Winter’s Awakening
Page 21
“I should think that answer would be obvious. We needed gut friends like that. And they needed us, too.”
Looking around at all of his friends and family who had already taken their seats, he spied the Allen family sitting in a back corner. Of course their English way of dress made them stick out like sore thumbs, but other than that Joshua had the feeling that if their clothes and hair was different, they might fit right in.
They were smiling as broadly as everyone else, and looked just as pleased to be there.
His mother followed his gaze, then narrowed her eyes. “Just look at that. There is our Anson, sitting with Ty and looking shifty. He better not get in a bit of trouble today.”
“Well, it has been two months since he broke his arm. And a whole three weeks since he sprained his foot.”
She visibly shuddered. “Don’t even mention such a thing. You’ll jinx him, to be sure.”
He felt so free, he chuckled. “Perhaps we need to encourage Charlie to take up doctoring. Then we could have someone nearby to help patch up Anson.”
His mother brightened. “Oh, but that would be wonderful-gut! I’ll speak to Charlie about that. But in the meantime, I’m going to go fetch your bruder Caleb and remind him not to get his new shirt soiled.”
Soon it was time for the wedding service to begin. As always, many prayers were spoken and many passages from the Bible were read aloud. Joshua did his best to listen as closely as he could, though it was hard to look in anyone else’s direction besides Gretta’s.
The love he saw in her eyes humbled him. Oh, to think he once took such looks for granted! Now he hoped he’d see such sweetness in her expression every day. He silently vowed to do his best to make her happy.
Three hours later, when the service was over and their vows had been said, smiles abounded when they walked out to everyone as husband and wife.
Before they were claimed by all their family and guests, Joshua bent close to her ear. “You made me so happy today, Gretta.”
“I’m happy, too. And filled with love for you.”
“I love you, too.” Right as he was about to kiss her cheek, Joshua was pulled away. Almost everyone from their community had come to share in their good day and were ready to wish them well. Good-naturedly, he caught Gretta’s eye. “I’ll be back.”
“I know,” she said with a smile.
Five hours had passed and Gretta was thinking she had had enough time away from Joshua. She was eager to start her life with him, by his side. Now she knew that together they could accomplish most anything.
“Gretta? Joshua is looking for you, dear,” her mother said.
“Thanks, Mamm. I’ll go find him.”
“Are you happy?”
“I’m very happy. Thank you for making this day so special for me.”
Her mother hugged her tight. “You are so special to me. You know that, yes?”
“I do. I love you too, Mamm.”
Wiping a happy tear from her eyes, her mother gestured to where Joshua stood, gazing at Gretta like she was the only woman in the room.
With a feeling of contentment and purpose she had never experienced before, Gretta walked to him.
Dreams had come true and with those dreams came a new light. Gretta realized the light had been shining through all this time. It had simply taken a chink in their daily lives in order to appreciate the brilliance.
Like her dreams, now spring was awakening, bringing with it a new day’s hopes and wishes. A new season of opportunities.
And just for a second, just before she reached her husband’s side, Gretta held on to the feeling and gave thanks.
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for picking up Winter’s Awakening! I hope you enjoyed Joshua and Gretta’s story.
I vividly remember the first time I visited Sugarcreek, Ohio. It was in the spring, and the rolling hills, leafy trees, and dark, rich pastures were absolutely beautiful. While there, we visited a number of quaint shops and inns. Some looked distinctly Amish. Others were more Swiss inspired. After eating pie at a local restaurant and visiting a few quilt shops, I knew I couldn’t wait to return. Luckily, I have been able to visit several more times—but each visit always feels like it goes by much too fast.
I feel very fortunate that Avon Inspire allowed me to write the Seasons in Sugarcreek series. Each day at my computer, I get to pretend I’m there! I have to admit, it’s a great way to spend a day. While the “Sugarcreek” in my book is not an exact match to the actual town, I hope I was able to convey a sense of the beauty and charm of the area.
At the moment, I’m hard at work writing Spring’s Renewal, Book Two of the series. Already I’ve fallen in love with my heroine, Clara. I hope you’ll like her, too. Of course, Lilly returns. So do Joshua and Gretta and the rest of the Allens and Grabers. Something unexpected happens to all of them, too.
I love receiving e-mails and letters from readers. If you have a moment, please visit my Web site (www.shelleyshepardgray.com) and let me know what you thought about the book! Or, you may write to me at: Shelley Shepard Gray, 10663 Loveland-Madeira Rd., Loveland, OH 45140.
In the meantime, God bless you all.
Shelley
Questions for Discussion
Chapter 1 opens with the Graber and Allen kids observing each other and coming to some correct—and some incorrect—conclusions. What has been your experience with first impressions? Are they usually correct? How does a person make a favorable first impression to you?
Divorce is almost nonexistent in the Old Order Amish culture. How do you think that influences Amish courting couples? Compare their dating norms to the rest of today’s society.
Lilly Allen’s pregnancy weighs heavily on each member of her family. How could some of their disagreements have been handled better?
How do you see Lilly handling the pregnancy and being a single mother in the future?
What do you think about Joshua and Lilly’s friendship? Does it seem true to life? Or, do you think it’s almost impossible to have a close friendship with a person of the opposite sex?
Each main character in the novel experiences an “awakening”—a realization that he or she needs to forge a different path in life. Gretta’s awakening revolves around her future with Josh and her own experiences at home. No matter what, she doesn’t want to have a marriage similar to her parents’ marriage. What are Joshua’s and Lilly’s “awakenings”?
How does the Pennsylvania Dutch saying, “We Grow Old So Fast and Wise So Slow” pertain to Winter’s Awakening? Which characters could illustrate this saying?
The scripture verse from Philippians, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God is calling us,” guided my writing of the novel. I felt that each character needed to examine his or her relationship with the Lord in order to gain the peace and goals they wanted. Could this verse ever be applied to you, or to someone you love?
Have you ever been in the Grabers’ situation? Have you ever lost good neighbors and had to learn to get along with far different types of people next door? What were some of the obstacles that you overcame?
The next two books in the series will once again focus on these two families. What do you think might be some of the obstacles that the Allens or Grabers will encounter?
About the Author
SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY is the author of the Sisters of the Heart series: Hidden, Wanted, and Forgiven. She lives with her family in southern Ohio where she writes full time.
www.shelleyshepardgray.com
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Also by Shelley Shepard Gray
Sisters of the Heart series
FORGIVEN
WANTED
HIDDEN
Credits
Cover photograph of woman by Benjamin Hill
Cover photograph of landscape ©
Shutterstock images
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
WINTER’S AWAKENING. Copyright © 2010 by Shelley Shepard Gray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gray, Shelley Shepard.
Winter’s awakening/by Shelley Shepard Gray.
p. cm.—(Seasons of sugarcreek ; bk. 1)
ISBN 978-0-06-185222-0 (pbk.)
1. Amish—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3607.R3966W365 2010
813'.6—dc22
2009036259
EPub Edition © December 2009 ISBN: 978-0-06-196826-6
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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