by Aleda J. Marshall
Reviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D.
Aleda j. Marshall is an inspirational Christian author whose writings provide choice keys to unlock door of personal adversity and treasure keys to press on with abundance of purpose. The author states: “God has hanging in eternity each of our individually custom woven tapestries. These tapestries represent each of our respective life’s journeys. Each tapestry has His lessons and his messages finely woven into each individual stitch to fashion the resulting individual’s distinct life’s pattern.
The stitching and weaving represented in this book by such honored sojourners are illustrations of what some have seen and experienced in their world and in their lives today. Such knowledge many of us will never know or understand even if we happened to know or know them or of them.
As you read each chapter of this book, it will become apparent that there are many that God has placed in each of our paths to walk with us and to fight for us, either all or part of the way. Some we may have seen or may have met. However, many are often unseen. And then there are others that have been divinely appointed to encourage, to support and to pray with and for us as each day of our respective journeys progress. The author hopes that as each one sees the impact their potential expression of the love of God has on the imprints on the respective anonymous lives as expressed in this book, they will be blessed to know that the seeds they plant in others hearts will bear fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ.
After checking in most places and collecting the materials being distributed to each arriving shelter seeker, you find yourself a spot in a corner of the shelter school auditorium. Continuing your previous thoughts, you recall that being homeless and your journey thus far had taught you a lot about love, compassion, acceptance, mercy and forgiveness. People in the street will often give you the shirt off their own backs. And through it all, you have God’s peace bestowed on you today. No longer are you choosing to oppose God in your thoughts, will and actions. You have seen enough discord: complete strangers trying to kill each other, and brothers trying to murder brothers and even nations trying to destroy other nations. Everywhere there is hate, the absence of love, and no desire for peace. As a child of the world, you had your share of troubled waters. The book gives an example of living out the beatitude and what that entails. It is gentle, kind and merciful.