Miriam and the Stranger

by Jerry S. Eicher

  Everyone was tired, Miriam told herself. She’d have to beome better acquainted now that Mose was the bishop in the district. No doubt her ear would be the first one many of these women would spill their troubles into. Maybe she should reconsider the decision to complete the school year in Oklahoma and marry Mose soon after Christmas. If Mose brought up the subject of their wedding date again, she would tell him her change of perspective. A winter date would be right after the regular wedding season, but these were special circumstances. Betsy could prepare herself in that time and take over the schoolhouse. Miriam would miss the children and the prairie countryside, but this was now home, or soon would be. She had a responsibility the Lord was leading her into. Tyler was still back home, but she wouldn’t have to face him much longer—if he was still around when she arrived back in Oklahoma. Miriam felt her face redden at the thought. Why had Tyler intruded upon this sacred moment when the call of God had been so clearly expressed in Mose’s life?

  “You have a gut evening now,” Esther said in Miriam’s ear as she smiled.

  “And you too.” Miriam smiled back. How quickly everything had changed. She felt almost like a new woman. No wonder the Lord had led her here early so she could experience this with Mose.

  Miriam lowered her head and walked toward Mose’s buggy. As she pulled herself up into the seat, she gave him a warm smile.

  He didn’t smile back.

  “Mose,” she touched his arm. “The Lord has chosen you. I’m so honored I could be here today. I’ve never been affected like this before.”

  Mose jiggled the lines, and his horse took off. He still didn’t say anything, and Miriam waited. Maybe the shock of the ordination had rendered the man speechless.

  “There is much that must now be done,” Mose finally said. “Starting with our own lives, Miriam. I’m glad to see that you have also accepted the call of God. As you should know, this carries over into many things in our lives. We now have to adjust. We must together seek to walk worthy of this high calling of a bishop.”

  Miriam’s mind whirled. What could Mose mean?

  “Yah,” she allowed. “I saw how the women looked at me after the service. I expect they will come to me for counsel—once we are wed, of course. Is this what you speak of?”

  “Not exactly.” Mose’s voice was sharp. “I speak of the example you and I must be for the others. Nothing in our lives can bring reproach to the name of the Lord or the reputation of the community.”

  “Yah,” Miriam agreed. “I expected nothing less. That’s how I have always lived my life.”

  Mose gave Miriam a stern look. “Okay. We will start then with your dresses. I know they are in line with the Ordnung now, but I want them a few inches longer. The world presses in on us all the time, and drift is easy. The people must see that my frau goes the other way, toward the Lord’s ways and not out into the darkness.”

  “You… you think… that I…” Miriam couldn’t find the words. Her dress was already a clear example of godly living. Moments ago neither Esther nor Mary had looked at her with any questions in their eyes. But Mose apparently wanted more.

  “And your stockings.” Mose glanced down at Miriam’s feet. “You will wear only black ones from now on. Any off color is only more drift in my mind. We will run this district so there is no question where their bishop stands on holiness. We will do this even if there aren’t enough votes to forbid dark brown stockings in the Ordnung.”

  “But I have always worn these.” Miriam tried to speak evenly. “And Daett is known for his strictness, and I have never rebelled.”

  Mose nodded. “That is gut. Your life has obviously prepared you well for your role as a bishop’s frau. For that I’m thankful. And you will have plenty of time to make these changes before we say the vows during the next wedding season.”

  “Mose, please…” Miriam began.

  His glance silenced her. “I hope you don’t plan to protest. That wouldn’t be fitting on this holy day when the Lord’s will was shown so clearly before the whole congregation.”

  Mose’s words stung. Why had he changed so? His selection as bishop was the obvious answer. But such a change for her—and now of her—was so unexpected. She had thought the ride home would be joyful with his selection, but that was clearly not to be the case. And all thoughts of giving him a hug had flown far away.

  “You are still the woman I thought you were.” Mose patted Miriam on the arm. His eyes gleamed for a moment as they rested on Miriam’s face. “You are still beautiful, but I must not think of that now. Our wedding date will come soon enough.”

  Miriam kept her head down. Mose hadn’t even asked her to marry him yet. Did he plan to skip that part, as if her acceptance didn’t matter? Or was her presence here today all the answer Mose needed? Now that Mose was the bishop, his word was apparently sufficient to move things forward on their own.

  You haven’t asked me to marry you, Miriam wanted to say, but the words stuck in her throat. Mose expected her to say yah and had saved himself the bother of asking. And here she had wanted to suggest the idea of a wedding date after Christmas. Right now the thought of a wedding even next season sent a chill up her back. But surely Mose would soften by then. He was only caught up in the emotions of the moment, and she must try to understand.

  Ten minutes later Mose approached the Yoders’s lane and slowed down. “I won’t be staying for supper as we planned,” he said. “I need to spend time in prayer and fasting. Tell your mamm I’m sorry. Maybe I can come back some other time before you leave for Oklahoma.”

  “I’m sure everyone will understand.” Miriam forced the words out. She tried to smile but her face was frozen.

  Mose pulled his horse to a stop, and Miriam climbed down. “I’ll see you at your sister’s wedding then,” Mose said, and he was gone.

  Mamm met Miriam at the front door with a strange expression on her face. “Why is Mose leaving?”

  Miriam took a deep breath. “He needs to spend time with the Lord. It’s been a shock to him, I think.”

  “Oh, dear.” Mamm took Miriam in her arms, and her face glowed. “So Mose did make bishop today. Well, that is gut news. I know the two of you will be of great service to the community and the Lord’s kingdom.”

  “He wants a wedding date in a year,” Miriam whispered.

  “A year?” Mamm held Miriam at arm’s length.

  “Yah, that’s what he wants.”

  Mamm hugged Miriam again. “That time will be here, dear, before you know it, and what a holy man. But I never thought he’d wait that long to take my daughter as his frau.”

  Miriam wasn’t sure why, but none of this seemed wise. But she was just a woman, and what did she know?

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  On Thursday of the following week, Miriam’s sister Shirley exchanged vows with Glen Weaver. The Yoders’s neighbor, Mrs. Faulkner and her husband, Charles, had been given front row seats as special guests. Miriam looked over from her position and watched as they nudged each other with big grins on their faces. They had so far taken in the three-hour service with a great show of interest and now were watching intently as with a soft smile Bishop Wagler pronounced, “In the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I now join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. They are one before the eyes of God and man and are to walk together through life until death parts them. And let no man ever separate what God has joined together today before these many witnesses.”

  Shirley’s face glowed as she held Glen’s hand and gazed into his eyes. Bishop Wagler loudly cleared his throat, and Shirley let go of Glen’s hand to lower her gaze to the floor. Glen reached out to give his new bride a quick squeeze on her arm before they both went back to their seats.

  Miriam felt a rush of heat creep up her neck. Such a display of affection in public was unusual for an Amish wedding, but Shirley and Glen were an unusual couple. They had been through much and had grown to love each other deeply. Shirley adored Glen’s soft and kind
ways, and he was taken with Shirley’s beauty and grace.

  Mose gave Glen a tolerant smile after Glen sat down, but Mose’s stern look didn’t retreat too far. If Glen hadn’t been Mose’s gut friend, she wouldn’t have been surprised if Mose would have begged off from his duty as best man today. Mose’s ordination on Sunday had changed the man, but he had shown up this morning anyway. He had been a little grumpy, but he was there.

  Earlier in the day, Glen’s hearty “Gut morning. I’m so glad you have graced us with your presence, Bishop,” had brought a momentary smile to Mose’s face.

  Now a song was given out, and Shirley’s face glowed again as the congregation sang.

  Miriam let her thoughts drift again. She hadn’t been able to please Mose all morning, especially after Mose noticed her dress. The color was a complementary dark blue that matched Shirley’s lighter blue wedding dress. But the color was not the problem. Shirley had made the dress and had missed the district’s Ordnung dress length by an inch or more. Mamm had noticed first, and they had all agreed that Shirley had made a mistake. But Shirley was out of material, and Mamm had assured them that weddings were special days and no one would mind. If some people said something—which they wouldn’t—Mamm would tell the truth. She’d say the family didn’t have the extra money to spend on dress material over a question of an inch or two in length.

  Mose hadn’t said anything this morning about the dress, but she knew what his thoughts were by his frequent stern glances. She was the only one of her family who knew about Mose’s view on the proper length of an Amish dress. No doubt Mose was disappointed that she was dressed today in a shorter dress than any Mose had ever seen her in.

  But Mose should be happy on Shirley’s wedding day, Miriam told herself. Or at least act so for Glen’s sake, if not for Shirley’s. Glen was Mose’s gut friend. Mose shouldn’t worry about an inch or so of dress length. And why had Mose been so quick to see the discrepancy? The other men in the congregation hadn’t given her a second glance.

  Even Bishop Wagler had greeted her with a smile. “Welcome back to Possum Valley, Miriam. I hope you can stay a little longer not so far in the future.”

  Bishop Wagler had turned to wink at Mose, and Mose had managed a grin. But the stern look had soon returned. Of course Mose had a right to examine her—she was, after all, his promised one. Not because Mose had asked to marry her, but because he had pronounced a wedding date on his own. Mose must think he had the right to such things now that he was ordained a bishop.

  Miriam pulled her concentration back to the present as the song came to an end. Glen and Shirley stood first and were followed by the others. Miriam fell in beside Mose as the wedding party headed for Mrs. Faulkner’s pole barn where the reception would be held. Englisha people weren’t usually involved in an Amish wedding, but Daett’s buildings were all too small for the reception. Mrs. Faulkner had offered the solution herself, and Daett surprisingly had accepted.

  Miriam kept pace with Mose’s long strides. They walked a little behind Glen and Shirley, who gave each other constant loving glances and smiles. They also whispered in low tones, which elicited Shirley’s occasional giggle.

  Mose hadn’t spoken to her since they left the ceremony, but she was to blame, Miriam told herself. What wicked thoughts she had entertained earlier about an ordained bishop. No wonder Mose was displeased with her, and he didn’t even know the half. She ought to apologize for the dress. The lack of funds in the Yoder household was no excuse. If she had asked Mrs. Faulkner for help, the woman would have driven her to Sugarcreek for more material. Mrs. Faulkner might even have taken the trip at no charge, and she could have paid for the dress material. Weren’t there matters in life more important than money? Things like your husband’s opinion? She should have connected Mose’s lecture to her on Sunday with this dress and done something about it. She still had much to learn about how to please the man and practice proper submission. An apology would be a start.

  “I’m sorry about the dress,” Miriam whispered.

  Mose didn’t look around. “So you knew about it then.”

  There was no use to fudge. The truth was better. “Yah,” Miriam admitted. “Mamm saw it first, but Shirley was out of material, and we didn’t…”

  “You don’t have to make excuses,” Mose cut her off. “There are always ways to do the right thing if a person wants to. I would have paid for the material myself rather than see you in…” Mose dropped his gaze down toward Miriam’s shoes for a moment “… that.”

  A deep blush spread over Miriam’s face.

  “I’m glad to see this thing shames you deeply,” Mose said. He appeared pleased for the first time today.

  Relief flooded Miriam. She could do the right thing after all. She could apologize. Silence fell between them as the cooks came out of Mrs. Faulkner’s pole barn to see the wedding party arrive. Most of them wore aprons over their Sunday dresses and had huge smiles on their faces. Shirley gave everyone little waves of her hand as they walked past.

  Glen went further and hollered out, “Thanks for all the hard work. I know we haven’t eaten yet, so if I die from food poisoning I want to make sure you are properly thanked.”

  The cooks laughed heartily. One of them called back, “I’ve got a special mixture of hemlock stirred up for you.”

  Hilarity ensued, and even Mose joined in with a short laugh and said, “Spare me—that’s all I ask.”

  That joke was a little self-centered, Miriam thought, but everyone chuckled.

  “Thanks again,” Glen concluded, and led the way toward the corner where the wedding party would be seated.

  Shirley had decorated the eck, as the Amish called it, the corner laid out with fruit arrangements and a hand-drawn picture of a sunrise over the words, “Where you go, I will go. Your God shall be my God, and Your people shall be my people.”

  Mose read the words and grunted his approval. “That’s a gut verse. That’s the way the Lord has ordained things. Yah! We are meant to marry within the faith.”

  “I agree,” Miriam said, but Mose didn’t answer. Instead he stared at Shirley’s fruit arrangements.

  Noticing his gaze, Shirley asked, “Aren’t they lovely?”

  Mose hesitated. “They’re okay, I guess. But worldliness often comes in through weddings first. So we cannot be too careful about the matter. Any display of the flesh is not pleasing to God.”

  Shirley appeared stunned by the rebuke, but Glen didn’t seem bothered.

  “Come on now, Mose,” Glen said, “surely you have some gut thing to say for us.”

  Mose managed to smile. “I do give you both my blessing. You are my gut friend, Glen, and you have found a frau in the Lord. I pray you will bring up many kinner in the fear of God and teach them to walk in His ways. May your paths be always blessed. And you, Shirley, may you be clothed with the glory of the Lord, and may you always remember that you are first a woman of the most high God and seek to walk humbly in His ways.”

  Shirley turned all sorts of colors at the generous blessing, which neither she nor Glen had expected. Glen though, wasn’t at a loss for words.

  “Thank you, Mose,” Glen said with a twinkle in his eye. “Or should say I ‘Bishop’? Those were words I will always treasure. And thanks for being my best man.”

  “You’re welcome,” Mose responded. “I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity unless I was home in bed deathly ill. And thanks to you for the high recommendation on this woman.” Mose gave Miriam a quick glance. “Every word you uttered in her honor has been proved true and then some. She is blessed greatly by the Lord and will bring comfort and health to my old bones.”

  Now Miriam was blushing.

  Glen laughed. “You’re not that old, Mose. Come on. Today’s my wedding day. Let us be merry.”

  “We must always walk in the fear of the Lord,” Mose replied.

  But he did smile, Miriam noticed. Glen had a gut effect on his friend, but then maybe Mose had a kind heart down inside
all that gruffness. Wasn’t that what she had told Mamm the other night? Now if she could only keep that truth in mind.

  The wedding party quieted down as people began to pour into the barn. Most of them came past the corner table to congratulate Glen and Shirley and to give their marriage the traditional Amish blessing, “May you have a good beginning, a steadfast middle, and a blessed end.”

  Mose leaned toward Miriam to whisper. “I think our wedding date should be about this time next year. I like the weather for one thing, and the autumn breeze is still in the air.”

  “Whatever you want,” Miriam whispered back. “I’ll tell Mamm before I leave for Oklahoma, and she can begin to plan.”

  Mose appeared quite pleased. “Tell her not to make a large wedding. It wouldn’t be appropriate for a…” Mose didn’t finish. He meant to say bishop, Miriam was sure.

  “We can plan the details once I’m back from schoolteaching,” Miriam said.

  Mose continued, as if Miriam hadn’t said anything. “I don’t want all of these decorations that your sister has placed up. We can’t be too careful about the example we set for the community.”

  Miriam drew in a sharp breath and voiced her concern. “Mose, my family seems to miss your high standards by a wide margin. Are you sure I’m the frau for you?”

  Mose didn’t hesitate. “It’s a settled matter, Miriam. The Lord wills our union, and you need to walk with me in the way of righteousness.”

  She might as well go for broke, Miriam figured, now that she had begun. “Shouldn’t we be wed in the early summer? Once I’m back from Oklahoma?”

  Surprisingly, Mose looked pleased. “I appreciate your eagerness, Miriam, but this must be done in the Lord, and yah, I do need a frau around the house, but I also never had any kinner with Rachel. So that gives me more flexibility. I have a chance to set an example for others. In our case we must not give way to the desires of the flesh. We must wait, and there will still be a whole life ahead of us… if the Lord wills it.”