Ribbon of Years

by Robin Lee Hatcher

  Miriam smiled as she refolded the letter, then closed her eyes.

  O Father, how awesome this is. How exciting, all that You're doing in Rick's life. Thank You for sending him a helpmeet. I didn't know You'd called him into full-time ministry, and now I see You've directed my prayers for a wife for him because he'll need someone to work at his side.

  Miriam never ceased to be amazed by how much God cared for His children, how much He longed to pour out His blessings upon them.

  Her thoughts drifted again, meandering through the years, so many twists and turns made clear in hindsight. She saw the many times God had worked things for good when the enemy had meant them for destruction. She envisioned the faces of friends and loved ones. She recalled how often God had used someone to touch her heart, to encourage her, to build her up and set her back on the right path again.

  "Even when I am faithless," she whispered, "You, O Lord, are faithful to me."

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  JACOB MCALLISTER CAME BY WITH LUNCH AS HE DID EVERY Monday, carrying bags of takeout from his favorite deli. Usually Elaine came with him, but today he was alone.

  "Her arthritis is acting up again," he said when Miriam inquired about his wife. "I told her to rest since she'll see you tomorrow at the barbecue. No point putting herself out today."

  "Same could be said for you."

  "And miss eating German sausage and fried potatoes with onions?" He set the large white sack on the kitchen counter. "Not on your life."

  Miriam shook her head. "Elaine will have your hide if she finds out. All that fat." She clucked her tongue.

  "Well then, don't tell her." He took two plates from the cupboard. "She worries too much as it is."

  "Jacob McAllister, you know you're supposed to watch your cholesterol."

  He sighed dramatically. "Remember the good old days when nobody gave a thought to cholesterol levels?"

  "Remember the good old days when it wasn't uncommon for folks to die in their sixties instead of living as long as we have?"

  Jacob glanced over his shoulder. "Okay, you got me there." Then he shrugged and proceeded to dish up their lunch.

  "Stubborn old goat."

  "You betcha."

  After a companionable silence, Miriam asked, "Did you see Sean's picture in the morning paper?"

  "I sure did. You must be poppin' buttons."

  She chuckled in agreement.

  Jacob carried the plates to the table, then sat opposite her. Their gazes met momentarily before they bowed their heads and he blessed the food.

  Following their "Amens," Miriam picked up her fork. "Did you imagine we'd still be friends when we were this old?"

  "I never figured we'd get old, let alone this old."

  "I guess you're right about that."

  In her mind, she saw the two of them as if it were only yesterday, standing by the river, she longing to leave for Hollywood and begging him to go with her, Jacob insisting he had to stay behind.

  "You know, my friend," she said softly, "my life's been a bigger adventure than I ever dreamed it would be."

  "Even without Hollywood?"

  So, he'd been remembering, too. "Even without Hollywood." She moved the food around the plate with her fork. "God has been good to me."

  "Only one thing you ever lacked, far as I can tell."

  She looked at him. "What's that?"

  When he raised his hands in an exaggerated shrug, she saw again the redheaded kid from sixty-five years before. "You never had the extreme pleasure of being Mrs. Jacob McAllister," he answered with a wink.

  "Oh, you. We'd have driven each other crazy before two weeks were out."

  "True."

  After Jacob left, Miriam took a nap in the easy chair in her studio.

  She dreamed of the River Bluff of her youth. She dreamed of her parents and Arledge, of Chief Jagger and Pastor Desmond, of Jacob, and of Del and Luke. Even in her sleep, she knew it didn't make sense that Luke was there with his dad and the others, but it pleased her all the same, seeing them together.

  Suddenly she was no longer in town but standing by the river. Although she couldn't see herself, she knew she was young again and wearing a swimming suit. She could feel the sun beating down upon her shoulders. The water, though swift, looked inviting.

  "Come on in!" she heard someone shout, but when she looked around, she was alone.

  Her heart hammered as she stepped closer to the river's edge.

  "Come on in, Miriam!"

  She wanted to. She was ready to. She drew a deep breath and . . .

  The slamming of the back screen door jerked her awake. Moments later, Christy appeared in the kitchen, several plastic grocery bags in hand.

  "Hey, Mrs. Tucker. Sorry it took me so long. Have you had lunch?"

  Miriam placed a hand over her racing heart. "Yes, dear. Jacob was by as usual."

  Christy said something else, but Miriam wasn't listening. She was thinking about the river in her dream and wishing she'd had time to dive in.

  Sean called on the telephone just before suppertime. For several minutes, he answered Miriam's questions about his diplomatic trip, describing the different terrains and cities and customs. Finally, he said, "Want to know the most important thing I learned while I was away?"

  "Of course I do."

  "Freedom is worth whatever it costs, and it always costs somebody something."

  She thought of Arledge, who'd died young in the name of freedom.

  "But there was more the Lord wanted to show me during this trip," Sean continued. "He wanted me to understand that only when I'm bound to Him am I really free. I thought a lot about how the men who guided our nation in the beginning put the Creator into our founding documents, but today we can't mention Him. Those men wanted us to have freedom of religion, and instead it's become freedom from religion. Especially from Christianity. How'd we get to this state?"

  "Pride. I believe pride's at the root of all mankind's ills."

  He agreed with her, then abruptly changed the subject. "Are you ready for the Lewis clan to descend upon you tomorrow?"

  "My goodness, Sean. There's nothing I like more than seeing you, Pam, and your three little ones. I miss the children so much when you're all in Washington."

  "They miss you, too. Well, better run. Pam's calling me to supper."

  "Tell her she looked lovely in the newspaper photo."

  Sean laughed. "I'll tell her. See you tomorrow, Miriam."

  "Tomorrow, dear. Good night."

  "Good night."

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  SHORTLY AFTER CHRISTY CAME TO STAY WITH MIRIAM, THEY'D established a nightly routine of herbal tea and quiet conversation before retiring. This night was no different.

  Christy set the small tray—one she had decorated with stickers and Bible verses—on the table near the window, then removed the cozy from the pot and poured tea into the two delicate china cups. After handing one to Miriam, who was seated in a wing-backed chair, Christy sat on the matching footstool. She balanced her saucer on one knee while blowing across the surface of her cup before taking a sip.

  Miriam wondered what lay before this young woman in the years to come. Unlike Miriam—who at the same age had been all wrapped up in the things of the world—Christy Rey was grounded in the Lord. That anchor would serve her well. Still, Miriam prayed that God would keep her from any unnecessary valleys and from the wiles of the evil one.

  Finding Miriam watching her, Christy grinned and asked, "Excited about your birthday tomorrow? I mean, not everybody lives to be eighty years old."

  "I suppose I'm surprised, more than anything."

  "Surprised? Why's that?"

  "In here—" she tapped her temple—"I'm only about thirty-five." She glanced at her wrinkled, liver-spotted hand, the one holding the china cup. "Outside, of course, I look every one of my eighty years."

  "Have you minded getting older?"

  Miriam pondered the question a short while. "Not the way you
mean," she replied at last. "The aches and pains, the unsteady hands, the failing eyesight—those aren't fun. But there's something . . . reassuring . . . about this season of life, too. Maybe it's knowing the time is growing near to be in heaven with the Lord."

  "Don't say that! You're going to live lots longer. Years and years and years."

  "Oh, my dear girl. I'll live just as long as the good Lord wants me to, and not one instant more."

  Christy frowned.

  Miriam set her cup and saucer on the tray, then leaned back in her chair and gazed out the window as dusk painted her backyard in shades of gray. "I was reading in Ezekiel before you came in, about the river flowing from the temple of God."

  She sensed more than saw Christy reaching for one of several Bibles on the nightstand.

  "Chapter forty-seven," Miriam said, still staring out the window. "Verse one."

  Christy opened the Bible and began reading: "'Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing eastward from beneath the Temple threshold. This stream then passed to the right of the altar on its south side. The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the stream flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. Measuring as he went, he led me along the stream for 1,750 feet and told me to go across. At that point the water was up to my ankles. He measured off another 1,750 feet and told me to go across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to cross without swimming.'"

  "Stop there. Do you see what He's saying?"

  "Well . . ." Christy studied the passage of Scripture, concentration furrowing her forehead as she worried her lower lip between her teeth.

  Miriam closed her eyes, remembering her dream from that afternoon, a dream of a different river, the river of her youth. "Come on in!" Her pulse quickened at the memory.

  "Don't ever stand on the edge, Christy. We're led to the river of life because God wants us to swim in it." She opened her eyes again and met Christy's gaze. "My dear, dive into the life God has for you. Never be satisfied with splashing around near the bank, where the water's only up to your ankles. Swim!"

  Christy slipped from the footstool onto her knees beside Miriam's chair. She took hold of Miriam's hands, squeezing gently. "I will, Mrs. Tucker. I promise."

  It was after midnight, and Miriam lay awake in her bed.

  Eighty years, Lord. How quickly they've passed.

  As clear as if it were only yesterday, she remembered the time her father had taken her by the hand as they'd walked along the sidewalk in River Bluff. "You've only just begun your life, Miriam. I want you to live it well."

  Live it well.

  Did I, Jesus? Did I live it well?

  AND THE ANGEL SHOWED ME A PURE RIVER WITH THE WATER OF LIFE, CLEAR AS CRYSTAL, FLOWING FROM THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB . . .

  Her old heart fluttered with excitement. She could see the crystal-clear river in her mind, just as she could feel God's Word reverberating in her heart.

  AND THEY WILL SEE HIS FACE . . .

  Jesus, my Lord.

  She ventured forth. Step by step by step, she moved into the rushing river, out into the deep water. It felt deliciously cool and wonderfully familiar.

  Familiar, as if she'd been swimming there for a long, long time.

  Then she realized she wasn't alone. Someone was with her, Someone holding her up, as He had throughout the years.

  YOU LIVED IT WELL, MIRIAM, MY BELOVED DAUGHTER. WELL DONE, MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT. WELCOME HOME.

  JULIANNA

  AUTUMN 2001

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  "CONGRATULATIONS." OUR REAL ESTATE AGENT, MARCY Arnold, dropped the keys into Leland's open hand. "Enjoy your new home."

  "We will," he answered, smiling at me, love in his eyes.

  We waited until Marcy left the front porch; then Leland unlocked the door and motioned me to enter.

  As I stepped onto the parquet floor of the entry hall, my mind was flooded with memories of the first time I'd entered Miriam Tucker's house. I'd had no idea how hearing about her life would alter mine for eternity. I'd had no notion that before I left on that fateful day, I would know Jesus as my Savior and Lord.

  But that's exactly what had happened.

  I took a deep breath. A hint of rose petals. A little musty. A dash of old age and disuse. Just like the first time.

  Suddenly I remembered something else about that day. I'd wanted a chance to begin again, to get a clean slate. I'd wanted a "do over."

  And I got one, didn't I, Lord? I got my "do over. "It's a new life in You.

  I took a step toward the living room. "Thanks, Miriam," I whispered, a smile on my lips and joy in my heart. "See you when I get there."

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. She discovered her vocation after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. Winner of the Christy, the RITA, the Carol, the Inspirational Reader's Choice, and many other awards, Robin is also a recipient of the prestigious RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of 70 novels and novellas with over four million copies in print.

  Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. Her main hobby (when time allows) is knitting, and she has a special love for making prayer shawls. Robin and her husband make their home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with Poppet, the high-maintenance Papillon, and Princess Pinky, the DC (demon cat).