When everyone had eaten their fill, the community’s Christmas gathering ended. Families gathered their dishes and tired children and headed home.
Annie sat behind her parents in their buggy. She was happy. Mark was coming that night and she had his gift ready to give to him. She mused on the only dark part of the day – Hannah’s refusal to consider repenting, even when she had gone through the pain of being Shunned. Lord, please show her the path to forgiving and loving herself. Bring her to the point where she is ready to repent.
At home, she rested after helping her mother put leftovers away. In her bedroom, she continued reluctantly thinking of Hannah and her situation. She realized she didn’t want to think of the other young woman, but was also aware that Hannah had brought her situation upon herself. Eventually, Annie drifted off to sleep, still feeling tired from her days of work, helping her mother to get ready for the Christmas celebrations.
***
Mrs. Lapp walked in through the front door, hearing only a tense silence as her husband helped her to bring in the platters and boxes of food.
“And, Hannah?” she asked.
“Upstairs, in her room. I’ve been checking on her every so often. She jumped out of the buggy and ran into her room. I heard her door slamming from the barn,” Mr. Lapp said. His grimace communicated his distaste for the display his daughter had put on.
“I will check on her now that I’m home,” Mrs. Lapp decided.
***
That night, Mark knocked at the Fisher’s front door. Mr. Fisher opened the door, letting Mark in. Mark placed his gift for Hannah near the fireplace and joined the family in the kitchen as they got ready to eat a light evening meal.
“Hello, Annie. I hope your day was a restful one,” Mark said.
“Ya. I napped after getting home. What did you do?” Annie asked.
“I finished making your gift and rested as well. I am looking forward to this meal.”
After dinner, Mark and the Fisher family moved into the living room, where they exchanged their gifts. Annie had made her father some serviceable handkerchiefs that he could use when his springtime allergies overwhelmed him. She had made more kapps for her mother, who, now that she stayed at home baking and crafting most days, needed more of the dark-blue head coverings. She nervously handed Mark his wrapped gift.
Mark opened his gift. Upon seeing the dark-colored neckerchiefs, he smiled gratefully.
“Annie, you must have had a little angel watching me in the fields! Some days, I break into such a sweat. These will be very handy for my work. Thank you!”
“You know, if you chill them and place them in your lunch bucket, you can wrap them around your neck so that you don’t get so hot. Just dip them in water and allow them to freeze, then, when you leave at the start of your day, put them in the box. They’ll be ready and waiting for you when you need them,” Annie said.
“Ya. Denki, Annie. Here is your gift. Mark handed Annie a large, plainly wrapped box.
She opened it, finding some delicate woodwork animals inside a large wooden box.
“Mark! These are all beautiful! Denki! I can store my books and workbooks in this box next to my desk – how did you know I needed this?” Annie asked. She smiled as she saw Mark’s brown eyes flick to her father. “These animals are beautiful! I will treasure them, always!” she said. She lifted them out and looked at them from all angles.
Hannah stayed stubbornly in her room over the next several days – she came down only for meals, sitting at her solitary table. She also helped silently with the cleaning and refused to join her family when they went to town. This required someone to stay at home with her to prevent her from leaving so she could wreak more havoc in someone else’s life.
***
Two days after Christmas, Mark stopped by to invite Annie to ride with him. He drove them to a field topped with an undisturbed coating of snow. He turned to Annie and took her hand.
“Annie, we have known each other all our lives. We began to court a year ago, getting to know each other better. As we did, I got to know a generous young woman who loves the Lord as much as I do. Even when you faced . . . difficulties, you stayed positive, refusing to think badly of others. I have fallen in love with you, Annie – I love you. I spoke to your parents several months ago, and asked them for their permission to ask you to marry me. They said yes. Annie Fisher, would you marry me? Would you become . . . Annie Stoltzfus?”
Annie gasped. She had somehow known that this day was coming. She had asked God for his guidance . . .
“Yes, Mark. I will marry you! I . . . love you, too.” Her smile was wide and beaming as she spoke.
Mark took both of her hands in his and smiled with love and relief. Back at the Fisher home, the couple announced their engagement to Annie’s parents.
“Annie! Mark! We need to talk about your wedding! Annie, you’ll need a dress,” said Mrs. Fisher with excitement.
“We will be married during the upcoming wedding season, after this fall’s harvest,” Mark said. “We are both baptized and able to marry. I want to begin a life with you, Annie. I hope we have several children,” said Mark.
Annie blushed, thinking of children.
“I hope we have several, Mark. I will be happy with what the Lord wills. If he wants us to have many babies, or if he only wants us to have one or two, I will be happy for that. I want to spend my life with you, grow old with you and raise our family together,” said Annie softly.
Mr. Fisher invited Mark to join him in the barn as Annie and Mrs. Fisher talked about her marriage dress.
“Dark blue, and the first time you wear it is at your wedding,” decreed Mrs. Fisher. “I have been saving linens and towels for you ever since you were a child. You won’t lack for these when you start your new home with Mark. Your daed has been making furniture for you. I suspect that’s what he and Mark are doing – looking at the items he’s already made.”
After Mark and Annie finished discussing their wedding plans with Annie’s parents, they drove to the Stoltzfus farm. Walking into the house, Mark announced his engagement to Annie. His parents were predictably happy. Again, older and younger women, older man and son split up to talk about the impending nuptials.
“My mamm will be making my wedding dress. She already has my measurements from making other clothing for me,” Annie said.
“I would like to help out – make things you will need for your home, if you would accept that,” Mrs. Stoltzfus diffidently proposed.
“I would like that very much. Maybe we can get together my house?” Annie suggested.
“Ya. We will do that. Do you know where you will be living?”
“Mark said we would live here while he and his daed build our house. Planting season will be coming up in the next couple months, so he’ll only have evenings and weekends to build it. My daed would also help, to make it go faster,” Annie said.
“Annie, come with me,” Mrs. Stoltzfus gently commanded. “I don’t have daughters, but I have been making items here and there for Mark’s future wife. It is time to show you what I have stored away,” said Mrs. Stoltzfus.
In a spare bedroom, she and Annie sorted through a chest full of place mats, towels, dish cloths, bath towels, a colorful quilt and some baby blankets.
Annie’s eyes filled with tears. “Mrs. Stoltzfus . . .”
“Please Annie, call me mamm. I would be so honored,” said Mrs. Stoltzfus.
“Mamm, denki!” said Annie, as tears fell down her cheeks.
The two women embraced as they wept with joy.
Downstairs, Mark and Mr. Stoltzfus joined them and they talked about the upcoming wedding.
“We will talk to the deacon and the ministers – we’re talking about this coming wedding season, after the harvest is done.” Mark took Annie’s hand in his as he spoke.
On the way home, he took her hand gently in his warm hand.
“Annie, I want to be able to spend more time with you. When I’m not working o
n our house, we will get together.”
“Okay. Let me – and my daed know what we can do,” said Annie.
Before Mark left the house, he stood with Annie on her front porch, holding her hands in his own and gazing into her brown eyes.
“Annie, I love you,” he said fervently.
“I love you, too,” Annie said.
THE END
BOOK 3 - SIMPLE AMISH HARMONY
She's in love. With the brother of the woman who betrayed her best friend.
Jenny King is elated with her new love, Jacob Lapp. But a cloud hangs over their developing relationship. Jacob's sister betrayed Jenny's best friend, Annie Fisher and has now been cast out of the church. What happens next could spell the end of Jenny's future plans, and the simple harmony of her dreams.
Simple Amish Harmony is a sweet, Amish romance that you won't be able to put down. It is the third book of the Living Amish series.
CHAPTER ONE
Jenny King smiled gratefully at Annie Fisher, one of her two closest friends.
“Denki, Annie. I know the family will work their situation out. I just see Jacob looking so sad and worried, and it makes me worry for him. It’s still winter, but he and his daed have to plan for the spring planting season. Hannah’s actions and refusal to repent are affecting them just as they affect her.”
“Ya, Jenny, but think of it this way. She can still repent and ask for forgiveness. There’s no time limit on that. The Order doesn’t excommunicate unless it’s warranted, and in this case . . .”
“Ya, it was warranted. And he and his parents love Hannah. Maybe she will come around – we can all pray,” said Jenny with a more hopeful smile. Picking up her fork, she began eating the food she had chosen from the generous Christmas buffet offerings.
“Well, on a happier note . . . I know who likes Ruth!” Annie said with a mischievous grin.
“Ach, who? No, let me guess! It’s Adam! Adam Zook,” whispered Jenny, her blue eyes gleaming with new excitement. “How did you find out?”
“One of my scholars is his younger sister. She told me,” said Annie, giving a happy grin to Ruth Beiler, who was blushing delicately.
“So, Ruth, do you like him back?” asked Jenny.”
“Ya. He is a good man. He has a strong relationship with the Lord. Both are important to me . . . and he’s also handsome, with those green eyes.” She turned, her eyes searching out the slender, muscular farmer, who was sitting with some of his friends, eating his dinner.
Annie’s gaze landed on a tall, muscular farmer with blonde hair under his straw hat. His shoulder muscles filled out his plain, blue shirt and black jacket. When he smiled, laugh lines around his cheeks appeared, indicating that he loved laughter.
Adam’s head turned and he sought out Ruth. As his eyes found hers, he smiled and his emerald-green eyes twinkled.
Ruth smiled back, blushing even more. The slender Beiler Family tour director was shy and quiet. She picked up her fork and began eating her lunch so it wasn’t obvious she was staring at her future suitor.
“And? What about you? Have your mamm and daed given Jacob permission to court you?” she asked.
“Ya. They appreciate his love for the Lord. They know he’s a hard worker and will provide for, well, for whoever he chooses to marry,” Jenny said as she tried not to choke.
Annie pounded her back vigorously as she grinned at Ruth. She’s got it bad! she seemed to be saying to the other girl.
All three friends finished eating so they could help with the after-lunch cleanup. As they ate, they gazed at the action around them – young children, released from eating by their parents, running around, playing tag, scooping up snow and throwing snowballs at each other, yelling or building a large snowman.
The lives of those in this Amish Old Order community were simple – uncomplicated by technology or even electricity. While their lives were made hard by daily chores they had to complete with only the resources allowed by the Ordnung, they knew this forced them to rely on the goodness of the Lord. These children running around so excitedly had received one, maybe two simple gifts. For them, as for their parents, the focus of this day was on the birth of their Lord, not on the gifts they could receive.
Later that afternoon, the community’s Christmas celebration ended, with the men putting the benches back into a large wagon so the hosting family could put their furniture back into place. Jacob came up to Jenny and her parents.
“I’ll follow you and your parents to your house so we can spend some time with each other,” he told Jenny. Smiling and sketching a quick, respectful salute to her parents, he went to his buggy and untied his horse’s reins.
“Jenny, is your gift for Jacob ready? Have you wrapped it?” asked Rebecca, Jenny’s mother.
“Ya, mamm. I finished working on them last week and wrapped the gift yesterday. I have it stored safely in my closet. I just hope he likes them!” Jenny said with a nervous giggle.
“Ya, Jenny, he will. Anything that makes his work in the fields under a hot summer sun will be appreciated. You did a wonderful job on those kerchiefs,” said Jenny’s daed.
“Denki, daed! That’s what I want – is for him to be a little more comfortable in the fields. I read something about wetting them, making them cold and wrapping them around his neck to help cool off. I put a note in the package about, that, too.”
“Good. He’s a hard-working young man. We all know farming’s not easy under the best of circumstances. He will appreciate your gift,” John King predicted.
***
In the neat, simple King house, Jenny and John sat talking in the living room as Jenny’s parents supervised them from the kitchen. As Jenny chatted with Jacob, she was struck once again by his maturity. He had chosen a difficult career and he was happy with his choice. Jenny also realized again, how close Jacob was to God – he relied on Him in all aspects of his life and wanted only to honor Him.
As Jacob talked and laughed with Jenny, he saw how happy she was with her decision to be baptized into the Amish faith and continue living the Plain life. He was struck by how readily she laughed, finding joy and humor in different situations.
Before he left, Jenny gave him the set of kerchiefs she had sewn on her sewing machine. She had chosen various shades of blue to make them. He read the little note she had included, feeling happy and grateful she had thought of his comfort as he worked in the fields during the summer.
“Denki, Jenny! These are perfect, and I will be putting them to use every day,” he promised. “Here is your gift – I hope you’ll like it,” he said nervously.
“Denki. I am sure I will,” Jenny murmured as she opened the plain wrapping covering the small box. She gasped as she unwrapped a small, varnished box with a hinged lid. “A trinket box! Denki, Jacob! It’s beautiful! I’ll store my hair bands and clips in it for safekeeping,” she decided.
Shortly before dark fell, Jacob left, squeezing Jenny’s hand in his once before he left.
“I will see you again, depending on the weather,” he promised.
Jenny, reminded of their frequent snowstorms and blizzards, looked up – she saw the familiar orange-hued sky that indicated snow clouds had obscured the moon and stars.
“Ya. Hopefully, we won’t get hit too hard, whatever’s up there,” Jenny said.
“I’m just thankful we aren’t planting until the snows melt. Let it snow – the Lord gives us the moisture we need for the crops. We will see each other soon, never fear,” Jacob said with his ready grin.
“Ya, we will. Be careful going home. I hope . . . Hannah . . . will come around very soon,” said Jenny.
“Denki for that, Jenny. She tried to harm your closest friend. Your forgiveness is from God,” Jacob said quietly.
At home, he found the house quiet. Hannah’s bedroom door remained stubbornly closed. Jacob ran lightly downstairs and sought out his parents.
“Mamm, daed, how are you? Has Hannah come down from her room since she came home?”
>
“Only for a light supper, then after helping me clean up, she went straight back upstairs,” said his mamm, shaking her head. “I actually understand why she’s doing this. It’s much less painful for her to isolate herself than it is to face even us, knowing her interaction with us is so severely limited.”
“Ach, so. Maybe she will let me talk to her. If so, I’ll let her know we love her and want only what’s best for her,” Jacob promised.
This opportunity proved to be elusive – Hannah managed to time her trips to the kitchen to when he was in the barn with his daed. As a result, their mother took the brunt of the worrying and sadness. She found herself turning to the Lord and praying for strength and wisdom in dealing with her stubborn, wayward daughter.
Jacob spent his days in the barn, preparing for the upcoming spring planting. Though this was at least two months into the future, he and his daed had plenty of work to stay busy – repairing harnesses and reins, replacing parts for the plow and checking on the stock of seed they had ready and waiting. As he and Jenny had discussed, the weather brought a heavy snowstorm to Peace Landing. The depth of the After-Christmas snowfall made it impossible for him to safely take his buggy out, so he was forced to cool his heels and wait to visit her until some of the snow had melted away.
CHAPTER TWO
Jenny and her mamm turned their own attention to the Amish quilts they made and sold to Englisher tourists. Jenny would look through traditional Amish quilting patterns and either choose one of them or develop a variation that honored their traditions while breaking new artistic ground.
One bright day shortly after the new year had started, Jenny was startled when a tall, overweight English businessman knocked on their door.
“Hello, is Jenny King available?”
Jenny saw a tall, red-haired man with hard brown eyes.
“I’m Jenny King. And you are . . . ?”
“Ken Carey. I have a shop in Philadelphia and I specialize in buying and selling various Amish crafts. I’m in need of some well-designed Amish quilts. I was given your name by someone who bought one of your pieces. She’s very pleased with her purchase, by the way,” Ken said, smiling.
Simple Amish Love 3-Book Collection Page 13
