A Winter's Promise
Page 15
She grabbed both Emma’s hands. “Emma! Do you see? God has answered my prayers! He changed Grandpa’s heart.” She released Emma’s hands and sat back with a sigh. “I knew He would.”
Emma couldn’t find words. She simply nodded and blinked back tears. She went about the evening’s work in a blissful daze. Jenny would be staying! There was no need to worry. God does answer prayers. Grandpa actual!y changed his mind.
When the children were in bed, and the two women had settled down to read, Emma said, “I just can’t believe you aren’t mad at me about your blouse.”
“Oh, Emma! I know you didn’t do it purposely. And even if you had, I’d still forgive you.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “You would? How could you?”
“Christians don’t have a choice. We must forgive.”
“Must?”
“Of course. In the Lord’s Prayer, don’t we ask God to forgive us the way we forgive others? Doesn’t that mean that if we don’t forgive others, we can’t expect God to forgive us?”
“Oh, my goodness!” Emma’s knitting lay idle. ”I never thought of that.”
“After all, God forgives us when we tell Him we’re sorry and turn away from what we’ve done wrong, and purpose not to do it again.” Jenny paged through her Bible and read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from righteousness.”
“Where does it say that?”
Jenny held the Bible so Emma could see for herself. “Right here in the ninth verse of the first chapter of the first letter of John.”
Emma’s thoughts whirled. Did that mean God forgave right away? Could she risk telling Jenny how she had been angry with God? She couldn’t imagine Jenny ever doubting God or refusing to pray, because He didn’t do things the way she thought He should. How long would it take God to forget how she had acted to Him? How would she know when it was all right to come to Him again?
Jenny was talking, but Emma was busy thinking.
Then she heard Jenny say,“. . .and when Hedied for our sins and rose again, all our sins were paid for, so now when the Father looks at us—those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior and made Him Lord of lives—He sees us covered with Jesus’ righteousness. It’s like we’re wearing a robe of righteousness that covers all the sins we’ll ever commit.”
They talked a while longer. Eventually Jenny must have been confident that Emma understood what she had said. She read where she had left off in the Bible the night before, and then went on to read in Little Women, but Emma’s thoughts were like leaves in the wind.
It was only after she was in bed that those thoughts began to settle down enough for her to put them in order.
After Jenny left Tuesday morning, Emma began thought sorting again. She tried to remember the verse Jenny had read, but she was missing some of the words. She took the Bible over to the window and hunted for the first letter of John. Yes! There it was, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Like a huge bubble, joy grew within her until she wanted to shout, “I’m forgiven! I was wrong—God isn’t like Ma or Pa or Al. God is like Jenny—or rather, Jenny is like God, when it comes to forgiving. She forgives right away! And when God looks at me, He doesn’t see me and all I’ve done wrong. He sees me through Jesus—and He’s perfect!” She let out a gale of laughter that startled Albert.
He tugged at her apron. “What you laughin’ at, Mama?”
She picked him up and whirled him around. “I just learned something wonderful! I’ll teach you all about it, but it will take a while. I’ll have to do it a little at a time.”
She couldn’t wait for Jenny to get home. She couldn’t wait for Al to get home. There were still many pieces to fit in, she knew, but at least she was heading in the right direction.
At noon, when the little ones were asleep and Albert was contentedly playing, Emma slipped out to water the stock.
Nature wasn’t presenting anything spectacular today. No sparkling, fluffy new snow. No “floured” trees. Yet each curve of snowdrift was a work of art, and the patch of blue sky beautiful beyond words. “The cover’s off!” she shouted into the quiet air. “I don’t just see it—I feel it!”
She let the cattle out and followed them down to the river, her heart singing. Soon it would be spring, and the violets would bloom along the river and the forget-me-nots would sprinkle blue all along the south side of the house. The boys would whoop and holler like little savages, and Ellie would patter along the hard dirt with pudgy bare feet, giggling instead of whining. No more crying at the window. On warm days Emma would take them down to the sandbar in the river, let them splash and kick in the water to their heart’s content. She’d even stick little Georgie’s feet in the water and watch him curl his little toes.
And Al would pull out more stumps, maybe with a team instead of the old ox, and soon there would be smooth fields, not just crops planted between the stumps. Sometimes Al would put his arm around her shoulders and point out, again, where he planned to build the new house. And he wouldn’t have to camp all summer. In the evening, they’d sit under the stars listening to the crickets and the murmur of the river, and she’d feel there was nothing she couldn’t face as long as they were together.
The cows were at the river waiting for their water. She hurried down the path and ducked under the fence and hoisted up an icy bucket of water. As she shoved it toward the ox, the realization flooded her: I can pray again! I can talk to God. He isn’t mad at me like I thought He was! He isn’t frowning at me. She began laughing and then laughed even more at the startled cows. Where would she start? So much to thank Him for, so much to tell Him....
Back up the hill she plodded behind the poky old ox. She shut the stock in the barn and stood with her back against the barn door. The sun was warm on her face.
Emma closed her eyes. Oh, Father, she whispered, I missed You!
If you loved this book you’ll want to read others stories in the “Never Miss a Sunset Pioneer Family Series.”
Never Miss a Sunset
The second in the Pioneer Family series, set in the very early 1900’s, this wonderful classic is told through the eyes of the oldest Verleger daughter, Ellen. Here is a story for the entire family; it will help build faith.
All things Heal in Time
In another story about this northern Wisconsin family, Emma faces great adjustments when a daughter dies and she is faced with the challenges of raising the infant grandaughter. A wonderful lesson in perseverence and overcoming.