Measure of Grace

by Al Lacy

  When he closed his prayer, Sherman Bradford turned back to Martha, ran his eyes over her cast and bruises, and said, “Do you mind my asking what happened to you, Mrs. Morrow?”

  At first, reluctance welled up in Martha, but she decided she might as well tell him, since Laura knew. She told him the story, shedding tears in the process.

  Bradford was very sympathetic, saying how sorry he was that this had happened to Martha and her children. Then he looked her in the eye and said, “Mrs. Morrow, I’d like to ask you something.”

  “Yes, Pastor Bradford?” She afforded him a weak smile as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

  “Let’s say the beating your husband gave you had been worse, and you had died from it. Would you have gone to heaven?”

  Martha’s brow puckered. She ran her eyes back and forth. “I … I hope so, but I can’t say for sure.”

  “Do you understand that a person can know they are saved from the penalty of their sins, and that they are going to heaven?”

  “Shamus and Maggie have talked to me about it several times, Pastor. They have even quoted Scripture verses about salvation and forgiveness of sin. I … well, even though I deeply respect them, I have always felt that their beliefs border on fanaticism.”

  “I can understand that, ma’am,” said Bradford. “Many people come from a background where they were taught that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and living for Him is fanaticism. But if you just let God speak to you through His Word, it will change your way of thinking.”

  At that point, the preacher began to quote passage after passage about the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary for hopeless sinners.

  When he paused for a moment, Martha said, “Pastor, may I ask you something?”

  “Of course.”

  “If God loves me as the Bible says He does, why has He let my life be so miserable? You’ve just heard what my children and I are suffering at the hands of my husband. Why does God let us suffer this misery?”

  “There are many things about life that are mysteries, ma’am,” said Bradford. “We don’t always understand things that come our way that make our lives miserable, but in time, I can help you to understand some of them from the Scriptures. But more important than the misery you are facing right now with your husband is the misery you will face in hell forever if you die without Jesus as your personal Saviour. May I show you some more things in the Bible?”

  Martha nodded, noticing that Laura had her head bowed, her eyes closed, and her lips were moving silently.

  The preacher then took Martha to additional passages in the four gospels, showing her how much the Lord loved her. He laid out salvation’s plan plain and clear, and showed her the consequences she would face if she rejected Jesus.

  As tears coursed down her cheeks, Martha said, “Pastor, what I thought was fanaticism is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard. Shamus and Maggie helped prepare me for this moment by quoting so many Scripture passages. God did so love me, Martha Morrow, that He gave His only begotten Son on the cross to die for my sins.”

  She took a ragged breath. “I want to be saved, Pastor. Will you help me to know how to call on the Lord?”

  “It will be my pleasure, Mrs. Morrow.”

  Laura wept silently while her pastor was leading Martha to Jesus, and when it was done, the three of them rejoiced together in Martha’s salvation.

  Wiping happy tears, Martha said, “I’m so glad to know that I am now a child of God, and am going to heaven. Now, I am concerned for my family. I want my husband and my children to be saved.”

  Bradford and Laura exchanged smiles, then he said, “That is one of the first signs of genuine conversion: a burden for loved ones to be saved. Let me show you one more thing, then I’ll leave for now, and give both of you ladies a chance to rest.”

  The pastor then showed Martha in Scripture that as soon as she was able, she should obey the Lord’s command, be baptized, and unite with the church.

  Martha’s first thought was what Stu would do when he found out she had become a Christian, and had been baptized and become a member of the church. At first there was a stab of fear, then a sweet peace flooded her heart. Looking up at the preacher, she said, “It will depend on when this cast comes off, Pastor, but as soon as it does, I’ll do as the Lord has commanded me.”

  AS DERICK AND DIANA MORROW were driving out of town toward home, Diana said, “Derick, I think we should stop and tell Maggie and Shamus about Mama being in the hospital. Since Papa is in jail, he won’t know about it. They would go see Mama, and I’m sure it would help her. Especially since Maggie and Mama have been friends for so many years. She needs all the encouragement she can get.”

  Derick thought on it a few seconds, then turned on the wagon seat to look at Diana. “You don’t think Mama will care if we tell the O’Hearns about all that’s happened, do you?”

  “Mama needs a friend right now. I’m sure she won’t mind. Maggie is the best friend Mama has. I think she would want her to know.”

  “Let’s do it,” said Derick.

  When they arrived at the O’Hearn farm, Maggie told them Shamus was helping a neighboring farmer build a new toolshed and wouldn’t be home till suppertime. Seeing the serious looks on the faces of Derick and Diana, Maggie asked if there was something wrong.

  Together they told Maggie about the beating their father had given Tom Wymore and why. Then they told her about their father’s anger toward Diana, how their mother had tried to protect Diana from being struck by him, and had ended up in the hospital as a result of the beating she received.

  They explained that their father was in jail for beating up on Tom Wymore, and also shared with her the threats he had made against Diana.

  Maggie wept as she heard the story and said she was going to hitch up the buggy and go see Martha immediately.

  At the hospital, Martha and Laura were both dozing when a nurse came in and told Martha that Chief Constable Bob Perry was there to see her. Laura looked on as Perry entered the room and stood over the bed. “Mrs. Morrow, I want you to know that I am very sorry for what your husband did to you.”

  Martha adjusted the sling on her arm and winced slightly from the pain it caused. “Thank you, Chief.”

  “The law says I must advise you, ma’am, that you can press charges against Mr. Morrow for beating you, and Judge Weathers says he will sentence him to a year in jail if you will. This will be added to the month he is in jail for beating up Tom Wymore.”

  Perry saw an expression of fear flit across Martha’s face as she shook her head in tiny movements. “No. I can’t, Chief. I’d live in terror for that year, counting down the days until he would get out. I don’t dare press charges against him.”

  Perry saw the compassion in Laura Thomas’s eyes as she looked at Martha. Nodding, he said, “I understand, Mrs. Morrow. There’s nothing the law can do about his intimidating you. We can only act after he has already done something—like this beating he gave you.” He sighed. “But as chief constable, I must at least advise you of your right to press charges. Thank you for allowing me to do that. I’ll be going now.”

  “I appreciate your coming, Chief,” said Martha.

  He smiled, started to leave, then checked himself. “I do want you to know that I have talked straight to him about what he did to both you and Tom. I hope that my words and the month in jail will cause him to get a grip on his temper and never do this kind of thing again.”

  Martha smiled thinly. “Me too.”

  When Perry started through the door, he stopped to allow Maggie O’Hearn to pass by him, then hurried away.

  Both women saw Maggie, whose eyes widened when she noticed Laura in the bed by the window. “Well, isn’t this something? Martha, your roommate is a very close friend of mine.”

  “I know,” said Martha. “We’ve already talked a lot about you.”

  Maggie smiled, then looked at Laura. “How are you doing, honey?”
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  “Just fine,” said Laura. “I’ll be going home in a few days.”

  “Good.” Then letting her gaze take in the cast, the swollen eye, and the facial bruises, Maggie said, “Martha, Diana and Derick stopped by on their way home from the hospital and told me the whole story.”

  Martha nodded.

  “Honey, this is terrible. I’m so sorry. And all because you tried to defend Diana.”

  Martha closed her eyes and nodded again.

  Maggie bent down, kissed her forehead, and said, “Bless your heart. You did what any good mother would have done.”

  “She sure did,” agreed Laura.

  Tears misted Martha’s eyes.

  “Derick told me about Stu’s threats against Diana,” said Maggie. “I’m concerned for her, Martha. From Stu’s past behavior, I’m afraid he might—well, might—”

  “Yes,” said Martha, thumbing tears from her eyes. “Me too. Did they tell you we’re trying to come up with a way to send Diana somewhere Stu can’t find her?”

  “No. They might have if we’d had longer to talk, but they needed to get home, and I wanted to hurry in here to see you. But I can’t blame you. She’s got to be protected somehow. Any idea where you might send her?”

  “Not yet. First we’ve got to get our hands on some money. Wherever we send her, it’s going to be expensive. If we owned the farm, I would somehow borrow against it, but since we only rent it, I’ll have to come up with the money some other way.”

  Maggie drew a deep breath, and as she let it out, she said, “If Shamus and I had the money, we would give it to you. But we don’t.”

  Martha took hold of her hand. “I know you and Shamus would help if you had the money. But you know what?”

  “What?”

  “I have some good news for you in the midst of all this trouble.”

  “Does she ever!” said Laura.

  A questioning look captured Maggie’s features as she ran her gaze to Laura, then back to Martha. “Well, tell me!”

  Martha let go of Maggie’s hand and brushed more tears from her eyes. “You know how many times you have talked to me about being saved?”

  Maggie’s eyes widened. “You … you—”

  “Yes, honey! I’ve been in the family of God for almost two hours now! Pastor Bradford came to see Laura and led me to Jesus!”

  Happy tears filled Maggie’s eyes. “Oh! Glory to God! That’s wonderful.” She bent down and kissed Martha’s cheek. “Shamus and I have prayed for this so many times!”

  Laura said, “I’m so happy for her. Glenn will be too, when he finds out!”

  Martha told Maggie that she was going to be baptized as soon as the cast was off, which thrilled her again.

  Maggie had a passing thought that Stu would probably be out of jail before the cast could come off. “I’m so glad, honey. This is the best news I’ve had in a long time. I can’t wait to tell Shamus. Martha, we’ll be praying about Diana’s situation. The Lord will give you the solution, I know.”

  Maggie prayed with her friends, kissed them both on the cheek, and headed for home.

  The next morning, Pastor Sherman Bradford returned to the hospital for another visit. He was glad to see Martha rejoicing in her salvation, and after spending a few minutes talking to Laura, he turned to Martha and asked how she was feeling.

  After saying she was feeling better physically, Martha shared her burden with him over Stu’s bad temper, explaining that he felt toward Jesus Christ, the Bible, churches, and Christians just like she had.

  A deep frown lined her brow as she said, “Pastor, how am I going to bear up under Stu’s anger when he gets out of jail and learns that I have become a Christian and will be uniting with the church upon my baptism? I think you can understand my concern.

  “Of course,” said the preacher, opening his Bible and flipping pages. “One of the blessings of being a born-again child of God as you are now, Martha, is that your heavenly Father is always with you to help you. Let me read a couple of verses to you. First, here in 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul is going through great suffering. God speaks to him in verse 9 and says, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.’ God’s grace would be sufficient for Paul, no matter what the circumstances, because God’s strength is perfected in His children in their weaknesses. This is one of the marvels of being a Christian.”

  Clinging to every word, Martha kept her eyes fastened on him, waiting for more.

  “The Lord is fully aware of your situation, Martha,” Bradford went on. “And He is fully capable of helping you to handle it. He says His grace is sufficient, right?”

  “Yes, but Stu can get so mean, and there’s no telling what he might do.”

  “Let me help you with this,” the pastor said, giving her an assuring smile. “Yesterday, you placed your full trust in the Lord to save your soul, keep you from ever going to hell, and to finally take you to heaven by His grace, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you have any doubts that He will keep His promises?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Good. Then if you can fully trust Him to save your soul, keep you from ever going to hell, and to take you to heaven by His grace when your life is over here on earth, can’t you trust Him to supply sufficient grace for your needs while you’re still here on earth?”

  A new light showed in Martha’s eyes. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, Pastor. You’re right.”

  “Don’t feel bad,” said Bradford. “Many Christians who have been saved for decades haven’t thought of it that way; or if they have, they still have a hard time trusting the Lord with problems in this life. God is well able to meet this problem with your husband with the measure of grace you need. Let me read another verse to you.”

  Bradford flipped forward a few pages. “I’m going to read Ephesians 4:7 to you. Keep in mind what I just said, and I repeat: God is well able to meet this problem with your husband with the measure of grace you need. Speaking of born-again people, it says: ‘But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.’ Because you belong to Jesus, He will meet every problem you bring to Him with the measure of grace you need.”

  Martha smiled. “I understand, Pastor. Since I can trust the Lord to take me to heaven by His grace, I can also trust Him to get me through this life by His grace, come what may.”

  “Right. Jesus told us we would have tribulations while here on earth, so we can expect to face many trials and hardships. But He is always with us, and His grace is sufficient to meet every need. Just trust Him for the measure of grace you need for each trial.”

  “Thank you for showing me this truth in the Bible, Pastor,” Martha said softly. “I … I have something else to say.”

  “Yes?”

  “I want my children to be saved. Of course Dennis is too young, but the other four are old enough.”

  “I’ll talk to them,” said Bradford, “and do my best to lead them to the Lord.”

  Martha touched her temple, thought a few seconds, then said, “Tell you what, Pastor. Since their minds have been conditioned to disdain the Bible and its message by both Stu and me, it would be best if I talk to them first. I’ll tell them I’m saved, and how wrong I was to teach them what I did. I’ll let you know when you can come to the house and talk to them.”

  “All right. I can see it would be best to do it that way. Now, before I go, let me say this: God’s ability to give the measure of grace we need doesn’t mean we throw caution and good sense to the wind. If you believe that you are going to be in danger when your husband gets out of jail, the church will provide a place of safety for you and the children.”

  “I appreciate that, Pastor,” Martha said. “We have almost a month. Let me see how things go between now and then, and if I feel we need a hiding place, I will let you know.”

  The workload on the Morrow farm was heavy for the children with both of their parents away, but from
oldest to youngest, they pitched in and did the chores, wanting to have everything in order when their mother was released from the hospital.

  In the early part of that morning, Diana was busy, baking several loaves of bread while her siblings were doing the outside work. Deborah was sweeping both the front and back porches of the house, and the boys were at the barn. Diana was hurrying with the bread so it would be done before she and Derick needed to head for the hospital.

  She was deep in thought, as always when there was a quiet moment, trying desperately to come up with a workable plan to get her safely away from the Richmond area without making a hardship on anyone who might offer help.

  Suddenly a small, pitiful sound penetrated her thoughts. Her hands, buried in bread dough, came to a stop. Tilting her head to one side, she listened for the sound to come again. When there was nothing, she was about to chalk it up to her imagination.

  Then she heard it again.

  “Someone is crying,” she whispered to herself.

  Taking her hands from the sticky dough, she wiped them on a nearby dish towel and headed toward the front of the house where the weeping was coming from. Stopping to listen every few steps, she soon found herself entering the boys’ bedroom.

  She found her five-year-old brother sitting on the floor in a corner, sobbing. His head was pressed against his drawn-up knees, with gulping sobs escaping his mouth.

  Diana wondered when Dennis had come in the house. She told herself it must have been when she was in the pantry. Hurrying to his huddled little form, Diana bent down, took him in her arms, and carried him to one of the beds. Sitting on its edge, she sat him on her lap and folded him in her arms. “Honey, what’s the matter?”

  Dennis pressed his face against her shoulder and wailed loudly, no longer trying at all to curb the flow of tears. For several minutes, Diana held him, gently rubbing his shaking little shoulders, speaking soft words in the attempt to quiet him so he could tell her what was bothering him.

  When the sobs finally ceased, and only small sighs and hiccups were being released, Diana gently pushed him away from her shoulder, tilted his tear-stained face upward, and looked him in the eye. “Honey, what is it?”