Measure of Grace

by Al Lacy

  “I see. Well, I’m so glad to hear that your mother is now a Christian. Diana, I would be very glad to show you right here in the Word of God how to be born again.”

  Diana drew a short breath and swallowed hard. “Thank you, ma’am, but with all the confusion in my mind from what I was taught in the past, I think it would be best if I wait till I get settled in Elkton then go to church and learn about it.”

  “But what if you were to die before then? According to what the Lord Jesus said in John chapter 3, you can’t go to heaven unless you have been born again. There is only one other place you can go, and that is the awful burning place called hell. Do you understand that?”

  “Well, yes. Mama made sure I did.”

  “Diana, your mother was right to do so. Do you understand that God’s Son came into this world for the express purpose of shedding His blood and dying on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, so we could be saved if we would come to Him for salvation?”

  “Mama made it clear about that, ma’am.”

  “Honey, Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified because it was the only way He could provide salvation. He died and they put His body in the tomb. But death couldn’t hold Him. He did just what He had predicted He would do. Three days after he was buried, He came back from the dead. And He is alive to save all who will come to Him in repentance of sin and ask Him to save them. If you die without receiving Him into your heart as your Saviour, you will spend eternity in hell.”

  Diana’s face had paled significantly. “M-Mrs. Zeller, I … ah … am very tired. I need to get some sleep. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m really very weary.”

  Cora nodded. “I understand that, honey, but you need to seriously consider your lost condition before God. It isn’t something to put off. I’ll be very happy to show you from the Bible exactly how to be saved so you can clearly understand it.”

  Faking a yawn, Diana put a hand to her mouth, made her eyelids look heavy, and said, “I will seriously consider it, ma’am. Right now, I need to get some sleep.” As she spoke, she slid down a bit on the seat and closed her eyes.

  “All right, dear,” said Cora.

  The train continued to make its way higher into the Rockies while the storm howled outside. Cora read her Bible for a few minutes, then lay her own head back, closed her eyes, and silently prayed for wisdom and power that she might be able to lead the girl to Jesus.

  Diana was dreaming that the stagecoach was pulling into the Wells Fargo station in Elkton when she was rudely jarred awake by the wheels of the train screeching on the tracks as it slid to a sudden halt.

  At first, she was unable to make the correlation between dream and reality as she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She frantically looked around her, and realized she was aboard the train, and her dream was just that. A dream.

  Shaking her head to clear away the cobwebs, Diana saw the passengers trying to see out the snowy windows while they talked in low, worried tones, wondering why the train had come to a halt while they were still in the mountains. The snow was pelting the windows, driven by a savage wind.

  They were in the midst of a blizzard.

  Diana looked at Cora, who was listening to two men across the aisle discussing the sudden stop, and said, “Mrs. Zeller …”

  Cora’s head came around to see the girl’s eyes wide with fear. “Yes, honey?”

  “Why have we stopped?”

  “I have no idea. But don’t be afraid. God is in control, as always.”

  Diana was amazed that she saw no fear in Cora’s eyes. Peace and control were reflected there.

  Taking the girl’s trembling hands in her own, Cora gave her a cheery smile. “It will be all right, dear. It’s probably just something to do with this terrible storm. I was really rather surprised that they didn’t keep the train in Cheyenne City until the storm had passed. We may be delayed here for a while, but the Lord always knows best.”

  Feeling somewhat better, Diana tried to look out the window into the dark night, shivering with each blast of wind that sent blinding icy pellets against it.

  The two men across the aisle rose from the seat, and one of them looked around at the confused passengers and said, “Folks, my name is Dale Manning. My friend is T. J. Smith. T. J. and I are going to go and see if we can find out why we’re stopped.”

  Even as both men headed for the door at the front of the coach, there was a thundering roar toward the rear of the train. It went on for two to three minutes, then all was quiet.

  Quickly, Manning and Smith left the coach.

  Time dragged as they awaited some word on the situation.

  Soon the front door opened. The engineer and the fireman hurried through the coach, each carrying a burning lantern. There was a sudden babble of voices as people asked what was going on, but the two men moved on out the rear door without making a reply.

  Only seconds passed until the door at the front opened and the conductor came in, hurrying toward the rear of the coach. Passengers asked him what had happened, but he only shook his head, saying he didn’t have time to stop and tell them. Some were shouting angrily at him as he moved out and closed the rear door behind him.

  Immediately, the two men who had left the coach earlier came in the front door and stopped. Dale Manning ran his gaze over the confused, frightened faces of the passengers and said, “We only had a brief moment with the conductor, folks, but he told us the engineer stopped the train when the headlight on the engine showed him that an avalanche had occurred, and the tracks ahead were buried under tons of snow. There are steep slopes above us on the right, and the snow simply slid down the mountain and covered the tracks. The roar we all heard after the train was stopped was an avalanche behind the train. We are now trapped between two avalanches.”

  Women gasped and some of them began to whimper, as did some of the children.

  At that moment, the engineer, the fireman, and the conductor came through the rear door. Again, there was a babble of voices as people began asking questions.

  One frightened woman’s voice rose above the others as she cried out, “Tell us! Are we in danger?”

  “Now, ma’am,” said the conductor, “just settle down. We’re not in any real danger. We just have to get a grip on ourselves and—”

  “Why don’t you tell them the truth?” said Dale Manning. “They all have a right to know just what danger we’re in.”

  Diana grabbed Cora’s hand, trembling. Cora patted her arm, attempting to calm her.

  All eyes were on the conductor. He choked up.

  The engineer cleared his throat and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we … ah … we are on the edge of a deep canyon. The fireman and I saw this before we ever left the engine. We went to the rear to see just how bad the avalanche is behind us. It’s dark out there, but it looks every bit as bad as the one in front of us. I … ah … hate to tell you this, but an avalanche could come down on the train any minute and shove it over the edge into the canyon.”

  There was instant panic. Women and children who were old enough to understand the engineer’s words began weeping, and many of the men were close to it. The railroad men tried to calm them, but to little avail. The three men hurried out the front door of the coach, heading toward the front of the train. The crying and wailing went on.

  Frozen in terror, Diana still had a grip on Cora’s hand. She saw Cora close her eyes and bow her head. Her lips were moving in silent prayer.

  Suddenly, a silver-haired man who was seated near the front of the coach stood up and stepped into the aisle. Lifting his voice above the din of wails and cries, he said, “Listen to me! Everybody listen to me!”

  He had the attention of about half the people at once. It took him a minute or so to talk to them and reduce the frightened voices to the point that everybody could hear him. “Folks,” he said, “we need to pray for God’s protection on us. He made this world. He can keep the snow above us from coming down. I will lead in prayer, if you will allow it.”

/>   One woman spoke up. “This is the most sensible thing I’ve heard. Please, sir, lead us in prayer.”

  Cora squeezed Diana’s hand and whispered, “Bless him!”

  The elderly man prayed in the name of Jesus Christ that God would keep the snow from coming down the side of the mountain and shoving the train into the canyon, and tactfully wove the gospel into his prayer.

  When he finished, there was definitely a calmer atmosphere in the coach.

  Diana looked at Cora through a mist of tears. “Mrs. Zeller, I—”

  “Yes, dear?”

  “I realize how afraid I am to die. I know if God should see fit to let this train go over the edge into the canyon, I would die lost and go to hell. I’ve been a fool to put off salvation. I’ve been using what my parents had taught me in the past as an excuse to put off dealing with it in my life. Would you show me what to do? I want to be saved. I didn’t listen when Mama tried to show me, but I’ll listen now.”

  Breathing a silent prayer of thanks to the Lord, Cora said, “All the Lord wants is a willing heart, honey.” With that, she took her Bible from the handbag, opened it, and carefully took Diana from passage to passage, dealing with repentance, faith, and the new birth. Soon the girl was weeping.

  When Cora asked if she understood, Diana assured her that she did. Cora had the joy of leading her to the Lord.

  Wiping tears after calling on the Lord to save her, Diana said, “Oh, Mrs. Zeller, thank you! My mother is going to be so happy when she learns that her oldest daughter has been saved. That is, if she learns it here on earth. She may have to wait till we meet in heaven.”

  Cora hugged her and said, “Honey, I believe the Lord is going to answer the gentleman’s prayer and deliver us from this predicament safely.”

  Shortly thereafter the wind eased, and the conductor came into the coach explaining that the passengers were invited to go to the dining car in shifts, so everyone could eat.

  By the time everyone on the train had eaten, it was past midnight.

  Cora put an arm around Diana and led them in prayer, thanking the Lord for bringing Diana to Himself and for keeping His mighty hand on the train. She thanked Him that they indeed would get out of the mountains safely and asked Him to bless the gentleman who had calmed the people in their coach by his words of faith.

  With peace in their hearts, Cora and Diana dropped off to sleep with only a slight breeze touching the snow-caked window next to them.

  When dawn came, the sky was clear and there was still just a slight breeze.

  The passengers waited while the train’s crew went outside to assess how much snow was piled up in front of the engine. Entering each car, they gave their report.

  When they came into coach number three, the engineer said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we have taken a look at the avalanche in front of us, and it is not as large as we thought it might be. If all the able-bodied men aboard will help us, we should be able to have the snow cleared from the tracks in no more than two days.”

  There were happy cheers in the coach.

  The engineer grinned and said, “If the rest of you don’t mind letting the men eat breakfast first, we can be removing snow from the tracks while you’re eating breakfast.”

  When all the men who were going outside on snow removal duty had eaten and followed the crew to the avalanche in front of the engine, the rest of the passengers took their turns eating in shifts as usual.

  Potbellied stoves were burning in each coach, keeping the women and children warm. After they had eaten their breakfast, Cora and Diana returned to their coach and sat down.

  Cora opened her Bible and said, “Diana, I want to show you some verses concerning your new life in Christ. These are very important things that are vital to your spiritual growth and your walk with the Lord.”

  Diana listened intently and eagerly as Cora showed her the verses and told her that she needed to find the right kind of church and be baptized. Diana assured her she would.

  Cora then said, “Honey, there is something else I need to show you.”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  Doing her best to be tactful, Cora said, “Honey, you are going to Idaho to marry Jordan Shaw.”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re a Christian now.”

  “I sure am.” Diana’s eyes were shining.

  Opening her Bible again, Cora said, “Let me show you what God’s Word says about Christians and unbelievers.”

  Diana’s brow furrowed. She studied Cora’s face for a few seconds, then let her eyes fall on the Bible in Cora’s hands.

  Having her Bible open to 2 Corinthians 6, Cora put her finger on verse 14. “Look at this, honey. ‘Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?’ There are other Scriptures on this subject, Diana, but this is enough to show you that a born-again child of God should not marry a person who is not saved. It can only lead to much heartache because a child of God is walking in God’s light, whereas an unsaved person is in darkness like you used to be, and there is no communion between light and darkness.”

  Diana bit down on her lower lip.

  “To put it plainly, honey,” said Cora, “you shouldn’t marry Jordan Shaw if he is not a born-again man. I assume he didn’t stipulate in his newspaper ad that he wanted a born-again bride.”

  “N-no,” said Diana, her voice weak. “Mrs. Zeller, what should I do?”

  “When you get to Elkton, you need to explain to Jordan that you became a Christian on the trip west, and you would like for him to become one, too. First, for the sake of his own soul; and secondly, because the Bible tells you to only marry a believer. It will be best if you find a good Bible-believing pastor to help you with this.”

  Diana nodded, but did not tell Cora this frightened her. If Jordan rebelled at this, there would be no wedding. She would be in a strange place among strange people, and would have to find a way to support herself or return to Richmond and face the wrath of her father. The prospect of the latter sent cold chills slithering down her spine.

  Suddenly she remembered her father’s words to her that day in the jail, when he said if she ran away, he would track her down and give her a beating like she had never imagined. The world wasn’t big enough for her to hide from him.

  Fear was an icy claw on her heart as she contemplated her helpless situation. If she and Jordan did not marry, she would have no one to protect her from her father.

  Diana said in her heart, Dear Lord, I saw what You said in Your Word about believers not yoking up with unbelievers, and I will obey You. But I will need Your help with these problems that lie ahead of me.

  ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25—while the train crew and the male passengers were working to remove the snow from the tracks high up in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming—Jordan Shaw rode into Ketcham, Idaho, at midafternoon and dismounted in front of the post office. The Wells Fargo stage would be carrying the mail to Elkton on Tuesday, but Jordan was eager to get his hands on the expected letter from Diana if it should arrive in Ketcham on Monday.

  As he was dismounting, he heard a familiar voice call his name. Turning that direction, he saw Althea and Bernadine Faulkner coming up the street in their wagon. Guiding the wagon at an angle toward him and pulling the team to a halt, Althea said, “Nice to see you, Jordan.”

  “Yes,” said Bernadine. “We had to come to Ketcham to pick up some things that we can’t buy in Elkton. We didn’t expect to see you here.”

  “Well, we Bar-S folks have to do that now and then, too.”

  “So we hear you’re taking Belinda to Lorene’s big birthday party,” said Althea.

  Jordan’s stomach flipped. “Oh? Who told you that?”

  “Why, Belinda, of course.”

  “Well, Lorene’s birthday is almost two weeks away. I don’t recall even talking to Belinda about it.”

  The Faulkner sisters exchanged glances and giggled, then Be
rnadine said, “I guess Belinda’s so sure of herself with you that she knows your invitation to go to the party is forthcoming.”

  Althea sighed. “Oh, Jordan, I hope someday the man will come into my life who will sweep me off my feet and show me the kind of love you show to Belinda.”

  Jordan frowned. “I guess Belinda has told you some of our innermost secrets, eh?”

  Althea’s face flushed. “Well, I—that is, Bernadine and I never pry. Belinda just feels she can share some things with us.”

  “I hope Belinda hasn’t told you that we have wedding plans.”

  The sisters looked at each other again and giggled.

  Bernadine said, “Althea, we’d better not tell him all we know about that!”

  “We dare not,” said Althea. “Belinda would have our hides for spilling the beans.”

  Jordan laughed. “You probably know more than I do. Well, ladies, I have business to attend to in the post office. Nice chatting with you.”

  With that, Jordan headed across the boardwalk. The Faulkner sisters were giggling as they pulled away.

  Before opening the post office door, Jordan set his gaze on the Faulkner wagon as it moved along the street. “Go ahead, girls. Laugh it up. But the last laugh will be mine.”

  Entering the building, Jordan found three short lines, and stepped into the one in front of his friend, Barney Koval. In less than five minutes, it was his turn. He stepped up to the counter and smiled. “Hello, Barney. Need the Bar-S mail.”

  Barney chuckled. “Still haven’t received that important piece of mail you’ve been looking for, Jordan?”

  “Not yet, but I’m hoping you’ve got it for me today.”

  Barney went behind the wall, and when he returned, he had a small stack of mail. Laying it on the counter, he said, “Well, I most certainly do hope it’s here.”

  Jordan grinned and started sifting through the stack. The third envelope he came to made his grin spread into a bright, broad smile.

  “Yes! Here it is. Barney, you’re a good man. Thanks a lot!”

  Barney laughed. “Well, whatever it is, I hope it makes you happy.”