, building up a picture for us of
the hard lives people lived, yet how thankful they were
for
all they had. We see that some Amish houses now have piped
water - no question that this helped the women more than
the men. Rationing in town has sent ordinary people out to
buy fresh farm produce, though the Amish had little enough
to spare over winter. A shop filled the empty spaces with
posters for war bonds. Reading Heidi aloud to the small
children, Rose lingers over passages when Heidi is
encouraged to pray for guidance and love her family.
The author Tricia Goyer tells us that the kernel of the
story was told to her by Amish families, a tale that
originated in the Depression times. She added the crisis
of conscience brought about by the war and spun this
lovely, strong, Christmas tale with real, breathing
characters.
A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR ROSE is unusual and worth
celebrating, and will add depth to a bookshelf of Amish
novels.
Rose turned her back on the man she loves after he
assisted
the Englisch during World War II—only to discover she’s an
Englischer herself.
Born in the midst of the hardships of The Great
Depression,
Rose grew up in Berlin, Ohio, in the arms of a loving
Amish
family. But she is overwhelmed by self-doubt when she
learns
that she was born Englisch and abandoned when her family
moved West in search of work.
Was she meant to be Amish or would she have been better
off
growing up with her own kind—Englischers? When the man she
loves leaves her behind, Rose is certain he left for good.
Yet Rose discovers sometimes our greatest gifts are the
ones
we fear.
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