Up From the Dust

 

Martha of Bethany is no stranger to adversity. After her mother's untimely death, Martha shoulders the responsibility of raising her siblings--quiet and studious Lazarus, and wild and rambunctious Mary. She finds solace in friendship and the beginnings of first love, but just as Martha begins to imagine a new future, hardship strikes again and her dreams crumble into dust.

Ten years later, Martha's friend pleads for the new teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, to come and heal her husband. When Martha discovers that the carpenter-rabbi is connected to her past, she's not sure she can trust him with her future. But as he continues to perform miracles, the invitation to believe becomes harder to resist, renewing Martha's hardened heart, even as she faces an unknown future.

My thoughts: I love how reading Biblical fiction can inspire one to dig deeper into Scripture or to see things in a slightly different light. I know it has been a popular thing among Christian women to liken themselves to Mary or Martha, so I enjoyed getting to "know" Mary a little better through this story. Heather Kauffman does a wonderful job of bringing the Biblical character to life and making it easy to relate to her. I can only imagine what I would have done in her shoes, to lose a beloved brother and feel like all hope is lost. This is an excellent debut novel and I look forward to reading more by the author! 

I received this book from Bethany House. This is my honest review.