Authors: Wanda E. Brunstetter
The Decision
© 2015 by Wanda E. Brunstetter
ISBN 978-1-61626-088-0
eBook Editions:
Adobe Digital Edition (.epub) 978-1-63409-249-4
Kindle and MobiPocket Edition (.prc) 978-1-63409-250-0
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without written permission of the publisher.
All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
All German-Dutch words are taken from the
Revised Pennsylvania German Dictionary
found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously.
Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
Cover design: Faceout Studio,
www.faceoutstudio.com
For more information about Wanda E. Brunstetter, please access the author’s website at the following Internet address:
www.wandabrunstetter.com
Published by Shiloh Run Press, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683,
www.shilohrunpress.com
.
Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses
.
Printed in Canada.
To caregivers everywhere, who selflessly give to others.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy
.
M
ATTHEW 5:7
CONTENTS
Arthur, Illinois
E
dna Schrock shivered and pulled her woolen shawl tightly around her shoulders as she stepped out of the house Saturday evening. The air was cold and windy, like it had been most of the winter, yet it was two weeks into spring. They ought to be having warmer weather by now, but winter didn’t seem to want to give in just yet. Last week, the temperatures rose into the upper seventies, and everyone caught spring fever. Neighbors and friends began preparing their gardens, and fields had already been plowed and were ready to be planted. Green shoots from flowers were coming up, and buds on the maples had turned red. Unfortunately, this time of year it wasn’t unusual for the weather to tease people into thinking winter was finally gone. The calendar might say it was April, but Mother Nature said otherwise.
Heading toward the barn, where her grandfather had gone to check on the horses, Elaine hurried her footsteps. The wind howled noisily. She glanced toward the darkening sky and shivered. It almost felt like it could snow.
Elaine entered the barn and headed for the horses’ stalls. “Grandpa,” she called, seeing no sign of him in the first stall where Grandma’s horse, Misty, had bedded down for the night.
She stopped to listen, but there was no response.
Moving on to the stall where her own horse, Daisy, was kept, Elaine still saw no sign of Grandpa. When she reached across the gate to stroke the mare’s head, she heard a low moan coming from the next stall.
Hurrying over, Elaine gasped. Grandpa lay in the straw a few feet from his horse, Dusty. “Grandpa, what happened? Did you slip and fall?” she asked, opening the gate and quickly entering the stall.
Grandpa’s eyelids fluttered, and he clutched his chest. “Lainie,” he murmured, using the nickname he’d given her when she was a girl.
“I’m here, Grandpa,” she said, dropping to her knees beside him. “Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
“I—I am
katzodemich
,” he mumbled.
“You’re short of breath?” Elaine’s heart pounded when he gave a feeble nod. Although she tried to remain calm, she couldn’t help noticing Grandpa’s pale skin and the bluish tint to his fingers and lips.
“Lie still, Grandpa,” she murmured. “I’ll run out to the phone shanty and call for help.”
“No, wait,” he said, clasping her hand. “There’s something I need to ask you.”
“What is it?” Elaine leaned closer to him, barely able to make out his words.
“If I don’t make it—will you promise me something?” Grandpa’s voice seemed to be growing weaker.
“Of course, Grandpa. What is it?”
“Look after your grandma for me. She—she’ll need someone to care for her now. C–can you promise me that?”
Tears welled in Elaine’s eyes as she held his cold hand. “I promise that I’ll always be there for Grandma, no matter what.” She gave his fingers a reassuring squeeze. “Help will be here soon, Grandpa. Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”
Elaine rose to her feet and dashed out of the barn. It had begun to rain hard, and the bleakness of her mood matched that of the foreboding sky. Tension mounted in her chest as she raced on shaky legs toward the phone shanty. The cold, wet drops made it hard to hurry as she slipped along, trying not to lose her footing. “Dear Lord,” she prayed out loud, “please let my grandpa be okay. Grandma needs him, and so do I.”
T
ears coursed down Elaine’s cheeks and dripped onto the front of her black mourning dress. The mourners had arrived at the cemetery a few minutes ago, ready to put Grandpa Schrock’s body to rest in the ground. He’d died of an apparent heart attack just moments after the paramedics arrived Saturday evening. This morning, because Grandma wanted it that way, Grandpa’s funeral service had been held in a large tent outside their home, rather than in the Otto Center, where some local Amish funerals took place.
During the service, one of the ministers quoted Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Grandpa had always been merciful to others, and so had Grandma. When Elaine was five years old and her parents had been killed in a buggy accident, her father’s parents had taken her in. They’d been wonderful substitute parents, teaching, loving, and nurturing Elaine, yet asking so little in return. She only hoped she could live a life that would be pleasing not only to Grandma, but also to God.
If I’d only found Grandpa sooner, could he have been saved?
Elaine wondered.
Oh, Grandpa, I already miss you so much
.
Elaine glanced over at her grandmother, standing to her left with hands folded, as though praying. Her eyes brimmed with tears. Grandma Schrock was a strong woman, but the grief she felt over losing her husband of forty-five years was evident on her face. And why wouldn’t it be? Elaine’s grandparents always had a deep, abiding love for each other, and it showed in everything they said and did as a couple. Elaine hoped to experience that kind of love when she got married someday.
Taking Grandma’s hand, Elaine’s throat constricted as Grandpa’s simply crafted wooden coffin was placed inside a rough pine box that had already been set in the opening of the grave. Death for the earthly body was final, yet she was confident that Grandpa’s soul lived on and that he now resided in a much better place. Grandpa had lived the Christian life in every sense of the word, and he’d told Elaine many times that he loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind. Yes, Elaine felt certain that Grandpa was in heaven with Jesus right now and perhaps even looking down on them with a smile. Did Grandma feel it, too? Quite possibly she did, for she gave Elaine’s fingers a gentle squeeze as she turned her face toward the blue sky.
Thank You, Lord, for giving us a sunny day to say our good-byes
, Elaine prayed.
A slight chill hung in the air, but at least it wasn’t raining, and only a gentle breeze whispered among the many headstones surrounding them. A bird chirped from a tree outside the fenced-in graveyard, as though offering comfort and a hope for the future.
A group of men from their church district began to sing while the grave was filled in by the pallbearers. Elaine winced. Although she had been quite young when her parents died, she still remembered standing in the cemetery during the burial, holding her grandparents’ hands. Elaine’s maternal grandparents, who had since died, had been living in Oklahoma back then. They had decided not to uproot Elaine from the only home she’d known, and she was grateful that Grandma and Grandpa Schrock had been more than willing to take her in. As the last shovelful of dirt was placed over the coffin, Elaine remembered her final words with Grandpa and her promise to take care of Grandma.
And I will
, Elaine reminded herself.
For as long as Grandma needs me, I will be there for her
.
Bishop Levi Kauffman asked the congregation to pray the Lord’s Prayer silently, which concluded the graveside service. It was time to start back to the house for the funeral meal their friends and neighbors had prepared, but Elaine had no appetite. She’d be going through the motions and doing what was expected of her. Grandma would no doubt do the same.
Scanning the faces of close friends and church members, Elaine saw that the heartache she and Grandma felt today was shared by all. Although nothing had been said during the funeral service earlier this morning about Grandpa’s attributes, everyone knew that Lloyd Schrock was a kind, caring man. Having farmed in this community from the time he’d married Grandma until his recent retirement, Grandpa had proved his strong work ethic and commitment to the community. How many times had Elaine witnessed him getting up at the crack of dawn to head out to the fields without a word of complaint? Grandma always got up with him and made sure he ate a hearty breakfast before beginning another busy day. She’d done the same for Elaine throughout her school days.
Elaine would miss their shared meals, as well as Grandpa’s smile and the stories he often told. On cold winter evenings, they would sit by the fire, enjoying apple cider and some of Grandma’s delicious pumpkin or apple pie. All the wonderful times the three of them had together would be cherished memories.
As folks turned from the grave site and began walking back to their buggies, Elaine’s friends Priscilla Herschberger and Leah Mast approached Elaine and her grandmother and hugged them warmly. No words were necessary. These two young women had been Elaine’s best friends since they were children, and even though at twenty-two Elaine was the youngest of the three, they’d always gotten along well.