Measure of Grace (24 page)

Once again, both Derick and Diana thanked Laura for being so kind to their mother and left.

As soon as they had passed through the door, Martha broke down and sobbed.

Laura was not yet able to get out of bed, but she spoke to Martha in soothing tones, trying to comfort her. When Martha’s weeping subsided, Laura said, “Honey, this is a horrible thing you’ve got to deal with. My pastor could be a real help to you. He’s been out of town for a few days, but he’s due back today, and he said he would be in to see me when he got back. If you’ll let him, I know he can be a comfort to you.”

Martha managed a smile. “Who is your pastor, Laura?”

“Sherman Bradford.”

“Oh, I’ve met him. Our neighbors, Shamus and Maggie O’Hearn, speak highly of him.”

Laura’s eyes lit up. “My husband and I know Shamus and
Maggie quite well, Martha. We often get together for meals.

Picnics in the summertime. They are dear people. I’m sure you’ve found them good neighbors.”

“Oh yes. Stu won’t let me see them very often, but—”

A distinguished looking man came into the room, carrying a Bible.

“Pastor!” said Laura. “We were just talking about you. You know Martha Morrow? She lives on a neighboring farm to Shamus and Maggie O’Hearn.”

Smiling warmly, the preacher said, “Yes, we’ve met. How are you, Mrs. Morrow? You know the O’Hearns well, do you?”

“Yes, sir. Very well. Both of them have bragged about your preaching. They really love you.”

“Well, I really love them, too,” said Bradford. “Shamus and Maggie are some of my most faithful members, as are Laura and her husband, Glenn.”

“Glenn has been here twice since I was put in the room with Laura yesterday,” said Martha. “I like him very much. And, of course, I really like this dear lady very much, too.”

Moving up to the side of Laura’s bed, the pastor chuckled and said, “I sort of like her, myself. How are you doing, Laura?”

“Quite well, Pastor,” said Laura. “My doctor says I should be able to go home in another four or five days.”

“Marvelous! How about my reading you one of the Psalms?”

“I’d love that. How about Psalm 77? I love them all, but that’s one of my favorites.”

Bradford opened his Bible and read the requested Psalm to Laura, and Martha took it all in, listening intently.

When he had finished, Bradford commented on verse 13 and read it again.

“ ‘Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?’ And the answer is,” he said, smiling, “there is no God like our wonderful God.”

Bradford prayed with Laura, asking the Lord to heal her quickly for His own glory, and praised Him that she had come through her surgery so well.

Martha observed the tender moment as Laura’s pastor prayed with
her, thinking she had never seen anything like this. She was very much impressed with the pastor’s demeanor. Her opinion—as well as Stu’s—had been that all preachers were in it for the money, and taught their people to be fanatics about the Bible and its contents. Somehow, this man impressed her as being genuine and sincere in what he was doing. He wasn’t acting or speaking in a fanatical manner at all.

When he closed his prayer, Sherman Bradford turned back to Martha, ran his eyes over her cast and bruises, and said, “Do you mind my asking what happened to you, Mrs. Morrow?”

At first, reluctance welled up in Martha, but she decided she might as well tell him, since Laura knew. She told him the story, shedding tears in the process.

Bradford was very sympathetic, saying how sorry he was that this had happened to Martha and her children. Then he looked her in the eye and said, “Mrs. Morrow, I’d like to ask you something.”

“Yes, Pastor Bradford?” She afforded him a weak smile as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

“Let’s say the beating your husband gave you had been worse, and you had died from it. Would you have gone to heaven?”

Martha’s brow puckered. She ran her eyes back and forth. “I … I hope so, but I can’t say for sure.”

“Do you understand that a person can know they are saved from the penalty of their sins, and that they are going to heaven?”

“Shamus and Maggie have talked to me about it several times, Pastor. They have even quoted Scripture verses about salvation and forgiveness of sin. I … well, even though I deeply respect them, I have always felt that their beliefs border on fanaticism.”

“I can understand that, ma’am,” said Bradford. “Many people come from a background where they were taught that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation and living for Him is fanaticism. But if you just let God speak to you through His Word, it will change your way of thinking.”

At that point, the preacher began to quote passage after passage about the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary for hopeless sinners.

When he paused for a moment, Martha said, “Pastor, may I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“If God loves me as the Bible says He does, why has He let my life be so miserable? You’ve just heard what my children and I are suffering at the hands of my husband. Why does God let us suffer this misery?”

“There are many things about life that are mysteries, ma’am,” said Bradford. “We don’t always understand things that come our way that make our lives miserable, but in time, I can help you to understand some of them from the Scriptures. But more important than the misery you are facing right now with your husband is the misery you will face in hell forever if you die without Jesus as your personal Saviour. May I show you some more things in the Bible?”

Martha nodded, noticing that Laura had her head bowed, her eyes closed, and her lips were moving silently.

The preacher then took Martha to additional passages in the four gospels, showing her how much the Lord loved her. He laid out salvation’s plan plain and clear, and showed her the consequences she would face if she rejected Jesus.

As tears coursed down her cheeks, Martha said, “Pastor, what I thought was fanaticism is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard. Shamus and Maggie helped prepare me for this moment by quoting so many Scripture passages. God did so love me, Martha Morrow, that He gave His only begotten Son on the cross to die for my sins.”

She took a ragged breath. “I want to be saved, Pastor. Will you help me to know how to call on the Lord?”

“It will be my pleasure, Mrs. Morrow.”

Laura wept silently while her pastor was leading Martha to Jesus, and when it was done, the three of them rejoiced together in Martha’s salvation.

Wiping happy tears, Martha said, “I’m so glad to know that I am now a child of God, and am going to heaven. Now, I am concerned for my family. I want my husband and my children to be saved.”

Bradford and Laura exchanged smiles, then he said, “That is one of the first signs of genuine conversion: a burden for loved ones to be saved. Let me show you one more thing, then I’ll leave
for now, and give both of you ladies a chance to rest.”

The pastor then showed Martha in Scripture that as soon as she was able, she should obey the Lord’s command, be baptized, and unite with the church.

Martha’s first thought was what Stu would do when he found out she had become a Christian, and had been baptized and become a member of the church. At first there was a stab of fear, then a sweet peace flooded her heart. Looking up at the preacher, she said, “It will depend on when this cast comes off, Pastor, but as soon as it does, I’ll do as the Lord has commanded me.”

A
S
D
ERICK AND
D
IANA
M
ORROW
were driving out of town toward home, Diana said, “Derick, I think we should stop and tell Maggie and Shamus about Mama being in the hospital. Since Papa is in jail, he won’t know about it. They would go see Mama, and I’m sure it would help her. Especially since Maggie and Mama have been friends for so many years. She needs all the encouragement she can get.”

Derick thought on it a few seconds, then turned on the wagon seat to look at Diana. “You don’t think Mama will care if we tell the O’Hearns about all that’s happened, do you?”

“Mama needs a friend right now. I’m sure she won’t mind. Maggie is the best friend Mama has. I think she would want her to know.”

“Let’s do it,” said Derick.

When they arrived at the O’Hearn farm, Maggie told them Shamus was helping a neighboring farmer build a new toolshed and wouldn’t be home till suppertime. Seeing the serious looks on the faces of Derick and Diana, Maggie asked if there was something wrong.

Together they told Maggie about the beating their father had given Tom Wymore and why. Then they told her about their father’s anger toward Diana, how their mother had tried to protect Diana from being struck by him, and had ended up in the hospital as a result of the beating she received.

They explained that their father was in jail for beating up on
Tom Wymore, and also shared with her the threats he had made against Diana.

Maggie wept as she heard the story and said she was going to hitch up the buggy and go see Martha immediately.

At the hospital, Martha and Laura were both dozing when a nurse came in and told Martha that Chief Constable Bob Perry was there to see her. Laura looked on as Perry entered the room and stood over the bed. “Mrs. Morrow, I want you to know that I am very sorry for what your husband did to you.”

Martha adjusted the sling on her arm and winced slightly from the pain it caused. “Thank you, Chief.”

“The law says I must advise you, ma’am, that you can press charges against Mr. Morrow for beating you, and Judge Weathers says he will sentence him to a year in jail if you will. This will be added to the month he is in jail for beating up Tom Wymore.”

Perry saw an expression of fear flit across Martha’s face as she shook her head in tiny movements. “No. I can’t, Chief. I’d live in terror for that year, counting down the days until he would get out. I don’t dare press charges against him.”

Perry saw the compassion in Laura Thomas’s eyes as she looked at Martha. Nodding, he said, “I understand, Mrs. Morrow. There’s nothing the law can do about his intimidating you. We can only act after he has already done something—like this beating he gave you.” He sighed. “But as chief constable, I must at least advise you of your right to press charges. Thank you for allowing me to do that. I’ll be going now.”

“I appreciate your coming, Chief,” said Martha.

He smiled, started to leave, then checked himself. “I do want you to know that I have talked straight to him about what he did to both you and Tom. I hope that my words and the month in jail will cause him to get a grip on his temper and never do this kind of thing again.”

Martha smiled thinly. “Me too.”

When Perry started through the door, he stopped to allow Maggie O’Hearn to pass by him, then hurried away.

Both women saw Maggie, whose eyes widened when she noticed Laura in the bed by the window. “Well, isn’t this something? Martha, your roommate is a very close friend of mine.”

“I know,” said Martha. “We’ve already talked a lot about you.”

Maggie smiled, then looked at Laura. “How are you doing, honey?”

“Just fine,” said Laura. “I’ll be going home in a few days.”

“Good.” Then letting her gaze take in the cast, the swollen eye, and the facial bruises, Maggie said, “Martha, Diana and Derick stopped by on their way home from the hospital and told me the whole story.”

Martha nodded.

“Honey, this is terrible. I’m so sorry. And all because you tried to defend Diana.”

Martha closed her eyes and nodded again.

Maggie bent down, kissed her forehead, and said, “Bless your heart. You did what any good mother would have done.”

“She sure did,” agreed Laura.

Tears misted Martha’s eyes.

“Derick told me about Stu’s threats against Diana,” said Maggie. “I’m concerned for her, Martha. From Stu’s past behavior, I’m afraid he might—well, might—”

“Yes,” said Martha, thumbing tears from her eyes. “Me too. Did they tell you we’re trying to come up with a way to send Diana somewhere Stu can’t find her?”

“No. They might have if we’d had longer to talk, but they needed to get home, and I wanted to hurry in here to see you. But I can’t blame you. She’s got to be protected somehow. Any idea where you might send her?”

“Not yet. First we’ve got to get our hands on some money. Wherever we send her, it’s going to be expensive. If we owned the farm, I would somehow borrow against it, but since we only rent it, I’ll have to come up with the money some other way.”

Maggie drew a deep breath, and as she let it out, she said, “If Shamus and I had the money, we would give it to you. But we don’t.”

Martha took hold of her hand. “I know you and Shamus
would help if you had the money. But you know what?”

“What?”

“I have some good news for you in the midst of all this trouble.”

“Does she ever!” said Laura.

A questioning look captured Maggie’s features as she ran her gaze to Laura, then back to Martha. “Well, tell me!”

Martha let go of Maggie’s hand and brushed more tears from her eyes. “You know how many times you have talked to me about being saved?”