Pursued

Description for PURSUED: A TRUE STORY OF CRIME, FAITH AND FAMILY by Donald Smarto with a foreword by Joni Eareckson Tada:

WHEN GOD PURSUES YOU, there can be difficulties and hard times. What Don Smarto also discovered was that even after God found him, he faced more trial sand hardships.

PURSUED will take you from the halls of Mafia dons in Sicily to the tough streets of Chicago. You will also see the deep ties Smarto's family had to the Catholic Church. In his search for truth he would sneak into a church balcony to spend hours in prayer, finally taking the path toward ordination as a priest.

His search was rewarded when he found Christ and discovered it was God who was actually pursuing him. But after leaving the monastery, he was soon broke and unemployed. Later he was the father of a son who required a series of agonizing open-heart surgeries. then he was confronted with dangerous corruption in the prison system he was trying to change. And finally, he found himself a federal witness against his own brother.

Why had God thrown so much hardship and heartache into his life? Had God lost control? Don Smarto believes many misunderstand the role of suffering in a Christian's life. Despite his harsh family background and subsequent problems, he sees his story as a reaffirmation of God's goodness and redemption.

You will be mesmerized as you are whipped along the rollercoaster ride of one man's life on his way to a greater understanding of faith in the midst of suffering. PURSUED is the inspiring drama of the surprising miracles in Don Smarto's life as God pursued him through it all.