A Jul Gift

Ancient evergreen forests of Sweden, 1541. A time when people were torn between civility and the injustices of villainy. Katarina, a miner's daughter from a small trading town south of Lake Vattern, understands too well the impartiality and unfairness inflicted against the goodly womenfolk of her day. What she wants is acceptance, but her endless striving for it leaves her empty and conflicted.When a winter storm brews in the forests south of Jonkoping, and her safety and security is threatened, Katarina is forced to accept the assistance of an unwelcome stranger.Jon Eriksson is a man with modest manners and a kindly heart who seeks to do his Father's will in everything. He's determined to help Katarina see the value, beauty, and intelligence she possesses inside herself and to know God's good grace. Katarina is perplexed by Jon's boundless capacity for love, though she is unconvinced of the sincerity of his intentions. She will not allow herself to trust fearing she might lose her heart to him completely. When she's unjustly accused of an offense, for which she'd no part in, and cruelly sent away from his family's estate, unable to defend herself, any hope that she and Jon will ever be together slowly fades.Life takes an unfair turn, and Katarina must learn to trust in more than herself to persevere. Though she cannot forget her memories of Jon, she realizes that thoughts of a future with him is a dying dream, and she needs to let him go. Though sometimes in the sweetest way...God intervenes and allows the impossible to happen. And when it seems God has given her all she'd ever hoped for, she finds God's generosity is even greater than she'd expected.