The Patch of Heaven Collection by Kelly Long

Author:Kelly Long
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2017-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Lilly rose far before dawn on the day of her wedding. She turned up a lamp and dressed in work clothes, glancing once to the sky-blue wedding dress that lay pressed and perfect over the chest at the end of her bed. She studied it so often as she and Mrs. Stolis had worked on it over the weeks that she felt she knew every line and crease by heart, but there—such thoughts seemed like vanity. Although she did hope that Alice liked her matching dress as Lilly’s sole attendant. Some Amish brides had up to three attendants but both she and Jacob thought it seemed a bit much, so she’d chosen Alice alone. She glanced in the bureau mirror, gave an impatient tug to the bundle of her hair, and set her kapp in proper order.

The wedding service was to begin at nine a.m. and would last a good three to three-and-a-half hours, as was custom. The size of the wedding, its numbers of guests or attendants, did not change the sanctity and process of the ceremony. But there was still a great deal of work to be done before then. Thankfully the neighbors would be arriving soon to help with the food. And, although the bride would normally not be expected to help overly much on her special day, Lilly wanted to spare her mother as much stress as possible and felt no qualms about doing the preparation work.

Lilly slipped from her room and tiptoed down the steps. She knew what she wanted most of all before the day began—a few moments alone to pray with Derr Herr. She pulled on her wraps and a head scarf and eased open the kitchen door to go out onto the porch.

Though it was still dark, the munn’s glow provided enough light for her to see the crystalline branches of the trees. The shapes of the mountains sprawled endlessly, comforting her with their bulk against the still star-strewn sky. She sank down on the snow-dusted cold of the wooden step and bowed her head in her hands to pray.

“Dear Lord, I thank You for the peace and stillness of this morning. I praise You for giving me a husband such as Jacob. Sei so gut, let me know how to be a fraa to him, the kind of person he needs as a helpmeet, as Your word says. Please help me with Mamm—please change my attitude, give me more grace to love her as she is now. Help me to not miss Daed so much. Help Jacob to know how much he means to You . . .”

She lifted her head, blinking back tears as she considered how Derr Herr worked to lay even hidden needs on her heart—like the need Jacob had for love. She realized that she didn’t, in actuality, know all that much about him, only what she saw. But her heart whispered to her that he was lonely, lonely from his feelings of inadequacy over the inability to read, lonely because he was so strong, lonely for Sarah.

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