Thank you Mitford!

A few years ago I read a book by Lauren Winner called Girl Meets God. Now you need to know that I heart Lauren Winner. She's witty, she's authentic and she has a perspective on faith that is very refreshing. She also loves to read. In fact she even gave up reading for Lent once, isn't that weird. So when I read in Girl Meets God that Lauren decided to become a believer after reading the "cheesy" Mitford books, I added them to my "be read before dying" list of books. If you know anything about the Mitford books then you know why I put chessy in quotes. These books tell the story of an Episcopal priest in a little bitty town in the middle of either North or South Carolina (sorry Carolinas, I always get you confused). I was convinced they would be boring. But another friend read them and found them to be the only books she had laughed out loud while reading. So I decided to read the first book. I just finished the last book yesterday and all I can say is, thank you Jan Karon for Mitford!

Thank you for creating a town full of unusual quirks and characters who feel like friends I've had for years. Thank you for introducing me to the culinary delights of orange marmalade cakes, Percy's friend gizzards (which by the way do not look as great in their raw form at the Asian market last week) and all the other delights that Avis has on hand down at the local. Thank you for Dooley, for Cynthia, for Miss Sadie, for Louella, for Uncle Billy and even Miss Rose, and for everyone else who makes Mitford, Mitford.

Thank you for Father Tim whose faith creates in me a longing to live life differently. Thank you for a character who expresses both in actions as well as words the gospel. Thank you for bringing to life in fiction a person whose life expresses the quote "Preach the gospel at all times, when necessary use words." For reminding me that this quote which I like to dismiss as too passive can come alive when someone expresses their faith in both their actions and their words.

Thank you that Tim and Cynthia prayed "the prayer that never fails" for almost four books until you finally revealed what that prayer was. Thank you for not making "the "prayer that never fails" something mystical or cheesy or heretical or worse something that would twist and manipulate God into answering, but instead reminding me your reader that in the most anxious situations when everything is riding on the outcome of a few events that the prayer that never fails is "Thy will be done."

Thank you for making Mitford simple and profoundly beautiful. Thank you for reminding me of the dignity of daily life and the profound significance in simple things like making dinner, loving a child and being kind to people who are aggravating. Thank you for bringing Kenny Barlowe home and leaving it at that. Thank you for the hope for beauty in daily life that your books have sparked in my heart. Thank you for Mitford. I will visit it often!