Parting Gifts by Tracy Tripp

Trip Of A Lifetime

Parting Gifts by Tracy Tripp is the most beautiful contemporary Christian novel. Just once in a while a novel comes along that just ‘speaks’ to my soul and Parting Gifts is that novel. It warmed my heart and I never wanted it to end.

The novel is about a friendship that began in childhood and survived all that life threw at it. A friendship that meant love, laughter and loyalty. A friendship that spoke of peace, protection and prayers. A friendship that we all would hope to have.

The novel is also about choices. Every choice we make has consequences that we must live with. Only looking back, can we see where we should have chosen differently. We need to pay attention to the still small voice. “Her mind kept whispering ‘run’.” We ignore it at our peril.

God is present throughout in a very quiet, understated way. A way that shows the reader that we are never alone. He walks alongside us through life even when we cannot see or feel Him. “Where is He [God]? He’s not at church.” God is not confined to a building neither does He leave us alone. “Sometimes God watches from behind the clouds.” God is always with us sharing both our joys and our sorrows.

There is a lot of pain in the novel – from domestic violence to rape to loss. It is all sensitively portrayed by Tracy Tripp. The reader ‘feels’ the anguish and pain.

We need to pray at all times. Sometimes there are no words. “Prayers without words shot up to the heavens.” God sees our hearts and knows what we need.

Parting Gifts is a study of families and relationships. There is no such thing as the perfect family – in either make up or attitude. There are all sorts of families explored in the novel. The reader has a sense of welcome, along with the characters, in the lone father family. This can be seen as a motif for God, who welcomes us all at all times.

The novel is about heaven and hell. We can spend our lives preparing for heaven or we can make our lives hell on earth. The choice is ours.

Parting Gifts is the debut novel of Tracy Tripp. It is a marvellous read. I found it so beautiful in its simplicity. It has really impacted me. I urge you to pick up Parting Gifts today and let it speak to your heart and soul.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.