by Lynn Austin
“Listen, Geesje—”
“I know, I know … I’m being a meddling busybody, as usual.”
“Of course you are.” He offers me a rare smile. “But now that I know you better, I understand what motivates you to meddle. It’s love. Something I’ve needed to learn.”
“Thank you.”
“To answer your question, you probably can’t convince men like that to change their opinions. I suggest you win over their wives instead. They’re the ones who will need to adjust to a pastor’s wife who isn’t like them. Let them convince their stubborn husbands to accept her.”
“That’s a very good idea. Thank you.”
“I have benefitted from your … shall we call it ‘preaching,’ Geesje? I recommend that you ‘preach’ to the wives of that congregation about not judging people. You can be very persuasive.”
“Why, thank you,” I say, laughing. “I believe that’s just what I’ll do. In fact, Derk is coming later this afternoon with my son’s carriage, and we’re going to ride out to his new church together. He wants me to look over the parsonage and figure out what he and Anneke will need to set up housekeeping. Why don’t you come with us?”
“Oh … well … I don’t know about that… .”
“Please, Marinus. I think Derk could really benefit from your experience as a dominie.”
“And learn from my mistakes?”
“That too.”
I manage to talk Marinus into coming. We’re waiting on my porch together when Derk arrives after lunch with the carriage. The sun feels wonderfully warm as we set off through the countryside for the eight-mile journey, passing through the village of Zeeland first. Flat, fertile farmland surrounds us on all sides, and the air smells of springtime and warm, plowed earth.
“You’ll soon have a lot of wonderful new beginnings,” I tell Derk. “A new marriage, a new church to serve … I’m thrilled for you, lieveling.”
“I’m still amazed that the church hired me. I’m excited and also a little terrified.”
“It’s good that you’re afraid,” Marinus says. “That way you won’t be tempted to do everything on your own strength. God likes it when we lean on Him.”
“I’ll be doing a lot of leaning, believe me!”
“If there is any way that I can help you or advise you,” Marinus says, “please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you. That’s good to know. I think I’ll be asking you often.”
We spot the church in the distance, situated near the junction of two roads. It’s small and plain, with white clapboard siding and a steeple on top. Four women from the congregation are waiting outside to show us around the parsonage. I can see that they’re eager to meet their new pastor. Derk charms them immediately with his warmth and friendliness. He introduces Marinus and me. “Didn’t your wife want to come?” one of the ladies asks Derk.
He looks flustered. “Anneke isn’t … I mean, she’s not … um, we’re not …”
Marinus jumps in to help him out. “What he’s trying to say is that the ceremony will take place next week.” Everyone laughs, and of course the ladies want to know all about the upcoming wedding as they lead us to the parsonage behind the church. I’m amazed at how cordial and talkative the dominie is, speaking confidently in English.
The house is small and cozy inside, with a front room, a kitchen, one bedroom downstairs, and two more bedrooms upstairs. The house is furnished with the basics—a sofa and rocking chair, a dining table and chairs, iron bedframes, mattresses, and a couple of dressers in the bedrooms. I remember the mansion where Anneke grew up and wonder how she will ever get used to living in this simple house with its plain, wooden floors. “I’m happy for Anneke’s sake that it has indoor plumbing,” I whisper to Derk.
When we’ve toured all the rooms, I ask the ladies to help me look through the kitchen and make a list of what Anneke will need while Derk takes Marinus over to see the church. I’m glad to have the women all to myself for a few minutes. “May I tell you a little bit about your new pastor’s wife—who is also my granddaughter?” I ask as we work. “And I would also like to ask you to help me with something.” I send up a prayer as the ladies gather closer to listen. “Anneke is different from most of the women we know. You see, my family didn’t know Anneke even existed until last summer. Her mother—my daughter—left home and moved to Chicago right after the Holland fire. She married, but her husband abandoned her when she was expecting Anneke. My daughter was returning home to Holland when she drowned in a shipwreck, leaving Anneke an orphan. As God would have it, she was adopted by a wealthy Chicago family, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Nicholson. She has lived a life of wealth and privilege, in a mansion with servants to wait on all of her needs.”
“It sounds like heaven,” one of them says, and we all laugh.
“Anneke was also raised in a different denomination than ours. Worst of all, she’s only half Dutch!” The women smile at my little joke.
“Now Anneke is giving up the only way of life she has ever known to marry your new pastor. She loves him, and she loves God and wants to serve Him more than anything else in the world. Last year, she became critically ill and nearly died. The fever damaged her heart and made it impossible for her to do any kind of housework. Of course, we all wondered why God would cause someone so young to suffer that way, leaving her weak and frail for the rest of her life. But maybe God wanted to use her trials and her brush with death to prepare her for the tasks He has planned for her—praying for the sick and the weak and the brokenhearted in your community. Don’t you find that’s the way God sometimes works in our lives? He’ll use our difficult experiences for the good of others, if we let Him.” The women nod in agreement. I see the hardships and losses they’ve endured written in the lines on their faces.
“Here’s where I need your help,” I continue. “Anneke’s parents have offered to pay for the extra household help she’s going to need. Maybe you know some women from your community who would like to earn a little extra money doing washing, cleaning, and so on?” They look at each other and mention a few names. “That’s wonderful. But more than that, I need you to please make sure the other ladies in your church accept Anneke and give her a chance, even though she’s not like you. Please try to stop the whispers and the gossip about her faults—how she is an unsuitable rich girl who can’t do any work. She is giving up a life of wealth and privilege to marry Derk and to serve here because that’s what she feels God is calling her to do. And once you get to know Anneke, I’m sure you will love her.”
“We will be glad to help you, Mrs. de Jonge,” one of them says. “Thank you for telling us about her.”
“And we will ask around to find the help she’s going to need,” another adds. I’ve done my “preaching” as Marinus calls it. I can only pray that I have helped ease the way for Anneke.
Our list of needed bedding and kitchen supplies is complete by the time Derk and Marinus return. “It’s a nice little church,” Marinus says on the way home. “It’s much like the one in the Netherlands where I first preached.”
“And the parsonage will make a cozy little home for the two of you,” I add.
Derk heaves an enormous sigh. “Can I be honest?” he asks. “I’m worried that Anneke is going to be shocked when she sees that house. It’s so shabby and rustic compared to her mansion in Chicago. Besides, she’s used to living in a city, and it’s pretty lonely and desolate out here. How can I ask her to give up everything to live way out in the country with me? Maybe I should let her see the house and the church before she marries me, so she has a chance to change her mind.”
“You could do that, certainly,” I reply. I don’t tell him that I share the same fears he does about how hard it will be for Anneke to adjust. “But you also know how much Anneke longs to serve God. Remember, she isn’t moving here just for you. God is calling her to serve this church the same way He called you.”
“I suppose you’re right.” He doesn’t sound convinced.
“Anneke is a very courageous young woman. I believe she’ll make the change from mansion to country parsonage with faith and joy.” I pause, then add, “Her mother, on the other hand, is going to be horrified when she sees your new home!” We share a good laugh at the thought.
Derk is quiet for most of the journey, and when we return home again, he ties up the horse and follows me inside. “I want to ask you something, Tante Geesje, and you don’t need to answer me right away. You can think about it and pray about it first.”
“This sounds serious.”
“It is.” He takes a deep breath, his expression worried and somber. “Would you consider moving in with Anneke and me and helping us out for a few months or so?”
“Move in?”
“We wouldn’t expect you to cook or clean or anything like that. But Anneke told me she wants to learn how to be a good minister’s wife. How to be part of the church community. How to make our house a home. And you are the best teacher she could possibly have. Will you please pray about living with us for a while?” He kisses my cheek and leaves without expecting a reply.
I sink down on a kitchen chair to think, ignoring my cat who is swirling around my ankles, demanding attention. Moving in with Derk and Anneke would mean so many changes! I would have to leave all my friends, my church, my snug little house and comfortable way of life. It would mean living way out in the country instead of in town, where I can easily walk everywhere and visit with everyone. My life changed nearly a year ago when Cornelia came to live with me. I wasn’t willing to make room for her at first, but look how blessed my life has been because of her. It occurs to me that she and Marinus could live here and look after my house and my cat for me if I moved in with Anneke and Derk.
I have lived a lifetime of experiences and have started all over again a number of times. In a way, I feel as though I’m too old and too settled in my ways to make another move and another new beginning. And yet … perhaps God doesn’t want me to get too comfortable. Maybe change is His favorite tool to make sure we keep growing closer to Him. Maybe He still has work for me to do, even at my age.
Chapter 39
Axnna
Holland, Michigan
I’m trembling with excitement as I climb into the hired carriage with Mother and Father for the drive from the Hotel Ottawa on Lake Michigan to Pillar Church in Holland. Today is my wedding day! I’m quite certain that it’s the happiest day of my life. Father looks at me from the opposite carriage seat, and I think I must be smiling from ear to ear because I make him smile in return. “This is your big day, Anna. I hope you’ll always be as happy as you are right now.”
I lean across the gap to give him a hug. “Thank you, Father. And thank you for giving Derk and me your support.” When I return to my seat, Mother fusses with my dress and veil, readjusting it. I convinced Mother that I wanted a simple white satin gown without puffed sleeves and voluminous petticoats and miles and miles of lace. Today is probably the last time I will ever have servants to help me get dressed and to arrange my hair. The thought is very liberating. “You look worried, Mother,” I say when I see she isn’t smiling. “Are you still picturing me living in that parsonage?”
“It’s in the middle of nowhere! Our kitchen and servants’ quarters are more luxurious than that house is!”
I laugh and hug her, too. “I’ll be happier there with Derk than I would have been in that monstrous mansion with William. Oma will help us make the parsonage cozy, you’ll see.”
“Your grandmother will be good company for you. I must say I’m very relieved to know she’ll be moving in with you.”
“I’ll miss you both. I can’t remember a time when I was ever away from both of you for more than a week or so. Promise you’ll visit Derk and me often?”
“Of course.” Mother squeezes my hand.
I catch glimpses of Black Lake through the trees on my right as we ride, the water sparkling in the brilliant sunshine. I couldn’t have ordered a more perfect day to get married.
A crowd is already gathering on the front lawn of Pillar Church when we arrive. I recognize several of my parents’ friends who have traveled all the way from Chicago for the wedding. Oma is standing between the pillars with Cornelia and her grandfather. They are waiting for me but also for Uncle Arie and Uncle Jakob’s family. Uncle Jakob is going to perform the ceremony for Derk and me.
“It is a very pretty church,” Mother admits as we climb from the carriage.
“Wait until you see how Oma decorated it inside. She has been cutting and gathering flowers all week, from her own garden and from all of her friends’ gardens.” I start up the steps on Father’s arm, then stop when I see Judge Blackwell and his daughter, Florence, coming to greet me.
“My dear, you look beautiful!” he says, kissing my cheek. “I wish you all of the happiness in the world.” The judge knocked on Oma Geesje’s door yesterday afternoon while I was visiting her, surprising both of us. We had a wonderful talk over a pot of tea and Oma’s cookies, then we all walked up the hill to the cemetery to see Mama’s gravesite. In so many ways, it feels like all of the loose ends of our lives are being woven back together again.
“I hope we’ll have a chance to visit with you later at the wedding luncheon,” Mother tells the judge. She has arranged to host a luncheon at the Hotel Ottawa after the ceremony for all of our guests. The hotel is a fitting place to celebrate our marriage, since that’s where Derk and I first met and fell in love.
“Yes, we’ll be there,” the judge replies. “Thank you for including Florence and me today.”
Oma engulfs me in her embrace when I reach the top of the steps. She already has tears in her eyes. “Don’t get me started crying,” I say as I dab my eyes with a handkerchief.
“You are so beautiful, lieveling! I’m so happy for you and Derk I could just burst! All of our loved ones in heaven are surely celebrating along with us today.” I know she’s thinking of her husband, Maarten, and of Mama. And also Derk’s mother and his grandfather Hendrik.
Uncle Jakob’s wife and family arrive, including his daughter, Elizabeth. Oma introduces them all to Mother and Father. “The resemblance between you and your cousin is striking,” Mother says when she meets Elizabeth.
“She’s the reason Derk and I first met,” I explain. “Derk mistook me for Elizabeth.”
“You seem very calm for your wedding day,” Elizabeth says.
“That’s because I’m about to marry the man I love.” I never imagined I would be able to marry for love.
“Let’s wait inside,” Oma says. “We wouldn’t want Derk to see you ahead of time, would we?” She takes us to a little room beside the sanctuary where Father and I can wait before we walk down the aisle. Mother has tears in her eyes as she makes a few last-minute adjustments to my dress and veil. Then she leaves with Oma and the rest of the family to sit together near the front.
Uncle Jakob sticks his head inside to see if we’re ready. “Do you have the ring you chose for Derk?” he asks. Father fishes in his pocket and gives him the simple gold band I chose, then Uncle Jakob leaves to take his place for the ceremony. The organ has begun to play, and I hear laughter and voices in the foyer as our guests arrive and take their seats. I’m trembling with excitement again as I wait. I close my eyes and silently praise God for bringing our marriage to pass.
At last, at last, the organ begins to play the processional! It’s time for Father to escort me down the aisle so I can begin the rest of my life. My heart races when I see Derk standing at the front with his father and Uncle Jakob. He looks so tall and strong and handsome in his new Sunday suit. His fair hair shines in the sunlight that’s streaming through the windows. He smiles when he sees me, and my heart feels as though it might burst. I smile through tears of joy as I walk forward to marry the man I love.
Bestselling author Lynn Austin has sold more than one million copies of her books worldwide. She is an eight-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels, as w
ell as a popular speaker at retreats and conventions. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and live in Michigan. Learn more at www.lynnaustin.org.
Books by Lynn Austin
All She Ever Wanted
All Things New
Eve’s Daughters
Hidden Places
Legacy of Mercy
Pilgrimage
A Proper Pursuit
Though Waters Roar
Until We Reach Home
Waves of Mercy
Where We Belong
While We’re Far Apart
Wings of Refuge
A Woman’s Place
Wonderland Creek
REFINER’S FIRE
Candle in the Darkness
Fire by Night
A Light to My Path
CHRONICLES OF THE KINGS
Gods & Kings
Song of Redemption
The Strength of His Hand
Faith of My Fathers
Among the Gods
THE RESTORATION CHRONICLES
Return to Me
Keepers of the Covenant
On This Foundation
www.lynnaustin.org
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