The True Vine
A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano is a powerful Christian historical novel that consumed me from the start.
The novel is set in nineteenth century England in the West Country. It is written around the topic of a vineyard, reminding us that God is the true vine and we are the branches. The reader learns all about how to tend the vines so that they thrive and produce fruit. “The vines best protection… is not higher walls but deeper roots.” This reminds the reader that we need to have firm foundations in our Christian walk. We must learn the scriptures so that when troubles come, we can stand firm on the Word of God.
We ‘hear’ the action in the first and third person through the leading man and lady. They seem to be polar opposites at first but as the novel progresses, their true characters are revealed. “He’s left little pieces of his servant heart all around.” We are all called to have hearts and lives that show Jesus to a hurting world. We need to walk the walk as well as to talk the talk.
A character fears all that is being taken away from her but she is merely being pruned so that she can flourish. “Taking away what’s good so that you seek out something better.” God wants good gifts for us. What we have may be good but God has something even better in store for us.
There is the theme of fathers. We witness a daughter’s love for her father, even though he has been distant. As the love unfolds, we rejoice.
Sometimes in life, the only place we can run to is God. “I had another Father from whom I could seek advice.” God longs to hear the cry of our hearts.
When life is hard, we know a God who is bigger than our hardships. “God… you are bigger than all of this.”
We witness a pure character who sees the little children. “He saw nothing but the beauty of a woman who would stoop to the level of a hurting child.” We are all called to have eyes that see the hurting and the lost.
A character cares for her unborn child. “Her maternal efforts to care for a child she loved even before it was born.” We are reminded that God knew each and every one of us when we were still in the womb.
The love of money is the root of all evil. We see that there are characters who will do anything in order to get their hands on the money. In contrast we see those who use money to help others.
I thoroughly enjoyed A Rumored Fortune. There are godly lessons for us all. I will leave you with some very sound advice:
“I’m not required to impress my enemies… only to love them.”
I received a free copy. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON