Land of Silence (2016)

Land of Silence (2016) — 5,000 STARS (LOL!) — this novel is Biblical fiction.  Specifically, it is set during Jesus’s missionary. The story is about the woman who has a flow of blood for 12 years.

“I am learning that obedience to God means that you do not put your eyes on your longings, but instead, you simply place one foot ahead of the other into the space that the Lord opens. Tired, wounded, overwhelmed. It does not matter. You merely keep moving where God directs and stop focusing on what you wish you had.”

This is one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read. God is SO much more than my puny brain could ever comprehend. I shamefully admit that I have always read the “woman with a 12-year flow of blood” quickly, checking it off in my head as another wonderful miracle Jesus did during His three-year ministry.  I never actually looked at the woman. Until this novel, I never paid attention to the fact that she is the ONLY woman Jesus calls “Daughter.”  WHAT?!  And, I never paid attention to the fact that this woman’s story is paired with the story of a little 12 year old girl. 12 appears all over this story and I just passed it by, patting myself on the back for being a good Christian girl reading her Bible. Imagine me shaking my head at my own self!

Thank you, Tessa Afshar, for pointing this woman out!  Thank you for doing the research we all should do, and showcasing Jesus as the truly compassionate, all-seeing, all-understanding God that HE is.

The characters are excellently written.  The pain is searing.  This is a novel that sticks with you well after you finish reading it.  I love those kind of novels. As beautifully written as this novel is, what I appreciate the most is that something that takes a few lines in the Bible has now been blown wide open by Ms. Afshar’s novel. The bottom line in this novel: God is love, and God sees HIS kids always. God never takes His eyes off of us, even when it feels like He does.  Such a novel of HOPE!!!

This book is amazing! I think you will agree.