The Little Sparrows

by Al Lacy

  The girls had helped Leah with the housework and in the vegetable garden during the morning, and at noon, they had lunch ready. All three stood on the back porch as Leah called toward the barn, “Will! Johnny! Lunch is ready!”

  Inside the barn, Will laid down his hammer. “Sounds good to me. I’m hungry.”

  Johnny had several nails in his hand. He placed them back in the paper sack and laid it next to Will’s hammer. “Me too, Papa Will. Let’s go.”

  Red was lying on his belly in the straw and raised his head as Will and Johnny headed for the open barn door. When they reached the sunlight that struck the ground just outside the door, Johnny looked up at Will and grinned. “Race you to the house, Papa!”

  Will set loving eyes on the six-year-old boy. “It’s hot out here, son. We’ll just get hotter if we run.”

  “Aw, come on now! You’re just afraid I’ll beat you again.”

  Will lifted his hat and wiped his bandanna across his brow. “You couldn’t beat me again.”

  “Oh yeah?” Johnny took his ready-to-race stance.

  Red knew what was coming.

  Suddenly Will darted for the house, leaving boy and dog behind.

  Johnny sprang forward. “That ain’t fair, Papa! You got a head start!”

  In a flash, Red passed Will, aiming for the back porch where Leah and the girls stood, barking all the way.

  Acting as if he was running as fast as possible, Will purposely let Johnny catch up to him and pass him. Johnny was laughing gleefully.

  “C’mon, Papa Will!” he called over his shoulder. “Can’t you run any faster than that?”

  Lizzie shouted, “Hurry, Papa! Johnny’s gonna beat you again!”

  Red reached the porch ten seconds ahead of Johnny, who was some forty feet ahead of his foster father.

  Mary cried out, “Red won! Red won the race!” The dog was jumping up and licking her face.

  Johnny bounded up the porch steps, waving his hands in victory. “I won! I won!”

  Lizzie giggled. “No, you didn’t, Johnny! Red won!”

  “Red doesn’t count! He has four legs!”

  Will drew up, acting disappointed, and letting his tongue hang out. “I don’t know … where that boy gets so … much speed, Mama!”

  Leah gave him a sly grin. “Maybe he has help.”

  “What do you … mean?”

  Leah looked at Johnny. “Johnny, have you been taking lessons from Red?”

  Will grinned, relieved that Leah hadn’t given away his secret.

  Johnny shook his head. “No, ma’am, but maybe that would be a good idea. Then I could beat Papa even worse!”

  Leah and the girls laughed, then Leah said, “Lunch is ready, you two. Get washed up.”

  Will and Johnny quickly made their way to the small galvanized tub that stood in a shady section of the porch. They splashed water on their sweaty faces and over their heads, letting it run down their necks and soak their shirts while Leah and the girls went into the kitchen.

  “Boy, it’s a hot one today,” said Will, taking a towel from the rack above the tub to dry his face. “We sure could use some rain, but there isn’t a cloud in the sky.” He dabbed the towel on his face and head. “Oh, well, not much we can do about the weather. We’ll just have to endure it. After all, it’s summertime in Nebraska. I should be used to this after all these years.”

  Leah appeared with Red on her heels, carrying his food bowl. “Yes, Will, we should both be used to it by now.” She set the bowl down, and the Irish setter began chomping on the food. “We complain about the heat in the summer, and in the winter, we complain about the cold. But it’s still a mighty good place to live. That’s why we stay here, isn’t it?”

  “Sure is,” said Will as he hung up the towel.

  “Come on, boys. A little food and rest will do us all good.”

  Red looked up at her. She grinned at him. “You just stay out here and eat your lunch, big guy. We both know that Lizzie will slip you food under the table if you’re in there whining.”

  Red went back to his food, and Will and Johnny followed her into the kitchen. Will closed the door behind them.

  As everyone was gathering at the table, Lizzie waited for Johnny to pull out her chair, which Will had taught him was the gentlemanly thing to do.

  Johnny grinned as he pulled the chair from under the table. “There you are, baby sister.”

  Lizzie flapped her arms like wings. “Thank you, big brother. This little sparrow is gonna fly into her chair!” She made motions like she was flying and landed on the chair.

  Johnny then seated his big sister, who said, “Thank you, little brother, for being such a gentleman.”

  Johnny bowed at the waist. “My pleasure, Miss Marston.”

  Will went to Leah and seated her. When he sat down on his own chair, he looked at Johnny. Since the Bantons had never prayed before meals until the Marston children came into their home, Will had assigned Johnny to lead in prayer before all meals.

  They bowed their heads, and Johnny first thanked the Lord for the food, asking Him to bless it to the nourishment of their bodies, then said, “I also want to thank You, Lord, for watching over Your little sparrows, and for giving us a home with Papa Will and Mama Leah. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

  Will and Leah were deeply touched by Johnny’s words, and it showed on both of their faces when the children looked at them.

  “Mary, Johnny, Lizzie, I want to tell you something. Even though I have fields of hay to mow, rake, and stack, and a lot of other work to do that comes with summer, I am going to make time for you and Mama Leah so we can take in the county fair in Kearney.”

  “Oh, that’s neat!” said Mary.

  Johnny’s face was beaming. “Yeah! That’s really neat! When I saw in town that there was gonna be a fair, I really wanted to go, but I didn’t ask ’cause I knew you had a lotta work to do here on the farm. Thank you, Papa Will.”

  Lizzie frowned. “What’s a fair?”

  Leah smiled at Lizzie. “I’ll tell you about it later, honey. It’s all about animals and food and lots of fun things to do.”

  “Oh. Okay.”

  Mary laid her fork down and ran her gaze from Will to Leah. “Mama, Papa, you have been so good to us. I am so happy living here with you. And I’m so glad we’re going to church regularly.”

  “Yeah, me too,” said Johnny. “I really like everybody at church. I like my Sunday school teacher. Mr. Jones can really make the Bible stories easy to understand; almost as good as Pastor Blevins.”

  Johnny looked at Mary, and she smiled at him.

  Mary and Johnny had talked privately about their concern that the Bantons were not saved and had been praying about it together. Pastor Mark Blevins preached straight from the Bible, and Mary and Johnny had seen conviction on the Bantons’ faces in the services—especially at invitation time—and were optimistic that soon they would open their hearts to Jesus.

  Lunch was almost over. Will finished his cup of coffee, set it down, and looked at Johnny. “Well, partner, are you about ready to go back to the barn and help me finish repairing that milking stanchion?”

  Johnny grinned. “Sure am. Soon’s I eat this last bite of potatoes. Wanna race to the barn?”

  Will chuckled. “Not this time. It’s too hot. I’ll race you when—”

  There was a knock at the front door of the house.

  Will pushed his chair back and stood up. “I’ll see who it is. The rest of you go on and finish eating.”

  “Probably one of the neighbors,” said Leah.

  Will nodded, left the kitchen, and went to the front door. When he opened it, he found a young couple on the porch. Red was wagging his tail, and the man was stroking his head. Will eyed the buggy parked at the hitching post and said, “Howdy, folks.” There was a perplexed look on his suntanned face. “We don’t often get visitors out this way. What can I do for you?”

  The man asked, “Are you Will Banton?”

  “Y
es.”

  “Well, sir, my name is Bob Marston, and this is my wife, Louise. We’re Mary, Johnny, and Lizzie’s parents.”

  Will’s jaw slacked. He stared at them, unable to believe what he had just heard. “You—you—are—”

  “Yes, sir. We knew this would come as a shock to you and your wife, as well as our children. The people at the Children’s Aid Society in New York informed us that you and Mrs. Banton had taken Mary, Johnny, and Lizzie as your foster children when the orphan train was in Kearney.”

  Bob extended his hand. Will took it in his grasp. “Shock? You can say that again. We were told that you drowned when the ship you were on went down in a storm.”

  “It’s quite a story, Mr. Banton. The Lord graciously saved us from death, though we were swept overboard in that storm. We’ll explain it when we have the children present.”

  “Well, come on in. You must be very anxious to see them.”

  “You can’t even imagine how anxious, Mr. Banton,” said Louise. “We know this is going to be a jolt to them, but we can hardly wait to let them know we’re alive.”

  Red slipped past them and ran down the hall toward the kitchen.

  “Let me take you into the parlor,” said Will. “Leah and the children are just finishing lunch.” As they passed through the parlor door, he said, “You wait here. I’ll go get them.”

  Will’s knees felt weak as he hurried down the hall and entered the kitchen. Red was at Lizzie’s chair, looking at her expectantly for something to eat.

  Leah noted that her husband’s face was pale. “Honey, what’s wrong? Who was at the door?”

  Will drew a shaky breath and looked at the children. “Mary, Johnny, Lizzie, there’s someone here to see you. I took them into the parlor.”

  The children looked at each other quizzically, then Mary’s brow furrowed as she asked, “Is it somebody from church, Papa Will?”

  Will looked at Mary, and said, “No, honey. It’s not someone from church.”

  “But we don’t know anybody else around here yet.”

  A thin smile curved Will’s lips. “You’re right, Mary, but you know these people. Go on to the parlor. We’ll follow you.”

  As the children hurried down the hall with Red at Lizzie’s side, Will and Leah followed. Leah looked up at her husband. “Who is it?”

  He leaned close to her and whispered in her ear, “It’s their parents! They didn’t drown in that storm.”

  Leah felt an unbelievable hot flash start at her neck and flow in waves over her face. Her mouth fell open.

  Will took hold of her hand and they drew up behind the children, who were now at the open door of the parlor.

  When Mary, Johnny, and Lizzie stopped at the door, Bob and Louise were standing by the sofa with tears in their eyes.

  The children’s eyes widened and a look of disbelief appeared on each little face. Absolutely stunned into frozen silence, they stared at the man and woman standing before them.

  Lizzie was the first to overcome the shock and find her tongue. She broke from her siblings and ran toward her parents. “Mama! Papa! You came back from heaven!”

  Louise scooped her up into her arms.

  At the same instant, Mary squealed and dashed toward them. Johnny gasped, and on Mary’s heels, darted toward them.

  Will and Leah hung on to each other as they beheld the scene. The parents and children were hugging and crying while everyone talked at once, filled with the joy of being together.

  When the emotion of the moment had subsided some, Will introduced the Marstons to Leah, who urged them to sit down so they could talk. The children sat on the sofa with their parents, and Will and Leah each sat in an overstuffed chair, facing them. Red planted himself on the floor in front of the sofa and looked up at the children.

  Bob Marston smiled down at his children, then looked at the Bantons.

  “Let me explain what happened so you can see how marvelously God protected us and spared our lives in that awful storm that sank the ship we were on.”

  Sitting beside her mother, Lizzie scooted as close to her as possible. Louise’s arm was around her. Tears were in Louise’s eyes as she smiled down at her baby and pulled her tight against her side.

  Bob explained about how the storm came up at sea, and how at first, the captain and his crew thought it would not be a serious one. He went on to tell them that by the time the full force of the storm was upon them, it was too late to head for the nearest shore.

  “We were in our cabin as the ship tossed wildly on the sea, listing dangerously. All at once, there was a loud crash. We didn’t know what it was, but we were afraid the ship would sink in a hurry. Suddenly the cabin door came open, and the captain was there, clinging to the doorframe. He told us the ship was sinking, and we needed to get to the lifeboats fast.”

  Lizzie looked up at her mother. “Were you scared, Mama?”

  “I sure was, honey.”

  Bob smiled at Lizzie, then looked back at the Bantons. “Louise and I clung to each other as we followed the captain across the slanted deck. The crewmen were climbing into the lifeboats, and we could see furniture and wooden crates from the ship bobbing on the surface of the ocean. Suddenly, the ship listed severely, and at the same time, a huge wave broke over the deck and swept us and the captain into the ocean.”

  Leah was shaking her head. “It must have taken a miracle for you to survive that!”

  Louise nodded. “Miracle is the right word for it, Mrs. Banton.”

  “The captain went down, and we never saw him again,” Bob said. “No question about it. He drowned. Louise and I were still clinging to each other when a large wooden crate floated right up to us. She clung to me while I got a firm hold on the crate, and we hung on till we were swept away from the center of the storm to calmer waters. We watched the ship go down. About an hour later, we were picked up by the crew of a ship from Greenland that was on its way to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Both of us were in serious condition, having been in that cold water for so long. They took us to a medical clinic in Halifax, where we spent several weeks recovering.”

  Will shook his head in amazement. “Wow! You talk about a miracle. God was sure looking after you!”

  “He sure was. We learned later that all of the crewmen made it to shore in the lifeboats. Upon returning to New York, we learned from our pastor that Mary, Johnny, and Lizzie had been put on an orphan train by the Children’s Aid Society. We went to their headquarters, and as I told you, that’s where we learned that you two wonderful people had taken all three of our children into your home as their foster parents.”

  Louise smiled and looked at the Bantons, as tears of joy came down her cheeks. “We can never express our deep gratitude for your taking our children in and giving them a home.”

  “Yes,” said Bob. “They’ve only been here a few weeks, but we can tell that you care for them very much. I know this must stagger you to have us show up out of the blue to reclaim our children.”

  Louise wiped tears. “I hope it won’t hurt you to give them up.”

  “Stagger us, yes,” said Will. “But you are their parents. It’s only right that you have them back.”

  “Of course,” said Leah. “Now, I’ll tell you, we fell in love with them at the railroad station, and even though there were three of them, we weren’t about to let them be separated. We sincerely wanted to give them a loving home. We’ll miss them terribly, but as Will said, their place is with you. We’re very happy that you didn’t drown, and it’s wonderful to see your family together. There will be many more little ones coming through Kearney on those orphan trains, looking for a home. You can be assured that we will be in town to meet the very next one.”

  “We appreciate your sweet attitude,” Louise said. “We’re just so thankful that the Lord placed our children with you.”

  “Mama, Mary an’ Johnny an’ me were tooken care of ’cause we’re God’s little sparrows.”

  Bob reached over and tweaked her nose. �
�And just how do you know you’re God’s little sparrows, sweet stuff?”

  “ ’Cause Jesus said it in the Bible.”

  “Well, your papa and I know about it, honey,” said Louise, looking at Bob, then back at Lizzie, “but how do you know about it?”

  “Mrs. Roberts showed it to us in the Bible, Mama,” spoke up Mary. “It was when we were so upset and afraid because the policemen came and told us that you and Papa were dead. She read it to us in Matthew and in Luke and showed us that Jesus said we are of more value than many sparrows. When Lizzie heard it, she blurted out that the three of us were God’s little sparrows.”

  Bob looked at Lizzie. “You’re pretty smart, sweetie. That’s exactly what you are.”

  Louise kissed the top of Lizzie’s head. “That’s pretty good thinking for a four-year-old!”

  Will said, “I never knew Jesus talked about sparrows till these precious children came home with us. At that time, now that I recall it, Lizzie asked if we had sparrows here on the farm. That’s what led to the children telling us that it was in the Bible.”

  Bob frowned. “I take it that you and Mrs. Banton are fairly new Christians then.”

  Will and Leah looked at each other, then Will said, “Mr. Marston, Leah and I have never been real churchgoers—until these little sparrows came to live with us. In order to become their foster parents, we had to promise to take them regularly to Sunday school and church services.”

  “And they have, Papa,” said Mary. “Pastor Blevins preaches just like Pastor Moore. He makes it clear that if people don’t come to Jesus for salvation, trusting only Him to save them, they will go to hell when they die.”

  Louise ran her gaze between Will and Leah. “Then, Mr. and Mrs. Banton, have you come to know the Lord?”

  Will cleared his throat and adjusted his position on the chair. “No, we haven’t. But after every sermon, we’ve talked about it privately here in the house. And … well, last Sunday night we agreed that we would walk the aisle after the sermon next Sunday morning and tell the preacher we want to be saved.”

  Louise smiled.

  Bob set serious eyes on them. “What if one or both of you should die before next Sunday morning?”