by Laura Frantz
Once I flew over Nova Scotia in hurricane force winds on a tumultuous flight to England. Fast forward a few years to the novel I’ve written set in Nova Scotia during a historic event of hurricane-sized proportions referred to as le grand dérangement or the Acadian expulsion. Many people have never heard of the Acadians or what happened to them. It is truly one of those hushed-up episodes of history that is so tragic as to be almost unbelievable.
Nova Scotia, or Acadie as French inhabitants called it, was once an isolated jewel of forests, mountains, coastlines, and the sea. The land was lush, the people remarkably healthy, and their lifestyle unique. So much so that two nations—France and England—continued to battle over it for hundreds of years. Imagine living in a land where war always threatened, you’d declared yourself neutral, yet one day woke up to find you’d been ousted from your home, your living, your community, your friends and family, and placed on a ramshackle ship to places unknown. This is exactly what happened to ten to eighteen thousand Acadians beginning in the year 1755 when the British seized that part of Canada, killing many Acadians in the process.
Our heroine in The Seamstress of Acadie finds herself caught between the beloved before of all she’s ever known and the horrendous after of the new. Sylvie Galant is forced to begin a new life relying on her seamstress skills and little else. Such a profound struggle caused me to look at the minor losses in my own life in a new light.
So much of life is beyond our control. But not God’s. When we place our trust in Him rather than our circumstances there’s an absence of fear amid life’s continual challenges and heartaches. Our attitude is also key. Do we count our blessings or dwell on our have nots? Praise is essential. The Bible says God inhabits the praises of His people. We grow closer to Him when we enter into praise and worship. We grow and go deeper in our identity in Him.
“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.” –Psalm 42:11
Cast down. Disquieted. Sometimes we don’t feel like praising and can find little good in the situation we’re facing. But we can always find good in God even if we can’t praise anything but Him and His love and faithfulness. He has promised that our personal hurricanes are temporary, not eternal. The place He’s prepared for those who love Him is free of any turmoil, anguish or heartache. That alone is astounding and worthy of worship!
I hope you find joy woven in amidst the heartache of Sylvie Galant’s eighteenth-century journey from Canada to colonial America in The Seamstress of Acadie—and learn about some unforgettable history along the way.
About the Author
Laura Frantz is a Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of fifteen novels, including The Rose and the Thistle, The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Lacemaker, and A Heart Adrift. She is the proud mom of an American soldier and a career firefighter. Though she will always call Kentucky home, Laura lives with her husband in Washington State.
About the Book
As 1754 is drawing to a close, tensions between the French and the British on Canada's Acadian shore are reaching a fever pitch. Seamstress Sylvie Galant encounters William Blackburn, who warns her of the coming invasion. But that cannot save Sylvie or her kin. Relocated on a ramshackle ship to Virginia, Sylvie struggles to pick up the pieces of her life. When her path crosses once more with William's, they must work through the complex tangle of their shared, shattered past to navigate the present and forge an enduring future.
Did You Know?
Separate studies completed by the American Bible Society, Ministry-To-Children.com, and LifeWay Research reveal startling statistics about the American home and the presence of God’s Word. Results show surprisingly high numbers of Bibles actually present in Americans’ homes, yet discouragingly low of those who actually read God’s Word regularly.
Nine out of ten households, which translates to 87 percent, own a Bible. The average home has three Bibles. Only 39 percent actually take part in reading the Bible on their own (outside of church or other religious activities). And this is a decline from previous years’ statistics that had that number slightly above 50 percent.
One-third of Americans never pick up the Bible at all. One in 10 have never read a word from God’s Word and 13 percent have read a few sentences. Only 22 percent read from the Bible daily.
Childhood conversion remains the prominent time-period for accepting Christ as personal Savior. Two-thirds of Christians came to faith before the age of 18, and 43 percent came to Christ before the age of 12. Parents and family have the most impact on a child’s decision to accept Christ.
The next generation is at risk of not knowing Jesus at all and never picking up a Bible in their lifetime. Children need to see their parents and guardians actively reading Scripture. They also benefit from having a children’s Bible to call their own and reading stories in child-friendly language. The next generation—and those that follow—need God’s Word.
-Julie Lavender, Children’s Bible Stories for Bedtime, Bilingual Edition
Why I LOVE My Local Christian Bookstore
“I love my local Christian bookstore because the staff reflect Jesus. They personify hope and joy and peace—the message contained in the books they sell.”
-Grace Fox, Keeping Hope Alive
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