A Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans

 

"For the third time since I began, my walk has been delayed. In the beginning, I had considered these stops on my journey as interruptions---but I'm coming to understand that perhaps these detours are my journey. No matter how much I, or the rest of humanity wishes otherwise, life is not lived in smooth, downhill expressways, but in the obscure, perilous trails and rocky back roads of life where we stumble and feel our way through the fog of the unknown. Life is not a sprint. It was never meant to be. It is just one step of faith after another."

   -Alan Christoffersen's thoughts from the novel

I finished this 4th installment of The Walk series in two days. I am finding these novels to be page turners, looking forward to what will happen next to our sojourner, Alan Cristoffersen. Only one more book to go and I surely hope Alan makes it to Key West, his final destination.

Alan begins this leg of his journey in St. Louis where he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He learns he must have surgery, and his father takes him to Los Angeles for the operation and his recovery. After some time, maybe not enough, he flies back to St. Louis to restart his walk, much to his father's chagrin. 

As in the first 3 books, he meets some very unique characters. There is Pastor Tim who gives him a place to rest and shares a vision of his future. Later while walking through a bad storm, he is kindly offered a ride by a woman named Paige.

When he reaches Memphis, he visits Graceland. Funny because when we were in Memphis, we felt it was a must-see, also. The foreshadowing at the end of chapter 29 made me so curious: "If someone had told me what I would encounter on the next leg of my journey, I never would have believed them." As it turns out he met the leader of a cult who Alan called a "religious nut." I think that was an understatement!

Near the Okefenokee Swamp, Alan was offered a place to sleep (away from the snakes and gators) by Dustin who turned out to be a paranoid hermit. When he reached Folkston, Georgia, he plugged in his phone and there was good news and bad news. That's all you get from me...

Next is Walking on Water.