Down to the Potter’s House
by Annette Valentine
O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isiah 64:8
Down to the Potter’s House is a tale of hope. It is the story of the Maxwell family and their family farm, Hillbound, in 1930s Kentucky. Here the former state Senator Robert Maxwell, his wife, Annabelle, and their four children; Millicent, Emma, Henry and Gracie live and raise tobacco. Hillbound is a huge farm, and provides for the Maxwell’s a good life.
At fifteen, Gracie has her life planned. She will finish high school, go to college to become a teacher, and then set out for the mission field in Sudan, to teach the African children, just like she has taught the colored farm children.
But, when her mother gets sick, plans begin to fall apart. Gracie’s father distances himself from his ailing wife and his family. The house and farm fall into disarray. With her two older sisters now married, Gracie and her brother struggle together to keep things running. She longs for school to begin and approval from her father. Then her mother dies.
Annette Valentine spins a tale of hurt, hardship, and transformation. Within the pages of Down to the Potter’s House, we will follow Gracie as she battles forward to face new challenges that will forever change her.
How will her father’s affection for the neighbor, Francine, and their new partnership in horseracing affect the family? Can her brother Henry keep the farm afloat at the hands of a man who treats him like a hired hand? Will faith be enough to save them and their beloved Hillbound?
Gracie prays that God will continue to shape her life as if she is a clay pot in the potter’s hands. Will he?
This is a wonderful tale. Enjoy!