“Hello, Joshua.” The bishop came in, surveying the workshop. “I’ve never seen your workshop.”
“Well, here it is!” Joshua said. He stepped up and shook the bishop's hand.
“Very nice indeed.” Bishop Miller pointed to Joshua’s injured hand. “Looks like it’s healing well!”
“Jah,” Joshua said. He flexed his left hand, looking down at the scar line. It was still a bright white line, and he doubted it would fade much more. But his hand was doing well, and he’d been able to use it again. “So what brings you here, Bishop?” Joshua asked.
Bishop Paul suddenly grinned and pulled an envelope out from the pocket of his overalls. “Well, the community decided to give you something more besides food.”
In the envelope was cash. A lot of it. Probably the most Joshua had seen outside of a massive furniture set he’d done for a customer years ago.
“What’s this?!” Joshua exclaimed.
“It’s to help with your medical bills,” Bishop Paul replied. “We know you’ve been through a lot lately. It was on our hearts to give you a little something to help out.”
Then Joshua saw – on one side of the envelope was written the amount inside. And it was the exact sum of their medical bills.
Joshua put his face into his hands. “Danke, Bishop,” he said when he finally was able to speak. “And, please, tell the others danke as well from us? Until we can formally tell them next week at the church service. ” He stepped forward and hugged the bishop.
“You’re welcome,” Bishop Miller said. “And I'll express your gratitude to the others. Now, I better get on home, or the missus will wonder when I’m coming for dinner!”
Chuckling, still near-tears, Joshua patted Bishop Miller on the back heartily. Grinning, Bishop Paul nodded and headed out. Joshua set the envelope into his overall pockets. Still in awe, and trying not to cry, Joshua went about cleaning up the workshop. There was no way he could concentrate on work any longer today. He was too emotional and too eager to show Samantha the loving gift from their community.
Finished, Joshua made his way over to the porch where Samantha and the children were. He kissed his two older ones on their foreheads, and then leaned down and kissed Samantha on the lips.
“How are you doing?” Joshua asked quietly.
“Gut,” Samantha said. “And you?”
“Wonderful.” Joshua pulled out the envelope from his overalls and showed Samantha. Bishop Miller stopped by the workshop to drop this off. A gift from the community.”
Samantha stared at her. Then her eyes welled up when Joshua showed her the amount written on the side. Shocked, she looked back up at Joshua, her eyes wide and her hands covering her mouth.
“Jah.” Joshua nodded. “Praise Gott.”
Samantha began to cry, and Joshua leaned down and kissed her again.
“Why is mamm crying?” Melissa asked.
“Because she’s happy,” Joshua said. “Because Gott is gut.”
Joshua smiled, a tear escaping down his cheek. “I love you,” he whispered to Samantha.
“I love you,” Samantha said softly. Then she smiled up at him with her sunny smile, her sea-green eyes glittering with joy.
Joshua smiled down at his beautiful family. God had answered his prayer, and moreover, God had worked in the hearts of their family and friends to provide for them – perfectly. Danke, Gott, Joshua prayed. You truly are in control. Danke for Your loving kindness and many blessings.
THE END
I hope you enjoyed this story! If you would like to read a bonus chapter of another sweet Amish romance story, The Potter's Hands, please scroll to back of book!
More Books By Rebekah Fisher
"Surprised by Hope"
www.amazon.com/dp/B00WDIZD9U
Abigail has a disability that causes her to rely on a brace and a crutch to get around.
She meets a new young man in town, Jeremiah. But Abigail's parents decide it is best if Jeremiah does not court their daughter at this time. Especially with her disability.
Abigail wants to have surgery for her leg but her parents can't afford it. And just when her situation couldn't possibly get any worse, it does.
Can she trust God in the midst of this unbearable situation?
***Download FREE with KINDLE UNLIMITED*** Click link below.
www.amazon.com/dp/B00WDIZD9U
"The Potter's Hands"
www.amazon.com/dp/B011IMSHNK
Twenty-year old Sarah longs for a normal life, but she is sure of two things – she will be blind for the rest of her life since the accident four years ago, and she will never find a husband.
While on a shopping trip with her sisters in Lancaster County, Sarah mistakenly steps off a curb and is nearly struck by a car. An Amish man from a nearby community named Jude rescues her.
Jude winds up taking Sarah and her sisters out for dinner and conversation leads to his family business, "The Potter's Hands."
Jude can see that Sarah is looking for purpose, so he offers to give her pottery lessons, to see if it's something she would enjoy.
Just as Sarah feels like she is grasping pottery, Beth, Jude's "girl" is jealous of the attention he is giving Sarah. (See back of book for bonus chapter. )
"Emily's Choice"
www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZOCKQVM
When Englischer Emily’s mother dies from illness, her world is further turned upside down when she then discovers that her father isn’t dead, like her mother had told her, but alive and living as an Amish man in Lancaster County. Now, Emily is required to go live with him.
However, midst the pain of the loss of her mother and her introduction to her new family, Emily decides to help waitress at the family restaurant and is delighted to meet Caleb, a fellow employee at the restaurant. She’s drawn to Caleb’s gentle demeanor and strong faith. As Caleb spends time with her helping with the restaurant, her grief, and their Amish ways she can’t help but fall in love with Caleb.
Caleb, meanwhile, has developed feelings for Emily, but is now conflicted, as he is baptized and does not want to date an Englischer.
But now an opportunity arises for Emily to return to her Englisch world with an unexpected visit from her Great Uncle and Great Aunt offer whom she had not known. Now Emily must make a very difficult choice. Find out how God works in Emily's life as she chooses to trust Him...
"The Unexpected Visitor"
www.amazon.com/dp/B00WYNML1M
Bonus Chapter - The Potter's Hands
Chapter 1
Your stitching is wrong again, Sarah.” The gentle voice of her mamm sounded almost pained, as if she hated to say it.
Sarah stopped sewing, trying to feel what she had done. But the strings all felt like they were in place. “Where?” she asked.
Her mamm’s weathered, thin fingers guided Sarah’s to feel where the string had overlapped on the back of the cloak she was working on. “Can you feel this?” Mamm asked.
“Jah.” Sighing, Sarah undid the string, rethreaded the needle, and tried again. She managed three more stitches.
“It’s cross-eyed in the back again,” Ruth said, her voice silky, her tone apologetic.
Sarah was able to find the mistake this time. But when she tried to undo her last stitching, Sarah heard all three of her sisters and Mamm inhale sharply. “What did I do now?” Sarah asked.
“You…you undid…” Ruth hesitated.
A silence hung in the air as Sarah felt along the patch in the cloak. She’d undone half of her work. In mere seconds she’d managed to completely unravel what had taken her at least an hour to accomplish.
Just like how in seconds she’d lost her sight four years ago.
Exhaling, Sarah set aside the cloak, fighting the urge to cry. Her sisters were doing all they could to help, and Sarah, not wanting to upset them anymore, had gotten into the habit of crying only when she was with certain people weren’t near her. But it was getting harder and harder. While the first year of blindness had
been spent in mostly shock and recovery from the accident, Sarah had spent the next years learning how to live in the dark, and it wasn’t going well. On days like this, she felt as though it was hopeless to try.
Even the smallest things were unbearably difficult – while Sarah could dress herself, she had no idea what she was putting on. Her younger sister, Elizabeth, had come up with an ingenious way of putting textured buttons on the inside of the dresses to help Sarah distinguish them, but it had taken time and practice to get it right.
Cooking was near impossible, except to assist with things that simply required Sarah to do a monotonous motion, such as kneading bread or stirring soup. If Mamm had the time to let her, Sarah could choose the right spices by their smell, carefully measuring them into a mixing bowl by scooping them out and leveling them off with her finger. Cutting any food was out of the question, at least until Sarah was better aware of her own hands.
Sarah sighed again. Sewing was clearly proving that she wasn’t nearly deft enough with her fingers yet. She’d pricked herself a hundred times at least, and had not actually accomplished anything.
And this didn’t take into account the bigger issues, such as driving a horse and buggy. Or, an even greater concern, finding a man that would be okay with a blind wife. The very thought did nothing but bring a hollow feeling to the pit of Sarah’s stomach. Or maybe it was her heart.
Sarah rubbed her face, tracing the three small scars that lined her brow and upper cheeks, running across her eyes. Her family had assured her that the scars were hardly noticeable, and that her eyes, while they may not let light in any longer, had healed back to their pretty blue-gray color with only a few discolorations and cloudiness to note the injuries.
However, the invisible scars were far more painful. They ran deeper, and were still tender. Like the scar Sarah’s former suitor, Jacob, had caused. Before her accident, the topic of marriage had begun to enter the late conversations they shared after Sunday evening sings. Yet within days after it was discovered Sarah would never see again, he had walked away. He had never even given a reason. He simply stopped coming by.
“Want me to put it back to where you had it?” Rhoda, the youngest of their family, asked.
“Nee.” Sarah knew that if she kept allowing her family to fix her mistakes, she’d never learn. “I’ll just take a break for now.” She hooked the needle into the cloak and set it on the side table nearby, leaning back in her chair.
Her mother and sisters were quiet for a few minutes, and Sarah listened to the sound of their hands working on their own sewing projects. A pot of chicken noodle soup in the kitchen simmered away and Sarah inhaled the warm and comforting smell. A bird chirped outside and Sarah tilted her head as a breeze filtered in through their window, fresh with the smell of spring. It seemed unfair in a way, that the world continued just as before, the only difference being that she could see none of it.
Sarah heard Ruth sigh happily, as if feeling glad for the warmer weather. “I don’t think we should be inside today.”
“You want to be out with Samuel?” Sarah asked slyly.
“Jah,” Ruth said. Sarah could hear the smile in her sister's voice. “The warmer weather makes me feel like it’s even closer!”
“The wedding will be here before you know it.” Their mamm's voice taking on a tone that implied she knew how much work a wedding would be.
“I know, but I can’t wait!”
Sarah smiled at her sister's joy. “I’m sure.” If she could not have a wedding of her own, at least she could do her best to enjoy her sister’s special day.
“We’ll miss you being here, though,” Rhoda said.
“Sometimes,” Elizabeth added. Sarah laughed with her family, imagining Ruth giving Elizabeth an exaggerated look of frustration.
“You know,” their mamm said after a second, “I need some things from Lancaster County. Maybe today should be a shopping day for you girls?”
“Yes!” Rhoda almost shouted. Sarah knew her sisters hated sewing, and would do just about any other chore to get out of it.
“What do you need?” Ruth asked.
“I’ll make a list. It’s not too much, just some things from the grocery store.” Sarah felt her mamm’s touch on her arm. “Are you up for going?”
“Me?” Sarah asked, surprised. She’d been on a couple of shopping trips, but it was a slow, arduous task. She had felt extremely awkward, not knowing who was watching her as she was led about by her mamm or one of her sisters. On the other hand, riding in the horse and buggy in this warm spring weather sounded like a pleasant distraction. It would certainly be a lot better than sitting home, pitying herself. “I’d like that. But only if—”
“—Nonsense, Sarah,” Ruth cut in quickly. “Don’t you worry yourself about it.”
Sarah smiled. Her family refused to acknowledge her blindness as a hindrance, even when it was. But sometimes she really appreciated their stubborn love for her. “Danke.”
“Of course,” Ruth said. “I’ll go get the horse and buggy ready.”
“Do you need help with anything?” Elizabeth asked, but her voice was directed away from Sarah.
“Nee,” Mamm replied.
Sarah could hear chairs creaking as weight lifted up off the seats. Everyone was standing, but she remained seated a little longer to make sure her they had moved where they needed to before standing up. She picked up her walking stick from where it had rested against the chair, making her way over to the coat rack by the front door by counting her steps. Her walking stick helped make sure that nothing lay in her way.
Finding the coat rack, Sarah searched through until she found the cloak with the button on the inside – her cloak. Wrapping it around herself, Sarah double-checked that her prayer kapp was still in place on her head, and smoothed her hair back into its bun. Sometimes, Sarah could still imagine watching herself in the mirror when she pinned her hair up.
“This should be enough for all of you to get a couple of things.”.
“Danke, Mamm,” Ruth answered.
Someone took Sarah’s arm – Rhoda, Sarah realized, by the fact that the girl’s shoulder was a few inches shorter than her own. “This way, Sarah!” Rhoda said, excitement in her voice.
Sarah thought about trying to find the buggy on her own, but she could tell that Rhoda really wanted to help her. She let Rhoda guide her out of the house, saying goodbye to their mamm as they walked outside.
Warmth struck Sarah’s face. She lifted her head towards it, basking in the sun’s rays. She didn’t have to see it to feel it there, and on a morning like this, it was easy to imagine the green buds on the trees surrounding her home and farmlands. The whinny of their horse, Kipper, alerted Sarah that the horse and buggy was towards the right, and Rhoda guided her that way.
Sarah used her walking stick to feel around, trying to gauge how far from the house they were. It was always a little scary leaving the house. The outside world was so much less familiar, but Sarah was also glad to get away from the million tasks she couldn’t help complete. She tried to adjust to the fact that there were no longer “perfect” options for her. She simply had to choose from what was available. The thought darkened her mood, and Sarah forced herself to push it away.
“Hang on, Rhoda,” Ruth said from ahead. Sarah listened to the creak of the buggy wheels. “All right.”
“Buggy step in front of you, Sarah,” Rhoda warned.
Sarah reached out, found the step, and pulled herself into the buggy. She scooted towards the center and set her walking stick in the back luggage area. The buggy rocked back and forth as Rhoda got in next. She guessed Elizabeth sat beside Rhoda, given how cramped they were.
“Should I sit in the back?” Elizabeth asked.
“Nee,” Rhoda answered. “I like us all being up here!”
“Just don’t bump me, and we'll be fine,” Ruth added. There was a light tap of the reins being flicked, and the buggy lurched forward.
Up in the buggy with her
sisters, Sarah imagined for a moment that she wasn’t blind. The sweet wind poured over them, and the girls chatted away about Ruth’s upcoming wedding. Ruth and Samuel had been published a month ago, and their mother and Ruth had started an in-door collection of celery seeds, as was their wedding tradition. They were going to transfer the seeds to their home garden outside once they were grown enough.
The best part was that Ruth and Samuel wouldn’t be moving far, which had been Sarah’s worry – Samuel lived in a neighboring community. But Samuel wanted to be a farmer, unlike his farrier family, and he’d decided to purchase the small lot not too far from the Heitkamp family, meaning Ruth would literally be within walking distance. Peter, Sarah’s oldest brother, had done the same thing when he married, as had Jacob, their other older brother, after his wedding last fall. Sarah hoped all of her family would stay nearby.
Of course, it would be nice if I could have a family of my own. Pained, and upset that she’d reminded herself of her dashed hope, Sarah tried to think of something to talk about. Elizabeth had gone to the sing yesterday.
“Elizabeth,” turning her face in her sister’s direction, “how was the sing?”
“It was gut,” Elizabeth answered shortly.
Sarah smiled, sensing more. “Just gut?” she asked.
There was a pause. And then Rhoda started to giggle.
“How is that you’re the one that knows when stuff’s going on, Sarah?” Elizabeth teased. “Fine. It was really, really gut. One of the boys took me home after you were all asleep.”
“I knew it!” Rhoda exclaimed. “I thought you weren’t in bed until really late!”
“And who’s the lucky guy?” Ruth asked.
“I’m not saying!” Elizabeth said.
“David?” Rhoda guessed.
AMISH ROMANCE: Amish Dreams Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 10
