Mending Fences by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Author:Suzanne Woods Fisher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Amish Romance;Domestic fiction;Christian fiction;FIC053000;FIC042040;FIC027020
ISBN: 9781493416486
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-01-09T05:00:00+00:00

fifteen

July slipped into August. Just before the bishop wrapped up the church service one Sunday, he announced that baptism classes would begin soon. Any who wanted to be baptized this fall, David said, should join the classes. Jenny was sitting next to Izzy and jabbed her with her elbow. “You should do it.”

Izzy hadn’t given much thought to baptism. None. “What would that mean?”

“That’s how you become Amish, Izzy. For good.”

“Just like that? I’m Amish?”

“Well, that plus a couple of weeks spent listening to the ministers explain the 18 Articles of the Dordrecht Confessions.”

“What are those?”

“Um, well, doctrine, I guess you could say. Mainly, you hear what it means to be Amish.”

“You’ve done it?”

“Of course. Can’t get married without being baptized.” Jenny squeezed Izzy’s hand. “Think about it.”

So she did. Izzy thought of little else. Later that week, David stopped by to speak to Amos about deacon business, so Izzy kept an eye on his buggy while she was in the farm stand, hoping to catch him before he left Windmill Farm. When she saw the buggy come down the driveway, she waved him to a stop. “David, I’d like to ask you something.”

David climbed out of the buggy and tied the horse’s reins to the fence in a loose knot. He walked around the farm stand, giving it a once-over. “This is impressive. So Luke designed it?”

“He did. And Teddy Zook helped build it.”

David smiled. “Quite a team. Wouldn’t have expected that.” He looked it over once more, then turned to Izzy. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“I’ve been thinking . . .” She fiddled with the edges of her apron. “I’d like to join the baptism classes.”

He nodded once but made no comment.

She waited for him to say something, anything, but after a long moment, she lifted her face. “Would that be all right?”

“You want to bend at the knee?”

Bend at the knee? Oh, he meant to kneel. Last fall, she’d seen a baptism. And she’d seen Luke kneel to make his confession, back when he first returned to Stoney Ridge in May. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

“Tell me why, Izzy.”

“Why?” Because Jenny said that’s how a person becomes permanently Amish. I want that more than I have wanted anything in my life. But Izzy had a sense that wasn’t the answer David wanted.

“Yes. I’d like to know why.”

Why? She wasn’t sure how to answer him. “It feels right. Like it’s the right thing to do. The next step.” She was actually quite proud of her answer. It sounded like the correct thing to say.

“Izzy, when a person bends at the knee, it’s more than posture. It’s bowing to God. It’s making him the Lord of your life.” He leaned his back against the counter of the farm stand, crossing his arms, thinking over something. “I don’t want to discourage you from attending baptism classes. But when the time comes to bend at the knee, it must be a sincere, authentic confession of faith. A total dedication. Each person has to get that right with Christ before baptism.

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