Stepping Heavenward: A Special Book

Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss is a fictional story of a young Christian girl named Katherine Mortimer. It is written in the form of a journal kept by Katherine herself. It begins:  “How dreadfully old I am getting! Sixteen! Well, I don’t see as I can help it. There it is in the big Bible in Father’s own hand.”

What makes Stepping Heavenward so special is that Katherine is not presented as some super saint with only godly thoughts and deeds. No, she struggles with everyday trials like the rest of mankind. In the course of her journal, Katherine records her meeting a young man, with whom she falls in love. However, her mother is against the marriage, as she does not believe the young man is truly in love with her daughter.

 When Katherine becomes sick, she eventually discovers that her intended husband does not have an enduring lover for her. And the engagement is cancelled. Nevertheless, Katherine eventually meets a godly young man who truly loves her, and they get married. However, married life is not a simple matter of “living happily ever after.” Katherine experiences many trials through motherhood, tragedies, and failings. Her life in many ways mirrors the actual life of the author, Elizabeth Prentiss.

 Although Stepping Heavenward is fictional, it wasn’t written for the purpose of entertainment. Rather, like Pilgrim’s Progress and In His Steps, it was written to provide spiritual guidance for young women. Through the book, the reader finds encouragement to “step heavenward” herself, in order to make her life a blessing to others and to live with greater love, humility, and godly contentment.  © 2010