Chapter 35
Christian stomped his boots on the back steps before opening the door to the kitchen. He’d just listened to the messages on the answering machine in the barn and he was certain the news he had would brighten Hannah’s day.
Hannah walked into the kitchen with a pile of folded dish towels in her arms. “What are you so happy about?”
“I just listened to the messages in the barn,” he said cryptically.
“Oh yeah?” Hannah pretended to ignore his enthusiasm. She nonchalantly opened the cupboard and slowly placed the towels on the shelf, waiting for Christian’s announcement of whatever he seemed so excited about.
“Well, don’t you want to know?”
“Only if you want to tell me, Christian.”
Christian placed his index finger over his lips and tapped them. “Hmm…do I want to tell you that your book sold five hundred copies?” He shrugged.
Hannah accidentally slammed the cupboard closed in her excitement. “Really? Five hundred copies in one week?” she squealed.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Ach, Christian, that’s wunderbaar.” She smiled.
“I know. I think we need to celebrate somehow,” he agreed, kissing her smiling lips.
“I just made some applesauce cake. We can have it with coffee.” She returned his sweet kisses.
“Okay, we can do that,” he said. “What are we going to do with all the extra money that comes in from your book sales?” Christian took his seat at the table.
Hannah put some water in the kettle for coffee, then sat across from Christian. “I had an idea about that. How would you feel if we give some to Julia? For the baby, I mean. They’ll be going back to Indiana soon.”
Christian looked at Hannah and shook his head. “You are an amazing woman, Hannah Glick. How is it that I’m so fortunate?”
“Nee, I’m the one that’s blessed to have you, Christian.” Hannah reached for his hands across the table.
“Do you hear that?” Christian’s head perked up. “I think someone’s knocking on the front door. It must be an Englischer.”
“I’ll get it,” Hannah volunteered.
She walked to the front door and pulled it open. Nobody was there. “Christian, I think you must be hearing things,” she hollered back.
Hannah began closing the door when she heard a sound, then she quickly opened it again. She looked at the front porch where she thought she’d heard the noise. “Oh my. Christian, come!” Hannah rushed over to what looked like a mound of blankets and lifted the top layer to peer inside. A baby? Is this Julia’s boppli?
Christian quickly joined her on the porch. He watched as Hannah lifted the tiny infant and held him in her arms. She pulled the blanket securely around him to keep the chill out. “Look, Christian. An envelope.”
He reached into the baby carrier and hastily opened the envelope. He read the words aloud:
Dear Hannah,
I hope you and Christian will keep my boppli. His name is Samuel Christian.
I’m sorry for judging you. Please forgive me. When I read your book, it all made sense. I’m sorry for all you and Christian have lost, but I am glad that you’ve written a book to help others. It has already helped me. By the way, I took Bishop Hostettler’s copy so you might need to give him another one.
I can’t think of anybody else I’d rather give my boppli to. Thank you for all you’ve done.
And if Samuel ever asks, please let him know that his mother loved him very much. Please take good care of him.
With Love,
Julia
P.S. Bishop Hostettler has the papers you need to sign.
Christian’s eyes glistened as he lifted them to Hannah’s. He’d never seen such joy in her eyes as she gazed on their new boppli.
A figure appeared around the corner of the house and Christian realized it was Julia. She walked to the steps of the porch. “I just wanted to say goodbye. My driver will be here any minute.”
Hannah handed the baby to Christian and abruptly embraced Julia. “Denki, Julia. You’ll never know how much this means,” Hannah said. “Wait here just a minute.” Hannah flew into the house and emerged a moment later with the hay doll in her hand. “I want you to have this.”
“Denki. I’ll never forget the two of you and your kindness to me.” Julia gave Christian an awkward hug and walked toward her now-waiting vehicle. She waved to them with tears in her eyes as the car pulled away.
Many years later…
Samuel knocked on the door, then stepped into the dawdi haus with another gentleman at his side. “Mamm, there’s someone here to see you.”
“Mrs. Glick. Uh…hello. You don’t know me but my mother said that she met you about thirty years ago. Her name was Stella,” said an unfamiliar Englisch man with dark wavy hair and hazel eyes.
Samuel stepped out of the room to give his mother privacy. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Denki, Sohn. I will.”
“And don’t forget, Mamm. Ellen and I want you and Dat to join us and the kinner for supper tonight,” Samuel reminded, peeping his head around the doorway before finally leaving.
Hannah nodded and then turned her attention back to her visitor. “You said her name was Stella?”
The Englischer nodded.
She wracked her brain attempting to recall a Stella that she had met in the past, but her memory failed her. “I’m sorry, I don’t recall your mother.”
“That’s all right, I understand. From what I heard, she only spoke with you briefly. Anyway, the reason I came is to tell you that your labor has not been in vain. You see, I have been a missionary for about twelve years now. I’ve been to many countries in Africa, South America, and even to some Middle Eastern countries. I have helped to start many dozens of churches and have personally seen thousands of sinners come to the Lord. And all of that would have never been possible if my mother did not talk to you that day. You see, she was planning to go to the clinic to abort me the day she met you. When you shared your story with her, she knew that God was speaking to her, pleading for my life. She decided to choose life for me and eternal life for herself. So, I’d just like to say thank you on behalf of myself and the others who have turned to Christ as a result of your faithfulness.”
Hannah looked into the man’s eyes with appreciation and squeezed his strong hand with her aging one. “Denki. Thank you so much for sharing that with me. You don’t know how much it means.”
The man nodded his response before his phone rang. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I have a plane to catch. It has been a blessing to be able to meet you. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Glick.” He slipped out the door and Hannah could hear his waning telephone conversation as he walked back to his vehicle.
Hannah looked up toward the sky and closed her eyes. “Denki, Gott,” she whispered. “You have been so good to me.”
Hannah sat in the Fisher residence, sipping on a glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade. “But Minister Fisher, I don’t understand. I know it is not a good thing that I aborted my boppli, but it seems as though all these things would not have happened if I hadn’t.”
“Hannah, God is not willing that any should perish. It was not His will that your child died. What you have been given is a wonderful gift: God’s grace. God has shown us that he can take even the worst circumstance and use it for His glory. God’s will would have been accomplished in those souls that were saved, with or without you. The miraculous thing is that God gave you the privilege to be a part of it.”
Hannah suddenly remembered the parable God had given her many years ago and it all made sense. As tears streamed down Hannah’s weathered face, she praised God for His goodness and His unending amazing grace.
Epilogue
We’d been down a rough road, Christian and I. But I realized that with every rock we’d hit and every trial that came, we had been strengthened and brought closer to each other and to Gott. We’ve since learned to thank Der Herr even in the tough times –
especially in the tough times – for it is He that keeps us strong. And I now know that there is nothing unforgivable and there are no secrets before an all-knowing merciful God.
THE END
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
A Letter from the Author
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Hannah’s story. If you’re like me, you cried many a tear as you read through the pages. My desire was not to make you cry, but if you did, I know that the story touched your heart in some way.
In researching this book, I’ve personally learned many things. Namely, that abortion does in fact happen in the Amish community. I’m unsure of the actual statistics for the Amish, but within the Christian church one out of six have experienced abortion. In the unchurched, it is one in three. And the average Russian woman is said to have had nine abortions. Wow! How many lives have been lost, how many hurting men and women suffer in the name of choice?
Can you relate to Hannah’s story? Has there ever been a time in your life when you thought that it couldn’t get any worse – and then it did? Maybe you haven’t experienced the pain of abortion, or maybe you have. Whatever you’ve been through, know that God has been there all along. Many times, I think He just patiently waits for us to cast our cares upon Him.
Have you had to use Plan B? By that, I mean, did you miss out on God’s perfect will (Plan A) for your life? Many of us have, probably most. As human beings, we become impatient and tend to take matters into our own hands. It can be difficult to wait on the Lord.
I’m so glad that God promises to never leave us nor forsake us. I’m thankful for Plan B and I sometimes wonder how many times I’ve missed out on God’s perfect will for my life by doing things my own way, or by just plain ignorance. How many blessings did I forfeit, how many eternal rewards have I lost? We can dwell on the negative or we can, like Hannah, move on and let God salvage what’s left.
But thankfully, God is more than just a salvager. He is a blessed redeemer. God not only forgives, He restores. God not only heals, He blesses. We see this many times throughout the pages of the Bible. Over and over again, God demonstrates His mercy, compassion, and loving kindness toward His creation. The ultimate manifestation was when Jesus Christ died on the cross and took the penalty for our sins. His redemption is ours for the taking, all we must do is ask and believe. (Romans 10:9-10 KJV)
Like Hannah’s sister Deborah, I think most of us are oblivious to the pain others are suffering. I know I am often guilty of being self-centered and unaware of others’ needs. How many times have I failed to show compassion to someone who was struggling? Of course, God doesn’t expect us to be mind readers but we should be sensitive to those around us. Often times, when we bless others, we ourselves are consequentially blessed as well.
My prayer is that you did not find condemnation, but hope between the pages of this book. I hope you have learned something that you can use, but more importantly, that this book will draw you closer to God and His infallible Word.
Thank you for sharing in Hannah’s journey.
To God alone be the glory!
J. Spredemann
A sneak peek at Book 2 in the Amish Secrets series…
A Secret Encounter
J.E.B. Spredemann
Prologue
Joseph Bender hung his head, contemplating the implications of his actions. Am I really shunned? By the disappointed countenances of his family, he realized it to be true. What would he do now? Where would he go? His father’s words played in his mind for the umpteenth time, “You are no longer my son. Leave at once. There is no room in this home for unrepentant sinners.”
Joseph heaved a sigh of defeat. He searched his mother’s face for some trace of compassion, but she could only look away as she blinked at the tears that trailed her weathered appearance. So desperately he wanted to reach his arms around his mother and embrace her one last time, but he knew the time for affection had passed. It expired the moment Bishop Burkholder read his sentence.
He threw an old duffel bag over his shoulder. It contained the few belongings he owned: two pairs of trousers, two long sleeve cotton shirts, a few undergarments, and socks. He donned his black coat that had seen better days and his straw hat, and walked out of his folks’ home, and out of their lives, forever.
In just a few short months, he’d lost everything he’d ever held dear…
Available at participating online eBook retailers Winter 2013-2014
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