The Forgiving Jar (The Prayer Jars #2)

Posted February 2, 2019 by thebeccafiles in / 3 Comments

Title: The Forgiving Jar

Author: Wanda E Brunstetter

Series: The Prayer Jars #2

Genre: Amish Fiction

Publishing Date: Feb 1, 2019

Format: ARC E-Book

About the Book:

What would happen if you found out someone has been impersonating you?

Sara Murray had never met her mother’s parents and was surprised to learn after her death that they were Amish living in Pennsylvania. When she is finally able to make the trip to meet them, she is shocked to learn someone else has been living with them and pretending to be Sara. Sara can’t understand how quickly her grandparents are willing to forgive the imposter.

Secrets and deceit seem to follow Sara, and she is so tired of it. Though soon she meets Brad Fuller who is visiting her grandparents for during Christmas. She likes him a lot, but even he seems to pull away from her, not being totally honest.

Struggling, Sara finds an old canning jar hidden in the barn that is full of encouraging prayers. Can Sara find a way to forgive the past and move on to building new relationships?

This is Book 2 in the brand-new series, The Prayer Jars, from New York Times bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter.
Book 1 — The Hope Jar (August 2018)
Book 3 — The Healing Jar (August 2019)

My Review:

I read the first book in the series (The Hope Jar) last year, and since then I’ve been highly anticipating reading this one. The story is incredibly easy to get sucked into, and the growth and healing the characters experience as they learn more about their Heavenly Father through little slips of paper in a jar. It’s a unique story with quite the interesting plot. In the first book we met Michelle who ended up impersonating Mary Ruth and Willis’s granddaughter Sara (long story, definitely read the first book first). In this story, Michelle has found forgiveness and is still figuring out just where she belongs in this world. Sara is happy she has finally met her grandparents, but she is incredibly skeptical and jealous of Michelle. Her road to forgiveness is a tough one for her, but she finds encouragement not only in the prayer jars, but from others around her.

One thing that I loved about this story, was that it causes you to not only empathize with the characters, but examine yourself. Have you ever judged someone else for a particular sin until you suddenly feel convicted after committing it yourself? Have you ever thought someone else’s grass was greener until you realize they’re just battling a different beast? This story really challenges the reader to have compassion for others, and to have a forgiving spirit. You don’t have to fully understand what someone else is going through to empathize with them. Compassion really does go a long way.

I really love this series so far, and I am now impatiently waiting for the release of the next book. I highly recommend this story to Amish and Christian Fiction fans. Definitely read the first book first or you will feel very lost, but absolutely pick it up and give it a read!

*I received a copy of this book through NetGalley. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.