Sarah's Garden by Kelly Long

Author:Kelly Long [Long, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2010-07-22T12:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

In the dawn’s first light, while Father and her brothers still slept, Sarah stood barefoot at the edge of the burnt field. Mamm had been alerted about the fire and that the damage was limited to the corn crop. She ’d sent word that she would stay with Chelsea and the baby for one additional day, providing that Sarah could manage. Now fog rose from the charred ground, giving it an eerie, choked appearance. Sarah was praying, thinking about the loss but more about the anger and hatred that would drive someone to such an extent of destruction. She knew about hate crimes against her own faith, of course, everyone who was Amish did. But there was a reason that the Amish would not use force to retaliate, why Father did not want to pursue an investigation; it only provoked more violence, and it was not a reflection of Christ’s way.

She heard steps behind her and turned to see the doctor picking his way to her over the plowed fire breaks that had done so much to contain the fierce blaze. He came and stood behind her while she turned back to the field.

“What do you think of, Sarah, when you see this?”

It was not a question that she had expected and her eyes welled with tears.

“Maybe what you did when you saw the sun bear,” she replied. “Only the trapped person is the one who did this; the one who is held by all of this.”

“‘And her worth is far above rubies.’” He stepped closer, then placed his hands on her shoulders.

She swallowed and felt the tears fall at his compliment from the Bible.

“Why do you say those kinds of things to me?”

“Because they’re true. I told you from the time we first met, I wanted truth between us. I don’t know why or how or for what reason . . . I just wanted it. And still want it.”

She drew a deep breath. “Last night, before this, I felt peace that the Lord would work this thing out between us, but now. . . it’s all a mess when I’m with you. I forget who I am, what I believe.”

He gently rubbed her shoulder blades with his thumbs. “No, you never forget. You remind me in a thousand ways that you are different . . . as unique as any jewel. Your faith is real and vibrant and alive.”

They stood still for long moments.

“Tell me about the Fishers,” he requested, breaking the silence.

She shook her head. “The Fishers? What is there to tell?”

“They have a story; everyone does. What happened?”

She gazed out over the broken land and thought hard. In truth, her understanding of the Fisher family was shadowed by childhood perceptions, vague references caught but not understood from her brothers. Only as she matured did she realize the extent of the distance that the family had drifted into the world’s ways.

“There were only two sons and one daughter . . . small for an Amish family.”

He squeezed her shoulders, acknowledging her words.

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.