AUTHOR: Marcia Lee Laycock
DATE: 2012
PUBLISHER: Word Alive Press
STARS: *****
In A Tumbled Stone, author Marcia Lee Laycock placed me solidly into the shoes of young Andrea Calvert, whose dysfunctional foster parents barely acknowledge her existence. When Andrea’s unplanned pregnancy becomes obvious, her foster mother decides to send her away from their prairie farm to give birth and relinquish the child for adoption, all to prevent gossip and judgement from neighbors and the local church, where the pastor lives up to his name, Castor. Unable to deal with the pervading sadness and a loveless future, Andrea flees to Regina, determined to end her pregnancy.
Evie, owner of the Regina diner where Andrea gets a job waitressing, creates stone jewelry as a hobby. I love her remarks to Andrea as she offers a stone pendant to the desperate young woman. “God is always doing things in our lives, but it takes time. He knows exactly when to take the pressure off or increase it. He knows just how much tumbling we need.”
But how can Andrea trust a God who allowed so much pain and loneliness? How could she believe in His love when no one else had ever loved her? Wouldn’t it be better to end the pregnancy than give birth to another unloved child?
A Tumbled Stone is a tale of deep sorrows, hidden pasts, and fear-filled future, but through the “tumbling” of God, it is also a story of redeeming love and bright hope.
I love this novel and award it five stars. I bought A Tumbled Stone from the author; all opinions are my own.