A Simple Charity (Lancaster Crossroads, #3) by Rosalind Lauer

For fans of Beverly Lewis and Cindy Woodsmall, Rosalind Lauer's moving Lancaster Crossroads novel "A Simple Charity" reminds us that the greatest gifts come from the heart--and that everyday miracles make love possible.
OF ALL THE GIFTS THAT LAST,
THE GREATEST IS CHARITY.
Although she is still in her twenties, Fanny Lapp has known a lifetime of love and heartache. Twice widowed, she has a home to maintain, a renovation in the works, and a family to raise--all without a husband. Fortunately, in the Amish community, help is never far away. To ease Fanny's burdens, the bishop sends Zed Miller to the Lapp house. Fanny is drawn to kind, handsome Zed, who suffers from sins of the past. But to everything there is a season, and Fanny cannot act on her feelings while mourning her husband.
Newly returned to his Amish roots after many years in the outside world, Zed knows he must prove himself to earn acceptance from his community. Without a second thought, he picks up a hammer and sets to work helping Fanny fulfill her dream of turning an old carriage house into a women's childbirth center. Soon Zed finds himself a part of Fanny's daily chores, sharing her laughter and sorrow. Knowing that time flows like a river, running slow and steady, Zed plans to wait on his love. But when their secret is discovered, how deep will the disapproval of their community run?
A reminder that the greatest gifts come from the heart, "A Simple Charity" shines like the sun with the blessings of everyday miracles.

About The Author

Rosalind Lauer is the author of A Simple Winter, A Simple Spring, A Simple Autumn, A Simple Faith, A Simple Hope, and the novella A Simple Crossroads. She grew up in a large family in Maryland and began visiting Lancaster County’s Amish community as a child. Lauer attended Wagner College in New York City and worked as an editor for Simon & Schuster and Harlequin Books. She now lives with her family in Oregon, where she writes in the shade of some towering two-hundred-year-old Douglas fir trees.  

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My Review:

I so enjoyed this Amish and English story, different but rather the same, with both cultures using Midwives. On the Amish side we have Fanny Lapp, a recent widow, actually twice, still in her twenties, with young children, and some grown stepchildren all in her care. On the English side we have a young twenty some woman, Meg Harper, whom with a kind heart, finds herself in trouble.
Come visit with these young women, as they go about the joyful job of bringing new babies into this world. We travel also with these women as they go about their everyday life, and trials. We find them thrown together, and hope that they can be there for one another, with one living near Philadelphia PA and the other on the other side of the state near Pittsburgh.
With God’s help and the help of their families and community, we see how things work out, of course not always as we want. There are a few romances thrown in here, and some past jealous relationship to deal with. There is also the community’s reaction to how these people live and are kept under scrutiny. You have to wonder how some people proclaim to be of faith, and act totally different.
I enjoyed being here as they went about their lives, having dinner with them, and spending time with their loved ones.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Ballantine Books, and was not required to give a positive review.