by Tricia Goyer
The school was both similar and different from the schools she had attended in Walnut Creek and the one where Lovina had taught for two years. Drawings and paintings from the children decorated the walls. On the white board someone had written a prayer. It wasn’t the typical, perfect script that her teacher used to write in, but rather it was written in printed blocky letters—a man’s handwriting. Hope’s heart warmed thinking of the rugged farmer taking the time to write the prayer in such neat letters. As she read it, she recognized it as one of the songs of the Ordnung—songs from their ancestors that had been passed down for generations.
Copy the Lord Jesus like a mirror,
And also live without evil craftiness,
Slander you shall avoid.
Keep yourself pure, undefiled, chaste, and clean,
Turn everything into the best.
Also abstain from all appearance of evil.
Let the kindness of the Lord
Be known to everyone.
What you desire from me,
You shall also do to another.
Out of the whole song one line was underlined: “Copy the Lord Jesus like a mirror.” There was an arrow away from that line and Jonas had jotted more notes, as if they were written in the midst of a class discussion: forgiving, compassionate, pure, kind, loving, gentle, and truthful. Ways they must live to follow Jesus.
Hope smiled seeing that. She thought back to her teachers growing up. They were all female and all young. As a class, they had said morning prayers and had memorized Scripture passages, but from looking around at that song on the whiteboard—and on other Scripture passages that the children had written out and posted around the room—Brother Sutter put more attention to the children’s spiritual growth than most. It seemed the widower taught much more than reading, writing, and math. Ruth Ann had made a good choice in asking her brother to teach. Perhaps because of what Jonas had gone through with his wife’s sickness and death he’d grown deep in his relationship with the Lord.
As Hope considered that, a new emotion filled her. An empty longing overtook Hope at the thought of Jonas returning to Kentucky. Many people came and went in Pinecraft, and while she missed some of her friends, an ache had already begun at the thought of his leaving… and he was still here.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and Hope turned as Jonas stepped through the door. He wore a soft grin on his face and a Bible was tucked under his arm. His smile widened upon seeing her.
“Hope, what a pleasant surprise this morning!” The grin on his face told her that he meant those words.
She stood from the desk. “Jonas, I want to talk to you. I… ” She let her voice trail off, and doubts rose up in her mind. Hope took a deep breath. “Jonas, I want to know… ”
He lifted his eyebrows and waited. “Ja, Hope? What do you want to know?”
Hope’s eyes darted around the room, as if she were searching for an answer in the children’s artwork.
“Do you like teaching?”
Laughter burst from his lips. “Hope, is that really what you were going to ask? Because in the last thirty seconds all the color just drained from your face. It seems a pretty serious response for a question like that.”
“Ja.” She nodded. “I’ve been curious.”
Jonas shrugged. “I do like it, and it would be better if it weren’t for all that book learnin’ stuff.”
His words surprised her and laughter burst from her lips.
“If only it weren’t for that.” The laughter caused some of the tension to release from her chest.
“The way I see it, it’s my job to bring some Amish culture into our school day too,” said Jonas. “We’ve been whittling, and the other day I spent an hour talking about crop rotation. It doesn’t seem right for these children to be raised so far from Amish farms. They know how to push walk buttons and cross busy streets, but they don’t know how to milk cows. They buy their vegetables at Yoder’s Produce Stand… ”
Jonas let his voice trail off then, and she knew what he was getting at. But then he closed his lips, pressing them tight. She had to give it to him, Jonas wasn’t going to pester her. He wasn’t going to ask again.
“That is a shame that all the vegetables the children eat are from a market. I’ve been thinking about it—I told you I would—but I’d like to come and have the children work in my garden. I’d like—”
A whoop erupted from Jonas’s lips, and then he’d wrapped his arms around her and swung her once around. Then, as if realizing what he was doing, Jonas quickly set her down. Hope struggled to catch her breath and try to remain on her feet—not just because he’d just spun her, but because of his closeness.
Jonas released his grasp and he took a step back. “I—I’m so sorry.”
Hope reached out her hand and clung to his arm, holding herself steady. “Well, Brother Sutter,” she said, using the name his students called him. “I have to admit I never expected that reaction.”
He looked away, but redness crept up his neck.
“The students can come and start tomorrow,” said Hope. “I think by then I can ask around and get some garden tools donated. I’ll ask my sister Grace to help. It’s the perfect type of task for her.”
“Really? That would be wonderful!”
She took a step back, chuckling. “You’re not going to throw me into the air now, are you?”
“Ne, Hope.” Jonas shook his head. “But I will thank you.” He reached forward and took her hand. “And I will admit that I’m going to enjoy spending this time with you. I—”
The sound of the classroom door opening caught their attention. Jonas quickly released Hope’s hand and turned. Hope followed his gaze. Emma stood at the door.
Emma wore a big smile. Without hesitation she raced toward Hope, wrapping her arms around Hope’s legs.
“Hope, are you going to be my new mem?” Emma asked.
This time it was Hope who felt the heat rising up the back of her neck. “I… I think… ” She carefully avoided looking at Jonas. “Maybe we should just focus on spending time together in the garden, ja?”
Hope only had to ask once for Grace’s help. Two hours later her industrious sister had returned with two buckets filled with garden tools. Hope looked into the bucket and found hand trowels, hand weeders, soil scoops, and more.
“Oh Grace, these are wonderful! I didn’t realize there were so many hidden treasures around Pinecraft.”
“Everyone was eager to donate.” Grace went to the kitchen sink, washed her hands, and then wiped a wet towel over her face and neck. “It is warm out there though, and it seemed everywhere I went people either wanted to hear more about the garden or wanted to offer me their gardening advice. Since I don’t know much about either I just said a little and moved on. I wouldn’t be surprised if you have a lot of folks coming by to watch.”
Hope nodded and sighed. “It wouldn’t be Pinecraft without that, would it?”
“Oh!” Grace reached into her apron pocket. “There’s something else. I have a letter from Eleanor.” She pulled out a white envelope and handed it to Hope. “I hope she’s doing well. I haven’t heard much from her since she had her newest baby—although I suppose that is to be expected.”
Hope’s hand trembled slightly as she reached for the envelope. She thought back to the goals she’d written at the beginning of the year: move away from Pinecraft and grow a garden. The latter had happened in an unexpected way. And only a month passed and suddenly the former didn’t seem as important. In fact, she hoped that Eleanor was writing to tell her that she didn’t need help—at least not until Hope could sort out her feelings for Jonas.
She took the envelope and tucked it in her apron pocket. “Uh, thank you.”
Dat eyed her curiously. “Well, aren’t you going to read it, yet?”
Hope nodded. “I will. I’m going to pour some lemonade and sit in the back. There’s an ocean breeze blowing and I thought I’d enjoy it.”
“Makes sense,” D
at said, but his eyes still held worry. Grace watched her too as she escaped to the yard. It wasn’t until she was outside that Hope realized she’d forgotten her lemonade.
“Oh well,” she mumbled. She’d rather stay parched than fall under their questioning gazes again.
Instead of walking to the swing where she’d be in full view of the kitchen, Hope walked around the side of the house to the little garden table and chair that the last owners of the house had left behind. They were dirty, but at least they were in the shade. She brushed the seat off with her hand and then sat.
Dear Hope,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus who blesses us with family and friends who help us wait out every winter and rejoice with us in spring’s return.
It was so gut to receive your note. I am sorry that it took so long to respond. When I first received your letter I was going to write you back immediately and tell you to come. Roy and I had just been talking about my need for extra help, but when I showed him the letter he said that we had to wait. He’d just received news at work that there would be layoffs coming. If you remember, Roy works at one of the trailer factories in town and because of the economy their company has been facing hardship. I was disappointed by the news, but I understand the need to wait. I understand we must be frugal during these times. I wouldn’t want to do that to you Hope—have you move all the way up here only to have Roy lose his job—and have us be unable to offer you a wage.
Roy did say that by spring we should know more. I will write you again in April or May and tell you if things have changed at his work. I would like to see you and all your sisters again. I miss quiet days like the ones we spent at the creek as children—Lovina making mud pies, you pulling up small plants and studying their roots, and Faith drawing sketches of the creek. When I was cleaning out my hope chest a few weeks ago I found a dandelion crown that Joy had woven together. I had dried it, and it has held up amazingly well. Also tell Grace hello too. I do enjoy the letters that she writes for The Budget. If Grace’s plan is make everyone wish for a visit to Pinecraft—to escape winter’s grasp—she’s doing a wonderful job.
As for us, the snow keeps coming and the world around us is dusted with white. I haven’t been out much since Baby Katie’s birth. She has a more delicate health than my others. I even had to miss church last week. Spring cannot come soon enough.
Know, cousin, that you will be hearing from me again in April. Give everyone our love.
Your dear cousin,
Eleanor
Hope released the breath she’d been holding. She’d prayed for an answer—for God to make things clear—and in a way He had. He’d asked her to wait.
“Hope, it’s not time to leave,” she felt the stirring inside her say. “Not yet.”
For this season of her life she was needed in Pinecraft. Children from the school needed her. Emma did too. And maybe Jonas? Was it too much to hope for?
So instead of packing, Hope rose with new determination. She had to make a plan for her garden, and she had to think of a way to have the children help. Even though opening up her garden would be hard, Hope had peace knowing it was what God was asking her to do.
Chapter Twenty-Two
True worth is doing each day some little good, not dreaming of great things to do by and by.
AMISH PROVERB
Hope turned off the sprinkler that had been watering two of the long planters. She gathered the hose, coiling it by the faucet. She had to get the last details organized. The kids would be there before she knew it. She held the sprinkler head in her hand, and a lightness filled her chest remembering Jonas’s excitement when she’d told him that she’d like to work with him—that she had some ideas for working with the children in the garden. His eyes had been so bright. His toothy smile so large. He’d seemed like a different person, and she got a glimpse of the young man he must have been before dealing with the long illness and death of his wife.
The faucet dripped in a steady rhythm, and Hope pictured Jonas jumping off rope swings and climbing to the tops of hay wagons as a young boy. She pictured life in his eyes, not just loss, and it was more attractive than she could have imagined.
A dog’s bark somewhere in the next neighborhood broke her trance, and Hope’s foot felt cold. She glanced down to notice that cool water from the sprinkler head had been dripping water on her foot. Her mind had been so lost with thoughts of Jonas she hadn’t noticed. She dropped the sprinkler and placed a hand over her heart. Was this what it was like to be attracted to someone? It had come on so fast, so unexpected. Or had it?
Hope heard the chatter of voices even before she saw the children. Then a loose train of bouncing bodies rounded the corner. Hands pointed to the long boxes filled with soil. A bee buzzed by and a few of the children shrieked. The younger kinner—not just Jonas’s older class—had come today too.
A little girl ran over to her pot of marigolds and plucked off two heads. She turned to Hope with wide eyes and beamed, as if she’d just done something wonderful.
“Oh no, Andrea. We look at the flowers. We don’t pick them,” Jonas said.
Andrea’s smile faded, and then her lower lip puckered. Tears welled up in her eyes and her whole body slumped.
Hope hurried over to her. “Oh, it’s all right, Andrea. You didn’t know, but Brother Sutter is right. We just want to look at the flowers and all of the plants.”
One boy ran up to her and placed a hand on her arms. “Can I help you pull weeds?”
“Ja.” Hope nodded, and she held up her hand. “But not yet. Today we’re going to look at the different plants. We’re going to learn which are vegetables and which are weeds. Then we’re going to play a game to see who remembers.”
Emma’s hand shot into the air. “I want to play a game!”
Hope laughed. “Of course, everyone will play.”
“Even Brother Sutter?” an older boy asked.
Hope turned to find Jonas’s face. His eyes were already on her. His smile was large.
“Brother Sutter is actually going to help me teach you about the plants. He’s a great gardener too.” She pointed. “Jonas, why don’t you take those rows and I’ll take these closest to me, and then we’ll meet in the middle and trade.”
“That sounds like a good idea, Hope. I’d be happy to help.”
Hope moved to the first row of plants, and the children gathered around her. She wanted to reach out and touch each one. They were focused and quiet. They were also excited—she could see it from their smiles. Joy lifted and flooded her heart, and she wondered why she’d pushed this away for so long. Could it be that God had been wanting to bless her with the very thing she’d been pushing away?
Jonas had walked all the children back to the school just in time for the day to end. Emma went home with Ruth Ann, who promised that they would head back to the house and make ranger cookies. After watching them walk away, Jonas headed back to Hope’s garden. And with every step the questions he had earlier about Hope faded. She was wonderful with children, tender and thoughtful. And as she helped them with the raised beds, she also talked about the gardens in the north too. She’d talked with longing in her voice, and seeing that—hearing that—made up his mind. He wanted to pursue Hope for more than a friend. He wanted more.
Jonas walked around to the back of the pie shop and smiled when he saw that Hope was still there.
Jonas strode up to her. “I think the garden is a success.”
“Already?” Hope smiled. “But we haven’t even had a harvest yet. And I’m still not sure I trust most of your students to be able to know the difference between a vegetable and a weed.”
He chuckled. “I’m talking about my daughter. You should have heard Emma at dinner last night. Ruth Ann served carrots but Emma called them ‘yummy orange roots.’ She has already learned so much. I know the other kids will catch on too.”
“They should make me a banner.” Hope winked at him, and emotion flipped in Jonas’s stomach. “I’
ll forever be known as the woman who taught an eight-year-old that the carrot is the root of the plant.”
Jonas laughed, and his heart felt light and happy. “All the children had a gut time in the garden today. Thank you so much for agreeing to this. I know Emma will be even more excited about our own garden when we get back to Kentucky.”
The brightness in Hope’s eyes faded at his words, and she looked away.
“But we’re not leaving for a while yet,” he quickly added.
Hope gave him a tender smile, yet there was hesitation in her gaze. “Oh, I’m glad to help, but anyone in Pinecraft could do the same. I’m sure that anyone you stop on the street could tell you about their favorite plants to grow and their best tips. What I’ve done is nothing special.”
Jonas took a step forward. He wanted to reach for her hand but then changed his mind. He balled his hands into a fist instead, wishing he could share his true heart without scaring her away. “There are many gardeners, Hope, but only one who I know who comes alive when she digs into the soil. Before I met you I thought a garden was about the end result—about having a stocked pantry before the first snow fell. Until I knew you, I didn’t know such joy could be found in the process. I didn’t know that I’d get so excited to see the first sprouts of new growth. I haven’t treated my own garden very well back home, but that’s going to change.”
She smiled at him, broader this time. Her gaze softened and became wistful. Was she thinking about his garden—trying to picture it? More than anything he wanted to show her. He wanted to take her to Kentucky and show her who he truly was there. Yes, he enjoyed teaching, but that job was only for a season. Who he was in Kentucky was who he was for a lifetime.
“When I look at you, Hope, I appreciate the cycle of life that we all take for granted. I know you probably don’t realize this, but there are a least a hundred expressions that cross your face in one afternoon. The way you look at the plants, at the children, at Emma, and… ” He was going to say and me, but Jonas stopped short.
