Hope Chest (30 page)
Authors: Wanda E. Brunstetter
Tags: #Christian Books & Bibles, #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Amish, #United States, #Religion & Spirituality, #Fiction, #Religious & Inspirational Fiction, #Christian Fiction, #Inspirational, #Juvenile Fiction/General
Anna stepped forward. “What have you got for me, Rachel?”
She lifted the sampler and their great-grandmother’s Bible. “I found these at the bottom of your hope chest, and I thought maybe you’d like to have them.”
Anna’s eyes flooded with tears. “Great-Aunt Mim’s sampler and Great-Grandma’s Bible. Mom gave them to me for my hope chest several years ago, but I’d forgotten all about them.”
Rachel handed the items to her sister. “I read some passages I found in this old Bible and was reminded that I need to put my hope in the Lord and keep trusting Him, not hope for the things I’ve wanted or try to do everything in my own strength.” She looked over at Silas. “I thought I’d have to learn to live without your love, but now—”
Silas placed two cold fingers against her lips. “Now you’ll have to learn to live as my wife. If you’ll have me, that is.”
She nodded. “Jah, I’ll have you, Silas.”
He leaned down to kiss her, and Rachel felt as if she were a bird—floating, soaring high above the clouds—reveling in God’s glory and hoping continuously in Him.
EPILOGUE
One year later
Rachel stood on the lawn, her groom on one side, her brother and new sister-in-law on the other. Two weeks ago, Joseph had married Pauline, and today the young couple were offering their congratulations to Rachel and Silas. Both couples had received double-ring wedding quilts from their mothers, and today Rachel’s heart held a double portion of happiness. The only thing that could have made her day more complete would have been to share it with her older sister. But apparently Anna and Reuben hadn’t been able to come, for Rachel hadn’t seen any sign of them during the wedding ceremony.
On an impulse, Rachel glanced across the yard and was surprised to see Anna and Reuben walking toward her.
“Excuse me a minute,” she whispered to Silas. “I need to speak with my sister.”
Silas nodded and squeezed her hand. “Hurry back, fraa.”
Rachel smiled and slipped quickly away. She drew Anna off to one side, and they exchanged a hug. “It’s so good to see you. I was hoping you had received my invitation to the wedding and that you would be able to be here today.”
“I’m sorry Reuben and I didn’t get here in time for the ceremony. He had a little trouble with his truck this morning, so we were late getting started. I did want to wish you well and give you this, though.” Anna handed Rachel a brown paper sack.
“What is it?”
“Take a look.”
Rachel opened the bag, reached inside, and withdrew a sampler. At first she thought it was the same one she’d given to Anna a year ago, but when she read the embroidered words, she knew it wasn’t:
“For thou art my hope, O Lord God:
thou art my trust from my youth.”
—Psalm 71:5
“I thought it would be something you could hand down to your children and grandchildren.” Anna placed her hand against her stomach. “That’s what I plan to do with the Merry Heart sampler Great-Aunt Mim made all those years ago.”
Rachel’s eyes widened. “You’re in a family way?”
Anna nodded. “The baby will come in the spring.”
“Do Mom and Dad know that they are going to be grandparents?”
“I told them a few minutes before you came outside.” Anna smiled, and her eyes filled with tears. “Dad and Mom want me and Reuben to come visit more often after the baby is born.” She glanced around the yard as though someone might be listening. “I’m sure a few in our community still might exclude us from some things, but as long as we feel welcome within our own families, that’s what counts.”
Rachel hugged her sister. “I’m glad things are better between you and Dad.”
Anna nodded. “Reuben and I had a long talk awhile back. We decided that we both want to stay English, but we’re attending church together now, and we’re reading our Bibles and praying every day.”
“I’m happy to hear that, and I thank you for coming today.” Rachel held the sampler close to her heart. “I’ll always cherish this, and every time I look at it, I’ll not only be reminded to put my hope in Jesus but I’ll think of my English sister, who is also trusting in God.”
Anna pulled her fingers through the ends of her hair, which she had let grow long again. “That’s so true.”
“Well, I’d best be getting back to my groom, or he’s likely to come looking for me,” Rachel said with a giggle.
Anna nodded. “Tell him I said to be happy and that he’d better treat my little sister right, or I’ll come looking for him.”
“Rachel hugged Anna one last time; then she hurried toward Silas. She was glad she had opened her sister’s hope chest last year, for if she hadn’t, she might never have found Great-Aunt Mim’s special sampler and Great-Grandma’s Bible, so full of hope found only in God’s Word.”
When Rachel reached her groom, he pulled her to his side. “I love you, Rachel, and I pray we’ll always be this happy together.”
Rachel leaned her head against his shoulder. “If we keep God at the center of our lives and put our hope and trust in Him, the love and happiness we feel today will only grow stronger.” She smiled and looked up. “The Lord is truly my hope, and I pray that all of our future children and grandchildren will put their hope and trust in Him, too.”
RACHEL’S RIBBON SALAD
Ingredients:
3-ounce box of lime gelatin
3 cups boiling water, divided
3 cups cold water, divided
1 small can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3-ounce box of lemon gelatin
8-ounce package cream cheese
3/4 cup whipped cream
3-ounce box of raspberry gelatin
Dissolve lime gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Add 1 cup cold water, crushed pineapple, and nuts to the gelatin, then pour into an 8x8 pan to make the first layer. Chill in the refrigerator until set. Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup boiling water, then add 1 cup cold water. When the mixture becomes cool, add the cream cheese and whipped cream. Pour this mixture over the first layer of gelatin that has already set. Return to refrigerator and let set again. Dissolve raspberry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Add 1 cup cold water and mix well. Pour over the top of the first two layers, return to the refrigerator, and chill until set.
Brides of Lancaster County
by Wanda E. Brunstetter
A Merry Heart (Book 1)
Figure I
Miriam Stoltzfus is a young Pennsylvania Amish woman once filled with dreams for a future with a man ... who jilted her. Now she is known as the “old maid” schoolteacher with a “heart of stone.”
Looking for a Miracle (Book 2)
Figure II
As a child, Rebekah Stoltzfus suffered a freak accident that left her legs paralyzed. Now, confined to a wheelchair, she feels she’ll never measure up to the expectations of her Pennsylvania Amish community that a woman should marry and raise a family.
Plain and Fancy (Book 3)
Figure III
Is it good for two people—one plain, the other fancy—to fall in love? Laura Meade loves her modern life, yet she is fascinated by the Amish culture in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Reissued from the best-selling
Lancaster Brides
collection.
Also Available from
BARBOUR PUBLISHING, INC.
BACK COVER MATERIAL
Is It Wrong to Hope for the Impossible?
Rachel Beachy desires and hopes for something she can’t have—her sister Anna's boyfriend.
Silas Swartley has been in love with the spirited Anna since they were children, and Rachel, the tomboy, has loved Silas for nearly as long. Like Job from the Bible, Rachel feels that her swiftly moving days are spent without hope-hope of ever making Silas take notice of her.
But when Anna unexpectedly leaves the Amish faith, Rachel's hope is rekindled. She initiates a campaign to win Silas's heart and begins to fill her hope chest when she discovers how much she and Silas have in common.
Can Silas set the pain of Anna's rejection aside and see Rachel as anything more than a tomboy who is little more than a child? Will Rachel be disappointed in Silas and in God, or will she learn the true meaning of hope?
Wanda E. Brunstetter LIVES IN WASHINGTON STATE, WHERE HER HUSBAND PASTORS, BUT TAKES EVERY OPPERTUNITY TO VISIT AMISH SETTLEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES.
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