by Amy Lillard
“You have to have faith.”
Hannah blinked at his wise words. “What?”
“You have to have faith. You have to put it into motion. You have to surrender it all to God, and then the prayers will be answered.”
“You were listening.”
Hannah half spun to look at her sister. Leah was beaming like a proud mother.
“That was the sermon,” Leah explained. “One we were listening to in the car.”
Hannah turned back to Brandon.
He smiled. “You have to let go.”
Could she do that?
“I want you to,” Brandon continued. “I want you to be happy. If that means you need to become Amish again, then that’s what you should do.”
Her head spun with the idea. “What about you?”
He shook his head. “You’ve spent my entire life worrying about me.”
“I’m your mother. That’s my job.”
“God will take care of things.”
“Oh yeah?” She smiled through her tears.
“Well, that’s what Leah says. So go ahead and say that you’ll join the church, and let God take care of the rest.”
She could say it now, and then if something happened, she didn’t have to go through with it. The bishop would understand. Aaron would underst—
She was doing it again. She had thought that she was turning all her problems over to God, but she hadn’t been. She had been fighting for control, trying to do what she knew God wanted her to do, but unable to relinquish that control.
She said she had surrendered all, but she hadn’t. And that was why she never got her answer.
“Okay.” She felt as if a weight had been taken from her.
Brandon smiled, the greatest and most genuine smile she had seen from him in a long time.
She took Brandon’s hands into her own and turned toward the bishop. “I want to join the church.”
Amos smiled. “We’ll get started on that next service.”
“And you can live with me, Brandon.” Leah stepped forward. “I have plenty of room in my apartment. You’ll be within walking distance of the library to get your work done. And I could use the help in the shop.”
“I thought that was my job,” Hannah protested.
Leah shook her head. “You’ve got a house to keep.”
Did she?
Aaron took a step toward her. Suddenly they were all in the middle of the yard, standing in a large circle. “Hannah Gingerich, I know you have to still join the church. But I pledge my love to you. And soon, I hope you’ll be my wife.”
There came the tears again. She wanted to fling her arms around him and press her lips to his, but that could wait until they didn’t have an audience. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too long away.
“I love you, Aaron.” She gazed into his beautiful blue eyes, then turned to Brandon. “And I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
Leah threw one arm across his shoulders and pulled him into a one-armed hug. “And I love you, roomie.”
Brandon grinned and wiped the tears from his own cheeks.
She was becoming Amish again and marrying Aaron. Their Englisch son would live with his Mennonite aunt so he could attend school. It was a strange situation to be sure.
“What is the district going to think?” she asked.
The bishop grinned. “They’ll think that we made the best of the situation that God handed us. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
God’s will was done. They couldn’t hope for more.
The screen door slammed, and Mamm stepped out onto the porch.
“What’s everyone doing in the middle of the yard?” She squinted at them as if that would help her better understand. “What did I miss?”