When Breaks the Dawn

When Breaks the Dawn is a book by Janette Oke which continues a series that I started earlier. Previously, the main character Elizabeth and her husband Wynn had been stationed in far Northern Alberta in an Indian village. This book expands on their struggles, from Wynn's taxing job as an RCMP to Elizabeth's inability to get pregnant, though her best friend has had four pregnancies within three years, and her newlywed sister is also due. Frequently, as Indian mothers around them get sick or die, her and Wynn take in children and raise them as their own, but eventually the mothers get better, or the father remarries and wants their children back. Through all this, Elizabeth gets frustrated with God, not only that she can't conceive but that the children he gives her to care for are taken away.

Though I really can't relate to this particular struggle, I know there have been days in my life when God has seemed so far away. However, I always return to the same conclusion that Elizabeth had: God has stayed the same. It is I who has pushed him away. Though I can't say it's the best book I've ever read, each novel in this series is such a quick read (I started it yesterday) but has an important lesson. It's also really interesting to read about the settlement of Northern Canada, and the lifestyle in every season of the year, as well as some of the Indian customs and struggles with language barriers.