As the Chief Operating Office of Ambassador International, I don’t get to decide which books we publish, instead I have the joy of helping our authors and their books as they make their way through the publishing process. One of my favorite parts of my job, though, is the proofreading that I get to do. It helps me keep up with what we’re publishing.

I am honored to be opening the blog tour of Love Him Anyway by Abby Banks and to share with you my heart on this book. Here’s where I have to fully confess first. When I first started the {proof}reading of Love Him Anyway, I found myself thinking, Why are we publishing this book!?!? {Sorry, Abby.} The second thought that trailed not too far behind was, How am I supposed to get people to buy this book?!?! {Again, super sorry about that, Abby}. You should have seen me. Here I was trying to work, and instead I was a sobbing basket case. I couldn’t read through the tears pouring down my face! But as sad as I was, I had been “sucked in” to the story, and I couldn’t stop reading. Abby’s writing was so raw and real, she hooked me in. I am fairly certain I finished this proofreading in record time! And I can honestly tell you, I’m glad I did finish it and it’s a story that I now highly recommend.

I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but as you can find in the book description, Abby’s son, Wyatt, was paralyzed at 7-months old. {I am sure this book was especially hard for me to read because I’m “Mom” to a seven-month old son}. But this story isn’t just about Wyatt—it’s about the entire Banks family, and for me, it was a story about Abby, a fellow mom. As I read Love Him Anyway, I kept picturing the face of my baby and thinking, What if that had been me? What if MY son had become paralyzed? And this point here is what I’d like to focus on. What if it had been my son? Or, what if, instead of watching the livestream of a 5-month-old’s funeral from my living room {like I did yesterday}, I was the mom that had to stand there in the church, brokenhearted at my loss. I’m fortunate to still have my healthy, happy little 7-month old boy with me today, but I’m not guaranteed that, not even for the next five minutes. My boy belongs to Jesus first and foremost, and what Abby taught me through her story is to trust the Lord through the good times and the bad. It’s easy to say this from this side of the mountain, but my prayer is that if I ever face a trial like the Banks family, that I’ll respond as they did and cling to the Lord and “find hope in the hardest places.”

I was moved by Abby’s strength amidst the turmoil, and while she calls Wyatt her hero, I call her mine. She admits that their lives aren’t always easy and that she doesn’t always respond as she should, but that’s just a part of being human, and the overall theme you’ll find in Love Him Anyway is that the Banks family loves and trusts the Lord, despite of and through the trials they face.

You need to know in advance that Love Him Anyway is a hard read, especially if you’re a mom, but it’s such an encouragement and I highly recommend it—not because I’m the Chief Operating Officer of the company that published it—but because I believe you’ll get the same lesson from it that I did: Life may be hard sometimes, but God is good all the time and you can always find hope in those hard places. And sometimes, we need that reminder.

Love Him Anyway releases February 21, 2017 in paperback at all major retailers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Christianbook.com. You can also purchase Love Him Anyway through Ambassador International’s online store and use the coupon code “LoveHim” for a 10% discount. Lastly, you can enter to win a free signed copy below.

And if you’re local, you can join the Banks family at the Barnes and Noble at The Shops at Greenridge on March 18th from 10am-12pm for a book signing. We’d love to have you there!

Win a signed copy of Love Him Anyway!

No matter where you get Love Him Anyway, just make sure you have tissues handy!

And stay tuned for Day 2 of the blog tour at rebelbookreviews.blogspot.com.