The Christmas Blessing, by Melody Carlson, 2017, Revell, (Baker Publishing Group)

This is the third Christmas novella by Melody Carlson that I’ve read this season, I’m enjoying them so much! So glad my church library has a good stock of them!

It’s 1944. Amelia Richards and her newborn son are setting out to make an attempt at becoming part of his father’s family in another state. Shortly after little Jimmy was conceived his father’s plane had gone down over the Pacific Ocean. Amelia doesn’t know whether he has even had a chance to tell his family about her, as theirs had been a whirlwind romance.

They had met in San Diego at a New Years Eve dance for the service men where she was a hostess, and had fallen madly in love. Now she is alone in the world with his son. Will his family accept them? She is unprepared for the cold Montana weather and has never actually seen snow. Mixed emotions of hope and trepidation swirl around in her mind as she looks for James’s family.

But then things get worse and Amelia finds herself in dire straits. What will she do? She must take a risk and hope for the best. What will be the outcome?

Amelia is a courageous character. She doesn’t know what to expect in James’s parents. What will they be like? The author has done a good job of bringing out the personalities of each character, which is what really makes this story. They are not perfect people but they do hope in God and have care and kindness in their hearts.

This is an intriguing story and I’m looking forward to reading one more of Melody Carlson’s Christmas novellas this week during the holidays.