Alone on the Oregon Trail (13 page)

Chapter Fifteen

(Love Landed on Brooklyn’s Bridge)

With the birth of Meredith and Cambell’s baby, Caleb John; life was sweetly filling our days. Caleb was doing very well getting to know his aunts as well as Kate. As I watched Kate with him, I quickly knew what my name would be for my next child.

It would be Natelli Kate, Natelli in memory of Nathaniel and Kate for, of course, Kate. Our family had many pleasures in names and people we loved left wonderful memories, so carrying on family names became very important to us all.

I did not know what I would do if I happened to have a boy, but I would deal with that when the time came.

Month after month, my abdomen grew and as Autumn looked on, she grew more excited as the time came. Little Caleb was up and crawling around, getting himself into mischief just as we expected a boy would do. And, by the time my last month drew near, I looked forward to the end of my pregnancy.

I began thinking over my life since I had come to this sweet family of love and I realized just how much had changed for us all. When I arrived, a small girl child was beside herself with grief, a father was distraught with his hands tied and a sister was being cut off by a sister she loved so much.

Now, here we are today with mighty salvation from the Lord. Now, we have a small girl child grown into a lovely well-balanced woman delivering babies, a father with nothing but joy set in stone in his eyes and a sister showered in love by the once neglectful sister.

What joy filled my heart as I looked at Mattie, knowing that this child once saw death in her heart each day, as she held onto guilt that never belonged to her in the first place. It strengthens my faith more each day as I see the miracles the Lord preformed in the household.

Nathaniel still comes into my mind, even today, but I have let go of the heartache I felt over his passing. I now think of him as at peace, merely sleeping and waiting on the Lord. Heaven shall be a marvelous place when we will be reunited with our past loved ones.

With Nathaniel, Caleb and Margaret, this will be such joy to the heart, to see them again. What a family builds, they love; and what they love, they build. The three that we miss are as much a part of that love as we are.

My bridges I have crossed have been many indeed, and I am sure there will be more in my future. My heart is full with joy, knowing that the hardest bridges to cross were the ones I have already crossed.

Love was strengthened at Loves’ Landing with each child we added, and with each event in our lives, we all became closer to one another and closer to Christ Jesus. Our hearts in one accord, we always faced every trial before us, knowing the ways of the Lord.

Kneeling in prayer and sometimes crying out for mercy, we stayed with the Lord. As my time approached for the birth of my second child, I lifted up praise to God for His touch in our lives and I asked for strength and stronger faith.

I asked for my child to come to us, healthy and whole and above all that God’s will be done. Rising to my feet, I felt a twinge in my stomach and I took myself over to the chair and sat down, and fairly quickly I realized that my time had come. I calmly rose to my feet, walked into the kitchen and patted Mattie on the shoulder, telling her that I was in need of a doctor and did she know where I could find one.

This shot her instantly to her feet and within minutes she was leading me back to the bedroom, calling out for Meredith, Kate and Grayson. As they all came filing in, one after another; they each had linens in their hands and pails of water.

They all knew by the sound of that voice that it was time for another Love to be born.

It was coming on evening time, and I knew that the birthing could last until morning, but Mattie disagreed and said that second babies come much faster than the first, and that we may be looking at this baby’s face in a matter of thirty minutes or so.

I had not had much pain, so I really didn’t believe that would be the case. As things turned out, Doc Mattie knew what she was talking about and exactly thirty five minutes later, I was face to face with a blonde-headed little baby girl.

As Mattie delivered her all alone, this is when I knew how fortunate we were to have such a daughter. There was not another doctor there with her and she handled it with such brilliance and grace.

She walked over and laid my baby into my arms and a bond formed, not only between my baby and myself, but between life and Mattie. This was yet another chance for her to see, hear and touch life with her own hands and I saw tears run down her face and rest upon that stretched smile.

After she placed the baby in my arms, I asked for Kate to come to my side and I handed the baby to her and told her “Meet Natelli Kate.”

“You mean you’re naming her after me?”

“Well, why would I not name her after my family?”

What a day of halleluiahs! We were in heaven again, welcoming more love into our family, and we were
with
family.

Oh, as the days went by, how the love blossomed and each of became happily aware of the showers of blessings God gave. The former and the latter rain fell as He promises. You could see everything prosper as He touched us with His mighty hand.

A life of luxury came to us each day as we thanked Him many times a day. Let me tell you, out here on the prairies, your days meet the nights with wind and with calm. We were well satisfied with what God was doing in our lives and we had our moments when our trials and tribulations would once again stare us face to face. With each trial came a renewed faith.

Kate has stayed with us just as she said she would and she is such a dear blessing to me. She still does not show any lack for any certain thing as she tends to her tasks each day, filling our lives with her faith and her hope.

Meredith by now has given Grayson and I six beautiful grand babies to have and to hold, until death do we part and it is such a blessing to be able to be a mother and a grandmother to such young children.

It keeps me young in heart and strong in faith. Cambell has his own business now in the marketing of animals. He is known all over Nebraska for his ability to sell anyone’s stock for a high price and he receives many blessings of his own for his hard work and traveling.

He assures everyone that there will be no losses as they hand their animals over to him as he travels, finding just the right sales to enter them into. He’s home often and dedicates every minute that he is, to my beautiful Meredith.

Mattie, what can I say about Mattie? She has grown into a very well know Doctor and specializes in delivering babies. She travels as well, and has delivered so many that she cannot keep count.

As we had told her, Meredith and I will always be here to add to her count, and to remind her just how wonderful it is to have her in our life. I have been thinking lately that it would be wonderful to see her settle down and have one of her own, but then again, she would have to settle down long enough to meet the man of her dreams and it does not look like that will happen for a while.

One never knows what God’s plans are in one’s life and she may be looking at a child’s eyes that look back at her and call her mommy, before much longer.

We have had several storms, some of which passed us by and others that brought destruction upon our property, but the Lord held us in His hands as the storm passed through.

Crops have failed and crops have prospered. The Lord provided the way and we never went without. Sickness has come and went, leaving us at the merciful feet of the Savior, crying out for salvation of our dearly loved Kate.

She nearly died from a fever that swept through and it lasted days on end. She came out of a coma months later and after much prayer, she awoke to no damage to her brain or body. We were terrified that we might lose her and as we waited for her to wake up to us, we worried that she would not be the same Kate, but as we sat around her one Sabbath morning, she opened her eyes asking to see the smallest child around, so she could hold them again.

That smallest child had been born while she was in a coma, so when we handed her our third child, Grace Brooklyn, her eyes danced with delight and without saying a word, she took the baby in her arms and at once began singing sweet songs in her ear.

Kate had come through one of the worst fevers known to the prairies. She had been in town, taking care of some orphans at a temporary clinic and while she was there, she had come down with a yellow fever that killed most.

The good Lord blessed us again and brought her back to us and she would again, be up in no time caring for the newest edition to Loves’ Landing.

So, there were many bridges for me to cross as I struggled with so many blessings. Days of sunshine and days of snow covered housetops brought to us pleasures and pains. As we crossed each bridge, our faith was made even stronger. The Lord looks down upon those who wait on the Lord, and come what may; He sees to it, that He will get you through each trial. He never promised to take us out of the trouble, but He promises to get us through each trial.

Autumn is so close behind the winter, and winter is just around the corner of the coming spring. I guess it depends on our attitudes as we face each season. What blessings we may have known in spring may become strangers in the land of winter if we are not careful to always look to God.

God says ‘My people perish due to a lack of knowledge’, and I would have to say that is so true. We meet people now and then that have no idea what God can do for them and they struggle time and time again as they watch their own hearts harden, when all they would need to get through each sadness, or hardship is love for God.

They lack knowledge of God and until they know of Him, how could they love Him? It is our duty as Christians, as followers of Christ to spread the news of Christ. It is our pleasure to do so here on the prairies.

I sometimes wonder how people in New York City are, that I once knew. When I lived among the hustle and bustle, I never came across those who loved the Lord and New York City is a big place.

When I left there with Nathaniel, we knew that we would never return and I can honestly say that I have never missed it. The prairies give something the cities cannot. The prairie gives us stillness and in that stillness and silence we can hear God as He speaks to us.

We can register His voice, and we can once again lean our ear His way, in seeking truth.

Love lands where love is found and here we have a sign that hangs above our land that reads ‘Loves’ Landing’ and below is written ‘For those who love the Lord’, and this is how we live.

I would welcome you to hang a sign above your homestead like this and see what the Lord can do for you. Love lands where love is found and where the Lord finds love for His Son, the Lord leaves love from His Son.

In us, we all have a house that is empty in the beginning. As we seek and as we find the Lord, that house in us becomes filled up with the fullness of the Lord. As we reach out to get to know the Lord, our house becomes full.

As time goes on, if we decide to no longer seek the Lord and know Him, then the house becomes empty again.

This is when our house becomes at risk of filling up with other things and these things lead us to self-lust. Jesus even teaches us this with the verses that speak of the demon that finds a house empty and then it leaves to go and get seven of his demon brothers.

They then come back to that house and they take up their homestead there, making it harder than ever to remove the evil that never belonged there. What a shame it is that so many do not seek the good Lord and as their house, which represents their heart in the scriptures, begins to fill up with the evil things in life, they fall further and further away from the things of God.

Our home here at Loves’ Landing is built on the love not only of God, but the love for God. God loves and we come by that easily, but it is when God knows of the love in a home for Him, that brings endurance and renewed faith.

I would not trade the faith my children have in God for anything the world could offer.

It is the eyes of a child that knows God, which can speak to a lost soul and I have seen it repeatedly, in my children and grandchildren.

A child knows God best and that is why the Lord teaches us to come to Him as a child.

Chapter Sixteen

(Building Loves’ Bridge)

Growing up on Loves’ Landing had requirements and they came with being a Love. Grace, being our latest addition to the family, was surrounded by a Love and love at every turning point. She became quite spoiled, if I have to say so myself.

A bundle of Mattie and Meredith mix, she was a handful. Watching her grow made me soon realize that I was growing old and not as quick at this as I used to be. By the time Grace was five years old, she had learned to do everything for herself, including deciding what she could and could not do.

One morning she wailed at me that she wanted to go out and ride her pony. Thanks to Mattie, she passed on the family tradition and had bought a pony for Gracie Brook by the time she was four.

We had tried on every occasion to explain to her that she had to wait until she was six years old, but she would cry and claim that Jumper would be too old to ride by then. She brought us rays of sunshine as well as a need for more patience.

Grayson took her every day out to the barn and let her spend time with Jumper, but that never seemed good enough to her. On this one morning, I had made myself again say no to her tiny request and I went along my way doing my washing of the clothes.

Kate was on an errand in town so as I got busy with the washing, little Gracie snuck out the door and headed for the barn. We had never quite figured out how she got up on top of Jumper, but I suppose a child will get done what they will and she managed to crawl up on Jumper and she headed out for her own pony ride.

Guilt comes with the territory of being a mother and I soon learned what that meant when I went to check on Gracie, fully expecting her to be in her room. To my horror, she was not and I set out hunting her down.

I had checked everywhere I could think of and then it came to me, that awful sick feeling in my stomach that a mother gets when she realizes her child is gone. I ran to the barn, holding up my skirt so far that it was nearly over my head.

When I reached the barn, my expectations and fears were met with realization; Gracie was gone and so was Jumper. Without even taking the time to holler at Meredith who was by now, down by the stream, washing clothes, I took off on an old mare in the barn.

I was screaming her name as I was crying her name and praying God heard both. My heart was pounding out of my chest as I rode and rode, looking for my tiny baby girl. The thought of anything happening to her tightened my chest and opened my lips to choking sobs.

Grayson had told me about a wild cat that had been seen in the area and all I could see now was her being attacked. I knew that time was of the essence, so I stayed with my search. As I got further and further into the woods, I knew that it would be growing dark very soon and I had better get back and get a team to go out and hunt her down.

I did not want to stop looking, but I didn’t want to waste time either. So, I headed back with a canter that the old mare was not so keen on performing and arrived at the barn in time to see Grayson standing there with hands filled with sacks of potatoes.

Grayson took one look and he knew something horrible was wrong and came running to me. As I screamed out to him what had happened, he yelled at Cambell who was in the barn, telling him to run to town and get a team that would come back and help us search through the night, if need be.

Cambell was off and we ran to get Meredith to come inside and stay with the rest of the children. Then Grayson and I ran to get on some horses that would last the search and we headed for the woods behind the house, hoping we were on the right path.

What seemed like hours were minutes and we reached the end of the woods and still no sight of Gracie and I was getting sick to my stomach and in tears, blaming myself all the while.

Grayson did not have time to tend to me, and he told me quite bluntly that there was no time to blame myself and that this is what children do -- they cause their parents worry. He assured me that we would find Gracie and we would find her in time.

I had to believe this and I had no choice. By nightfall we had not found Gracie and things were looking so bad that I had to be carried out of the woods and was taken back to the house. The men and Grayson continued to search for Gracie and about the time they had about given up, they heard a meek and tiny cry as they passed by a small patch of brush.

As Grayson backed up his horse to check the brush, his eyes caught the likes of Gracie who had curled up in a ball to take a nap and had just woken up all alone and had begun to cry for me.

Jumper was nowhere in sight and Grayson snatched up Gracie, thinking he would have to go back and hunt down Jumper the next day. When he started to leave with Gracie, she began crying and telling her daddy that he could not leave Jumper.

This took Grayson by surprise and also irritated him, as he explained to Gracie that Jumper would have to wait. Gracie immediately began crying telling her daddy that he could not leave Jumper because he had saved her from a big kitty and that Jumper had ran the kitty away and she was waiting for Jumper to come back.

This broke Grayson’s heart and he was afraid that if the story was true than Jumper may not have survived. He then told Gracie that she would be taken back by Cambell and that he would hunt down Jumper, fully knowing that he probably would not find Jumper alive.

This satisfied Gracie enough to hush her tears and she hopped on Cambell’s horse and he took her home.

In the meantime, Grayson searched for Jumper and as the night turned into day, he finally found Jumper who had run off the wild cat into a river and Jumper had followed the cat into the river, but he did not survive the battle and he had died as he tried making it back to shore.

It tore his heart into and he did not want to even return to tell Gracie what had happened. As Grayson sat out in the darkness, trying to think about what he would tell Gracie when he returned, he remembered the farmer where Mattie had
bought Jumper and the farmer had another pony, a brother to Jumper and he wondered if he could talk this farmer into selling the pony to him so that he did not have to break his daughter’s heart and he at once went to the farmer’s house.

Early mornings met many a farmer in the prairies and as Grayson rode up to the farm, he saw the old man outside his barn and he explained the situation to him, praying for mercy that he could get this pony for Gracie.

As the old man listened to the story and seeing Grayson’s pained look, he offered to give as the Lord gives and he walked into his barn with the pony tied to a rope and smiled, while putting the rope into Grayson’s hand. No words were spoken, except a muffled thank you from Grayson and he was off with Jumper’s brother that just happened to look just like Jumper, except for one extra spot upon his back.

Grayson decided that if this little trick worked now, that would be good enough and later if Gracie figured it out, he would deal with explaining it then. For now, he just wanted to see his baby girl’s smiling face.

I stood at the porch and saw my husband galloping across the meadow, with this pony trailing behind, and I knew that somehow, some way, Grayson had taken care of the problem.

As he came closer to me, I noticed that Jumper had gained a big brown spot upon his back and as my mouth opened, Grayson placed his finger over his mouth in hopes I would understand and we watched Gracie barrel out of the house, onto the porch and she jumped into midair as she saw her Jumper staring back at her.

This was one of those moments at the Loves’ home that was a blessing from God. God finds ways to take care of all things, large or small. He takes care of mighty trials and small trials alike and He is very good at satisfying a little girl’s heart.

To this day, we don’t know if Gracie ever figured out that that was not Jumper, but if she did, she just loved him the same.

God is good, God is great, and He lives where we place Him.

If we place Him in our hearts, then we can be sure He lives there.

If we place Him outside our hearts though, we will never know the gift of knowing Him, but all the same, God is there too. The Creator of all things calls us unto Him for His own sake, for He would rather we all be saved, and He calls each day, name after name, to come to Him.

Loves’ Landing knows the Lord and the Lord knows us by name.

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.

THE END