Christmas Tapestry

Jonathan Weeks doesn't understand why his family has to leave their comfortable life in Tennessee for a difficult new start in Michigan.   He's left friends for strangers. and his father's beautiful, well-established church for a broken-down, barely attended one.  Nothing seems right.

In Christmas Tapestry, Patricia Polacco has created a lovely, if sentimental, tale that condenses the reality of God's sovereignty into a single vignette  in which young Jonathan is able to look back and see how an unwanted move, inclement weather, a roof leak, a dead battery and a late bus, all work together for a single good purpose. 

Many times we are not able, or are not allowed, to see the way in which our troubles and inconveniences work together to accomplish God's greater good, but this story reminds us that it's TRUE nonethless.  God is working behind the scenes, weaving together a tapestry whose beauty we often cannot see, and He is bringing reconciliation and joy to others through our trials, both large and small.  It is appropriate that this revelation, for Jonathan, culminates at Christmastime, which is indeed God's great demonstration of reconciliation and joy!!

I should point out that Polacco doesn't preach or moralize...this is the interpretation of her story by a Christian imagination, so don't pick up the book expecting an overtly Christian message.