Prayers of a Stranger

Book description:  "While visiting the Holy Land, Amanda answers the prayers of a stranger . . . and begins an amazing Christmas journey.

Amanda Vance is ambivalent about her husband’s idea for a big family holiday up north. Last year she planned a special Christmas in their own home, carefully preparing a nursery and the keepsake ornaments for their newborn. Now that room stands as empty as her heart.

Then a neighbor’s mishap turns into a last-minute chance for Amanda to take a much-needed vacation to tour the Holy Land.

An extraordinary turn of events allows Amanda to help answer a young mother’s plea for healing. Then, filled with a sense of awe, Amanda visits the place of Jesus’ birth. There she discovers anew the miracle of the Christ child—God incarnate as a tiny, vulnerable baby.

Her return to Florida marks a momentous shift in her soul and in her marriage as she begins to realize that her journey didn’t end in the Holy Land. And that God doesn’t just answer prayers of strangers . . . but also those of her own heart."

My review:  The events of this book take place during the Christmas season.  It is a simple story with a lot emotion, and  the characters and their situations are real.  Davis Bunn has a way of making a story come to life and pull the reader into the lives of the characters.  I did not want the book to end.  I enjoyed getting to know the characters that stayed in Florida, but I really enjoyed traveling to the Holy Land with Amanda.  I felt like I had journeyed there with her as she touched the lives of those she met and began her own journey of healing.  A great reminder that even though we might be hurting there are those who have hurt just as much or greater than us.  It is when we stop to make their pain our pain that we can begin to find healing for our own soul.  This is a wonderful story.  I highly recommend it!  I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through their Booksneeze blogger program.  All opinions are my own.