Raising Faith

by Melody Carlson

  “Good.” Morgan forced a smile to her lips.

  They were in the sanctuary now. “Do you want to sit in front?” Emily asked hopefully.

  “I guess …” Then Morgan followed Emily up to their favorite spot right in front of Pastor George’s podium. But even as she sat down, she felt none of her usual enthusiasm. And as they worshiped, she didn’t feel that old thrill. And that spark that normally ignited inside of her felt as if it was barely flickering at all. She knew that wasn’t good. But she wasn’t sure what to do about it. Finally, she did the only thing she knew — she silently prayed, telling God what was wrong, and then she asked him to help her.

  “Are you going to work at the bazaar on Saturday?” Janna asked Morgan after church. “I don’t have you down on the schedule yet.”

  “And we missed you at the wreath-making party,” said Cory. “Where you been hiding, Morgan?”

  “I had to do some things at home,” she told him.

  “Well, we have Emily down,” said Janna as she looked at the clipboard. “She’ll be working from ten to twelve so she can make it to the parade at one. You could work with her if you want.” She winked at Morgan. “I’m guessing you’ll have all sorts of cool things to sell.”

  “Yeah,” said Emily. “She’s making socks.”

  “Socks?” Janna blinked. “What kind of socks?”

  “Polar fleece socks,” said Morgan.

  “Cool,” said Janna. “I might be interested in some of those myself.” She jabbed her husband with her elbow. “Cory might want some too. His tootsies can get awfully cold in the winter.”

  So Morgan felt a little encouraged as they rode home. Maybe her socks would be a success after all. That is if she ever got enough time to sew them all. She knew that tomorrow afternoon was for trying on their elf outfits again — at least the skirts were finished now. Maybe her best bet would be to kick in the afterburners on Friday. She could stay up as late as she liked since it wasn’t a school night. She considered asking Emily to help her with the sewing and cutting, maybe even to spend the night, but then she remembered Emily’s babysitting gig on that same night.

  “How many pairs of socks have sold at your store?” Morgan asked Mom as they went into the house.

  “I forgot to check,” Mom admitted. “But Maureen said it’s been slow.”

  “Oh …”

  “Things should pick up this weekend. What with the Christmas parade, as well as people counting down the shopping days until Christmas.”

  “And there’s the bazaar,” Grandma reminded her. “You do plan to sell socks there, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” said Morgan. She just hoped she’d have some socks to sell. She was tempted to get the ones from Mom’s shop, but then she would miss out on the traffic in town. She was also tempted to stay up past her bedtime to sew, but she knew that Mom would not approve. Besides, she was tired. And she was tired of sewing too!

  The next day, Chelsea’s mom picked up all five girls after school. They went to Chelsea’s again to try on the outfits, along with the skirts.

  “You did a wonderful job on these skirts,” Mrs. Landers, told Morgan as the girls lined up on the stairway, posing for a photo. “You girls will be the cutest thing in the whole parade. Now let’s get you by the Christmas tree.” The Landers’ Christmas tree was huge, reaching up to the peak of their high ceilings. Morgan couldn’t imagine how they’d gotten it into the house. It reminded her that her family didn’t have a Christmas tree yet. Usually, Grandma took care of that, but with her feeling so rundown these days … maybe Morgan should take up Carlie’s offer to go into the woods with her dad to get a tree on Sunday.

  “All right,” said Mrs. Landers, “You girls know where the staging area for the parade will be. And you need to be there by 12:30. Hopefully it won’t rain, but just in case, you might want to dress warmly underneath the costumes. We don’t want anyone getting hypothermia.”

  “Looks like we’ll have to wear our elf outfits to work at the bazaar, Morgan,” said Emily.

  “Maybe that’ll help to sell things,” said Amy.

  “Now if anyone needs a ride,” said Mrs. Landers, “I’m going back to town in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Not that you all have to leave yet,” said Chelsea. “Anyone who wants to hang here is welcome.”

  “I have to get to the restaurant,” said Amy.

  “And I’m babysitting again,” said Carlie.

  “I’ll stick around,” said Emily. “How about you, Morgan, why don’t you stay too?”

  “I need to go home and sew socks,” said Morgan.

  “You sew socks?” asked Mrs. Landers.

  “They’re polar fleece socks,” Emily explained.

  “Oh, what a good idea,” said Mrs. Landers. “I might like some of those for myself.”

  “My mom has some at her shop,” offered Morgan hopefully.

  “Cleopatra’s, right?”

  “Yes,” said Morgan. “Eight dollars a pair.”

  “I’ll make a point to stop by this weekend.”

  Morgan felt hopeful as Mrs. Landers drove the girls home. Still, she felt slightly jealous that Emily stayed behind. It was nice of Emily to invite Morgan to stay too, but it would’ve been nicer if Emily had come home with them and maybe even helped Morgan with her sock project. Still, Morgan hadn’t asked Emily. And why would Emily want to help Morgan when she could stay at Chelsea’s and just hang and have fun?

  Morgan thanked Mrs. Landers for the ride, told Amy and Carlie good-bye, and then went into her house. As usual, Grandma had Oprah on, but she was fast asleep in her recliner. Morgan tiptoed past her and went straight to her room and her sewing machine. Her goal was to get four pairs of socks finished before dinnertime. And then she had a pile of homework to do. She had barely started the second pair of socks when she heard a tapping on her door. “Come in,” she called without looking up from her sewing machine.

  “Morgan,” said Mom in a quiet voice. “I need to talk to you.”

  Morgan glanced at the clock by her bed. It wasn’t even five yet. “You’re home early,” she told Mom as she turned around in her chair.

  Mom sat on her bed. “It’s about Grandma.”

  “What?”

  “We got the test results back.”

  Morgan frowned. “Is it bad?”

  “Grandma has some very serious problems with her heart.”

  “Oh no …” Morgan felt a lump growing in her throat. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that unless she has surgery … well, she could have a heart attack … and it could be fatal.”

  “So, is she going to have the surgery?”

  “Yes. Of course. But in the meantime, she needs to really take it easy. You and I will have to do everything around here. I know you’ve been helping already, but with Christmas coming … well, you know how Grandma loves this time of year. She gets so busy with her baking and crafts and decorating and everything. But we cannot let her do that.”

  “Right.”

  “If it was up to me, I’d say we just cancel Christmas altogether this year.” Mom scowled. “I know I sound like Scrooge.”

  “We can’t cancel Christmas.”

  “I know … and Grandma would be so sad if we did. No, we need to try to do as much as we can of the things that she usually does. She’s already mentioned the fact that we haven’t put up lights yet.”

  “I’ll do that,” said Morgan.

  “And she wants a tree.”

  “I can go with Carlie and her dad on Sunday and get one in the woods for only five dollars.”

  Mom blinked. “Really, you can get a tree for five dollars?”

  “With a permit.”

  “Great.” Mom actually smiled now. “I’m so thankful we’re in this together, Morgan.”

  “When will Grandma have the surgery?”

  “Next week. They’re trying to get her scheduled now.”

  “Is the surgery dangerous?”

&nbs
p; “All surgery is a little dangerous, Morgan.”

  “But she’ll be okay?”

  “Yes, I’m sure she will.” Mom looked at the pile of unsewn socks. “How’s the sock-sewing business coming?”

  “Slow.”

  “Oh, I did check on your socks. It looks like five pairs have sold.”

  Morgan frowned. “That’s all?”

  “I thought that was pretty good considering how slow it’s been.”

  “But that’s not even enough to pay for my deposit on the ski trip.”

  Mom stood up and ran her fingers through Morgan’s curls. “Well, here’s the good news: I’m not going to make you pay me back for getting your hair done.”

  Morgan brightened. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “And I’ll go ahead and pay you for the socks you’ve sold. That’s forty dollars. And I’ll advance you the other ten. I’m sure we’ll sell more socks this weekend. In fact, I’m hoping you’ll have some more ready for me soon. Your basket was looking empty.”

  “I’ll bring you everything that’s leftover from the bazaar.”

  “Great. I’m going to start dinner now.”

  “How about if I put up the Christmas lights?”

  “That would be fantastic. The lights and decorations are in those red and green storage bins out in the storage shed. You might as well bring all of them to the back porch so we can start going through them.”

  So Morgan set aside her sewing, put on her coat, and went out to the shed. At least she had her deposit money now. That was something.

  chapter nine

  On Friday, Morgan’s plan was to go straight home from school. She tried not to feel bad when Emily said she was riding home with Chelsea. She knew it was because Emily was going to be babysitting for friends of the Landers. It was business. Still, it was hard not to be just a little bit jealous.

  “I’d like to go with you and your dad to get a tree on Sunday,” Morgan told Carlie as they walked together.

  Amy had already turned off toward town.

  “Cool,” said Carlie. “I think Emily wants to come too.”

  “Do I need to get a permit?”

  “No, you can just pay my dad five bucks. He’s already gotten several permits.”

  “I’ve never gone out and cut down a Christmas tree before,” said Morgan. “It sounds like fun.”

  “We do it every year,” said Carlie. “It’s kind of a tradition. Hey, have you paid your deposit for the ski trip yet?”

  “I have the money now,” said Morgan. “But I’ll have to wait to do it in the morning when I go to the bazaar.”

  “Good. It’d be terrible if you didn’t go.”

  Morgan considered this. “Yeah, maybe I should call the church and tell them to save my spot … and that I’ll pay tomorrow.”

  “Yeah,” agreed Carlie as they entered their mobile-home park. “You should definitely do that as soon as you get home.”

  “See ya tomorrow.” Morgan waved to Carlie as she turned toward her colorful-looking house. Grandma had already turned on the Christmas lights. Morgan was glad that she’d put them up last night. It made everything look happy and cheerful. Morgan just hoped that Grandma wasn’t overdoing it. They had discussed everything at the dinner table last night. And Grandma had promised to take it easy. But when Morgan opened the door, she immediately smelled cookies.

  “Grandma?” she called out in a warning tone. “What have you been doing?”

  Grandma poked her head out of the kitchen. “What, dear?” she asked innocently.

  Morgan looked to see racks of sugar cookies cooling and shook her finger at her grandmother. “You’re not supposed to be doing things like this.”

  Grandma smiled sheepishly. “I just couldn’t help myself.”

  “But Mom said —”

  “I know, I know, but I was feeling really spunky. And I had a hankering for some good sugar cookies.”

  Morgan looked at the messy kitchen and then took Grandma by the arm. “Okay, I promise not to tell Mom if you go and sit down for the rest of the day.”

  “What about the —”

  “I’ll clean it up, Grandma. You just go and rest, okay?”

  “Well, I guess I can’t argue,” said Grandma.

  “No, you can’t.”

  “I was going to freeze some of those,” said Grandma, “to decorate later.”

  “So how do I do that?” asked Morgan as she helped Grandma to her chair where Grandma gave her step-by-step directions. “That sounds pretty simple,” said Morgan. “Anything else?”

  “Well, I was hankering after a cup of tea.”

  “I’ll make it,” said Morgan firmly. “You just stay here and sit. Please.”

  Grandma chuckled. “Yes, dear. Whatever you say, dear.”

  Then Morgan made Grandma some tea and began to clean up the kitchen. By the time everything was cleaned up and put away, it was after four o’clock, and Grandma was happily watching Oprah.

  “Thank you, honey,” she called out as Morgan went to her room.

  Morgan looked at the pile of unsewn socks and then at the clock. If she could manage to sew two pairs an hour, she would have them all finished by eleven o’clock. That was if she didn’t take any breaks, which wasn’t likely. Just the same, it seemed possible, and she set to work. Still, it was slow going. Using the stretchy knit stitch was time consuming. But not using it would ruin the socks. Morgan thought about people in other countries as she sewed. She’d heard stories of children who were forced to work for long hours every day in sweat shops, where they were paid only pennies per hour. At least that wasn’t the case with her. Still, the sooner she ended this project the happier she would be. She had always enjoyed sewing and creating, but doing the same thing over and over again was incredibly boring. At least the sock fabric patterns were different.

  Morgan sewed until six o’clock, when Mom arrived home with Chinese takeout from Asian Gardens. “Amy said to tell you hi,” Mom said as she set the white boxes out on the table. “Boy, were they busy tonight.”

  “That should make Amy happy,” said Morgan. “More tips.”

  “Are you girls all set for the parade?” asked Grandma. Then Morgan told them about yesterday’s fitting and how the elf outfits looked pretty good.

  “And how are your socks coming?” asked Mom.

  “If I stick with it, I should have them all done in time for the bazaar tomorrow.”

  “And then you’ll bring me what’s left?”

  “Hopefully there won’t be any left,” said Morgan with a grin.

  After they finished eating, Mom excused Morgan to return to her sewing. “I’ll handle cleanup tonight,” she told her as she tossed a carton into the trash.

  So Morgan returned to sewing. Thanks to things like broken needles, running out of thread, or silly mistakes, it was taking longer than her time estimate. Yet, she was determined not to quit until she was done. It was past midnight when she finally finished the last sock. She turned off the light on the sewing machine and let out a big sigh. Sure, it was hard, but she was done. And hopefully these socks would sell like hotcakes, and she would make enough money in one day to pay for the ski trip and then some. “Time to get up,” called Mom the next morning.

  “Huh?” Morgan blinked blurry eyes toward the clock. “Isn’t it Saturday?”

  “You asked me to wake you up before nine,” said Mom.

  “Oh, yeah,” said Morgan, jumping out of bed. “The bazaar. Can I still get a ride with you?”

  “If you can be ready in twenty minutes.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Morgan was already pulling off her pajamas and reaching for her elf costume.

  “How is the Queen of Socks?” asked Grandma, poking her head in the doorway.

  “All done,” said Morgan as she tugged on her tights. “But I haven’t had time to make tags or anything.”

  Grandma came over to look at the pile of socks. “You do nice work, Morgan. Say, maybe I could safety pin the pairs together.
Would that help?”

  “That’d be awesome,” said Morgan as she put on a red turtleneck to wear under the elf costume.

  While Morgan dressed and ate a quick breakfast of a banana and milk, Grandma managed to safety pin all the pairs of socks together then put them in a large plastic bag. “Now, maybe you can just make a sign that says eight dollars a pair, and you’ll be good to go.”

  “Great idea.” Morgan was stuffing her elf shoes and hat into her backpack. “Thanks, Grandma!”

  Grandma frowned. “I just wish I could work at the bazaar today.”

  “Mother,” said Morgan’s mom in a stern voice as she pulled on her cape. “We discussed this already. You really must take it easy. There’s some leftover Chinese food in the fridge. And I do not want you to do anything except sit in your chair, watch TV, and knit.”

  “Am I allowed to read?”

  “Yes.”

  Then Morgan and Mom kissed Grandma good-bye and went on their way. Morgan felt sorry for Grandma being stuck at home, but under the circumstances, it seemed the only option.

  “I can go home after the Christmas parade,” said Morgan. “To be with Grandma, I mean.”

  “Oh, that would be nice, sweetie. I know she feels bad about missing out on things. Maybe you could tell her how everything went.”

  “Sure.”

  Then Mom dropped Morgan at the church. “I’ll see you at the Christmas parade,” she told her, holding up her camera. “I’m going to close the shop while it’s going.”

  Morgan waved and ran into the church. She headed straight for the office, pulling out her registration form and deposit money. Distracted with cleaning up Grandma’s baking mess, she’d forgotten to call yesterday.

  “Can I help you?” asked a woman that Morgan didn’t recognize.

  “Where’s Mrs. Albert?” asked Morgan.

  “She’ll be in later,” said the woman.

  “Oh.” Morgan laid her registration form on the counter and started looking for her money. “I’m registering for the middle-school ski trip.”