A Baby by Easter

by Lois Richer

  There was no other choice, Susannah realized. She had to trust that God loved her. In that moment she realized the truth of that Scripture verse David had written. God was working out a glorious purpose in her life. He’d helped her during the fire; He’d sent her to a good home to grow up in; He’d led her to David and Darla.

  “Susannah?” Darla touched her hand, her wise eyes soft. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m scared, Darla. What if something goes wrong? What if the baby needs help?” She wanted to trust, but she hurt so much and now the fears and worries she’d kept tamped down for so long rose in a tumult of terror. “What if I did something to hurt my baby? What if God is going to punish it because of me?”

  “No, Susannah.” Darla shook her head firmly. “God isn’t like that. He loves us. That’s all. Love.” She spread her hands.

  And finally the truth penetrated to Susannah’s heart. God was about forgiveness, not punishment. The guilt she felt, the condemnation she’d lived with for years—that didn’t come from God. That was something she put on herself. She’d wanted her baby to be adopted because she was scared—scared to risk moving past the fear, scared to risk being hurt by loving David, scared to accept that she could be more than she’d allowed herself to dream of.

  Susannah grabbed her purse and pulled out the note David had written.

  It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.

  Doing things her way had resulted in nothing but trouble. Was she going to stay alone and afraid, and keep getting the same results? Or was she going to get some backbone, accept the love God offered and live her life in a newer, better way?

  When she considered what was at stake, there was no contest.

  “Please help me, God. Please help my baby. Please help Darla,” she whispered.

  A wonderful sensation of warmth suffused her, as if someone had drawn her into warm sheltering arms.

  “Oh!” Susannah groaned. “Darla, I think the baby is coming. I have to push.”

  “That’s okay,” Darla said with a grin. “I’m ready. I remember everything the lady said. Seventy two per cent of births have no complications. And besides, we have God helping.”

  “Yes, we do,” Susannah cried. And then she pushed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Oh, Lord, be with them both.”

  David wove in and out of traffic until he was free of the city. Then he barreled through the desert like a madman, desperate to get to Darla and Susannah. He’d wasted minutes trying to remember where they were going today, only recalling the desert museum when a frantic call to Connie had reminded him.

  He still felt the shock of Darla’s message. Why hadn’t he answered the stupid phone, instead of letting the call go to messages? Was work so much more important than the two women in his life? Why hadn’t he gone with them today?

  A big lump of fear stuck in his throat as he tried again to reach their cell phone. There was still no answer. He’d contacted Susannah’s doctor and received some assurance that labor in a first birth usually took its time. He could only pray that was true because he was afraid to envision anything else.

  Darla had gone to the Lamaze classes. She’d regaled him with all the knowledge she’d learned. But she couldn’t handle a birth. Not alone. And Susannah—this was her first child. She’d be alone, afraid and worrying she’d made another bad decision.

  If only he’d—no. David wasn’t going to doubt. Susannah, her baby and Darla were all in God’s hands. He had Wade, Jared and Connie praying. He had to trust that God would show him how to help the woman who held his heart in her delicate hands.

  Ahead David saw the flash of lights signaling an ambulance. He swerved to the side of the road before he leaped out and sprinted across. His heart almost stopped when he saw a small figure on the white stretcher.

  “Susannah?”

  “Davy!” Darla stood beside the ambulance. “We have a baby,” she said showing him the tiny bundle tucked into Susannah’s arms. “It’s a girl.”

  “Grace,” Susannah told him, her voice clear and her eyes sparkling. “Her name is Grace, David. Because of God’s grace to me.”

  “Oh, Susannah.” He bent and kissed her as his heart lifted with thanksgiving. “I love you.” He gazed down at her and let the picture of mother and daughter frame in his mind. “She’s beautiful, Susannah. As beautiful as you.”

  “We need to get them to the hospital now,” one of the EMTs said.

  “Yes. Go ahead.” David touched her cheek with his knuckles, brushing one fingertip against the baby’s velvet skin. “I’ll see you at the hospital, Susannah.” Then he bent and repeated, for her ears alone, “I love you.”

  She opened her mouth but the attendants whisked her away too quickly and he couldn’t hear what she said.

  “I helped get the baby, Davy! I helped.” Darla danced at his side, yanking on his arm in her excitement. “Susannah said she couldn’t ever have done it alone. I’m the first person Grace saw when she came in the world.”

  “You did really well, sis.” He hugged her tightly. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Me, too.” She hugged him back but she couldn’t stand still for more than a second. “Grace didn’t cry at first. Susannah said she had to cry and she didn’t so I prayed and said to God, ‘God, can You make this baby cry?’ And He did!”

  “That’s great, sweetie.” He hugged her again. “You’re quite a girl.”

  “I know.”

  While Darla related the events of the day, David glanced at the car Susannah had been in. He stopped Darla’s story long enough to call a tow truck and his friends. Then Darla climbed into his car and they headed for the hospital.

  Ecstatic over her role in the birth, Darla talked non-stop all the way. David heard little of it. He was too busy wondering how Susannah would react when the baby was adopted.

  “Davy?”

  “Yes?” He climbed out of his dark thoughts, noticing sadness creeping over Darla’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Susannah’s my sister, Davy. I don’t want her or baby Grace to go away.”

  “Darla, honey, I explained to you about the adoption. Susannah wants another mommy to look after Grace.” But Darla clamped her hands over her ears and refused to listen. She only dropped them when he stopped speaking.

  “God made Susannah my sister,” she said firmly. “Baby Grace is my family, too.”

  Nothing he could say could change her mind. But Darla didn’t get angry and she didn’t argue or yell.

  When they got to the hospital she waited until he found Susannah’s room.

  “We must be very quiet when we see Susannah,” he explained. “Don’t ask her a lot of questions, okay?” He’d think of a way to explain it all later.

  “I won’t.” Darla stopped a passing nurse. “Can you tell me where the babies are?” she asked.

  “In the nursery.” She pointed. “But only family can go down there. Are you family?”

  “I’m the…aunt,” Darla said proudly.

  David winced. She was going to be so hurt when Grace went to another family. Maybe if he tried very hard, he could persuade Susannah to—

  He pushed open her door and his heart stopped. Susannah lay still in the white bed. In her arms she cradled the baby. Both of them were sleeping.

  “Kiss her, Davy.”

  There were times when Darla was absolutely right. This was one of them. So David leaned forward and pressed his lips against Susannah’s.

  “When will you wake up and love me?” he murmured.

  She blinked. Then she lifted her incredible lashes and smiled.

  “Right now. I love you, David.” She lifted her head for his kiss.

  “See? Sleeping Beauty. I told you, Davy.” Darla smiled at Susannah. “Davy needs to listen to me more often.”

  “Yes, I do.” He smoothed a hand over Susannah’s glistening hair, needing to touch her, to reassure himself that he wasn’t dreaming.

&nbs
p; “I’ll hold Grace while you talk about the wedding,” Darla said. She sat in a chair and held out her arms. “I’m ready.”

  David glanced at Susannah who nodded and smiled. He carefully lifted the tiny child away from her mother, feeling awkward and stupid and clumsy, but oh, so blessed.

  “Hello, Grace,” he whispered. “I’d really like to marry your mother. And I’d love to be your daddy. Do you think that would work for you?”

  When he touched her cheek with his finger, the sleeping child lifted a hand and closed her tiny pink fingers around his. Tears welled in his eyes.

  Oh, Lord. His heart overflowed with thanksgiving at the love that raced through him for this precious child. This Easter baby.

  He handed Grace to Darla. Then he returned to Susannah’s side.

  “Please marry me, Susannah. Let me be a part of your life, and of Grace’s. Be a part of mine and Darla’s. Nobody could be a better mother to Grace than you,” he added.

  “I don’t know if you’re right about that, David,” she whispered, wrapping her small hand in his. “But I’m going to give motherhood my very best effort.

  “Darla was right you know,” she said.

  “She usually is.” David loved the way her hand fit into his—he adored Susannah Wells. “But about what, specifically?”

  “I was Sleeping Beauty. Well, maybe not the beauty part but I was sleeping, because until I met you, I didn’t know what real love was. There are so many facets to love, but I know now that it all begins with God’s love. That makes everyone worthy of love.”

  “Yes, it does. I believe God led you to Darla and me, that it was He who placed love in my heart for you. So—” David dragged out the word “—does that mean you are going to marry me, Susannah Wells?”

  “Yes, please,” she said with a smile.

  “Finally.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her the way he’d been longing to for weeks.

  “But not right away.” Susannah leaned back, her arms still circled around his neck.

  “But—” He frowned when she placed a finger across his lips.

  “I need time, David. Time to understand what it means to be a child of God. Time to understand what being your wife will mean. Time to understand how to be a mother to Grace and a sister to Darla.”

  “I’ll be in a retirement home by then,” he teased. But he loved her all the more for her wisdom. “Okay then. While you’re figuring that out, I’m going to learn how to be a father. My first lesson will involve a trip to the toy store.”

  “I think you can start learning how to be a daddy right now, Davy.” Darla held the baby toward him. “Grace needs her diaper changed.”

  Epilogue

  Four months later, Susannah and David’s wedding day dawned hot and glorious in the Arizona desert.

  “I don’t want all the frills and frou frou,” she’d told David. “I’ve realized that it’s what’s in the heart that matters. Choose whatever you like for our wedding.” Then she’d returned to walking colicky Grace across the pool deck.

  David, being David, had gone beyond anything Susannah could have imagined and as she stood inside his house—their house—on her wedding day, waiting for the music to begin, she couldn’t believe what he’d done for her.

  For starters, David had asked Hornby to work magic on the backyard. Roses climbed and burst and bloomed everywhere, their fragrance filling the air. White chairs with bows dotted the lush green grass and nestled near a fountain that spilled water over desert rocks and stones. Fronting the fountain stood a white filigree bower decorated in more roses and Susannah’s favorite—limelight hydrangeas.

  “Aren’t you glad I persuaded you to buy this suit?” Connie whispered. “You look gorgeous, a perfectly dressed bride at her garden wedding.”

  “I only got into it because of all that swimming,” Susannah whispered back. “I don’t know what I’d have done without Darla to egg me on.” But the truth was, the ivory shantung skirt and matching jacket looked stunning on her and she knew it.

  She’d decided against a veil and chosen instead to weave a few bits of baby’s breath through her upswept hair. Diamond hoops in her ears—David’s wedding gift—were Susannah’s only jewelry, aside from the beautiful yellow diamond solitaire on her ring finger.

  “Are you ready, Susannah?” Connie asked.

  “Yes.” She was ready to marry her Prince Charming and begin the life God had given her.

  Connie gave the signal and the soft melodious sounds of a wedding song filled the air. Darla went first, wearing her favorite red in a stylish sundress that showed her beauty. In her arms she carried Grace, decked out in a white frilly dress with red trim that displayed her chubby legs, and tiny feet clad in white ballet slippers. David’s idea. He was going to spoil his daughter rotten, Susannah had realized.

  Connie walked out of the house, her dress also red. And then all eyes turned to Susannah.

  She was nervous at first. But then her gaze met David’s.

  This is the man God chose for me, she thought. Because of God’s grace I am worthy of love. I can give my heart to this wonderful man because I know that together we will share a future filled with joy and happiness. And love.

  She stepped confidently through the door and walked toward the man who’d taught her that love could grow to encompass everyone.

  Dear Reader,

  Hello there! Welcome back to Tucson and my LOVE FOR ALL SEASONS series. I hope you enjoyed Susannah and David’s story. I love the beauty and variations in Arizona and it was again my privilege to set a story in this location. Susannah’s story could be that of many women across North America—alone, in trouble and desperate to figure out the next move. She’d lost faith in everything and everyone except one old friend who had loved her when she needed it. David, too, fights a battle of loneliness. Loss and responsibility have bowed him with life’s worries. It takes Susannah’s special courage to open his eyes to possibilities. And Darla—well, what can you say about darling Darla? Darla faces bigger issues than many of us will ever know. But she keeps hanging on to her faith in our God who loves each of us dearly.

  Thank you so much for your cards and letters. I love hearing from each of you and try hard to respond as quickly as I can. I treasure each kind word you’ve shared about my books. They touch me as I hope my books touch you. I hope you’ll enjoy A Family for Summer, the next book in this series. Meantime, you can reach me at Box 639, Nipawin, SK Canada S0E 1E0, at www.loisricher.com or through Steeple Hill.

  Until we meet again, my prayer is that you will experience all that Easter offers: joy overflowing, hope that never dies and peace, the kind of peace God meant us to celebrate at Easter.

  Blessings,

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  Think of your church, your neighbourhood, your town. Is there anyone you know in a situation like Susannah’s? Could you befriend them or offer some type of help?

  Discuss Darla’s simple faith and reasons why so many of us struggle with trust in God.

  David felt the full weight of his responsibilities and didn’t want to take on any more. Do you think this added to his issues with control? How can we guard against trying to keep ourselves “safe” in an unsafe world?

  Susannah had made up her mind fairly early in the story that she was going to give her child up for adoption. Talk about ways we organize our worlds to accommodate preconceived ideas we hold about what is right and what is God’s will.

  Connie offered sanctuary, love and her faith to Susannah without asking a lot of questions. In your church and community, are there people like Connie, who simply offer help without judging? Could you be one of them? Why or why not?

  Susannah challenged David when she felt he was wrong about Darla’s needs. Discuss how we can learn when it is appropriate to question and when we need to keep our ideas to ourselves.

  Susannah offers Darla solid, steady love, something Susannah never received from her own mother. Consider why giving love l
ike this often frees the injured child inside.

  Susannah’s mother refused to see or talk to her daughter for many years—partly to ease her own guilt, but perhaps partly in a misguided effort to help Susannah move on. Was she wrong? Why or why not?

  David made it his business to dig into Susannah’s past in an effort to help her face the future. Do you think he was wrong? Would you go to the same extreme for a loved one?

  David offered a plethora of options for adoption to Susannah. Are there misconceptions about adoption in your group? List the most common ones. Think about open adoptions where the birth mother has full access to the child.

  Both Connie and Susannah benefited from rich childhoods made possible through the generosity of their foster parents. How do you feel about fostering? Would you consider it?

  Psychologists (and Susannah) say that feelings of self-worth are the most important in developing a child’s healthy inner concept. Clearly Connie and Susannah’s foster parents did an excellent job of parenting and yet Susannah ran away from them. Discuss how a foster parent might deal with such apparent rejection.

  Susannah finally realized that her lack of self-worth was something only she could end—that she had wallowed in those feelings because she wouldn’t accept her value in God’s eyes. How do we build our own feelings of self-worth without becoming conceited?

  Compare Susannah’s mistaken belief with some of your own deeply held tenets. Are they from God or are they your own personal take on a particular situation?

  David embraced baby Grace as his own daughter. Indeed, he saw her as the answer to his prayer for a family. Could you do the same?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-8979-0

  A BABY BY EASTER

  Copyright © 2011 by Lois M. Richer

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.