Learning to Trust - a review

[Tracy Krauss]

This is the fourth and final installment in the ‘Sacred Vows’ Series by Michelle Sutton. It continues to chronicle the lives of three individuals that we’ve met earlier in the series – Hope, Tony, and Jimmy. Hope is now a widow, and perhaps this part of the story is the most ‘romantic’ of the three threads as she embarks on a new relationship.  Tony, Hope’s former lover, has also found true love, but his relationship with his new wife is not always stable and they must continue to seek God to get through the rough patches. Jimmy, Hope’s son, continues to struggle with his gay past as he seeks to make his marriage to Tony’s daughter, Nina, work. The three strands do not intersect as much as in previous books, but there is a common thread in that each couple must learn to ‘trust’ – both God and each other, despite some very challenging circumstances and moral slips. Readers should be aware that the ‘love scenes’ in the book are quite descriptive – not the typical for a Christian novel. However, the gospel message is very strong; front and center, in fact. This is a book about people with real human frailties who find themselves struggling with sin, despite their faith. Topics such as homosexuality, infidelity, and fornication – all presented in previous books in the series – are woven in here. It brings satisfying closure to the ‘Sacred Vows’ saga.  All is well in the end, and we are left with the message that God sees past our human failures.