Daughter of Gloriavale by Lilia Tarawa

Author:Lilia Tarawa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2019-01-07T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

The Commitment

He must declare that he will submit to, be guided by and obey the leaders of the Church.

—WHAT WE BELIEVE, P. 22

The full sound of the grand piano poured through the dining hall. I shut down the vacuum cleaner in a hurry. It was Grandad Hopeful playing and I dared not disturb him.

I loved this side of my grandfather, it was the creative, soulful aspect of him that felt oh, so human. I sat down and closed my eyes to let the notes of the hymns flood into me.

It was easy to see why God had chosen Grandad to lead his church. There was no one as multi-talented and charismatic as he was. I remembered the stories of how police and evil men had come to persecute him when I was young. They’d locked him in a prison cell. Fervent had warned us that persecution could again be waged against our church. Would we be willing to lay down our lives to protect Hopeful?

As the music sang to me, I vowed to willingly follow Grandad Hopeful to the ends of the earth. It would be an honour to become a martyr for Christ. After all, this earthly life was fleeting compared to the promise of an eternal life in heaven with God.

But right now I had duties that wouldn’t wait for Grandad to finish playing. I crept away, my thoughts turning yet again to my wayward brother. If only he could sit still and listen to the music, it couldn’t help but calm his soul.

It was becoming clearer, though, that my poor brother’s soul was anything but calm.

* * *

With Vic acting so defiantly I desperately wanted to give my mother peace that I would never leave her or break her heart. Dad returned from the latest business trip but the shame of my older siblings’ defection and Vic’s disobedience hung over our family like a dark, indelible stain.

Something extraordinary needed to happen to restore the honour of our family. But what could do that?

The question troubled my mind, weighing heavy on my shoulders in a dull, unceasing ache. There must be a way to right the wrong and reinstate the honour of the Just family, but how?

The answer dawned on me. Of course! I must make the public Commitment at once to protect my parents from scrutiny and clear our family name. If I declared my obedience, the blemish on our family name would be removed.

It was early October 2006 and my sixteenth birthday was rapidly approaching. Already, I could feel the pressure mounting to take my Christian vows before the church because both Sara and Sam had left the church when they were fifteen. Both of them had run before they had to take the vow.

I was well aware of the whispers spreading through the church. ‘Miracle and Perry’s next-in-line is coming of age. What’s she going to do? Will she follow in the footsteps of her siblings?’

I would silence those whispers by making my Commitment, the rite of passage whereby a child moves into adulthood.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.