Tending Roses - A Book Review

This is only the second Lisa Wingate novel I have read, and I already love her writing!  I picked up Tending Roses from my library, unable to decide if I wanted to read Tending Roses or The Prayer Box while I was on vacation. I chose to read Tending Roses when I got back home.

Tending Roses is the story of Kate Bowman.  After the birth of her son and the discovery that he had heart issues, Kate takes some time off from her job.  Her husband and Kate leave their home in Chicago to go to Missouri, at the family farm, where Kate's grandmother, Rose, lives.  Rose has had a slight stroke, and Kate is preparing herself for the fact that the family has decided to move Rose to a nursing home.  As Kate stays in Missouri with her son and husband with her grandmother, her heart begins to change about her life, her family, the role she has held, and the decisions about her grandmother.

Oh, how I enjoyed this novel.  My own grandmother passed away just a few years ago, and while she wasn't quite as spunky as Grandma Rose, the similarities are there.  I understood Kate in a big way.  I spend about seven years living in other states around the country and didn't get those years with my Grandma.  I miss her now, and know she lives on in our family through her kids and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  I also know that she loved the Lord and is with Him.

Tending Roses reminded me of the fact that family is not always perfect, and not always easy, but they are still gifts from the Lord. I think, since my grandmother's death, we have all drifted a bit from each other.  Watching a similar issue being dealt with in the novel was helpful to me, because I know that I don't have to fix it.  I just have to love my family and accept who they are.

Lisa Wingate is wonderful at writing about the complexities that often exist in families.  The tension can be real, and misunderstandings can occur.  Often, things are left unsaid, or said in a way that just comes out all wrong.  The motives of the heart, the feelings inside, often aren't said. We get so busy in our lives, doing what we think is best, that we just don't spend the time we should with our loved ones.  Tending Roses displayed this perfectly, and the regret that often accompanies lost time and words left unsaid.

I look forward to Lisa Wingate's next work, and am planning a library trip this afternoon.