Winter Is Not Forever
Winter Is Not Forever
Copyright © 1988
Janette Oke
Cover design by Dan Pitts
Cover photography by Aimee Christenson
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Oke, Janette, 1935—
Winter is not forever / Janette Oke.
p. cm.—(Seasons of the heart; bk. 3)
ISBN 978-0-7642-0802-7 (pbk.)
I. Title.
PR9199.3.O38W56 2010
813'.54—dc22
2010004154
D
EDICATION
To the memory of Amanda Janette,
our third grandchild,
daughter of Terry and Barbara,
and baby sister of Ashley,
who came to join our family
on June 25, 1987,
and completed her brief mission
on September 10, 1987,
taken from us suddenly by crib death.
She was such a healthy, happy,
responsive little sweetheart!
We loved her dearly and miss her greatly.
And to Amanda’s grandparents
Koert and Carol Dieterman
and all readers
who have suffered through like pain.
Our loving and faithful God wipes our tears,
mends our broken hearts, and heaven
becomes a dearer place.
“For where the treasure is,
there will the heart be also.”
JANETTEOKE was born in Champion, Alberta, to a Canadian prairie farmer and his wife, and she grew up in a large family full of laughter and love. She is a graduate of Mountain View Bible College in Alberta, where she met her husband, Edward, and they were married in May of 1957. After pastoring churches in Indiana and Canada, the Okes spent some years in Calgary, where Edward served in several positions on college faculties while Janette continued her writing. She has written forty-eight novels for adults and another sixteen for children, and her book sales total nearly thirty million.
The Okes have three sons and one daughter, all married, and are enjoying their fifteen grandchildren. Edward and Janette are active in their local church and make their home near Didsbury, Alberta.
C
ONTENTS
C
HARACTERS
Joshua Chadwick Jones—
Josh was raised by his grandfather, great uncle, and young aunt after his own parents were killed in an accident when he was only a baby. Once Josh reached his late teens, he lived with his Aunt Lou and her preacher husband, Nat Crawford, and went to school in town. On the weekends he returned to the farm to spend time with the menfolk.
Lou Jones Crawford—
Though she is his aunt, Lou is only a few years older than Josh. Now Lou is a parson’s wife and anxious to be a mother after losing her first child at birth.