by Adina Senft
“We’re going to be a family now,” he’d said. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have at my side than the young man who’s going to be my son. It will be like your Michael being there, in a way. I’ll make my promises to you in front of the Gmee, but at the same time, I’ll make a few to him.”
“What promises?” she’d teased.
But he’d grown serious. “That I’ll love you for as long as God gives us together. That I’ll look after you with everything I’ve got. And while I can never be the father he was to them, I hope I can be a good influence and an example to your boys, at least. And a friend.”
Besides Sarah and Henry themselves, the happiest person in the congregation packed into the house was Caleb, who insisted on telling everyone he had seen this coming for months, and in fact was the person who had brought the couple together.
They let him think so, though Sarah knew who it had really been. God had had something special in mind for both of them, after their losses and trials. It had just taken a little time to soften their hearts and change their directions so they could walk together on the same road, both guided by His hand.
Across the space between the men’s side and the women’s, Henry caught Sarah’s eye. It would never do to smile, but she saw it in his gaze. He wore a blue shirt that matched the color of her dress, but Corinne had made his wedding suit as a gift. “You’ll be making his pants and shirts from now on,” she’d said when she brought it over the week before, “but at least there’s no blood from needle pricks on these ones.”
Since he’d had no Amish clothes, the women of the family had discreetly pitched in to help her fill that need, until finally they had taken the Englisch clothes to the Goodwill in Whinburg and donated the lot.
And then it was time. Sarah rose to stand next to her bridegroom before everyone—the Willow Creek church; Henry’s little sister Lizzie, who had brought her four children and the good wishes of all the relatives in Ohio; all of Sarah’s sisters, their husbands, and children, who filled two Englisch vans and had to leave at four in the morning to make it from Mifflin County in time; Ruth and Isaac Lehman and their daughter, Amelia, and son-in-law, Eli Fischer, with their children; and at the back of the living room, Sarah saw a face that filled her with even more happiness, if that were possible.
Ginny Hochstetler sat next to the budding young potter Eric Parker, whose father had brought him from Connecticut for the weekend so he could be part of the celebration. Ginny’s face held nothing but beaming happiness for them, and the last little corner of Sarah’s heart filled with peace.
Henry’s voice was soft as he made his confession, and then it was her turn.
“Can you confess, sister, that you accept this our brother, and that you will not leave him until death separates you?” asked Bishop Dan Troyer. “Do you believe this is from God, and you have come so far by faith and prayer?”
“Ja,” she said softly. Oh, yes. Nothing less than faith and prayer had brought them to this moment.
They vowed their loyalty and their care for each other through sickness, health, and adversity of both the natural and the spiritual kind, and then it was done.
She was no longer Michael’s Sarah Yoder, but “Englisch Henry’s” Sarah Byler.
The next several hours passed in a blur of well-wishes and food and laughter—especially when Carrie Weaver’s little girl and Amelia Fischer’s little boy somehow got mixed up with a cake and a decorative tablecloth and pulled it over on themselves.
“Now, there’s a match made in Heaven,” Henry said, doing his manful best not to laugh as the blushing mothers set their children to rights and several others whisked away the evidence and cleaned up the floor.
“We’ll see what happens sixteen years from now.” Sarah smiled into his eyes from her place next to him at the Eck, the corner table reserved for the bride and groom and their supporters. “If it’s God’s will.”
Wasn’t that the lesson they’d both had to learn before God was able to bring them together in the way He had planned? Henry had to learn to surrender his own will to that of the One who knew better than he did what he needed most. And Sarah had had to learn to broaden her understanding of who exactly was the family God wanted her to care for. Her own, certainly. But more than that, His family and beloved children, of whom Henry and Joe were the very newest members.
There was nowhere as safe as the place where God wanted you, and Sarah’s soul rejoiced that Henry could share it with her.
Later that evening, after everything had been cleaned up and the guests had gone back to farms and milking, and after they’d had a big family supper at Isaac and Corinne’s before the out-of-town visitors went to find their beds for the night, Henry tucked Sarah’s hand into the crook of his arm.
“Kumme mit, mei Fraa,” he said softly. “Let’s go home.”
Were there any sweeter words a man could say? Because her home was his now. Her acres had become their acres, and her yard his yard. And that was just as it should be.
But the garden was still hers, she thought with a smile.
They walked together along the well-worn path between the two properties, the smell of the freshly mown lawn and Corinne’s roses heavy in the soft night air. Fireflies danced all around them, their light warm and liquid compared to the frost of the stars over their heads. Sarah extended a hand to brush the delicate heads of the Queen Anne’s lace as she passed; since she didn’t cut her hill, it had grown above her knees now.
“I have some news,” Henry said, breathing deeply of the scent of the meadow.
“You saw Simon sitting with Rosanne Kanagy at supper? I put them together on purpose, you know. Bride’s privilege.”
“Son of the bride’s request, you mean,” Henry said wisely. “I know how these things work. No, I meant other news. About the farm.”
She drew a breath of anticipation. “Lizzie likes it?”
His sister and her family were staying at the old place until Monday.
“More than likes it. I don’t know what it is—she seems to have far clearer memories of Aendie Sadie and Onkel Jeremiah than I do, even though she’s two years younger. She says she’s always loved the place and she’s going to talk to her husband about moving as soon as she gets back. I hope it will stay in the family.” He squeezed her hand.
“Oh, I hope he agrees.”
“It will be gut to have her here. Lizzie and I always got on much better than Anne and I ever did. Not that I don’t love her, but Lizzie holds a special place in my heart. And she has a good man. They’ll be able to make a success of it again, and with their boys just coming into their teens, there will be lots of work to keep them busy.”
They crossed the log bridge over the creek and walked across the lawn. On one side was Sarah’s quilt garden, with the peas already climbing their trellises and the tomatoes as high as her knee. The smell of her herbs was strong at night—lemon balm, verbena, elderflower, and calendula. On the other side, behind the orchard and nestled under the hill that divided their two properties, the bones of his new studio rose from their foundations. It would be spacious and airy, yet snug, for Henry had given Jon Hostetler explicit instructions about drafts and storage and temperature control when it came to green ware.
Henry had acquired a couple of clients since the debacle with D.W. Frith…people who seemed quite happy to adjust themselves to the schedule of a man who put his family and his church first before commerce.
Sarah slowed at the edge of the lawn, under the maples, and Henry stopped beside her, gazing at the house. Before they’d gone over to Paul and Barbara’s for the night, Caleb and Simon had lit the lamps, the golden light shining out to welcome and guide the newly married couple across the fields.
“Kumme mit, mei Herr,” Sarah whispered, echoing Henry’s earlier words. His hand was warm around hers as they climbed the steps together. “We’re home.”
Glossary
Aendi: auntie
Ausbund: Amish hymnbook
Bischt du kalt?: Are you cold?
Bob: bun; hairstyle worn by Amish girls and women
Bobblin: babies
Bohnesupp: bean soup, often served at lunch after church
Daadi Haus: “grandfather house”—a separate home for the older folks
Daed, Daadi: grandpa
Dat: dad, father
Deitsch: Pennsylvania Dutch language
Demut: humble
Denki: thank you
Die Botschaft: Amish weekly newspaper
Dochder: daughter
Dokterfraa: female healer
Englisch: non–Amish people
Fraa: woman, wife
Gelassenheit: humility, submission
Gott: God
Gmee: church community in a district
Grummbeere: potatoes
Guder mariye: good morning
Gut: good
Herr, der: the Lord
Hinkel: hens
Ischt du okay?: Are you okay?
Ischt gut: It’s good.
Ischt krank: Is sick.
Ja: yes
Kapp: prayer covering worn by plain women
Kinner: children
Kumme mit, [mei Herr, mei Fraa]: Come with me, [my husband, my wife].
Liewi: dear, darling
Maedel, Maedeln: young girl, girls
Mamm, Memm: mother, mom
Mann: husband, man
Maud: maid, household helper
Meinding, die: the shunning
Neh: no
Newesitzer: lit. “side sitter,” or the bride or groom’s supporter
Nichts?/Nix?: Is it not so?
Ordnung: discipline, or standard of behavior and dress unique to each community
Rumspringe: “running around”—the season of freedom for Amish youth between sixteen and the time they marry or choose not to marry
Uffgeva: giving up of one’s will, submission
Verhuddelt: confused, mixed-up
Was duschde hier?: What are you doing here?
Was ischt?: What is it?
Wie geht’s?: How goes it?
Youngie: young people
Acknowledgments
My thanks to herbalist Paula Grainger, who is so generous with her expertise and willing to help heal my imaginary people. Thanks also to my amazing team at FaithWords—Christina Boys, Katie Connors, Virginia Hensley, and Julee Brand—for making these books not only beautiful, but the best they can be. And thanks always to Jeff for his unstinting support, and for his willingness to pack up the pickup and head off on the next research adventure.
Reading Group Guide
Have you enjoyed getting to know Sarah Yoder and her family?
Do you think Sarah has grown as a person and as a child of God as she treats the members of her community?
What do you think Henry’s greatest difficulty was in this book? Have his conflicts changed since we met him in Herb of Grace?
One of the themes in Balm of Gilead is that real friends tell each other the truth, even when it might not be what the other person wants to hear. This is based on Psalm 51: Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Have you ever been in a position to do this? What kind of experience did you have?
Do you think that friendship is a balm that can heal life’s hurts? Can you share a time when you experienced this for yourself?
In the unwritten period between the last chapter and the Epilogue, when Henry was taking baptism classes and before he joined church, do you think that Sarah allowed their relationship to be public?
Do you think it’s wrong to put conditions on love?
Amanda Yoder has had a hard time in the relationship department. What do you think she’ll do now?
If Silas Lapp comes to visit his friends in Oakfield, and decides to court Amanda, do you think it’s right that Amanda should settle for being second best, if it means having a home and family of her own?
Has God been able to speak to you through books, nature, and reading about the Amish? What lessons have you appreciated the most?
Also by Adina Senft
The Healing Grace Novels
Herb of Grace
Keys of Heaven
The Amish Quilt Series
The Wounded Heart
The Hidden Life
The Tempted Soul
Available from FaithWords wherever books are sold.
Praise for Adina Senft
Herb of Grace
“Senft is a talented author and her research on various herbs is a welcome surprise to readers. The story incorporates facts about herbs, what each of them can be used for and what will happen if used incorrectly. This sweet romance has a believable storyline with a lot of heart.”
—RT Book Reviews
“With a complex mix of both younger and older characters and a complex story line, this book is truly a success.”
—Brodart Books & Library Services
“[A] genuine must read for those who love Amish fiction. Readers will not be able to put this book down until finished, it is just that great and filled with rich characterization. Herb of Grace is a five star recommended book.”
—AmishReader.blogspot.com
The Wounded Heart
“This relatable story, which launches Senft’s Amish Quilt series, shows that while waiting to see God’s plan can be difficult, remembering to put Jesus first, others next and yourself last (“JOY”) is necessary.”
—RT Book Reviews
“With this quaint, gentle read, Senft’s promising series is off to a good start and will make a nice alternative for Jerry S. Eicher readers who want to try a new author.”
—Library Journal
“Senft perfectly captures the Amish setting of the novel. Amelia is an endearing character, and there were a few laugh-out-loud moments for me that I wasn’t even expecting. Although this is the first book I have read by the author, she has been added to my ‘must read’ list. If you are a fan of Amish fiction, then plan on reading The Wounded Heart soon!”
—Christian Fiction Addiction
The Hidden Life
“I absolutely loved The Hidden Life! Nothing is as enjoyable as feeling the same way the characters do throughout the story and believing that you are mixed into the same world….The Hidden Life is full of conflict, romance, and drama! Overall I felt Adina captured the Amish way of life with fine detail. Be prepared to become an even bigger fan of Adina’s after you read this book and you will be eagerly anticipating the next installment The Tempted Soul just like me!”
—Destination Amish
The Tempted Soul
“I do declare that Adina has saved the best story for last. I loved this book! Saying that it is a heartfelt story just doesn’t seem like it does the book justice.”
—Destination Amish
The Healing Grace Series
Herb of Grace
Book One
To help make ends meet, Amish widow Sarah Yoder becomes an herbal healer using the plants she grows in her garden. As Sarah compiles her herbs, she awaits God’s healing in the life of a man who rues a decision he made years ago, and in Henry Byler, a lonely prodigal with whom she shares a budding—and forbidden—attraction.
Keys of Heaven
Book Two
While treating a woman for infertility, Amish herbalist Sarah Yoder does her best to accept that Henry Byler will never return to the Amish church—in fact, he has taken a pottery commission that will ensure plenty of worldly recognition. But what happens when Sarah and Henry are called upon to help a runaway Englisch boy—and it unexpectedly brings them closer together?
Available now in print and electronic formats from FaithWords wherever books are sold.
Visit the neighboring community of Whinburg, Pennsylvania
in the Amish Quilt Series
The Wounded Heart
Book One
Widowed with two young children, A
melia Beiler struggles to run her late husband’s business until Eli Fischer buys it. Eli has a personal interest in her, but when she’s diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Amelia feels she must keep her distance in order to protect him.
The Hidden Life
Book Two
Thirty-year-old Emma Stolzfus cares for her elderly mother by day and secretly writes stories by night, her hidden life shared only with close friends. But when a New York literary agent approaches her about her work, it will change her life in unexpected ways.
The Tempted Soul
Book Three
After years of marriage, Carrie and Melvin Miller fear they’ll never be blessed with children. Carrie is intrigued by the medical options available to the Englisch in the same situation, but her husband objects. Is God revealing a different path to motherhood, or is Carrie’s longing for a child tempting her to stray from her Amish beliefs?
Available now in print and electronic formats from FaithWords wherever books are sold.
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Contents
Cover
