I had to do one more oldie-but-goodie this week, because this is my favorite time of year to read novels that fill me with inspiration. The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate is a great book for those holiday blues that can transport you away to a lovely beach town with a character who seems to be at the end of her road, but is she?

Publisher’s Description:

ECPA 2014 Christian Book Award Finalist, Christy Award Finalist, Christianity Today Book Award Finalist, MAGGIE Award Finalist!

“THE PRAYER BOX is Masterpiece of story and skill.” — NYT #1 Bestselling Author Debbie Macomber

When Iola Anne Poole, an old-timer on Hatteras Island, passes away in her bed at ninety-one, the struggling young mother in her rental cottage, Tandi Jo Reese, finds herself charged with the task of cleaning out Iola’s rambling Victorian house.

Running from a messy, dangerous past, Tandi never expects to find more than a temporary hiding place within Iola’s walls, but everything changes with the discovery of eighty-one carefully decorated prayer boxes, one for each year, spanning from Iola’s youth to her last days. Hidden in the boxes is the story of a lifetime, written on random bits of paper–the hopes and wishes, fears and thoughts of an unassuming but complex woman passing through the seasons of an extraordinary, unsung life filled with journeys of faith, observations on love, and one final lesson that could change everything for Tandi.

My Review

Sometimes you find a miracle within a mess and that is what happens to Tandi, a single mom with a selfish boyfriend who is trying to restart her life. I loved this book from beginning to end as a voice from the past provided counsel and comfort to someone living in present day. This story features diversity, love of one’s neighbor and a family finding itself all over again. Wonderful book.