Chris Fabry is one of my favorite authors. Able to capture nuances of emotions and expressions, his literary skills combine with the language of everyman creating the unique merging of commonality in a beautiful prose.
Borders of the Heart blasts us into the melancholy of stifling Arizona heat and John David Jessup (JD) riding out into the farmland of dust and cacti checking for possible problems. Earning only his room and board for learning the practice of organic farming, he's managed to squirrel away some money and hides it in his oven of a room. His boss and farm owner is quickly identified as a less than positive man in charge and committed to reporting all illegals to the Border Patrol.
When JD discovers an unconscious but alive beautiful young woman, clearly of Mexican descent, with one handcuff still secured, he transports her on his horse to get his truck and sneaks her off to one of the few friend's places he knows. The godly man "Win" agrees to help the severely dehydrated woman with cactus-infested leg wounds by calling a doctor he knows will treat her. She pretends not to understand JD's efforts to recall what limited Spanish he's learned while Win conducts a proficient conversation with her. She reveals very little about her situation besides her name (Maria) and that police mustn't be called. Win removes the handcuff, and JD takes her to the clinic to meet the doctor.
No sooner does the doctor take care of Maria's wounds and condition when gunfire erupts, the doctor is shot, and JD and Maria rush to JD's truck to escape. JD figures out fast that Maria's claim in perfect English of an evil man trying to kill her is no joke, and suddenly they're on the run with JD having zero information as to why and from whom this pretty woman is running.
JD fluctuates between his frustration at and attraction to Maria and his bitter sorrow over the loss of his wife just a year prior. He's the typical mad-at-God fellow who hurts deep and has no direction or outlet for his pain. He's keeping secrets from everyone and a tight hold on everything to do with his past, as if he's destined to and deserves the steaming desert heat to bake him to death like the fires of hell.
When he can't convince Maria to seek help from the police, he tries to help her acquire what she needs, but with her mysterious and limited information dumps, his final attempt is stifled by her decision to leave him for his own safety. When he realizes just how much danger she's in, that he no longer is safe, and that good people who've tried to help are dying, he finds his way back to Win for assistance.
An interesting story of loss, love, forced decisions, sacrifice, and suffering, Borders of the Heart takes the reader into the inferno of hellish heat, sweat, murder, sabotage, prejudice, abandonment, love, and devotion. The borders erected around the heart or spread out from the heart encompass the characters in this novel. With faith declarations from unexpected sources a constant reminder to how God really works, the angry protagonist with his stony resentments begins to falter when he sees himself in some of the evil men inserted into his life.
I will note it took me until Chapter 9 to fully engage. JD isn't an easy man to root for, like most people who carry a grudge against God, and Chris is definitely adept at creating the forlorn anti-hero like few can. There's just enough neediness in him to resurrect compassion when more information about him becomes apparent, and by the end he's pretty much reached that unlikely hero status which is a welcome reversal. We can see it coming but watch carefully because he could go either way.
If you enjoy those stories with meaningful characters barely surviving what life's dished up, Borders of the Heart by Chris Fabry, published by Tyndale, will capture your interest with its melancholy hero, its feisty heroine, the faith and devotion of true friendship, and the multiple colors and kinds of evil.
Father, you know the many trials of the Fabry family. You've taken them on a journey they'll never forget. Please continue to supply Chris with the amazing ability you've given him to tell meaningful and touching stories that reveal the insides of humanity. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Into the Fire 
Leave a reply to Jessica Thomas Cancel reply