Stories from the River of Mercy: Broken Dreams and Unexpected Grace

Walsh provides spiritual direction, encouragement and occasional humor to uplift and strengthen Christians struggling to build unconditional friendships with dying loved ones. A former cohost of The 700 Club and a featured speaker at the Women of Faith Conferences, Walsh believes that Christians should not bombard themselves with the question, ""Why does God allow death to happen?"" Instead, they should focus on where a relationship with a dying person can lead. The author describes how her sometimes-rocky relationship with Eleanor, her terminally ill mother-in-law, eventually transcended pain and misunderstanding as Eleanor came to accept her imminent death. The two women's Christian convictions led them to a place where they experienced the power of God's forgiveness and saving grace. In dying, Eleanor, who had always been a giver, learned how to freely receive. Walsh learned that in living she had to let go of the ""little things"" if she wanted to be all that God intended for her to be. ``In the midst of that broken dream there were so many unexpected graces,"" Walsh asserts. ""We were both better women as the end neared. Only God could have done that."" She lovingly reminds Christians that friends and families are cherished gifts of mercy and grace from God. (Mar.)