A month or so before I began writing, I discovered The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer (highly recommended, if you haven’t read it). In this powerful book, Tozer gives a potent reminder that we were designed to connect to God—that we need to seek Him, and we need to listen. “The facts are that God is not silent,” Tozer writes, “has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak.”
The Religious Society of Friends spent hours each week listening to God’s Spirit. When the Quakers in Liberty and across our country actively sought God almost two hundred years ago, many of them were urged to help slaves on their treacherous journey north. Even though the Quakers in Indiana were initially divided over whether or not to support the abolition of slavery, by the late 1850s most Quakers were devout abolitionists. They opened their homes to runaway slaves and risked everything to assist them, because they believed all men and women are equal in God’s sight.
Liberty is now a peaceful farming community of almost two thousand people, surrounded by creeks, hills, farmland, and forest. The mills that used to run along these creeks are gone now, but the Salem Society of Friends still gather in the same meetinghouse where they met in 1850, and right down the road from this meetinghouse stands the home of well-known Underground Railroad conductor and stationmaster William Beard. It was an honor for me to learn about the remarkable heritage of this town and climb up hidden stairs and explore secret rooms where runaways used to hide. And it was an honor to remember all those who risked (and sometimes lost) their lives for their friends.
Blessings,
Melanie Dobson
www.melaniedobson.com
Want a peek into local American life—past and present?
The Love Finds YouTM series published by Summerside Press
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Love Finds You in Miracle, Kentucky by Andrea Boeshaar
ISBN: 978-1-934770-37-5
Love Finds You in Snowball, Arkansas by Sandra D. Bricker
ISBN: 978-1-934770-45-0
Love Finds You in Romeo, Colorado by Gwen Ford Faulkenberry
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Love Finds You in Valentine, Nebraska by Irene Brand
ISBN: 978-1-934770-38-2
Love Finds You in Humble, Texas by Anita Higman
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Love Finds You in Last Chance, California by Miralee Ferrell
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Love Finds You in Maiden, North Carolina by Tamela Hancock Murray
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Love Finds You in Paradise, Pennsylvania by Loree Lough
ISBN: 978-1-934770-66-5
Love Finds You in Treasure Island, Florida by Debby Mayne
ISBN: 978-1-934770-80-1
Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana, by Melanie Dobson
ISBN: 978-1-934770-74-0
Love Finds You in Poetry, Texas by Janice Hanna
ISBN: 978-1-935416-16-6
Love Finds You in Revenge, Ohio by Lisa Harris
ISBN: 978-1-934770-81-8
COMING SOON
Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon by Melody Carlson
ISBN: 978-1-935416-18-0
Love Finds You in Charm, Ohio by Birdie Etchison
ISBN: 978-1-935416-17-3
Love Finds You in Bethlehem, New Hampshire by Lauralee Bliss
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Love Finds You in North Pole, Alaska by Loree Lough
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Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana Page 27
