The King's Daughter

Wow...this girl had it hard. It's an interesting story, and makes some excellent points: when Dell goes to be her father's housekeeper, she goes with the attitude of being a missionary. Her father's focus on strong drink and his ownership of a bar has, in her view, gotten between him and God. The entire town, though affluent, is plagued with an uncommon amount of drunkenness, which keeps the poor in poverty and squalor.

Her crusade against alcohol reminded me in many ways of today's problems with drug addiction; even those who think they can “handle it” can be subject to sudden tragedy. I liked, though, that she wanted them sober so she could share the Gospel with a sane mind; she wasn't there to share Utopian views of creating a perfect society; her passion is to save souls.

I also liked the honesty about the depression that begins to plague her as time goes by and results remain scanty. Dell isn't perfect, and when she sees little reward for her work, she begins to wonder if she's working in the right place. The counsel her kind uncle gives is priceless: work the field God sends you to, until He sends you to another one: numbers and results aren't the only measure of success. Her goal as a Christian is to seek the will of God and walk in it.