The book She Let God Write Her Story by RMazing Bonanza S2 Level 3 winner Yelena Borichevska is classified as Christian fiction. The book abounds with themes of (living the) Christian life, faith, relationship, motivations, dreams/hopes, family (parents/parenting), identity, community, friendship, cultures, and celebration. Though the book is just a work of fiction, it could be considered a great piece of (Christian) testimonial literature.
She Let God Write Her Story presents a story of Lena, a girl from a Ukrainian Christian culture who strives to live a fulfilled life and please God and follow His will for her life in her new country. In 200-plus pages and 17 chapters, the author demonstrates to her intended readers how they ought to live an authentic Christian life on the basis of faith and devotion to the Word of God as contained in the Bible.
Yelena extols the joys of being raised by godly parents (and to parents, the joys of raising godly children), the virtues of patience and perseverance, and the rewards of trusting God through one’s anxieties and life’s uncertainties. She also gives insights and deeper understanding of Ukrainian Christian culture and values. Also in some ways, she highlights the challenges faced by new immigrants, particularly children who don’t speak English.
It all starts with a journey
Though She Let God Write Her Story abounds with multiple themes, journey seems to be the most impactful theme in the book. In fact, Lena’s story starts with her family’s journey to America after the 9/11 attacks to rejoin a family member who had immigrated before them.
Readers cannot help but bring into mind the journey made by the Patriarch Abraham (formerly Abram) from his father’s homeland to a new country. We read in Gen 12:1-3 that Abraham was called by God to leave his family and country to journey to a land He will show him.
In this new land, which is the Promised Land, God will make Abraham into a new nation, bless him, and make him famous. Abraham will be a blessing to others, and all families on earth will be blessed through him. Moreover, God will bless those who bless His servant and curse those who treat him with contempt.
Lena’s journey to America is not a journey into the unknown, as it was the country she loved to read and dream about. She had learned a lot about America beforehand, and it had become her new homeland, where she felt blessed and became a blessing to others as well.
Reflecting on the journey theme, it isn’t hard for me to discern how Lena’s devotion to God, prayerful attitude, and blessing mindset figured in the other ‘journeys’ she made after she and her family arrived in America.
Lena traveled to different cities and states to attend weddings of loved ones as a bridesmaid or maid of honor. Though not obvious in the story, she became a blessing to the bride and groom by praying for them and sharing in their happiness. She was a blessing to them by simply being present in their most special day. By making such a journey, she became a blessing. When was the last time we have blessed others by showing up at their most important occasions?
In her Yuletide vacation to Ukraine, she offered to loved ones – the family she left behind and her brothers and sisters in Christ – the gift of reconnection and reunion, as well as the gift of stories. We know how this trip mattered to her, since she was nursing a heartache, but we read otherwise. When was the last time we made someone happy by visiting or reconnecting with them after a very long time?
Probably the most important journey Lena made was her journey to marriage with Vitaliy, a reformed Christian man who was three years younger than her and once rejected by her. This was a journey she made not to a new city, state or country but to a new life. It is her lifetime journey with her spouse into a future where God will play His most important role in her life. It is, after all, a journey that is never easy to make.
The author also intends her book to encourage anyone who has to move to a new country for various reasons, but it does more than that. She Let God Write Her Story aims to uplift others with a story of the blessings of journey – and journeys of blessings. It encourages the reader to journey into unfamiliar territory and become missionary of the Word.
Yelena Borichevska’s She Let God Write Her Story is a must-read for Christians who dare to venture afar and for readers who love to be reminded of God’s goodness and grace through the journey of life.
Order today through the author’s website at https://www.yelenaborichevska.com/