Barbara A. Curtis places Habakkuk 3:17 before the first page of When the South Wind Blows. By the end, I understood how completely that Scripture belonged with this story.

 

I loved these characters deeply. I hurt with them. I hoped for them. I loved watching them turn to God for direction and recognize His provision in ways they could not have planned for themselves.

 

“Thank you, God, for these strangers who You sent along to care for me.” That is the kind of faith I want to notice more often.

 

God’s care did not always arrive in the way these characters expected. Their circumstances were still hard. Their losses were still real. Yet He kept providing people, direction, mercy, and reasons to trust Him.

 

Then there was the bitterbrush. For so much of the year, it looks dry, rough, and almost lifeless. Then spring comes, and those same branches are covered with yellow flowers. What a picture of God’s faithfulness.

 

One character remembers those blooms as a reminder of “God’s goodness and faithfulness, His power and grace.”

That reached deeper for me than a pretty image ever could.

 

How often do I look at the hard places and see only what is barren? How often has God already been faithful in ways I have not recognized yet?

 

Habakkuk 3:17 reminds me that God is worthy of my trust in the barren places, before anything changes, before any answer comes, before I ever see the flowers blooming. God is still worthy. God is still good. God is still faithful. And so often, He is merciful and gracious enough to let us see the blooms.

 

Five stars for a story that gave me characters I loved and a clearly Christian faith that points to our Heavenly Father, whose goodness and faithfulness remain unchanged from generation to generation.

 

I received a digital copy of this book through Celebrate Lit Publicity Group. All opinions are my own.