Excited to be doing my first book review on Hope in the Healing! I received a free copy of “Plain Faith” by Zondervan through BookLook Bloggers and my review is totally unbiased and my own opinion.

Plain Faith: A True Story of Tragedy, Loss, and Leaving the Amish by Irene  & Ora Jay Eash & Tricia Goyer.  2014, 208 pages, Zondervan Publishing.

The story opens with tragedy for the Eash family. Both Ora Jay, and his wife Irene, were raised Amish, that’s all they had ever known. Their families were Amish; they lived in one of the largest Amish communities in La Grange, County, Indiana. Surrounded by family and friends who shared their beliefs and lifestyle, they would never have dreamed in their early marriage that they would one day walk away from it all.

After they suffer a great loss in their immediate family, Ora Jay and Irene cannot find comfort. Ora Jay says it best in the second chapter,

“We’d grown up Amish and lived our whole lives for God…    the only problem was we did not know Him…”

This is the journey. The journey to find Jesus.

In the Amish community, you just do not leave. If you choose to do so, or begin to embrace the ways of the Englisch, you will eventually be shunned by not only the community in which you live, but even by your own family.

Ora Jay and Irene struggle with this over the course of several years, all the while the Lord is showing them that His yoke is easy, His burden light.

The Amish put a strict emphasis on a “works salvation”.

What you do, how you dress, what you do without, all earn you a place in Heaven. They also believe, according to “Plain Faith”, that Heaven is only so big, only a few can make it and most of them will be Amish. Ora says, “We spent a lot of time trying to please God, to earn our salvation by getting every little detail right – from dress to church to work. When we were living the Amish lifestyle, our hope was in what we did and what we got.”

They begin to study the Bible for themselves and what they discovered opens a whole new world for them! The more they read, the more they believed, and the more free they became. Irene says, “The farther we walked away from the Amish tradition, the more freedom we felt to hear whispers of grace from God and to know that He was in control. We discovered Christ is all in all. There is nothing made that Christ isn’t in.”

They faced great criticism, and eventually were asked to leave the Amish church. They had tried to hold on to both, in some ways, feeling great guilt for leaving but feeling even more confused for staying.

“It’s freeing not to have to look to man to decide what’s wrong and what’s right – things like the width of a hat brim or the pattern of a dress.” Irene Eash

Eleven children later, now grandchildren and in-laws included, Ora Jay and Irene are thankful that all of their children are serving God. One of eight boys now pastors the Christian church they left the Amish for and another is the youth pastor. They have no regrets because they have found hope.

Written in first person, by both Ora Jay and Irene, it goes back and forth with each of them telling part of the story. That doesn’t lessen the experience, if anything, it enriches it! I enjoyed the perspective from each of them. Irene was always more timid and afraid of what others would think whereas Ora Jay (as Irene said) had a wild streak in him and had more courage to step out in his new-found faith. (And his new-found freedom! You will enjoy the part where he takes the day to learn to drive, get his license and buy a truck all at once!)

I didn’t have any trouble staying with this story-line. It was engaging, interesting and kept me coming back for more. It is not too long of a read but very entertaining with the “peek” into the Amish lifestyle. I came to admire the courage of Ora Jay and Irene and admired their stand even when everyone was against them. I cannot imagine what they went through “inside” but the book gives you a wonderful insight into their minds and hearts.

“Plain Faith” is a story of love, the love of the Father who drew His children unto Himself so they might know Him instead of just know about Him.

Isn’t that just like our God? He knows where we are, the condition of our hearts, and our desire to know Him. If we allow Him to, He will come in, reveal Himself in amazing ways so that we can live a life free from rules but full of relationship!

This book reminded me, even though I am not Amish, that we can all get caught up in trying to please others, and judge those that are not like we are. We cannot work our way to heaven! Nothing we do will ever earn us a “spot” in Glory, and nothing we do could ever cause Jesus Christ to love us any less than He already does.

Our salvation is because of HIS work on Calvary. Nothing more, nothing less. Amazing Grace!

I can easily recommend “Plain Faith” as an uplifting, easy-to-read book. Be blessed!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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