Inspirational Fiction Review    

The Lord Had Something Better in Mind

by Barbara J. Robinson

PublishAmerica, 2004

Trade paper, $19.95 (184 pages)

ISBN: 1-4137-0680-0

Barbara Robinson continues the story of Magnolia in her sequel The Lord Had Something Better in Mind. As a young woman, Magnolia still helps her mother on their Louisiana farm where the cash crop is strawberries. Her mother has become bound to her superstitions and has given up on life and the power of the individual. Magnolia is driven by her own power and the desire to break her mother of her self-made chains.

Not getting the desired price for her strawberries at the farmers' co-op, Magnolia decides to go to Mississippi and the cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans to sell from her truck at a higher price. She also sets aside a part of the crop she doesn't have time to pick as a pick-your-own at the farm. At the Strawberry Festival, Magnolia breaks tradition and sales by the pint and half-flat, thus making more per flat than usual. With her faith and hard work, Magnolia has made the crop a success. Yet, her mother still holds to her superstitions and her belief that her live would have been better if she had had a son instead.

A romance develops from lifelong friendship between Magnolia and Andy.  They are married and have a good life based on the power of prayer and God's work. They are blessed with a son, Rod. The family lives close to nature and celebrates what God provides them in the Manchac Swamps -- from edible mushrooms and wild bayou asparagus to turtle and deer hunting.

However, Magnolia's faith is put to the ultimate test when Andy is lost in the swamp during a deer hunting trip. She questions if her mother's superstitions were correct. It is her faith in God's word that keeps her strong.

Award-winning author Barbara J. Robinson lives in Florida.

 

Joyce Dixon

Southern Scribe Reviews

© 2005, Southern Scribe Reviews, All Rights Reserved