THE WALNUT CREEK WISH BY WANDA BRUNSTETTER 

 This story has been so much fun to read I hated to say goodbye to the characters. I feel like I have made new friends and hope to visit them soon. The setting is perfect and I loved being a part of the Amish community and witness their love for God, family and friends. 

Rhonda and Jeff are a typical couple living in a nice condo and have high level stressful jobs. They don’t see each other much due to work and this slowly starts to put a strain on  their marriage. We discover that they have had some  roadblocks that have caused them to be bitter at God. They both want a child so bad but that has not happened yet. They have strained relationships with family members which stems from them not wanting to talk about religion. How sad that they have pushed God out of their lives. Maybe with their new home they have purchased they can spend more time together. 

My favorite couple in the story is Orley and Lois.  They are funny, full of life and love each other unconditionally. The  couple owns a very interesting shop that I would love to visit. Can you imagine walking into their store and seeing memories of toys from your childhood? It’s the perfect place for Jeff to visit as he love to collect antiques. It was no accident that Jeff came to this store because Orley and Lois will be very important to this couple who has lost their way. It was encouraging to see how Orley and Lois offered friendship and spiritual guidance. Oh it may not seem like they were getting through to Jeff and Rhonda but God was working in His loving way to bring them back to Him. 

Jeff and Rhonda find themselves going through one crisis after another. You can feel their hopelessness as things start to crumble around them. It is easy to become distant from your spouse when you see them as the enemy. What a mess their lives were becoming yet God was still there watching over them. The last part of the story is where I cried as I wanted Jeff and Rhonda to rekindle their marriage and bring God back into their marriage. The author does an amazing job of using scriptures to show that God never leaves us or forsakes us. 

I hope you get your tissues out as you follow  Jeff and Rhonda on their journey through loss, anger,  forgiveness, learning to fight for their marriage and finding peace within themselves. I loved the lessons the author gives readers about finding joy again and knowing that God has a plan for each of us. He puts people in our pathway for a reason. Orley and Lois were there to encourage and speak God’s Word into their lives. Their gentle spirit helped Jeff and Rhonda begin to see that they needed to make changes in their lives. I’m so glad that the author wrote this story because it reminded me that there are people who care for others and that when we invite Him into our lives we are set free from the things that have caused us to become bitter. This is the best book the author has written.

I received a copy of this book from the author and Barbour Publishing .  The review is my own opinion.