by Irene Brand
The years she and Mason had shared flashed through Norah’s mind. They’d been very good years! Her association with H & H had been a true missionary endeavor. After Anna Marie was born, Norah had limited her role in the program, but she and Mason had continued to provide the ranch and the horses. Eventually the program had become so successful that H & H bought the Bar 8 to use as a year-round therapeutic facility for handicapped people of all ages.
Although Mason had doubted his ability to be a good parent, he needn’t have worried. It was almost as if he’d regained his youth when he became a father. He’d given the kids guidance in preparing their 4-H projects. He’d never missed a ball game when either of the children played. And he’d provided for them financially by purchasing large insurance policies that matured when Anna Marie and Chris were ready for college. Although he’d nearly driven Norah to distraction during the final months of each pregnancy, fearing that she wouldn’t survive, he spent every minute in the delivery room with her. He suffered every pain she experienced and was there to rejoice when she gave birth to their daughter and son.
Ah, Mason, she thought, how God has blessed us! For not only had He sent them a daughter with a missionary zeal equal to Norah’s, but Mason had heirs for the ranch. Intercepting her glance, Mason mouthed, “I love you,” and the song that had its beginning in Norah’s heart the first time she’d met Mason exploded into a mighty crescendo.
Dear Reader,
In Song of Her Heart, the heroine couldn’t determine how God wanted her to fulfill her teenage vow to become a missionary. After a lot of soul-searching throughout the book, she finally learns that if she puts her trust in God and follows His leadership, she’ll be in the right place at the right time to witness for Him.
I’m starting this letter at the beginning of the year 2002, having great expectations of what God will do through me in the coming year. But also looking backward to the year 2001, when my husband and I had the opportunity to witness our faith under circumstances that we could never have envisioned.
For over a year, we had been scheduled for a two-week tour of Ireland September 6-20, 2001. The tour started off on a happy note, as we took advantage of a long layover at Kennedy International Airport to go into Manhattan for a visit and lunch with some of the Steeple Hill editors. As we drove into the city by taxi on September 6, we enjoyed the view of the skyline, noting especially the Twin Towers, never dreaming that on our return from Ireland, they would be gone.
We were eating lunch in an Irish pub in Glengarrif when a waitress told us what was happening in New York. The fourteen of us on the tour were devastated at being away from home when tragedy struck, yet we bonded together with our Irish guide and bus driver in a way that would not have been possible under normal circumstances.
To observe the nationwide three minutes of silence on the day of mourning declared by the Irish government, our group gathered on a cliff overlooking the Bay of Dingle. After the period of silence, oral prayer was offered, and then we sang “America” and “God Bless America.” There wasn’t a dry eye among us. Our personal faith and our belief in the omnipresence and goodness of God not only sustained us during that tragic time, but seemed also to be a blessing to our group members. We were in the right place at the right time.
If you’d like to contact me, my mailing address is P.O. Box 2770, Southside, WV 25187.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1036-3
SONG OF HER HEART
Copyright © 2003 by Irene Brand
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