Customer Reviews

Lone Point: and the Esselstynes (Grace Livingston Hill)

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Grace Livingston Hill is one of my favorite authors because she writes real-life crises of faith into her stories. They challenge me in my faith. this one is no exception. Two sisters with two different perspectives on their circumstances. tHeir family has run into some financial straits and they are forced to rent their home in a nice section of town and move to a cottage for the summer in a not so nice section of a resort island. Maria is horrified and ends up moping the whole summer, while Rachel makes the best of it and makes great friends and memories. A young minister enters the scene and helps Maria get outside of herself.

Although this is the story of two sisters, it is primarily a story of Maria. Her family has fallen on hard times and they must go to a cottage on the ocean that is "inferior" for the summer. The girls do have different attitudes, Rachel sweetly accepting and Maria balking and totally self absorbed. What I most like about this book is that Maria meets a minister who although basically a good guy is young and although well taught is still spiritually without real depth. He's given all these doctrinally sound sermons and received lots of praise from men, and because he is well mannered and affable, he thinks himself all set. I wouldn't classify him as arrogant, just comfortable with himself! Any way, Rachel innocently asks him if any truly seek after God (I can't recall the exact verse-sorry) he is then called home and through a series of circumstances really falls on his face before God and sees the shallowness or immaturity of his faith. When he returns to the ocean for his sabbatical he renews his acquaintance with Maria and because he has never really seen her at her worst, which has of late been the norm, he assumes she posseses the same spirituality he does. She is very convicted of her hypocrisy with the minister who thinks so well of her because she knows she has been a shrew, her family is Christian. Anyway the minister has really grown to care for her and desires to help her and remain her friend. Because this book has this unique twist I think it is a worthy read.