Erin Cottrell is Missie LaHaye and she’s preparing her family for a big event.
After years of separation, her father Clark Davis is coming to the LaHaye ranch for a visit, marking the first time he’s met his grandchildren.
But the reunion quickly turns tragic when Missie goes to wake her infant daytime morning and discovers she’s not breathing.
The loss throws Missie into a period of deep grief and causes her and husband Willie (Logan Bartholomew) to question their faith.
Missie stops teaching school, forcing Willie to accept an offer to become town sheriff so the family can still make ends meet.
That causes new problems because he soon finds himself being used as an instrument of Mayor Sam Doros (John Laughlin).
The mayor gave loans to many of the ranchers in the area. Now he’s gleefully gobbling up the land of those who cant keep up with their payments.
Among those he’s about to foreclosure on is Henry Kline and his pregnant wife, close friends of the LaHayes.
Soon another point of contention will arise between Willie and Doros. The mayor’s daughter Colette is falling for the Lahayes’ adopted son Jeff.
Doros disapproves, quite strongly.
Erin Cottrell as Missie LaHaye, holding her infant daughter Kathy in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Logan Barthlomew, warning Henry Kline of the situation he faces in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Review:
This marked the fourth film in the “Love Comes Softly” series, based on the books of Janette Oke.
It’s not as solid as the original, but it’s worth a watch for those willing to watch a Western in which the focus in on family drama and faith rather than bad guys getting gunned down.
Erin Cottrell shines again in the lead role, selling the story with her believability. Somehow, Logan Bartholomew doesn’t appear to have aged a minute in the five to six years that passed between this story and the plot of “Love’s Long Journey” (2005).
This marked his last appearance in the series. Cottrell would appear in three more, beginning with “Love’s Unending Legacy” (2007).
John Loughlin as Samuel Doros, the man who convinces Willie to become sheriff in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Dale Midkiff as Clark Davis, arriving for a reunion with daughter Missie after several years in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Directed by:
Michael Landon Jr.
Cast:
Erin Cottrell … Missie LaHaye
Logan Bartholomew … Willie LaHaye
Frank McRae … Cookie
Drew Tyler Bell … Jeff LaHaye
Mae Whitman … Colette Doros
W. Morgan Sheppard … Scottie
James Tupper … Henry Kline
John Laughlin … Samuel Doros
Kevin Gage … John Abel
Brett Coker … Mattie LaHaye
Stephen Bridgewater … Mr. Taylorsen
Brianna Brown … Melinda Kline
Blake Gibbons … Joe Paxson
Dale Midkiff … Clark Davis
Runtime: 87 min.
Drew Taylor Bell as Jeff LaHaye finds himself falsely accused of a crime in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Mae Whitman as Colette Doros, thrilled at a kind gesture suggested by her father in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Memorable lines:
Mayor Samuel Doros: “You know how it is with daughters. They sure can break their father’s hearts.”
Clark Davis, glancing toward grieving Missie: “In more ways than one.”
Jeff LaHaye: “A man doesn’t just quit in the middle of a job.”
Colette Doros: “A man is the master of his own day.”
Jeff LaHaye: “You sound like a girl who likes to be contrary.”
Colette Doros: “I’m a woman who knows what she wants.”
Samuel Doros: “You know, the gap between me and the chance of poverty will never be big enough to suit me. And if that means tossing people like Paxson off his land, then so be it.”
Erin Cottrell as Missie LaHaye, mourning the loss of her infant daughter in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
James Tupper as Henry Kline, a close friend of Willie, in danger of losing his home to foreclosure in Love’s Abiding Joy (2003)
Brianna Brown as Melinda Kline, informing Missie of her family’s desperate situation in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Brett Coker as Mattie LaHaye, reacting as tragedy strikes his family’s household in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Kevin Gage as John Abel, right-hand man for Mayor Samuel Doros in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
Logan Bartholomew as Willie LaHaye and Erin Cottrell as wife Missie bid farewell to their daughter in Love’s Abiding Joy (2006)
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