In This Mountain by Jan Karon (Mitford #7)

I am slowly re-reading the first eight novels in the Mitford series to refresh my memory before tackling the later novels (which I somehow missed). It's a joy to be revisiting these dear literary acquaintances after almost two decades.

Every time I review a Jan Karon book, I reiterate that I don't know of another author of light novels who so deftly weaves together stories of joys mingled with suffering. She manages to write about the Christian life in a way that puts most Christian fiction to shame. Take this conversation between Father Tim and Buck Leeper as an example. Buck and his new wife Pauline came from rough backgrounds, but after putting their faith in Christ, are trying to piece together some of the wreckage from their past. One thing they are attempting to do is find her children (who she gave away at various times when she was too poor or too drunk to take care of them). 

"A few days ago I asked Pauline to tell me everything she could remember about the boys, like if they had any birthmarks, an' th' color of their eyes."

"Good thinking."

"She couldn't remember the color of their eyes." 

There was a long silence between them.

"When she realized she couldn't remember the color... Buck hunched over, his head in his hands. "It was the alcohol, of course. All those years...."

"Those years are behind you." 

"Yey, they are, thank God." Buck looked at him. "But you pay the consequences."

"True. But now God is in the consequences with you." (p. 83)

I have seen a lot of miracles in my sixty years, but I know that God just as often works through the daily grind of life. I despise books where everyone gets saved and their problems just go away; that is not how real life (or real Christianity) works. Karon beautifully balances the miracles with the uphill climb that life can be.  

In this seventh novel in the series, In This Mountain, Father Tim has a brush with death. Instead of having him say a prayer that erases all the toil of his slow recovery, Karon paints a believable picture of a man who struggles just to get out of bed in the morning and who has to learn all over again how to trust God for every single step he takes. 

As usual I was encouraged by the reference (which appears in almost every Mitford book) of "the prayer that never fails." This is the prayer of surrender, "Thy will be done." Last of all, I enjoy Karon's books for their lovely literary references. When Father Tims meets up with his bishop (and faithful friend of many decades), Karon describes their reunion: "They laughed together, at ease. Few things in life were more consoling than an old friendship in which all the hair, as in the story of the velveteen rabbit, had been rubbed off."

For previous reviews click on these titles: At Home in Mitford (#1), These High, Green Hills (#3), Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good (#12).

Any other Mitford fans out there?

Blessings,