An Invitation by Sarah Price

It may surprise some of you that this is an old Chinese proverb and not from Biblical Scripture. Frankly, I’ve heard it so many times (and said it!) that I never really thought about its origin.

One of the traits of Amish parents that I admire so much is that they are fishers of men (and women), not just providers. They show their children how to work hard and contribute to the family as well as the community at large. Children are willing to sacrifice their own pleasures if it helps the family.

A family meal is not “given” to a child, but earned by all who sit around the table. Even small toddlers are expected to help, even if their help is limited to playing with small balls of dough next to their mother when she is making bread.

As children grow into adults, nothing is given to them and, for the most part, they do not live above their means. If they cannot afford it, they do without it.

I wish I saw more of that in my own community. Instead, I see a lot of expectations from both children and adults. There is less “giving” and more “taking.” And this creates a dichotomy within both individual relationships and society as a whole.

You see, when you have people who are givers mixed with people who are takers, eventually the givers have nothing left to give. They are worn out…emotionally, financially, physically, spiritually. The result is that the giver feels backed into a corner and has two choices: strike out or shut down.

God wants people to work for their rewards. God wants us to learn how to fish instead of constantly being given the fish. God is willing to help us. But the rewards are earned within His timeframe, not ours.

And therein lies the problem.

In today’s society, there is an increasing sense of entitlement. What is lost is the fact that rewards come with work and sometimes part of that work requires doing without from time to time.

A perfect example is my character, Emma, from The Matchmaker, A Retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma from an Amish perspective. She has a tough lesson to learn and part of it is that God’s Will overrules our expectations. When she finally humbles herself to her own frailties, she becomes a much more giving (and likable!) person.

The Matchmaker is a different type of Amish fiction book. There is more emphasis on the main character’s transition from a spiritual perspective than there is on a boy meets girl storyline. This is for a very good reason.

With more and more “authors” pouring books into the marketplace, often writing five “books” in one week–and these 12-24 page “books” often come without any sort of Amish knowledge, background, or understanding–many readers are feeling frustrated with the genre as a whole. I want to give my readers the depth of my knowledge regarding the Anabaptist culture, heritage, and religion as well as the breadth of my passion for literary excellence.

It was challenging for me to raise the bar on my own writing style, but I suspect that most of my readers will recognize, and hopefully appreciate, the artistic craft behind the written word when they read the Matchmaker. The main character was carefully developed to lead you upon a journey, to walk beside her as she transitions from a fuzzy little caterpillar to a majestic butterfly.

I invite you along for the journey…

To Purchase a Copy of The Matchmaker Click Here

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The Preiss family emigrated from Europe in 1705, settling in Pennsylvania as the area’s first wave of Mennonite families. Sarah Price has always respected and honored her ancestors through exploration and research about her family history and their religion. At nineteen, she befriended an Amish family and lived on their farm throughout the years.

As a masterful storyteller, Sarah Price prides herself on presenting an authentic Amish experience for her readers. Many of her stories are based on actual people she has met and her own experiences living among the Amish over the years. Sarah now resides in Morris County, New Jersey with her family.

While she started out as an Indie author, she signed on with Realms, an imprint of Charisma House and Waterfall Press, an imprint of Brilliance Publishing. Her first book, First Impressions: An Amish Adaptation of Pride and Prejudice was released in May 2014.

Get the latest news about Sarah Price on Facebook, Twitter, and sarahpriceauthor.com.