Sing the Wondrous Story
Page 8
“No. And why do I need to talk to both of them?”
“For my safety. If they aren’t in one hundred percent agreement that you can come calling, then you can’t. If they are, I will have to make up my mind then. And right now, I am very ill-disposed to say yes even if both Jason and Father did.”
Sidney grinned. “That doesn’t sound like a very Christian thing to say.”
“What?”
“Jason talked to me a week or so before his wedding.”
“He did?”
“Yes.”
“About what?”
“Thanking me for being ‘the instrument that God used to bring you and your family to God.’ He tried to explain how I helped and why it was important, but I didn’t listen to him.”
“Why not? It would have done you good.”
Sidney shook his head. “I don’t need a crutch to get through life. I’ll let you get home now or wherever you were going.”
“To see Jason and Claire,” Jessa answered.
“How is the new couple?”
“Very happy.”
Sidney tilted his head. “That could be us in a few months if you said yes to me calling on you.”
Jessa clenched her jaw. “No. Good day, Mr. DeBois.”
Sidney sighed dramatically. “Good day, Miss Poler.”
***
A month later, Jason and Claire were over for a Sunday dinner.
“We have some exciting news,” Jason said. He paused but didn’t say anything for a while.
Jessa couldn’t stand the wait. “What is it?”
Jason grinned. “We’re going to have a baby!”
Jessa squealed. “I’m going to be an aunt! When will he be here?”
Claire beamed up at Jason. “Sometime in the fall.”
Jessa’s face fell. “But...but we won’t be here.”
Jason looked from Jessa to his father and back. “What do you mean?”
Mr. Poler cleared his throat. “That’s the reason we asked you two over for dinner tonight. We were going to tell you after the meal was over.”
“And then we beat you to it,” Jason said. “What is going on?”
Mr. Poler took a deep breath. “Someone came in and offered to buy my barbershop for more money than it was worth. I couldn’t resist the offer. Especially since the last couple of weeks, Jessa has asked for us to move away. Sidney refuses to leave her alone, and Jessa is afraid to go to town now. Between that and the barbershop sale, we believe God is telling us it is time to find somewhere new to live.”
Jason took Claire’s hand. “When and where?”
“We are talking about Topeka, Kansas. As for when, that depends on how quickly the sale goes through, when we get everything packed up, and when I can find a house in Kansas. I’m going to go there after the shop sale is finalized to find a house and new shop and then come back for Marge and Jessa.
“Speaking of that, Jason, could you keep an eye on things here while I am gone?”
“Of course,” Jason replied. “I’d be happy to.”
“Parting is such sweet sorrow,” Claire said. “I’m excited for your new adventure, but we will miss you.”
“Can’t you move with us?” Jessa asked.
Claire shook her head. “Not right away, anyway. I don’t want to risk the baby’s life and then traveling with a baby isn’t easy, so I don’t want to do that either.”
Jessa sighed. “That is sad. I’ll just have to come visit a lot, I guess.”
“Yes, you will,” Claire answered. “And even if you can’t, we will meet again.”
Jessa looked up, a smile spreading on her face. “Like it says in Jason’s favorite hymn!
He will keep me till the river
Rolls its waters at my feet;
Then He’ll bear me safely over,
Where the loved ones I shall meet.”
Everyone joined her in singing the chorus:
Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me,
Sing it with the saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.
“‘Then He’ll bear me safely over, where the loved ones I shall meet,’” Jason said quietly. “Those words are so powerful and true. God will always keep us safe so we can sing with the saints at all times.”
“Let’s sing now,” Claire said. “Your guitar is here. We could sing the whole song this time instead of just one part.”
“An excellent idea,” Jason said. “Now that I know how to play the song.”
They all went to the parlor where Jason took out his guitar and started strumming.
I will sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me;
How He left His home in glory
For the cross of Calvary.
I was lost, but Jesus found me,
Found the sheep that went astray,
Threw His loving arms around me,
Drew me back into His way.
I was bruised, but Jesus healed me,
Faint was I from many a fall,
Sight was gone, and fears possessed me,
But He freed me from them all.
Days of darkness still come o’er me,
Sorrow’s path I often tread,
But His presence still is with me;
By His guiding hand I’m led.
He will keep me till the river
Rolls its waters at my feet;
Then He’ll bear me safely over,
Where the loved ones I shall meet.
Refrain:
Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ Who died for me,
Sing it with the saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.
Keep reading for a special preview of:
Orphans of the West #4
He Leadeth Me
By Faith Blum
Available September 26, 2018!
(Note: This excerpt has not been proofread)
By noon the next day, the house shone. Not literally, but comparatively. I cleaned myself up and changed into less dusty clothes. I wandered through the house one more time, trying to envision it as it had been thirteen years earlier. I couldn’t bring the image up into my mind. With a sigh, I went out the kitchen door and looked across the landscape. I could almost see the Lester’s house. Almost, but not quite. I could see the smoke rising out of their chimney, though, so that should mean someone was home.
I struck out through the mud puddles, patches of snow, and over the small hills.
A man stood by a tree, cutting random branches and I smiled. He was too tall to be Mr. Lester, so it had to be Danny. Sweet, childlike Danny. He got made fun of a lot because of his simple ways, but he always had a smile for everyone. We never let the five years between us affect our friendship, either. Even though I often felt like the more mature one, I never took advantage of the feeling.
“Hi, Danny,” I said, coming up to him.
He looked at me, blinked, and his eyes widened as his smile grew until I don’t think the whole state of Texas could have contained it. “Gage? Is it really you?”
I grinned. “Yes it is. I finally came home.”
“Forever?”
“Probably, yes. At least I hope so. I want to stay here the rest of my life if I can.”
Danny pulled me into a tight hug and nearly squeezed all the air out of me. I’m not small at all, in fact, back on the ranch, I was one of the tallest and broadest men in town. Next to Danny, however, I felt like a short man. The top of my head reached to his nose and his shoulders were even wider than mine.
“You got bigger.”
Danny laughed. “So’d you. They call me the gentle giant ‘round here.”
“Who’s ‘they’?”
“Mostly the girls.”
A mischievous thought popped into my head. “Any of them in particular catch your eye?”
Danny frowned. “Everyone asks that.”
“What do you usually say?”
He shrugged. “Nothin’. I shrug and start talkin’ about somethin’ else. How’s your family?”
“They’re doing well. So who’s the lucky girl who’s caught your eye?” I asked.
Danny’s eyes narrowed. “How’d you know someone has?”
I chuckled. “I may not have seen you for thirteen years, but you never could lie or hide anything from me. The distraction tactic gives it away every time.”
His shoulders slumped as he sighed. “I already asked her pa and he said no to courtin’ her, so it don’t—doesn’t—really matter, anyway.”
My grin faded. “Why’d he say no?”
“He didn’t tell me.”
“Any ideas?”
Danny’s eyes shifted around, looking everywhere but at me. “Yeah. ’Cause I’m slow and stupid.”
I got up as close as I dared, glared at him, and grabbed his shoulders. “You are not stupid. Anyone who says so obviously doesn’t know you. You are smart, happy, and a hard worker. How slow you are at thinking about things should not matter.”
Danny plucked my hands off his shoulders and shook his head. “’S’okay. I know people don’t mean harm by it. I just like Jessamine so much and wanna know if she could like me, too. We should probably get to the house. I’m sure Pa and Ma would like to see you and I want you to meet Laura.”
I smiled. “That’s right, I forgot your parents had adopted a girl. How’d that happen again?”
We started walking while he talked. “Her parents died five years ago and she had no other family. My sister, Maria, wanted to take her in, but she and her husband couldn’t feed another mouth at the time, so Pa and Ma took her instead.”
“And she’s Carla’s age, right?”
“Yep. Does the house look different?”
I raised my eyebrows and looked around. “I can’t really remember what it looked like before, so I don’t know.”
Danny shrugged and opened the door. “Pa! Ma! Laura! You’ll never guess who’s here.”
A sweet, melodic voice answered, “Gage Wilhelm?”
“How’d you guess?”
Special Thanks
This novella is also part of an anthology and thus had many eyes go through it. Patricia, Bokerah, A-M, Dyanne, Jane, Robin, Leila, and Carisa were integral in that. I would also like to thank my mom and sisters, Gail, Lydia, and Naomi for their beta-reading skills.
I’d also like to thank Kelsey for proofreading my novella and Amanda for formatting the paperback.
I appreciate each of you more than I can ever say. As always, God is my main inspiration for this story. He is a wonderful author and the only one who can truly give the inspiration.
I also want to thank all my readers. I love all the emails you have sent to me. They make my day.
About the Author
Faith Blum is a small-town Wisconsin girl. She’s lived in, or outside of, small towns her whole life. The thought of living in a city with more than 60,000 people in it scares her, especially after some interesting adventures driving through big cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.
Faith currently resides in the middle of the state of Wisconsin with her husband and their cat, Smokey. She is blessed to be able to have writing as her full-time career with household work and cooking to do on the side. She loves to paint walls as long as she doesn’t have to do hallways or ceilings.
When not writing, you can find her cooking food from scratch due to food allergies (fun), doing dishes (meh), knitting, crocheting, sewing, reading, or spending time with her husband (yay!). She is also a Student Mentor for the Young Writers Workshop and loves her work there. She loves to hear from her readers, so feel free to contact her on her website.