Audrey Yeager
A Promise to God
Author: Laura M. Porras
Publisher: Tate Publishing
2005
It isn’t often that a book we review has its roots right in our own backyard. A Promise to God is such a book. It is the story of a wonderful old pastor many of us knew quite well, a man who grew up in our area; Yelm to be exact. Personally, I doubt whether a single book could capture the essence and the heart of Cam Iverson, but author Laura M. Porras proves it is possible to come close.
With the backing of the Iverson family, thereby having access to pictures, documents and letters, Ms. Porras has turned out an interesting, inspirational, and true story of a man held in highest esteem by those who knew him.
From a rebellious, chip-on-the-shoulder teenager, this is the tale of a young hoodlum who became a dedicated preacher.
Even if you don’t happen to be of the same religious persuasion as Pastor Cam it would be hard to deny that he walked as close as he could to God. As you read A Promise to God it is not difficult to see that he was endowed with an unusually loving and understanding demeanor. People of all religions were drawn to him. Some inexplicable, “something” made it easy for people to share their deepest concerns with him.
No doubt Iverson was influenced in no small way by his mother, whom author Porras has presented as almost a co-subject in A Promise to God. Mother Iverson was one of the strongest women I have ever read about, and in spite of the love Cam held for her, there were times in his wilder years when she irritated him in a mighty way; especially when she came to his room as he was trying to sleep off a drunken binge, and prayed aloud for him while holding his undershirt.
Between the details of Cam’s mother’s life and his own, this is a story that exudes conviction, encouragement, faith and great sacrificial love.
It is truly an experience to read of such an about-face in a person’s life, and it wasn’t to be a temporary metamorphosis either. This reviewer was privileged to know Pastor Cam for many years, and he remained the changed person he had become in 1965, at age 51 when he was struck down by a massive heart attack. Maybe most males wouldn’t like the title, but Cam was at the top of my list of Great Things for men to be…he was a sweet man.
To order books you may reach author Laura Porras at e-mail: lauramporras@yahoo.com
