Photo by Angie Davis.
Lauren Denton
I’m not a Hallmark movie kind of girl. I’ve tried many times to love the movies as so many others do, but no luck. The shows are usually too sweet, the teeth too white and the endings too perfect. However, that all changed when another mom and I were discussing what our kids were watching on TV. We both agreed that over the long corona-summer, our kids had watched virtually all the child-appropriate shows Netflix and Amazon had to offer, but then one of her kids said, “Oh, tell them about ‘When Calls the Heart!’” The mom looked at me and, with wide eyes, said, “You know about ‘When Calls the Heart,’ don’t you?” Obviously I didn’t, and she (and her kids and even her husband) proceeded to gush about how wonderful the show is.
“When Calls the Heart” is a series set in the early 1900s in western Canada following a schoolteacher who takes a new class assignment in a coal mining town. There are hardworking women, sneaky schoolchildren, a handsome Mountie, a mine owner who may or may not be crooked and a healthy smattering of bad guys and mysteries to be solved. I didn’t have high hopes going into it, so when I sat down to watch the first episode with Kate and Sela, I figured we’d watch one or two, and then lose interest — but that’s not what happened. Instead, it’s probably been the best shared TV experience I’ve had with my girls. Let me explain.
Our lives have become considerably more complicated this year. We’ve all had to let go of things that before this year felt like a given. We miss the relative ease of life pre-March 2020 and wish things could go back to normal. Throw in our family’s first real wave of technology decisions, including whether we’re ready to allow our daughter to text friends (using my phone) or to have a personal email address (what about the emails that occasionally pass the junk filters?), and I’m ready to escape to somewhere calmer and simpler.
Enter “When Calls the Heart.” This series has been a world for us to relax into with good people solving problems and dealing with disappointments and even grief in noble ways. I love that my girls are seeing healthy relationships, respectful men, brave women and children who know how to play and work. Their world isn’t perfect, but life goes on and they band together. When the show opens, a mine explosion has just killed many of their husbands and fathers, and those left behind have a much harder life, including the schoolteacher teaching in less than ideal circumstances (sound familiar?). There’s humor, spunk, emotion and simplicity, and it keeps reminding me of what my friend Holly always says we as Christians should be — salty and bright.
So, while I know the world doesn’t necessarily need another Hallmark series, I stand by these men and women. They can probably teach us a thing or two about fortitude, integrity and choosing “salty and bright” instead of dejection and defeat regardless of our circumstances.
When I’m not writing about my family and our various shenanigans, I write novels and go to the grocery store. My latest novel, “The Summer House,” is in stores and online now. You can reach me by email at Lauren@LaurenKDenton.com, visit my website LaurenKDenton.com, or find me on Instagram @LaurenKDentonBooks, Twitter @LaurenKDenton, or on Facebook ~LaurenKDentonAuthor.
