In my totally unqualified opinion,  worry and anxiety are epidemics in modern culture. Fear, worry, anxiety –  they all separate us from God’s love. “Be not afraid,” the first words of Pope St. John Paul II’s pontificate, appear frequently in the Gospels. (I’ve found references to those words or a variation appearing from 120 times in the Gospels to 365 times throughout the Bible.) And yet, our lack of faith and our pride prevent us from  taking those words to heart. From letting go and letting God.

Within the space of a few days last month, I read two stellar books that address exactly these issues: one a contemporary romance and the other biblical fiction. Continue reading →