SEALing The Victory

by B. Angelica Ellmoor

  Sadie had no idea what she was talking about. When there was any illness in her family she was not allowed anywhere near the room. Sadie knew the Amish used a holistic approach to healing. Doctors were a last resort, and then only if the request was approved by the bishop. The Amish do not have medical insurance, so any doctor’s visits would require payment on their part. Money was not an issue for Sadie. She wanted to know what to do.

  Mary went to the kitchen and called for Sadie to come. Sadie was torn and did not want to leave Issac, but did as she was instructed. Mary gathered apple cider vinegar, ginger, and honey, making a tea. She then instructed Sadie to take an egg, separate the yolk from the white and beat the egg white with a little sugar until the whites were foamy, then add a small amount of water. This was for the fever. Sadie beat the egg white hard and fast and, when it was foamy, took it to Issac.

  Mary took it away from Sadie and told her to go into the other room. Sadie refused. This was her husband, and no one was about to tell her what to do. Mary explained, “Sadie you are with child, you have to protect yourself and that baby. Please do as I ask.”

  Oh God, please, Sadie whispered under her breath. She understood what Mary was saying and withdrew herself from the bed. She was not leaving the room. She sat down in the rocking chair Issac had made for her and rocked back and forth.

  At some point she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, she rose from the chair and stepped over Mary, who was on the floor sleeping, and touched her husband. His fever was gone. The rooster crowed, startling her. Issac whispered something about boiling that rooster. Something snapped in Sadie's mind. She walked out the door through the snow, grabbed the rooster by the throat, and broke his neck. She left him dead in the snow and returned to her husband.

  *****

  Another day had started. She put coffee on to brew for Mary and started gathering her food to prepare for breakfast. Her intent was to feed Mary and Issac, but she knew the men depended on Mary to cook for them. There in her sink were two dirty pots and dishes from last night. The men had eaten the stew and cabbage she had cooked and left on the stove last night. She pumped water into a big pot to heat in order to wash dishes.

  Sadie sliced a platter of ham to fry and removed a dozen eggs from a basket to cook. Oh goodness, I have to milk Gay, Sadie thought. As she reached for her cloak, Samuel came in with a pail of goat milk. He had completed the job for her. She thanked him and turned back to her work in the kitchen. Samuel spoke quietly to her, saying, “Sadie, after breakfast I will clean that rooster for you.” Sadie nodded her head.

  Issac ate very little. Mary was awake and was nursing a cup of coffee while trying to feed Issac some scrambled egg. Sadie offered to make milk toast, but Mary informed her milk was not good for a person with a fever. Mary would cook him some oatmeal shortly and he could have a glass of apple cider. She told Sadie to go ahead and go to work at the bakery. Oh no, thought Sadie. Mary told her there were six orders that had to be filled today.

  Sadie stood her ground. She was not leaving Issac. Mary was shocked by Sadie's attitude. “Sadie you do not need to be around Issac. You must take care of the child you are carrying. He will depend on you. Do you not understand this?”

  Sadie snapped back, “Yes, I do, and I could say the same to you. You have seven men depending on you for care.”

  “Sadie, if push comes to shove these men could take care of themselves, but a baby cannot.” Well, one point for the mother-in-law, thought Sadie, as she changed her dress, blew Issac a kiss, and headed to the bakery.

  Issac was not well. For reasons no one understood he remained weak. A doctor was called to the home, and Sadie paid for his services. The doctor offered no explanation for his ill health. All he suggested was to make him comfortable. He would send a nurse around once a week to check on him. Day after day it was the same routine. Sadie would rise do the chores, cook breakfast and start lunch, bathe Issac, change his bed clothes, and go to the bakery. Mary stayed with Issac while Sadie worked.

  Sadie's relationship with God changed. She grew further and further from her faith. She refused to even pray. Mary, on the other hand, drew closer to the Lord. Sadie knew she was reading the bible to Issac. There were many times she would return home and his bible would be on his chest or next to him. She wrote her mamn three different letters pleading for her to come help, but there was no reply. Sad and heartbroken Sadie came to the conclusion that no one cared about nor loved her. Selfish pride had come to visit Sadie's heart, and she allowed it to stay.

  The baby that was growing inside her was moving around now. It first started like gentle butterflies moving inside of her, then the kicking started. Sometimes it was a sharp jab to her ribcage. Sadie knew she needed to contact a midwife, but that cost money. She would just wait until she was further along. I mean, I am paying for a nurse to come out once a week for Issac, she thought. What a waste of money. Sadie's heart grew colder. She knew it, but did not care.

  It had been weeks since Sadie attended church, which was fine with her. She had a good excuse: someone had to stay with Issac. She knew it was important to Mary to attend church, so she stayed home. Church was a waste of her time anyway.

  On a Monday morning Sadie walked into the bakery and glanced at the orders for the day. Two cakes, three pies, and three dozen cookies. It would be a light day. As she reached for the flour, she had a sharp pain, so intense she hit the floor. As she struggled to stand up she saw blood on the floor. Something was wrong. She screamed for help but no one heard her. Mary had noticed through the window that there was no smoke coming out of the ovens. She did not dare leave Issac, so she rang the bell. Her sons were there in no time. Mary sent them to check on Sadie.

  They found Sadie on the floor bleeding and in a great deal of pain. Samuel ran back to update his mother. She told Samuel to stay with Issac and ran to the bakery. She sent instructions for the doctor to come quickly to the bakery. It was too late. Sadie's son was stillborn. He had died in Sadie's womb several days before. Mary washed the tiny infant and wrapped him in a baby blanket she had made for him. John, her second-oldest son brought down the cradle to place his body in until a small casket could be made. She went to check on Sadie. Her sons had transported her to the main house and helped her get into bed. Issac's first cousin, Elizabeth, came to help with Sadie. She had washed Sadie and changed her dress. When Mary walked in, Elizabeth put her finger to her lips to indicate that Sadie was sleeping and to be quiet.

  The bell rang out again. They heard Samuel yelling “Please help, come quickly!” Sadie opened her eyes. Mary took off running back to the other house. Mary was not halfway to the other house when she heard Sadie scream, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Sadie quoted Matthew 27:46, but why now Mary thought. When Mary ran into Issac's bedroom, there he lay with his arm fixed as though he was cradling something. Her son Issac had died. Mary laid her body across her son and wept.

  Issac's body lay in a pine casket built by his father. He was all dressed in white. Sadie decided to place her infant son in his arms so the two could be buried together. The funeral was three days after their deaths, but the mourning would last a year. Sadie was dressed in black and walked behind the casket the short distance to the grave site. Funerals are a time the Amish praised God. There is no singing, but reading of hymns, celebrating the continuation to life after death.

  After the funeral a meal was served in the home, but Sadie had requested the meal be served in the main house. She did not want a lot of people in her home. Issac's family was treating her differently. They appeared to be distant and cold towards her. None of her own family members, nor anyone from her community, came to the funeral. Sadie realized she was all alone for the first time in her life. She felt empty, and a void was within her heart.

  As the night came upon the farm, Sadie took a walk. She strolled in the darkness because she believed her life had been in a dark place for some time. She tripped over a rock and landed on the ground. She picked
herself up and continued with her walk. A revelation struck her. Life had hit her hard, but she could change and continue with life. At least she had money sheltered in the house, nicely tucked away in a secret box. That reminded her she should count her money. She had paid out numerous bills and forgotten to balance. She put money in, took money out, a lot like life. Give and take, she thought. As of late, she was out of balance in more than her money box. That would change tomorrow.

  Sadie rose early and sat at the kitchen table by herself. She hated the fact she had to wear black for a year. She thought of her money box and decided now was as good a time as any. She went to the floor area beside the stove and removed the wooden slats. She reached in, picked her money box up and opened it. No money. Not one penny or dollar. At the bottom of the box was a hand-written note: “Proverbs 28:25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat. Hebrews 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

  Sadie felt the life drain out of her. Now she had nothing but the clothes on her back and a few personal items. Her hands were shaking as she removed the note, replaced the box, and sat down on her bed. She was bankrupt. That is it, she thought, in order to get right with the Lord, a person must void themselves of pride[S42] and depend upon the Lord. “Today is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it,” she said out loud.

  She went outside and milked Gay, then carried the milk to the bakery. She walked, in put her apron on, and checked the orders. Mary walked in looking rather amazed at Sadie's boldness to show up at work. Sadie walked over to Mary and got down on her knees as a symbol of her humbling spirit and asked forgiveness for her behavior. She told Mary that she was willing to continue working at the bakery without pay. Mary had a good heart and knew Sadie meant what she way saying. Mary said with tears in her eyes, “Sadie, you can continue to stay here for one year while you mourn my son's death. You can live in the house and continue working at the bakery. I will give you a very small amount of money to live on. You are forgiven.”

  Sadie decided to spend more time reading her bible and studying God's word. Every evening she would sit down after evening chores were finished and read her bible. She wrote notes and prayed over what she was learning. She prayed more often as well. There were times she spoke silently to the Lord as if he were standing right next to her. She started attending church again. She still wore her black dress, but it was out of respect for others, not herself. She believed one should not dress up like Jezebel, but the color of one’s dress had nothing to do with his or her spiritual life.

  As she renewed her relationship with the Lord, she became happier. She had very little as the world viewed it, but she had everything because she had the Lord. He was the one she lived for now. God had blessed her with spiritual truths and an understanding that no human being could give her.

  Sadie continued to work at the bakery until May, when the flea market in Shipshawana was reopened. She was so excited to have a booth there. When Sadie paid her vendor rent, there was a note enclosed in the paperwork that read, “Meet me at the market at 2:00 p.m. on May 1.” It was signed “A friend of God.” Sadie laughed. A friend of God. Well, she would be there if for no other reason than curiosity.

  Sadie was ready to approach a new adventure. She packed her wares in the buggy with the aid of Samuel, who drove over to Shipshawana. She had no one to turn to, but she knew in her heart that God had a plan for her. All she had to do was trust in him.

  Sadie had never seen so many people. By 1:45 every pie, cake, cookie, and cake was sold. She would have to rethink this for the next visit.

  Samuel was nowhere to be found, so she decided to walk around and view other vendors. She came to a vendor who was passing out Christian materials. He was tall, dark, and very handsome. One look at him told Sadie he was not Amish. The clock at the courthouse struck twice. It was 2:00 p.m. When he turned around and their eyes fixed. Sadie heard the Holy Spirit speak to her: “My child, this is your soul mate for life. God will bless you in this marriage.” She was shocked, scared and happy all at the same time. He approached her. He reached out and took her hand and said, “I do not know how to say this, but do you believe in love at first sight? It does not matter if you do, for God has spoken to my heart. You are my soul mate and we will marry soon.”

  Sadie said, “Well I guess we need to at least know each other’s name for the marriage certificate. My name is Sadie, and yours?”

  He smiled and responded, “Ah, Sadie in Hebrew means ‘princess.’ Michael is my name, and in Hebrew it means ‘one who is closest to God.’ We are meant to be together, so how does a June wedding sound to you?”

  “Just fine.” Sadie said.

  The[S43] little girl Jane sat at her grandmother's feet playing with the toys from Christmas. Jane said, “Grandmother, is that story really how you married Granddaddy? Did Mary really give you all your money back the day you left the farm? She was the one who took your money from the secret box, right?”

  Sadie replied, “Yes, Jane, the entire story is the truth, so help me God. We have lived happily for ever after.”

  *****

  THE END

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  The Texas Billionaire’s Bride

  Swish, swish, swish! The broom was very loud as it scraped against the wood floor. Josephine sighed as she got some horse hair stuck in the bristles, and she thumped the broom on the floor to get rid of them.

  A cloud of dust rose into the air, but the tuft of horse hair stayed stuck among the bristles in the broom.

  “Yer gonna have to take that one outside, Miss.” Mrs. Baker said without turning around. She was at the sink with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, scrubbing the potatoes as hard as she could.

  “I declare, I don’t know how horse hair even makes its way into this kitchen, we sweep up ever chance we get.” Josephine tried not to let her voice sound whiney as she spoke, but she felt that the complaining came through a little stronger than she thought that it would.

  “It’s all them men out there. They go out and they come in on those hoss’s, and we is left to do the cleanin’ and the groomin’ behind them. Say, why don’t you take a break from that there broom and give me a hand with this stew? You know the sheriff and his deputies are going to be in here in an hour, and they are going to want it fresh.”

  “Yes Ma’am.” Josephine sighed under her breath, deliberately low so Mrs. Baker didn’t hear her, and she rushed to wash her hands before she took up a paring knife.

  She liked working for Mrs. Baker, but there were times when the clockwork of the kitchen felt more like the rigid schedule of a prison than it did a job. She wondered if it was really worth what she was paid to do it.

  Her cheeks burned with shame whenever she thought that way. She could almost hear the voice of her mother in her ears, telling her that she was being an ungrateful girl, which she knew that she was.

  Jobs were scarce these days, and it was especially hard for a young woman to hold one. With the discovery of gold in the area, there were so many people here that jobs were filled as soon as they were open.

  Everyone had said that the gold was going to make everyone rich, but it seemed as though the people that struck gold were the ones that were rich, and the rest of the world was left in poverty to serve those that struck it rich.

  “I’m sure the sheriff is going to be thrilled with your stew as always, Mrs. Baker.” Josephine said in reply. She was trying to keep her complaining in check, but she was worried. She hadn’t fe
lt herself lately, and she didn’t know what was wrong.

  She had tried to talk to Mrs. Baker about it, after all, the woman was the closest thing that Josephine had to a mother these days, but she couldn’t even describe what she meant about not feeling well.

  It wasn’t that she was downright sick, she just felt off.

  For the most part Josephine ignored it and went about her day in spite of being tired and having headaches, but then there were days when it just seemed unbearable.

  “I’m sure you are just tired from working so hard, child.” Mrs. Baker had said, and Josephine decided that she must be right. They were working the restaurant practically themselves, and it was a lot of work for very little pay.

  Mrs. Baker had high hopes that it was going to get better, but Josephine wasn’t so sure. With the increase value of the land in these parts, taxes were going up for those that had any property, and that meant that Mrs. Baker had to make even more than she had the previous year in order to make ends meet.

  She had let go of most of her kitchen staff, in the process heaping on more work for herself and Josephine. In the end, the rest of the employees had quit, either because they were moving or because they simply needed to make more money.

  Josephine had been managing to scrape by with what she had, mostly out of necessity. She had wanted to go out and find a better job, but it was near impossible, better yet, she would have liked to get married. There again, it seemed impossible.

  Sure, there were a lot of men in town, but none of these miners were the kind of man that she wanted to marry. They were rough and tough. They cared about one thing and one thing only, and that was their gold.

  The sheriff had to take on five more deputies in the past six months just to keep these men in line, and even with the extra help they had their hands full. There was a shooting every night it seemed, and there was little promise that it was going to let up.