Authors: Ruth Hartzler
Jeremiah 29:11-13.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
Chapter 9
.
“Dinner must be ready by now,” Mr. Glick said as he rose from the sofa.
“
Jah
, come on, Nettie. You can sit next to me,” Melissa said.
Nettie followed Melissa to the dinner table.
After they said their silent prayers, they filled their plates with the food from the center of the table.
Nettie considered she had covered her nervousness well while speaking to the Glicks in the living room and she hoped that she would be able to do the same throughout dinner. Nettie was pleased that she had an invitation to go skating with them, even though it was months away. Skating had always seemed so much fun.
Mrs. Glick’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Nettie, you’ve hardly put anything on your plate. Here, have some more chicken. You have to keep up your strength.” Mrs. Glick passed the plate full of chicken pieces to Nettie.
Nettie took another piece. “
Denki
. I do like the way you cooked the chicken, Mrs. Glick.”
“It’s a
familye
recipe,” Melissa said.
“A secret recipe?” Nettie asked, with a smile on her face.
Mrs. Glick laughed. “
Nee
, you can have the recipe if you’d like. I’ll let you know what’s in it after dinner.” She looked at her husband. “I don’t want to bore the men folk by talking about recipes.”
“For once.” Daniel laughed.
“It can’t be easy for you to live all by yourself, Nettie, with no one to help you with all the chores,” Mrs. Glick continued.
Nettie gave a little laugh, which to her dismay came out as more of a choking sound. “I’m used to it.
Mamm
was sick for so long that she wasn’t able to do anything.” Nettie did not like to say it, but she did find herself with loads of free time now her
mudder
had passed.
“Is it true that your
mudder
wouldn’t let people visit?” Melissa asked.
Mrs. Glick clanged her fork on the table. “Melissa, you should not say such things. It’s none of your business.” Her tone was scolding.
“That’s all right, Mrs. Glick. My
mudder
was a strange lady, I guess. She didn’t like people coming to the
haus.
I’m not sure why, and if someone knocked on the door, she wouldn’t allow me to answer it.” Guilt ate away at Nettie, guilt at giving away her
mudder’s
secret habits. She looked up at the Glicks. Mr. Glick was looking into his food, and he slowly shook his head. Mrs. Glick was staring at her, as were Daniel and Melissa.
“That’s weird," Melissa said looking at her
mudder
. "I’m sorry,
Mamm,
but I do think it’s a little weird.”
Daniel turned to Nettie. “Forgive my
schweschder
; she’s a little outspoken at times and doesn’t know when to hold her peace.”
“I don’t mind," Nettie said. "Everyone knew what my
mudder
was like. She did become quite a recluse at the end and forced me to be the same.” Nettie lowered her eyes. She had hoped they would speak of more pleasant things.
“I drove past your
haus
today and noticed how pretty your garden is,” Daniel said.
“
Jah
, I love gardening. The irises in the front are just coming out now and the daffodils have been out for some time.”
Mr. Glick put down his knife. “Would you take a part-time job gardening, Nettie?”
“That would be perfect for me. Do you know of someone who needs a gardener?”
“We could use someone to help in the garden, couldn’t we, Ursula?”
Mrs. Glick beamed. “
Jah
, we certainly could; I don’t like the garden. I have allergies and I get rashes from some of the plants. So it’s just Melissa to look after our huge garden, but she works three days a week.”
“Please say you’ll do it, Nettie. It’ll be such fun and I can help you on my days off,” Melissa said.
“I’d very much like that.
Denki
.”
Mr. Glick looked pleased. “
Gut
, you can work out the times with Ursula.”
Nettie pondered for a moment if she should offer Mrs. Glick a remedy, and then finally got up the courage to do so. "Mrs. Glick, would you like me to make you a herbal remedy for your allergies? A combination of black cohosh, chickweed, fenugreek, and ginger should bring you relief."
"Why,
denki
, how kind of you, Nettie."
Nettie found it hard to keep the smile from her face. She’d found a new friend in Melissa as well as the rest of the Glick
familye
and
Gott
had provided her with a job. Now all she needed to do was to find and destroy the new will, and then she would be happy.
Mrs. Glick and Melissa cleared the plates, Mrs. Glick again refusing Nettie's offer of help, and then the pair soon returned with chocolate cake over which had been spooned generous dollops of cornstarch pudding and then topped with nutmeg, along with liberal helpings of Nettie's rhubarb pie.
Everyone complimented Nettie on the pie, which made her go bright red, as her
mudder
had always said that vanity was the tool of the devil. Nettie had no idea how to accept a compliment, so simply said "
denki
" in a small voice and then ducked her head.
When they had finished the meal, Mr. Glick spoke up. "Nettie, Daniel mentioned to me the possibility of leasing your land. Would you be interested in that?"
"
Jah
, most certainly," Nettie said, quite pleased.
"I do realize you have to wait until probate is through until we can come to an agreement, but I wanted to make the offer first. I will be sure to pay you well."
"
Denki
," Nettie said, "but I must warn you that there is a slim possibility that my land might be taken away from me."
Mr. Glick nodded, and looked concerned. "
Jah
, Daniel mentioned that a
mann
had told you that your
mudder
had made a new will leaving everything to him."
Nettie nodded. "My lawyer knows nothing of that will, though, and I suppose if it hasn’t been found when probate is through, then it won’t matter."
Or if I find the will and destroy it
, Nettie thought.
"Leave it all in the hands of
Gott
," Mr. Glick said, waving his hand in the air nonchalantly.
It’s easy for him to say; he isn’t in danger of being homeless
, Nettie thought unkindly, and then immediately felt guilty. She had in fact been intending to take it out of
Gott's
hands and into her own. If she found the will, what would she do; could she really destroy it?
Jeremiah 31:3.
The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Chapter 10
.
Nettie was on her hands and knees, looking under furniture for the missing will. She swept under the furniture regularly, but now wondered if her
mudder
might have attached a box to the underside of the furniture. She had not uncovered anything by the time she heard a horse trotting up the road.
At first Nettie's heart skipped a beat, wondering if it might be Daniel Glick, then her elation was replaced with anxiety - what if it was Jebediah Sprinkler? And if it was Daniel Glick, she was covered in dust and did not look her best. Nettie hauled herself off the floor, rubbed her sore knees, and hurried out the front door. The bishop, Mr. Beiler, was just pulling his horse to a stop, and his
fraa
, Linda, was sitting next to him. They both smiled when they saw Nettie.
Nettie did not know whether to be pleased or alarmed. The bishop was likely to tell her that she should attend church meetings, and she didn’t know if she was ready for a roomful of people quite yet.
So, with some trepidation, Nettie greeted the bishop and his
fraa
and showed them both inside. "Would you like hot meadow tea or a cold drink?"
They both said they would like a cold drink, so Nettie soon returned with three glasses of cold, sweetened garden tea and some chocolate whoopie pies, which she set in front of them.
Nettie nervously sipped her cold drink and looked at the bishop over the rim of her glass. Her eyes traveled upwards to the ceiling, where, to Nettie's dismay, she thought she could see fly marks.
I must clean the ceilings
, she thought. Nettie felt as if she were about to have a panic attack; her heart raced so loudly that she was sure the bishop and his
fraa
would hear it, and her mouth went dry. She stood up abruptly to hold out the plate of whoopie pies to them, hoping the action would somehow snap her out of the panic attack. However, as she did so, her wrist twisted and the pies flew off the plate. Mrs. Beiler leapt to her feet and helped Nettie scoop up the pies.
"I'll be right back," Nettie mumbled as she hurried out of the room. Once in the safety of the kitchen, Nettie threw the pies in the trash and hurriedly looked around for something to replace them. She took out a fresh plate, and heaped it up with several cinnamon bread muffins. Nettie took two, big, deep breaths, and then holding the plate tightly with both hands, made her way back into the living room.
Linda Beiler smiled warmly at her, which put her somewhat at ease. Nettie carefully offered them both a muffin, and then sat down with relief.
"How are you doing now, Nettie, without your
mudder
?"
The bishop's voice was kindly, and Nettie studied him for a moment. His
baard
was ginger and graying on the edges, and he had a long, narrow face, and a long nose. It was a face that reminded her of the face of Jebediah Sprinkler. Nettie shivered involuntarily. "I'm okay,
denki
," Nettie said.
"Do you feel you are ready to come to the church meetings now?"
"
Jah
," Nettie said, but then thought,
I actually don’t know if I am ready for a crowd of people
yet
.
The bishop continued his questions. "Do you have everything you need?"
Nettie nodded. "
Jah
,
denki
."
"I believe your
mudder
left the
haus
and farm to you, but all her money to a stray cat protection league."
Nettie shot a look at the bishop; how did he know? Who had she told? She bit her lip. "That's correct. I'm going to lease the land to the Glicks when probate is through, but as my lawyer told me that probate can take quite some time, I've found part time work with the Glicks."
Nettie noticed that the bishop and his wife exchanged glances and smiled at each other.
"That is
gut
," the bishop said. "Yet are you troubled, Nettie? You seem troubled about something."
Nettie sighed.
I should tell the bishop, I suppose
, she thought. Aloud she said, "I
am
troubled. A
mann
called Jebediah Sprinkler came to see me and said that my
mudder
made a new will leaving everything to him. He doesn't have a copy of the will and said that there's likely a copy somewhere here, in the
haus
."
The bishop nodded. "Ah,
jah
, I remember. Your
mudder
wanted you to marry the
mann
several years ago."
Nettie was taken aback, but then realized that of course the bishop would know about her brief and unwilling engagement to Jebediah Sprinkler. Back then, her
mudder
was not so much of a recluse. Nettie wondered who else in the community knew.
"And you have found no such will?" the bishop asked.
Nettie shook her head. "
Nee
, and I’ve spent a lot of time looking for it. If there is such a will, then I’ll be homeless."
Linda Beiler spoke up. "
Nee
, Nettie, you mustn't think that. There would be a
familye
who would be happy to have you stay with them until you are married."
"Married?" Nettie was a little embarrassed that the word came out as a shriek, but why on earth would Linda Beiler mention marriage?
Linda smiled again. "Of course you will be married one day, Nettie." She would have said more, but the bishop interrupted her.
"Nettie, are you concerned about this
mann
taking away your
haus
and farm?"
"
Jah
."
The bishop smiled patiently, and said one word, "
Gelassenheit
."
"
Gelassenheit
?" Nettie repeated.
"Do you know that that means, Nettie?" The bishop's voice was gentle and kind.
"
Jah
. It means to submit; my
mudder
always said it."
The bishop smiled again. "It means to submit to the will of
Gott
," he continued, "even if it makes no sense to us. The ways of
Gott
are not the ways of man; who knows why
Gott
does what He does? But do you have faith that
Gott
will provide for you?"
Nettie wanted to lie and say, "
Jah
," but she did not in fact have faith that
Gott
would provide for her, which was precisely why she intended to destroy the will, if she found it. Yet she could not lie to the bishop. "I don’t think I do have faith," she said slowly. "I do not want to be living with another
familye
when this is my own
haus
and farm. It’s not fair." Nettie looked at the bishop to see how he was taking her disclosure.
He appeared unconcerned. "Do you remember when you were at
skul
?"
"
Jah
," Nettie said, puzzled.
"There was a little rhyme you said at
skul
, that all
kinner
say when they are
at
skul
:
I must be a Christian child,
Gentle, patient, meek, and mild,
Must be honest, simple, true,
I must cheerfully obey, Giving up my will and way
.
"Do you remember it?"
Nettie did remember the rhyme, but before she could say that she did, the bishop continued. "Nettie, you must give up your will and way. You must give up your will and way to
Gott
. It is the will of
Gott
that counts, not your will. You need to have faith that
Gott
will provide for you. Can you have that faith, Nettie?"
"I will try," Nettie said truthfully.