War is something that few talk about, at least in terms of the intimate details. The family members I've had in wars never spoke about it other than little details here and there. Never enough to paint a picture of what it was like. That's why I'm so grateful for a book like 'Til We Meet Again' by the Whipps because it not only shows one soldier's time in the war (and a brief gaze into that of a nurse) but how God was with him the whole time. The novel is a wonderful love story, and while it's amazing that Ray and Betty fell in love and had their life together it was really their love of God that spoke through the pages. Their plans didn't turn out the way they has thought but both knew without a doubt that God had a better plan for them. It's a true testimony to God's presence and the power of a relationship with Him.
What truly spoke to me was Ray's comfort in the fact that even when he was physically alone, he knew he wasn't. God was with him the entire time. The comfort he felt from scripture was inspiring, and has made my relationship with God that much more precious. No, not everyone came back from the war. Plenty of Christians died, as well. That didn't mean that God wasn't with them. Ray talks about this, wondering about the Germans praying as well.
One day while I was waiting for a friend, I was sitting and reading this book. We had picked a central meeting place in downtown, and I looked up and realized I was sitting at the city's cenotaph. Everything hit me then, how God places people and situations into your life at an appointed time. It is clearly the case with Ray and Betty.
'Til We Meet Again is a moving story about God's presence, and His Will, and how far our faith can take us. I think even non-believers would appreciate this novel as a true account of the second world war. As the saying goes, there's no atheist in a foxhole.
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