Harvesting Faith by Linda K. Hubalek

Author:Linda K. Hubalek
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical fiction, christian fiction, Swedish immigrant stories, pioneer woman stories, western fiction
Publisher: Butterfield Books Inc.
Published: 2016-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

Praying for Yield

I’M BACK IN MY BED, not many hours after arising, it seems. My energy wanes after dinner so I must rest to continue the day. It is more comfortable to be here propped up in bed than sitting in a chair, so I spend many hours here. If I feel up to it, I look at a book or photos between dozing.

Life is depressing when one has to spend so much time in bed, separated from the activities of the home and farm. I have no choice but to accept it. I’m not the type to take my own life, although fleeting thoughts had strayed in that direction when emotions about my disabilities became overbearing.

I’m restless this afternoon. I’m uncomfortable, having problems with my meal settling. I’m feeling weaker than usual, but not sleepy.

So I decided to get my mind off my physical problems with things from my past to entertain myself this afternoon. Book albums and the family Bible, lie in a pile beside me.

I hear the honking of a car horn. That sound is as familiar now as the neigh of a horse or the jingle of the harness used to be. I crane my neck, trying to look out the window at the fleeing vehicle, but the flutter of the curtain prevents me from seeing who it is.

Used to be people could walk or ride a horse by the farm, and we’d never know to look up. Now everyone is announced whether or not they want to be. We can travel from one end of the county to the other in half the time it took us by horse and buggy. Our world has been expanded by the automobile. And as long as the weather and roads are clear, we can travel anywhere there is a road.

At one time, errands to Salina were only for necessary supplies when we could afford them. Sam would haul butter and eggs in to trade for goods that couldn’t be raised on our farm. He made the journey, and I stayed home with the family. Or neighbors picked up supplies for several families on a trip.

Then Lindsborg, Assaria, Falun, and Smolan grew business districts that made shopping handier. Our trips shifted and came more frequent over the years.

Now we shop first at the cluster of stores west of our church because it is closest, and we want to support our local merchants. Before mail was delivered to our own mailbox, we’d collect our letters at the general store on our way to church services.

These days people travel not only for supplies but to sight-see and discover what lies beyond the boundaries of our county.

Our community has grown in spurts. It was an empty grassland for centuries except for Indians roaming the area. We came with a group in 1869, then other immigrants joined us as they left the old homeland. Faint trails became wider, dividing the country into a grid of permanent roads. Now telephone poles run along the ditches to connect our neighborhood door to door to area townspeople and merchants.

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