Always Beautiful

Amish Miracle

by Beth Wiseman

Becky Byler is eighteen and overweight. She is overwhelmed by the embarrassment she feels when comparing herself to other girls her age. Having lost all hope, she considers taking her own life. As she stands before rushing water, unable to swim, Becky begs God for a miracle. In just several months, Becky sees her prayers answered as food and temptation lose their hold over her. She’s finally pleased with how she looks, but does she like the person she has become? And has the man she has dreamed of been right beside her all along, loving her exactly as she is?

Genres: Amish, Christian Fiction, Romance, Novella, Amish Fiction

111 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 11, 2014

About the author

"I wish I had the time to review books and chat with you here, but my writing deadlines just don't allow it. Please like my Fans of Beth Wiseman Page on Facebook where I try to post any news and interact with readers."
Beth is the best-selling and award winning author of the Daughters of the Promise series - Plain Perfect, Plain Pursuit, Plain Promise, Plain Paradise, and Plain Proposal. She is contracted with HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Her other series--the Land of Canaan Novels--begins with Seek Me With All Your Heart, then The Wonder of Your Love and now, His Love Endures Forever. Seek Me With All Your Heart is the first Amish fiction book selected as a Women of Faith novel in 2011. Beth has also written three contemporary Christian fiction novels, Need You Now published in 2012 and The House That Love Built in 2013. In The Promise, (2014) Beth jumps way outside the box. This story takes readers far away from Amish Country and small Texas towns to a dangerous place on the other side of the world. Inspired by a true story, Beth believes this is the book she’s been working toward for a long time. 2015 brings Beth back to the Pennsylvania Amish with her new series, Amish Secrets. She is currently working on book #2 following much success with book #1, Her Brother's Keeper.

You can also follow Beth on Twitter: @BethWiseman

Reviews

[Joleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Third and last of Amish Miracle series of novellas. This one was my favorite. It dealt with weight loss and attraction.

Well done.

[Megan Macrae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novella that I was hoping had been written. I’ve been waiting so long to find out Becky Byler’s story and finally I have! This was a great ending to this series (I really hope it isn’t over. I love these characters). Becky Byler deserves to be happy no matter what size she is. She just needed to get her head checked to realize life was flying by her. Her mom did a great job!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Amish romance... liked it!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

duplication-although not listed as such.

[Tina Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Becky Byler was always been overweight since she can remember and cannot remember a day that wasn't talked about in some way or another. As Becky is thinking about taking her life, yes it is against Amish belief, she prays to God to help her with her weight. As this is going on, Elam Miller, who is Becky's only best friend -who doesn't judge her about her weight, comes to her rescue.

Elam would like for their friendship to go farther, but Becky has her eyes on Matt King. Matt surprises Becky one day by stopping in at her mother's bakery to pick up pastries but to also to ask her out on a date.

Does Becky change as she's dieting? Does Becky get criticized for her new looks? What happens to Becky and Elam's friendship? What happens with Matt and Becky's courtship? The answer to these questions and more are answered by reading the book.

[DJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

After wishing she could lose weight for much of her life, Becky Byler finally loses all the extra pounds she desires to lose… but does it make her happy?

Well, she thinks it does – at first.

I would never have imagined that Amish girls would have to deal with weight issues. Who could have guessed? And even if they did, would pride or self-image really matter to them? After all, wouldn’t they care less about the outward appearance and more about good character qualities?

But… maybe even young Amish men and women get caught up in appearance. Beth Wiseman writes a beautiful story. I found myself feeling Becky’s pain, and yet, I could feel the pain of other characters as well and it was enlightening and heart-breaking as well.

This story shows us that sometimes… even if God’s answer is yes, it’s not always the best thing for us.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of An Amish Miracle compilation. Of course I loved reading snippets about the previous characters introduced in the other two novellas. And I was happy to read about Becky in this novella.

The flow of the novella was good. Becky, Elam, and Matt were all fine characters. I think I didn't relate to them as well because they were much younger characters. I'm more than twice their age (eek!) and Becky's issues with vanity at first didn't sit well with me. Then I realized just because I was reading about Amish characters didn't mean they were perfect. This novella reminded me Amish people struggle with vanity and finding their place within their community.

Thank you, Ms. Wiseman.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really identified with Becky, who has been overweight her entire life. She has always felt out of place, fat and ugly, but over the course of the book, we learn that only Becky saw herself that way, sure she was fat, but everyone else saw her inner beauty and accepted as she was. I think sometimes we are our own worst critic and if anyone ever gives us a compliment, we thank them and secretly think, "liar"...but this book brings it from another angle.

This was not as good as previous Wiseman stories, there was a love triangle that was okay, but really not well fleshed out.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Becky has always felt like an outcast in the Amish community because of her size. When she prays to God to be thin, her prayers are answered. Not only does she lose weight, she gains the attention of two suitors, both of whom love her for who she is, regardless of her size. But the change in her weight affects Becky on the inside and almost ruins her chances of finding her true love.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story along with all the other short stories in An Amish Miracle. So peaceful and positive to read. I did feel sorry for Becky at one point in the story... don't want to say because it would be a spoiler but I'm so glad that everything ended well for Becky. Just the way I wanted the story to end.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I have ever read an Amish fiction book where a character struggled with weight. Most have everyone eating and working all the time. I really enjoyed this one, but got who she would pick in the end wrong.

[Jessica Cleghorn · Rating 4 out of 5]

good book ,moved along at a good pace. Perhaps the twist in the love story could have been a little more developed, however the book being the size it is , who's to complain . I appreciated the topic of the story and could relate to it personally, despite being in amish setting.

[Pam Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

How God's perfect will is truly your perfect life

I love the way in her mind she would have the perfect life, but God showed her in his will she would surely have the perfect life!!!

[Nita Bandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance

Romance has many lessons. Many times, we have many opinions of what would make us happy. But, to feel true love, we must feel with the heart.

[CarolynB · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read dealing with self image. It was good--I wasn't sure of the outcome until late in the story.

[Parkland Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read via Kindle. 4 stars.