3 out of 4 stars
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In The Calling, Rebecca Ann narrates her life story about her spiritual journey as a Christian. Rebecca, the oldest child of a Filipino Family, lost her father at the age of eleven years and accepted Christianity at the age of 13 in one of the Bible study groups held at her house. She later moved to Canada to improve her life and support her family. The rest of the story is about the life she led in Canada to the mistakes she committed, and how she found God amid life’s difficulties and dealt with her pain, suffering, and self-doubts.
A brief and simple read, the book is divided into ten short chapters. Every chapter starts with an inspirational Biblical passage. I would not call the writing polished, but it succeeds in the job of conveying the author’s thoughts neatly. Through careful introspection, the writer steers the reader toward allowing God to affect our lives. The book causes the reader to reflect on their relationship with God.
Living one’s faith can be challenging, especially during tough situations. Rebecca’s journey as a Christian is inspirational, as she deals with the problems in her life through her faith. I commend her sharing the many miraculous visions that she experienced, even though some people might not believe in the truth of it. What I deduced from this book is that your relationship with God should be dynamic and continuously growing.
The scripture references are poignant and inspiring. In the devotional section, at the end of the book, the writer carefully included particular verses from the Bible with a useful explanation for each verse in a simple language. She specifies the Bible's version, maintaining the transparency of the book.
Keeping the positive points aside, I could not relate to her experiences at times. There was a substantial amount of telling and no showing. For example, the author summarizes the lessons she learned at the end of the book in bullet points. I felt that the author should have elaborated more on how she dealt with her painful experiences. Rather than focusing on the inner changes she went through, I found the book overly focused on the message. The apparent preaching was a bit of a turn-off. Therefore, I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. There were a few grammatical errors in this copy. The book is devoid of expletives and sexual references.
People who find reading the Bible daunting could use this as a starting point for its inspirational Biblical passages. I would recommend The Calling to Christians looking to better their relationship with God.
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The Calling
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