A Test of Faith [Paperback]

Karen Ball (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2004

Anne’s daughter Faith is the answer to her lifelong prayer to be a mother. But her dream is shattered when the teenager rejects Anne’s love and the love of God. After years pass, and God heals their relationship, Anne falls seriously ill. Faith watches her mother weaken, struggling with role reversals and leaning on God as never before. Through all the intricacies of their relationship, all the joys and trials, they learn that God is with them. He brings them peace in the darkness, joy in the midst of sorrow, and hope in the face of death.A Mother…

Anne knew God would answer her fervent prayers for a baby. That’s why, when her daughter was born, she named her Faith. But as Faith grows into a teenager, mother and daughter rarely see eye-to-eye about anything—including God. When Faith erupts in rebellion, Anne’s world is shattered. Now Anne must leave her precious daughter in God’s hands. A Daughter…

By God’s grace, Faith survived a turbulent youth—a terrible time when she hurt those she loved most. Faith has since grown close to her parents, especially her mom. But then her mother falls seriously ill. As Anne weakens, Faith struggles with the reversal of their roles. Though she finds strength in God, fear is her constant nemesis. Will God answer her prayers as He did her mother’s?

And the God Who Loves Them Both.

A Test of Faith explores the intricacies of the mother-daughter bond and celebrates the rich, enduring love that often flourishes. Follow these two women through a lifetime as they learn to surrender their relationship and dreams to God—and trust that His love and faithfulness are unending.

Story Behind the Book

I hope to give women a sense of celebration in this wonderous connection God has given us with our mothers and daughters, to help them releate to each other in a more healthy and biblical manner. To find joy in our differences and to find ways to praise God together for all He’s given us. This is a story that comes from my own experiences and will address issues I’ve seen Christians struggle with for years. This is an honest, sometimes difficult, and yet ulitmately encouragin and uplifting book.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the start of this uneven story of a mother-daughter relationship, diabetic Anne becomes a mother to Faith, a strong-willed but beautiful baby. Ball (The Breaking Point) chronicles Faith's childhood, her subsequent tapioca-bland rebellion, her hot-and-cold commitment to Christianity and her coming to terms with Anne's death. The early pages are the strongest, dealing with the love and resentment uniting and dividing mother and daughter, but the story soon disintegrates as Ball slips into preachiness, weak teen slang and unnecessary switches in point of view. There are enough uses of "honey," "sweetie" and "punkin" throughout to sweeten lemon juice. Some of the teen-year segments are pure YA romance ("She liked the way he moved, like a tiger, restless but in control"). The last quarter of the novel includes multiple e-mails chronicling Faith's need for support from her prayer group as her mother is dying (faint echoes of The Yada Yada Prayer Group). In her acknowledgments, Ball mentions her mother's death and the prayer group that supported her, and indeed, the novel feels autobiographical in many places. But real life does not always make for good fiction, and the novel's end lacks the momentum of the earlier pages.
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Review

...Ball touches high notes of joy and depths of sorrow in this emotional wrencher. Have a hanky handy... -- Romantic Times

...Karen Ball did such an outstanding job with this story that I felt I actually knew this family... -- The Best Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (September 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590522656
• ISBN-13: 978-1590522653
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

First thing to know about me: I love Oregon. You won't find more varied terrain anywhere. From desert to mountains to forests to the ocean: Oregon has it all. evergreens; a rugged ocean. And climate? Hot, warm, cool, cold, snow, rain, fog, blazing summer heat (as high as 115 degrees!). Every aspect of this state is beautiful in its own way--kind of like life. We face good times and bad, and yet, in every situation, God brings beauty when we least expect it.

I love that about Him.

Second thing to know: I'm a bonafide PK (preacher's kid), but I never went through a rebellion. Why not? 'Cuz my parents are a rare breed: their family was their first ministry. So here I am, a grown up PK, who loves the church, my family, and God.

Let's see...what else? I'm married to a guy who's a blend of John Wayne and Jerry Lewis. He's strong and protective--and just this side of crazy. We've had some major ups and downs, but God has brought us from a very dark place into His love and peace. It still amazes me. (THE BREAKING POINT is based on our struggles and what God taught us.) And though we don't have kids, we have great dogs--our "boy" Bodhan, a Siberian husky whose name means "God's gift." He just showed up on our doorstep one winter, and has been our sweet fella ever since. And then there's Dakota, an Aussie-terrier mix we should have named "Destructo." Good thing we love her!

Last, but not least, there's my day job. I've been an editor in Christian publishing for more than 20 years. In fact, it was my authors who told me I should be writing--and when people like Francine Rivers, Angela Hunt, and Gil Morris tell you to write, you do it. So my days are spent working with such amazing folks as Terri Blackstock, Brandilyn Collins, Bill Myers, Karen Kingsbury, and a host of others on their novels. And my evenings I'm writing. Yes, it's true: my entire life is make-believe.

So that's me in a nutshell (which is where some folks say I belong. Or was that a nut house...?) Thanks for stopping by to find out about me. Hope your day is full of God's best blessings!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars powerful family drama, September 25, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Test of Faith (Paperback)

Anne and Jared were elated with her pregnancy though both know of the danger to the diabetic woman. When she is about to give birth, something goes wrong and she is rushed into emergency surgery. Jared prayed to God and felt he was answered as his wife and their baby Faith survive the near death ordeal.

Over the years, Anne and Jared raise Faith in a warm caring environs while also believing strongly in God. However, Faith begins to rebel as a teen feeling her mother's smothering her need for independence. Instead of God, Faith wants popularity and soon she and her mother are at odds as Anne feels bitterness that she risked her life to bring Faith into this world. However, as the years pass, Anne becomes weak and ill; Faith shows her love for her mom in many ways as she turns to God praying for a miracle while her mother insists that their reconciliation is the miracle.

A TEST OF FAITH is a deep character study that focuses on the relationship between a mother and daughter and how both turn to and from God. The duo has somewhat lost the way when their relationship turned sour, but each learns that in God they can recover more than what they lost. Though Jared seems to be a minor player and the action is sparse, readers who reassure tales that take a strong look at believing in the Lord will appreciate this powerful family drama.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Mother/Daughter dynamic, November 9, 2010

By 

Charity S. Weeks "book loving mom" (Nyssa, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Test of Faith (Fiction Gems) (Paperback)

I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I related to both the mother and daughter in different ways throughout their lives. There were two main points for me 1. God will always welcome me back with open arms (I know this is true from experience), and 2. it made me take a long look at my health and I have now started a journey to take better care of myself.

I thought it was a good story and I definitely shed a few tears.

3.0 out of 5 stars Borrow, don't buy this book, May 29, 2008

By 

Under the Table and Reading (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Test of Faith (Paperback)

I checked this book out at my local library on a whim. Basically because it was a christian based book and I'm always on the look out for a good one. I had higher hopes for this book than what it delivered.