balm of gilead by adina senft

BALM ofGILEAD

A Healing Grace Novel

ADINA SENFT

New York Boston Nashville

Balm of Gilead - 2P Also by Adina Senft 2015-02-19 20:58:11 v

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents arethe product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Anyresemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, iscoincidental. Though the herbal recipes and cures in this book are based ontraditional herbal practices, please consult your doctor before using them totreat any ailments.Copyright 2015 by Shelley BatesAll rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, thescanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book withoutthe permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of theauthors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book(other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtainedby contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for yoursupport of the authors rights.FaithWordsHachette Book Group1290 Avenue of the AmericasNew York, NY 10104www.faithwords.comPrinted in the United States of AmericaRRD-CFirst Edition: July 201510 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1FaithWords is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.The FaithWords name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group,Inc.The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speakingevents. To find out more, go to www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or call(866) 376-6591.The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are notowned by the publisher.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data[TK]

Balm of Gilead - 2P Also by Adina Senft 2015-02-19 20:58:11 vi

Chapter 1

An Amish womans year, Sarah Yoder always thought, wasgoverned not so much by the twelve-month paper cal-endar on the kitchen wall than by the hand of God. Insteadof crossing off squares, a woman lived by the rhythm of thepreaching on every other Sunday, and by the cycle of theblossoms and fruit in garden and orchard.

Because of the wet spring and hot summer theyd had thisyear in Whinburg Township, the gardens had gone crazyand still were, here at the tail end of September with its chillynights and crisp blue days. A branch on one of the old Spar-tans in Jacob and Corinne Yoders apple orchard had actuallybroken from the weight of its apples, so the word had goneout and sisters day had been moved up to deal with theemergency.

Autumn was Sarahs favorite season. Every one held itsblessings, it was truewinter for the rest the plants took un-der their blanket of snow and for the lamplit evenings spentwith family and friends when there was no work to be donein the fields, spring for the tender greens and shy flowers andthe seeds going into the soil, summer for the long days ofgrowing and canning and putting by. But there was some-thing about autumn that Sarah loved more than any of these.

Balm of Gilead - 2P Chapter 1 2015-02-19 20:58:11 1

Maybe it was the sense of the earth giving back all that thework of her hands had put into it. Maybe it was the pantrywith its rows and rows of jewel-toned jars full of canned fruit,pickles, and vegetables. Or maybe it was just the quiet inthe air now that the fieldwork was coming to a closeairthat was still enough that she could smell burning leaves andhear the shouts of the little scholars going into the one-roomschoolhouse for their afternoon lessons on the other side ofthe county road.

Her younger son, Caleb, had had a briefvery briefmoment of nostalgia for those innocent days hed left behind,earlier at breakfast. As he tucked away ham and eggs and bis-cuits and strawberry jam, hed said, Its hard to believe myscholar days are gone for good, Mamm. I dont even have tokeep my work journal anymore. Can I have another piece ofham?

Shed forked a piece onto his plate and tried not to smile.An eighty-year-old man couldnt have reminisced any betterabout the days of yore. Are you looking forward to your firstday of work with Jon Hostetler?

His mouth full, Caleb nodded vigorously. With a mightyswallow, he said, Daadi Jacob says Im to keep humble anddo as Im told, and before I know it, Ill be running a workcrew and maybe even my own outfit.

Sarah stifled a pang at the thought of how quickly thosewords came out of a mans mouth. The years would run byjust as quickly and her boy, almost fifteen now, would beworking and marrying and going to his own home, one hewould probably build with his own hands.

Which was just as it should be, if God willed it.But for now, she would value every moment with him,

even the ones where she swore she would wad up the dish-

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cloth and stuff it in his mouth to keep him from talkingher ear off. There would come a day, she knew, when shewould give anything to hear him talking, even if it wasabout something mystifying, like how he helped HenryByler over on the next place fire his pieces of pottery inthe kiln.

But then, the whole subject of Henry Byler was mystify-ing, and one best avoided if a woman were to keep peace inher heart.

Her walk across the fields on the path that she, Caleb,and her older son, Simon, had worn into the soil broughther to her in-laws place for sisters day. Already she couldhear the voices of women raised in encouragement, exclama-tion, and laughter. Picking up her pace, Sarah cut throughthe backyard and walked around the laurel hedge into theorchard.

Half a dozen women and a few young men stood onladders, their dresses and shirts in purple, brick, and greenmaking them look like brightly colored birds in the trees.

Sarah! Corinne, her late husbands mother, was fillinga basket next to the poor abused Spartan, which thankfullywas old enough and low enough that she didnt need toclimb up on a ladder. In her early sixties, Corinne still hadthe sunny smile of a girl as she waved, the breeze catchingat her purple dress. Choose any tree you like. Were deter-mined to lighten the load on the branches by at least half,and make as much applesauce as we possibly can by dinner-time.

And pie, called Corinnes youngest daughter, Amanda,who at twenty-one was the only child still at home. Not tomention tarts, strudel, and Schnitz.

Yes, Amanda was still at home . . . but not for lack of

Balm of Gilead 3


matchmaking attempts by her whole family. Sarah, Corinne,and her other sisters-in-law, Miriam and Barbara, were goingto have to put their heads together and see if they couldntimprove their results in that department.

Ja, it was true that God had His plan for Amanda, andHe would reveal the special someone He had in mind forher in His own good time. But plans could be helped along,couldnt they? Didnt the Scripture say that all things workedtogether for good to them that loved God, and were calledaccording to His purpose?

If the Bible said it, then it was so.What did you bring? Corinne called. Whatever it is, I

hope theres lotsthis is hungry work.Sarah lifted the plastic container. Pumpkin cupcakes with

cream cheese frosting.Amanda whooped. My favorite!Ill just put them in the house and be right back. It

only took a minute to drop the container on the counterwith those of the other women, and hurry back out. Shechose a tree, and Jake Byler tilted one of the ladders againsta thick branch. Sarah picked up a basket and balanced iton one hip as she climbed, then settled to the work ofpicking.

This ones full, Jaketake it, please, and hand me up an-other. With one hand, he passed a basket up to his mother,Barbara Byler, in the next tree while she let down her full oneto his shoulder. As her boy loaded it on the childrens wagonthat was usually hitched to a pony, Barbara smiled throughthe leaves at Sarah. I got a letter from Joe this morningdid you get one from Simon?

Nowhat did he say? Are they coming home? Oh, shehoped so. Her elder boy had left unexpectedly in the spring

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to go and work at a dude ranch in Coloradospreading hiswings, as the Youngie did during Rumspringe, their season ofrunning around. But no one in Willow Creek had expectedhim to fly all the way to Colorado, much less take his bestfriend, Joe Byler, with him. Both of them were steady boys,thoughtful, hardworking. Not the kind who would try some-thing so outlandish, and most especially not against theirparents wishes.

There had been a time or two when Sarah had wonderedif she would ever see her boy again. He might be anotherwomans child, but when shed married his father, Michael,he had become her own son in every way, so that it hadntmattered that she hadnt borne him herself. His absence left avoid in her heart that only his return would fill.

They are, Barbara said, a note in her voice telling Sarahthat she was this close to jumping up and down on her lad-der and cheering. When they went to town to mail theletter, he said they were going to see about the bus schedule,and that would tell them what train to get. She loweredher voice. I dont mind telling you that I wont feel easyuntil Joe is back in his own bed and I can see him with myown eyes.

Do you think theyll stay home now? Sarah voiced herown thoughts on the matter for the first time. Do you thinkthis travel bug is out of their systems for good?

Barbara was about the only person she could ask such aquestion of, because no one else in Willow Creek had hadtheir sons go much farther than Whinburg or Strasburg.Well, unless you counted Timothy Yost a generation ago, buthis father had thrown him out of the house in the middle ofsuch an ugly situation that it had taken both men more thantwenty years to be reconciled.

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Sarah could safely say that that would never happen be-tween herself and Simon, even though he was a passionateyoung man who thought and felt much more than he eversaid.

I think Joe is about done with Rumspringe, Barbara toldher. He didnt come out and say it in a letter, but from aquestion or two he asked about some of the other youngfolks, I got the feeling he wants to settle down and start bap-tism classes.

Ah. Sarah let out a long sigh. That does sound gut. Imglad to hear it.

What about Simon? What does he say?Oh, you know him. If nothing else, at least this summer

Ive found out what kind of a correspondent he is. By whichI meannot a very good one.

Barbara laughed and let a couple of apples roll into herbasket, making a hollow sound on the laths. Thats a boy foryou. Come on. First one to fill her basket gets one of thosecupcakes.

Later that afternoon, in the kitchen, Sarah made sure Bar-bara got one, because it was a simple fact that her large,square hands were better at coaxing the fruit off theirbranches than Sarahs own were. When she came back, shefound Miriam, her sister-in-law, leaning against the counterbreathing in the scent of the coffee in her cup as though itwere the finest perfume.

Ischt gut, Miriam said, seeing that Sarah had caught her.She offered her the cup. When Sarah looked surprised, sheshook her head. I love the smell of it, but thats it for me.The doctor says no more than two cups a day. Thats going tomean some big changes.

Id say so. Is it your heart?

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Miriam nodded sadly, watching Sarah pour a little creaminto the cup and taste it. Cut down the coffee and sugar, andeat more vegetables, and this rapid heartbeat problem willlook after itself.

Would you like me to make you a tea to drink? I have arecipe that calms the body and the mind. I would love it ifyoud let me.

I cant put you to that trouble, Sarah.But Sarah knew that Miriam would be the first person to

put herself to the trouble of helping just about anyone else.Its no trouble. Youve done so much for me and the boysplease let me do this little thing for you.

After a seconds hesitation, Miriam finally nodded. I haveto be smart about this, dont I? Mamms father and Datsmother both died of heart disease, so its in the family. But ifder Herr wills it, then

We wait on His will, Sarah said softly, but in the mean-time, were good stewards of the temples He gave us for Hisspirit to dwell in. And if the doctor tells you to take care ofyour heart, then you do that and no fussing.

Miriams smile was real this time. So bossy.I know.They both laughed, and across the room, their mother-in-

law, Corinne, looked up, love for the two of them softeningher face. Not for the first time, Sarah thanked the gut Gottin Heaven for the family to which Hed brought her. Thoughshed lost Michael nearly six years ago, his family was herfamily, as loving and close as if shed been born to it.

Once again, her mind flew across the creek and over thehill that divided her five acres from the place that now be-longed to Henry Byler. Henry, alone on his late aunts shabbyfarm, bravely trying to make a living with his hands and re-

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sisting with every cell of his being the call of God to returnto the church and community where he belonged.

But she must not think of him. That was GinnyHochstetlers place now. He had chosen his future when hedasked Ginny to be his wife, and all the wishing in the worldwouldnt unmake that choice.

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balm of gilead by adina senft

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