Immanuel God With Us
Meet Me At The Starlight by Rachel Hauck is a powerful and beautiful Christian dual timeline novel that I adored from the start.
The novel is set during the Depression of the 1930’s and in 1987 in Sea Blue Beach as we follow lead character Tuesday Knight in both periods – as a young mother, and then an old grandmother. She is the owner of the Starlight skating rink.
The Starlight skating rink is very much a character in its’ own right. It is the place where life happens from the 1880’s when Prince Blue encountered Immanuel after a shipwreck on Sea Blue Beach. Prince Blue had the rink built and had a giant mural of Immanuel painted on a wall, looking down over the people.
Immanuel is not just a painting. He meets people just when they need Him. “He was more alive than anyone she’d ever known.” He breaks bread, cooks fish, and imparts His Presence into hearts. “You saw God and He left you a piece of heaven.”
Lead character, Tuesday, was shown kindness by Prince Blue when she was down on her luck. She now helps others in need, with the one request – that they pay-it-forward when they can.
When the Starlight is threatened with demolition, people step forward as they want to save it. Tuesday believes “I know I can trust Him [God]. If He doesn’t save us, He must have a better plan.” Sometimes we have to trust God in the dark. Hold on, hope is coming. “We’ve seen what man can do, now let’s see what God can do.” God’s best is more than we could ever hope for.
We see what true riches are. “There’s nothing more valuable than family, friends, a good town.” Sea Blue Beach is a small town with huge hearts. The down side is that your business is not your own! “Remove me from under the spotlight. Small town life.” But hearts are in the right place. Love wins. “She’d spent months brewing up a fight, but without fail, love eventually calmed her storm.” Kind words soothe, removing bitterness.
There are some tempestuous relationships within the story, but ultimately it is what we build our lives on that really counts. Love lasts.
True beauty is within. “Real beauty is about more than what you look like. It’s about who you are.” We follow a character who has been in the spotlight since childhood. “She was airbrushed, dressed and posed… A corporate view of beauty.” She has always been told what she must be and what she must eat. The pressure was too much. Her real beauty shone through once she was happy with the skin she was in. When she found her life outside of the spotlight, and when she met Immanuel. “People tried to knock me down, Immanuel saw me through.” She remarks “Life and the devil tried to take me down, but Immanuel raised me up.”
Life has not always been easy for Tuesday. She was abandoned as a child, lived through the Depression and World War II which stole two of her greatest treasures. At her darkest times, she cried out to Immanuel; “Immanuel! Where are You? How could He allow it?” Immanuel will never leave us. Even if we do not ‘feel’ Him, He is with us. At our darkest times, He is closest.
I absolutely loved Meet Me At The Starlight. It is a story of love, of kindness, of hope, and of Immanuel God with us. All the characters were delightfully drawn. Their kindness radiated from the pages and into the reader’s heart. I will leave you with a final quote from a family Tuesday helped years earlier:
“All our lives, our parents pointed to you, Tuesday Knight, as an example of how to love, how to be generous.”
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
JULIA WILSON
