The Winds of Autumn (25 page)

I couldn’t help but laugh just thinking about it. The laughter surprised me.

And then I turned my face heavenward and laughed again. How could one feel joy and sorrow at the same time? Yet I did. I felt good inside—clean and good. And yet I hurt. Oh, I hurt bad. I was smart enough to know I would hurt for a long time to come. I just couldn’t think of life without Gramps. But I wouldn’t grieve. For his sake, I wouldn’t grieve because he had asked me not to, because he was now in heaven where he longed to be. I loved him so much that I’d let him go.

I turned my steps homeward. A feeling of peace stole over me. Maybe that was what Aunt Lou had tried to tell me about. God’s love. God’s love there to hold me when I needed His comfort so much.

I took a deep breath. It was strange. The whole thing was strange. I had nearly thrown away my faith when I had lost someone that I loved—and here, at the loss of someone else I loved, I had had it restored again.

“ ‘God works in mysterious ways,’ ” I repeated to myself. I had heard Uncle Nat say those words, but I’d never really understood them before.

And then I looked at the sky above me, a soft blue with puffy little clouds drifting carelessly toward the south. The trees along the path seemed to whisper little secrets as the wind gently rustled the leaves. Early fall flowers were blooming under the branches, spreading their fragrance to make the woods a sweetly scented place to be.

I looked back at the sky, much as Gramps had done such a short time before, and repeated the words I had heard Gramps say on that day—for both of us, “Ah, summer. In summer it seems God is closer to earth than any other time of year.”

I wouldn’t argue with Gramps. God did seem close to the earth that summer as Gramps and I had shared our fishing trips and our chats. Summer would always be more special to me now, too.

But I had always been rather partial to the autumn. I looked about me. Already the leaves were subtly changing color, and just beyond the trees I could hear the neighbor men busily working in their wheat field. I loved autumn—and harvest.

My time of walking the path to the crik with Gramps was over. I would miss it. I would miss him! But somehow my life would go on. Gramps’ life would go on, too. He was just living in a different home now, that was all. It was not the end. It was really a beginning. A new beginning for both of us.

Books by Janette Oke

A
CTS OF
F
AITH
*
5
The Centurion’s Wife • The Hidden Flame

C
ANADIAN
W
EST
When Calls the Heart • When Comes the Spring
When Breaks the Dawn • When Hope Springs New
Beyond the Gathering Storm
When Tomorrow Comes

L
OVE
C
OMES
S
OFTLY
Love Comes Softly • Love’s Enduring Promise
Love’s Long Journey • Love’s Abiding Joy
Love’s Unending Legacy • Love’s Unfolding Dream
Love Takes Wing • Love Finds a Home

A P
RAIRIE
L
EGACY
The Tender Years • A Searching Heart
A Quiet Strength • Like Gold Refined

S
EASONS OF THE
H
EART
Once Upon a Summer • The Winds of Autumn
Winter Is Not Forever • Spring’s Gentle Promise
Seasons of the Heart (4 in 1)

S
ONG OF
A
CADIA
*
The Meeting Place • The Sacred Shore • The Birthright
The Distant Beacon • The Beloved Land

W
OMEN OF THE
W
EST
The Calling of Emily Evans • Julia’s Last Hope
Roses for Mama • A Woman Named Damaris
They Called Her Mrs. Doc • The Measure of a Heart
A Bride for Donnigan • Heart of the Wilderness
Too Long a Stranger • The Bluebird and the Sparrow
A Gown of Spanish Lace • Drums of Change
www.janetteoke.com

*
with Davis Bunn