An Amish Christmas Star by Gray Shelley Shepard; Hubbard Charlotte; Lauer Rosalind

Author:Gray, Shelley Shepard; Hubbard, Charlotte; Lauer, Rosalind
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

As the lodge’s big meeting room rang with dozens of voices singing “Angels We Have Heard on High,” Lizzie slipped into a back corner with Raymond. She’d sensed that eavesdropping on the intense conversation Bishop Obadiah and Ervin were having with her beleaguered, beloved Raymond wasn’t a good idea, but now she hoped to hear what was really going on.

Raymond shook his head forlornly. “Once the road’s clear, I don’t see any way to stay here—even to finish out my last three days before Dale closes the store for Christmas Eve,” he murmured. “Please don’t get any ideas about going with me, Lizzie. It’s not a gut idea to cross Obadiah Chupp.”

“Why is he so mean? And so determined that you’re damning your eternal soul by being here?” Lizzie asked beneath the music. “Surely Bishop Monroe’s told him we’re taking our instruction, so—”

“That’s a sore point, too. He thinks I should be doing that in Coldstream.”

Lizzie frowned. She understood now why so many families had left Bishop Obadiah’s district to live at Promise Lodge . . . and she wasn’t sure she should take on the Amish faith to live in Coldstream. But she didn’t express her doubts. That would only make Raymond feel even worse.

“Denki for calling Dale into the store, and for phoning Preacher Amos and Bishop Monroe,” Raymond said, his eyes alight with gratitude. “I truly believe that Chupp would’ve expected Dat to drive us home in the snowstorm if those men hadn’t interceded for me.”

Lizzie sighed. By the time the store had closed at six, seven inches of fresh snow had blanketed the area—and it showed no sign of letting up. She didn’t want to think about all the horrible things that could’ve happened to the Overholt rig in such dicey weather.

“We’ll figure it out, Raymond,” she insisted, grasping his hand.

He held her gaze as though he had things on his mind he was hoping to say—but he clammed up when Bishop Obadiah broke away from the crowd to speak with them.

“And who have we here, Raymond?” he asked, glaring at their interlocked fingers.

“This is Lizzie Zehr,” Raymond replied, refusing to release her hand. “She’s also taking instruction to join the Old Order—”

“You’d better consider that very carefully, young lady,” the bishop said sternly. “We Old Order Amish hold ourselves to higher standards than you Mennonites are accustomed to. We have different ideas about sin and its consequences. And the most unforgiveable sin of all is changing your mind—jumping the fence after you’ve taken your vows.”

As Lizzie held his gaze, she saw no compassion in the eyes that resembled hard black beads. “Jah, I understand,” she murmured. “Bishop Monroe and Preacher Amos have talked to us on that subject, and—”

“The church here has no concept of God’s true expectations,” Chupp cut in. “If you think—”

“I believe the Bible verse in John that says God loved the world so much that He gave us Jesus so we’d have eternal life,” Lizzie stated firmly. “And in this

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