The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer Read Free Book Online

mannerisms
     seemed Amish, too, and Lydia guessed it had been in the last few years that she’d
     left the Amish to marry this
Englischer
. What amazed Lydia most was that Marianna’s mem seemed comfortable around her daughter
     despite her decision to not be Amish. Lydia thought her mem had been the only one
     who hadn’t shunned a wayward child, as was expected. Maybe West Kootenai
was
a different place.
    Lydia offered a slight smile despite the ache in her stomach. Under any other circumstances
     she would have enjoyed getting to know this family. But here, now, her legs grew weak
     under her long skirt, and her shoulders and arms ached as if she’d been trying to
     hold herself together within the grasp of her own embrace.
    “Nice to meet you both. Thank you for opening your home. I best seat myself.”
    A silence fell over the place. The service was about to start.
    “Here, let me get those.” Mrs. Sommer reached for the wildflowers in Lydia’s hands.
     “I’ll put them in water.”
    “
Danki
. Thank you.” Lydia offered them over. She guessed Mrs. Sommer would put them in a
     jar of water and keep them in the kitchen since the Amish never used flowers to decorate
     a casket or room where the funeral was held.
    Lydia sat next to her father. So many
Englisch
in the room. How did they suffer through the two hours of songs and sermon in German?
    They started by reading a hymn, and then the bishop stood for a sermon. Even though
     she hadn’t attended an Amish service for many years, being amongst the simple people,
     with their deep faith, brought a peace she hadn’t experienced in a while.
    The bishop’s voice rose as he scanned the room. His eyes paused on her for a moment
     and then continued on. “What a person sows in this life, he will harvest in
ewigheit
. So Jesus says further, ‘
Lasset uns gutes thun und nicht mude warden
.’”
    “
He will harvest in eternity
,” Lydia translated in her mind. “
Let us not be weary in doing good
.”
    “For the one who sowed good seed, he shall find grace at the time of judgment. He
     shall receive a home in heaven—something that can never be stripped away. But if one
     sows the worldly seed, his reward is destruction—eternity in hell.”
    Lydia’s heart settled at the rise and fall of the bishop’s words. The cadence was
     beautiful…not something one heard in everyday life, walking on city streets. Was it
     just four days ago she’d been dodging taxis to run across the street and grab a chai
     latte from her favorite tea shop?
    Her shoulders straightened. Gideon sat with a few of the other bachelors. He glanced
     at her and offered a sad smile. Deep folds in his forehead displayed a pained expression
     andcompassion for her—for her dat. Seeing that comforted her. Even though their first
     meeting had been filled with angst, at least there was a somewhat-familiar face.
    Lydia held her emotions captive, binding them under lock and key, refusing to let
     them release. Heat surged through her from her effort, and she pretended someone else’s
     mem lay in the coffin. Unlike the few
Englisch
funerals she’d attended in which most of the service memorialized the deceased, in
     this gathering there was no talk of Mem other than stating her name, the date of her
     birth, and the date of her death. Instead the bishop continued on, speaking of Genesis
     and God’s creation of man for eternity. And then he shared the verses Lydia had heard
     at nearly every Amish funeral:
    “‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that
     sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed
     from death unto life.’
    “‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall
     hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.’
    “‘For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life
     in himself; and hath given him