The Penny

Nothing about homelessness in The Penny authored by Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford.  The gist of the story is told on the first page of this novel: "I learned from that first special penny how important the little things in life can be." I vaguely recalled before checking book out of library that Joyce Meyer's writes Christian literature, but put it on my to-read list long time ago.

Ha, ha, so long since I put the book on my list, not quite sure about why it was there, except, perhaps an AC peer wrote a review and I was intrigued by the idea of how giving a small penny could make a big difference in the life of another. Whatever. When I realized this novel was a Have You Been Saved Christian book, I did not think I could finish reading it, but I did.

Spoiler Alert, I think: Other than the penny lesson, the story is about child abuse, both physical and sexual. Pray to God and Jesus will make it all better. Yeah, right. Reminded me of the time...

...my oldest sister, born-again Christian after years as a die-hard Catholic, was living with my mother. She told me the roof was leaking, in her bedroom. She prayed that Jesus would stop the leak ~ or at least stop it while she lived there. It stopped. Um...

...wondered why she did not pray for it to stop permanently. My thought was "God helps those who help themselves," get a bucket to put under the dripping water until rain stops, then get the roof repaired, or at least pray for someone to offer to do the repair for you if one can afford to pay someone. Anyway...

In real life, abused children often become runaway teens, winding up homeless getting a street education that leads them to unsavory situations ~ lifestyle hard to get out of once on that path.

"Is it different when life gets taken from you moment by moment than when it gets taken all at one time?"

My answer to book's narrator would be: yes it is different, in the way yanking an adhesive bandage off in one quick pull is different than slowly peeling it. It is probably better to quickly jump in ice cold lake than to hem and haw trying to get used to it, feet first, ankles next. Moves things along faster. In the case of the book, the life taken was a man who lost his arm in an accident and his arm was needed in his life's true love ~ playing trumpet.

It was worthwhile reading this book although the sermonizing was irritating to me.