Planted with Hope (42 page)

“
Ja,
I suppose so.”

“There you go, Hope. You have a good man. Now it's all up to you.”

Hope chuckled. “Joy, you surprise me. I've never known you to be so wise before.” After all the worries, Joy's words were like a balm to her heart.

Joy chuckled. “I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or not! But what I do know is that working in the fabric shop with Elizabeth Bieler has made a difference in my life. She's been such a good mentor to me, and people come in all the time asking for advice. I can't help but pick up a bit of that wisdom.”

“
Ja
, well, I'm not sure what to think about all of this. Everything you've said makes sense, but that doesn't mean those fears are gone.” Hope sighed. “I can't help but think that things were easier in Ohio. My garden never asked for my heart. I couldn't hurt my garden's feelings. Life was so much easier when my closest companions were leafy green vegetables.”

“Easier, but not better, right?”

“You know, three months ago I would have said things were both easier and better with my garden in Ohio, but now better means life with Jonas and Emma.”

“Hope, I think you answered your own question. Go to them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Didn't you say that Ruth Ann was going back to visit her other children? I'm sure the van isn't full. Pitch in some money for the driver and ask her if you can ride along.”

“But Ruth Ann is supposed to be leaving tomorrow.”

Joy winked. “Then I suppose you should hurry.”

Hope opened the door to Me, Myself, and Pie and scanned the room. Lovina was sitting at the table next to Faith looking over the new spring menu. Hope rushed up to them. “Do you think I can borrow your bike?”

“
Ja
, I don't see why not.”

“
Danke
.”

Hope rushed to the covered patio where the bike was kept, and she wasted no time. It only took five minutes to get to Ruth Ann's house, and she parked the bike, hurrying up to the front door.

She knocked twice, but no one answered. Hope's shoulders stooped. Had they left a day early? Was she too late?

She turned and slowly trudged down the sidewalk. She exited the front gate and placed her hands on the handlebars, feeling the tears come.

“Hope!” A voice called out to her. Hope turned and looked behind her. Ruth Ann approached with a large bag of oranges in her arms.

“Oh.” Relief rushed out with her words. “I thought you'd left.”

“
Ne
. Just had to get some oranges. I promised my son I'd bring some from Pinecraft. Do you need something? Did you need me to deliver something to Emma… or Jonas?”

There was compassion in Ruth Ann's face—compassion and concern. Was Ruth Ann second-guessing the words Hope had overheard?

Hope placed a hand over her heart. “How about me? Do you think you can deliver me?”

“You?” Ruth Ann readjusted her bag. The light in her eyes faded slightly. “I was planning to use that extra seat for some things I wanted to take to family. I'm sorry, Hope, I just don't have room.”

Hope's jaw dropped. She didn't know what to say, what to do.

“I hope you have a
wunderbar
trip,” she finally managed to say before getting back on Lovina's bike and riding away.

Chapter Thirty-Four

When you talk you only repeat what you already know, but if you listen, you may learn something.

A
MISH
P
ROVERB

I
t had been hard for Hope getting used to going to a church when she'd first moved to Pinecraft. It was one of the few places in the country where the Amish had a church building instead of holding services in people's homes. Long wooden benches ran down two long aisles. The women sat on one side, the men the other. The youngsters sat in the front and the older church members sat in the back. That, at least, was the same. Well, there was one slight difference, the older Amish who had trouble hearing, also sat in the front. Sometimes, depending on how close it was to the height of the season, there were sometimes more older ones than younger ones up front.

Hope greeted some of the ladies, answering their questions about her new job in Walnut Creek.

“You'll be missed by the community,” Vera said. “You did so much work over the past few months.”

“Work?” Hope forced a chuckle. “I was thankful when I got to pull a weed once in a while. There were so many children coming
around in and out of school. And then there are all the retired farmers too. I'm sure they will do fine without me.” A sad smile slipped over her lips. “It's nice to see those farmers spending time in the dirt, since they gave so much of their life to it.”

“I bet it was hard for a time though, having to share,” Vera said. “I'm sure you never thought it would end up like this when you started.”

“No, I never imagined this. But the truth is I'm glad about it now.” A lump filled her throat as she realized the truth in her words. “I didn't realize what I wanted all along.”

The woman's eyes darted to the side as another friend stepped into the church house. “I'll let you go. I'm going to find my seat now.”

Hope moved toward her normal bench, next to her mother and sisters. But as she approached, she stopped short. Pain shot from her heart into her chest when she realized that she'd be sitting alone today. Emma had been sitting with her for the last few months, but now she was gone. Hope pressed her hands to her chest, willing the ache to leave. She bit her lower lip and urged the tears not to come, but it did no good. “I—I'm going to use the restroom,” she mumbled to her mem.

She turned and hurried to the back of the room where the bathroom was, but not before she caught Ruth Ann's gaze. The woman's brows were furrowed, and she wore a puzzled expression. Hope quickly glanced away and told herself not to be angry at the woman. A sister had every right to make sure her brother was making the right choice.

She quickened her pace and hurried to the bathroom. She'd barely made it into the bathroom stall before the tears came. If she was making the right choice for Jonas, then why did it hurt so bad? Worries again pressed down on her shoulders. Would he
write her when he got back to Guthrie? Or would his attention turn to some of the other women there?

I wish I had an answer…

She wiped her eyes the best she could and then returned to the bench, keeping her head down. Her sisters had saved her spot, and she picked up the hymn book and the fan and placed them on her lap. The service started, and Hope smiled softly at the first song. She could still remember being Emma's age—just a child—and singing these words. Since the song was sung so slowly and the syllables drawn out, and all the words in German, she hadn't understood the words until she was a teenager, but it seemed with each passing year the words meant more and more.

To be like Christ we love one another,

through everything, here on this earth.

We love one another,

not just with words but in deeds…

If we have of this world's goods

(no matter how much or how little)

and see that our brother has a need,

but do not share with him

what we have freely received –

how can we say that we would be ready

to give our lives for him if necessary?

The one who is not faithful

in the smallest thing,

and who still seeks his own good

which his heart desires –

how can he be trusted

with a charge over heavenly things?

Let us keep our eyes on love!

As a gardener she understood what tending the small things was all about. If it weren't for the seeds there would be no garden.
Even though many could be blown away with a quick breath, they held so much promise. After the silent prayer one of the ministers strode to the front.

“Today I'm going to talk to you about a Scripture I've written on a notecard and kept in my pocket for many months. It's from the first book of Corinthians, chapter thirteen: ‘And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these
is
charity.'

“Christian brethren who read God's Word know there are three principles that can't be denied: faith, hope, and charity, which is love. These are things to pray for. These are things to offer thanksgiving for. And where do these things abide? Not only on earth, but in heaven.

“If a man lives rightly, then he fixes his hopes of reward on the other world—for the world beyond. We also do good with our earthly treasures, knowing there is nothing is this life worth clinging to for the sake of our souls. The more we fix our hope on the reward of heaven, the more free we are to do good with our earthly treasure. Because of faith in God, we have hope for our eternity. We have something to look forward to, but we should not forget the third gift, which is love.

“There is worldly love and there is appetite for pleasure. This is not the love I'm speaking of. I'm talking about love in a community, in a home, and in a marriage. For some, even when our faith is strong, and our hope is in heaven, we forget that we must love. We forget that love, too, requires faith and hope. As humans there are many things that keep us from loving completely. Fear is one of those things. Fear that the conditions won't be perfect to love. Fear that we cannot love enough. Fear that if we love completely it won't be returned.”

Hope sucked in a breath at those words.
God, are You trying to tell me something?

“That makes me think of a story that my grandmother told me. She told me that when she was a child she knew a woman who grew a type of flower that had every color of the rainbow. The colors were stitched together, almost like an Amish quilt, so perfectly were they designed. The woman loved her patch of flowers and everyone in the community would drive their buggies slowly by. At the end of the season she would collect the seeds and save them for the next year, but as the woman got older the seeds became more precious to her and she tried to protect them.

“When other neighbors asked if they could have some of the seeds, the woman rejected their request. What if her neighbors didn't care for the precious seeds correctly? What if they weren't tended well? Then there was the news that she heard in town one day. Some claimed that it would be a year of drought and that water would be hard to come by. So fearful that her plants would die in the drought the woman decided not to plant her seeds that year. The next year there were warnings of more storms than normal, and so the woman again refused to plant the seeds. Instead, she kept them in a small jar with a lid. And every so often she would take them out and look at them, remembering the promise of their beauty.

“Well, one day the woman was ill, and without knowing it she knocked the jar off the shelf and scattered the seeds to the ground. Since the woman could not tend to her house, a young neighbor girl came by to cook and clean. Not knowing what the seeds were, the young woman swept them up and tossed them into the barrel where the woman burned her trash. It wasn't until the woman was back on her feet again when she discovered the empty jar and knew what had happened. By then the trash had been burned and the seeds with it.