Destination Hope - Book 5 - Reconciliation - Chapter 19

It's hard to believe Christmas is 23 days away, and at sundown, Hanukkah begins.

Again, I want to thank those who have written encouraging comments either on my blog or on social media. For new readers to this story, I linked Chapter 1. Chapters 2 - 4 are linked under September, 5 - 10 under October, and 11 - 18 under November.

Destination Hope – Book 5 – Reconciliation

A Novel By:

Charles J. Patricoff

Copyright © 2014 by Charles J. Patricoff. All rights reserved.

Chapter 19

Errors

With the priority list tucked into Eleanor’s purse, the Graham family struck out for town to obtain more provisions for the deepening fall and soon-coming, anxious winter. After they crested the ridgeline at Mount Hope Road, the town of Franklin, Tennessee came into clear view.

“It sure is a nice day,” Nathaniel initiated as they bounced over the washboard ruts etched in various patterns across the mixed dirt and gravel road.

“It is,” Eleanor said matter-of-factly.

With those two words, Nathaniel detected her nervousness. He offered another soft weather probe. “Feels a bit cool, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Eleanor lifted the blanket covering little William and checked his face. “It’s almost October.”

Another short answer. I wonder what’s bothering her. Do I dare ask? Nathaniel resorted to his reliable talent. He changed the subject. “Have you decided on a name for our horse, yet?”

“No, you do it.”

This is going to be a long day. Avoiding the issue, Nathaniel stated, “Well, she still seems to be afraid of her own shadow, so I thought we’d call her that.”

“Whatever you think is fine.”

Lord, did I do or not do something? “Okay then, unless I think of something else, or if you want to call her another name, Shadow it will be.”

Nathaniel expected a reply, anything, but Eleanor sat and stared at the town. What do I do, Lord? What should I say? What did the men say about their wives back in camp?

Nathaniel listened to the rhythmic clopping of the horse’s hooves striking the road, grateful that Chubby had put on a new set of shoes. He searched his memory. I remember the older, married men teasing me, how I knew nothing about women, and that the Bible is not much help. I think I’m seeing how right they were. If I recollect, Sergeant Huff stated that whenever his wife said something was, “Fine,” he might be in trouble and could expect a right fearful dressing down. Ellie said, “Fine.” I think one of the other fellas said something like, “If she says, ‘Nothing,’ you’re in bigger trouble.”

Nathaniel gulped. Well, here goes, nothing.“ Sweetheart, you seem to be troubled by something. May I ask what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing.”

Oh, dear God, help me.

Nothing.

Several minutes later, the Graham family rolled into the west end of Franklin, Tennessee, along Bridge Street. Nathaniel turned left onto Main Street and drove them past the Presbyterian Church located southeast from the town’s center. He turned right on the next avenue and pulled in front of their destination. After setting the brake, Nathaniel hopped down from his driver’s seat and tied Shadow to a hitching post within easy neck reach of a full water-trough. With horse and wagon secure, he rushed to aid Eleanor in disembarking.

He offered to take little William. Eleanor refused. She carried herself and William right into Mr. Puckett’s General Store. Nathaniel stood outside alone, with nothing.

Sunday, October 2, 1865 arrived and offered the first chilly morning in what most remembered as the worst drought in decades. However, a massive, early-fall storm brought much needed rain to the sun beaten crops.

With the blessing from Heaven, the people of Franklin, Tennessee gathered in their respective houses of worship to give thanks. Many came out of a sense of obligation. Some regulars looked forward to this time of worship, and a curious few came to hear their preacher who had returned home from the war. The pastor fought anxiety, for he would soon deliver a message he believed God ordered but assumed, they might not receive.

The congregation concluded their time of song with, “Amazing Grace,” which had become most popular, even in the South, where much unfinished business remained. As they completed the final chorus, Nathaniel mused, I’d wager most of these folks are unaware of the story behind John Newton’s inspiration. If they only knew, it represents not only his personal redemption, but also, his fight against the English slave trade.  This recollection bolstered Nathaniel’s courage as he eased into his place behind the podium for the first time since he left for the war four years prior.

Nathaniel placed his Bible on the wooden support, grabbed on to its sides with both hands, and surveyed the congregation. He stared for a second at the folks seated in the rear balcony, then said, “Good morning, everyone.”

As most responded in kind, he located Eleanor. She sat in the front pew to his right holding little William, who she covered with a baby-blue blanket. She offered an encouraging smile. If she only knew how much he needed it.

Adjusting his gaze, Nathaniel said, “It is very good to see so many familiar faces this morning.”  He smiled at Miss Pearl Peterson, Mr. Puckett, and the pillar of the community, the owner of Carnton house, as he attempted to calm his nerves, then added, “And a few new ones. There is no need to remind all of you that much has changed since I last delivered a message to our church community.”

As a few chuckles surfaced, a thought penetrated. They are nervous, too. So, rest in Me and present My word.

“Since this is my first message, I thought it would be appropriate for us to begin at the beginning. If you have your Bible with you, please open it to Genesis, chapter one.”

Many congregants flipped pages to locate the noted passage. Nathaniel noticed Miss Mary Alice Carter sitting a little greater than arm’s length away from Eleanor. Miss Carter did not offer to let her look on to her good book. His knuckles whitened.

Nathaniel gazed at his text. “I will read the entire chapter. I titled this message, ‘God created all of us equal.’ I suspect some of you might have opposed the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to our Federal Constitution, so I hope you will consider today’s sermon in light of our nation’s great need for reconciliation. Please follow along with me as I read.” He lifted his Bible began, “In the beginning, God created…”  When he reached the last verse, he allowed his tone, beat, and measure to emphasize, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Nathaniel laid his open Bible down on the podium and clasped both hands behind his back. He took a limping step to his left, reversed three labored paces to his right, and then returned to the center. “I admire God’s handiwork, don’t you?”

No response.

“Would you agree this morning’s air has a degree of freshness to it after all the rain we’ve had?”

Still, nothing.

Nathaniel chastened his line of inquiry. They did not come here to hear a weather report—get to your point. Gulping, Nathaniel stated, “I would like to draw your attention to verse 26. In times past, I would expound upon God’s use of the plural form, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness,’and I would couple this passage with Genesis chapter eighteen, how Abraham addressed the three visitors in the singular person as Lord. But I do not want to take note of these, today. Please consider the words God chose to use. ‘Let them,' referring to created man and woman, ‘have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.' ” Nathaniel paused.

Okay Father, here I go. I sure hope this is Your idea.  “What I want to draw your attention to is what God did not include in the list of things He has granted to us dominion over. Notice, He does not give us authority to dominate the lives of other men.”

A grunt came from near the rear of the church, off to Nathaniel’s right. It sounded guttural, disgusted, an obvious disagreement. Nathaniel noted no one affirmed his point with an, “Amen,” or even a casual, “Uh-huh.” He mustered courage. This seems harder than combat. He stepped to the right of the podium and offered a gracious, open gesture with both hands, palms up. Sweat beads surface on his forehead.

Nathaniel recalled a verse from Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 8. “Be not afraid of their faces.”  He said, “I wish to couple this verse with an admonition from our Savior. Please turn to Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 20, verses 25 through 28.”

Nathaniel returned to the podium and located the passage in his Bible. “On more than one instance, our Lord’s disciples squabbled concerning who would be important in His kingdom. In these verses, Jesus commands that they become like Him.” Again, Nathaniel lifted his Bible. “I’ll begin at verse 25.”

He read aloud, “But Jesus called them unto him, and said, ‘Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.’”

Nathaniel expounded, “In light of our restored nation, I am convinced we must embrace this truth from God’s word. I believe our founders understood this to be a ‘Self-evident’ truth, which nature—God’s creation—discloses. That great Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, documented this vision in our founding declaration. Have we forgotten that our founders attempted to remove slavery from the original colonies in 1774? But King George, a tyrannical ruler who dominated other men, refused to see the godly wisdom in our decision and forced the institution upon us by using his military might against his subjects.”

Several congregants adjusted their postures and posteriors in their respective seats. Nathaniel believed he had struck a resounding cord. He reached the point of his sermon that might stimulate a decision. “My friends, Abraham Lincoln understood this revelation and after reading many of his writings and speeches, I think he believed it with his whole heart and mind. For example, the speech he delivered at Gettysburg opened with the reminder that our nation was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Rummaging rumbled from near the rear of the church.

Nathaniel tried to ignore the disturbance. “Many of you, my friends, know I served in the Confederate Army. We fought to decide the matter for ourselves. We did our best to preserve our understanding of freedom. But folks, our country has embraced a definition of liberty for the whole nation and for all citizens.”

Mr. Arnold Orwell, a shabby, bearded man known as the town drunk, grabbed Mrs. Annie Orwell’s resisting arm and pulled her out of the pew.

Nathaniel looked to his left away from the noise. “Even if you personally disagree with this new definition of freedom, we must embrace it. The fact is, the institution of slavery is incongruous in a nation of free people.”

The disgruntled parishioner and his wife exited the church, slamming the entrance door as if to emphasize they would not return.

Pretending to be unmoved, Nathaniel said, “Yes, Lincoln used the same, possibly illegal, force against us. But today we have an opportunity to resolve the issue peacefully. We in Tennessee have resolved the issue at the state level. We have ratified the Thirteenth Amendment. I’m asking you to settle it within yourselves. I fear if we do not abolish slavery in our own hearts and minds, we may suffer the scourge of a greater judgment from God in the future. I believe He has given us an opportunity to repent of this national sin at a personal level. So that you know, as for me and my house, we reject slavery in all of its forms, and we embrace His liberty for all people.”

The silence in the church was deafening.

Later that afternoon, the Graham family rolled west, away from the Harpeth River valley. The lack of conversation caused a fleeting concern to the household’s head. Something might be upsetting his beloved, but he dismissed it almost as fast as it had poked his consciousness.

As the road’s incline increased, he shook the reins to encourage their young filly to keep up a steady walking pace. He asked, “How do you think the folks took to today’s message?”

The clopping of the horse’s hooves soon let Nathaniel know that at least two possibilities confronted him. One, he didn’t speak loud enough for Eleanor to hear, or maybe she took a minute to gather her thoughts before speaking. Nathaniel rejected the second notion and repeated the question with a touch more volume.

“I heard you the first time,” Eleanor said. “I’m not deaf, you know.”

“No, I know. You have good, if not perfect, hearing.”

“But what, then?”

“Uh,” he stumbled. “I wasn’t sure it you were preoccupied with other things and didn’t pay attention to my question.”

“What things?”

“I don’t know, maybe something for William?”

Eleanor nodded and then gazed into her baby’s face. They seemed to roll into a pocket of cooler air as she said, “I wish you would not have begun your ministry with a sermon like that. It seemed so…”

His wife’s long pause caused Nathaniel to take a deep breath. “Forceful, condemning, inappropriate, what?”

“I think the word I’m looking for is separating.”

Nathaniel snapped the reins, hard. “Separating.  You can’t be serious.”

The passenger’s side rear wheel bounced over a rock as if to stimulate Eleanor’s explanation. “Yes, I am. You told me your main objective is to foster a spirit of reconciliation in our church community, the rest of the town, and surrounding farm families. Is this, so?”

Nathaniel fought the challenge to his authority. “Yes, reconciliation is the mission I believe God called me—us—to accomplish.”

“I feel you took a Goliath stride in the opposite direction.”

“Why do you feel like that? It makes no sense to me.”

Eleanor’s tone hardened. “My husband, I thought you knew that most people remember the final point of a speech more than those made during it.”

Nathaniel filled his chest with cooler, leaf-moldering fall air. Smiling, he said, “Yes, I wanted our position known.”

“Oh, you made it clear, but I believe you failed to consider how your listeners might perceive it. And I feel you never gave it a moment’s thought how what you said might affect me.”

“I don’t understand.”

The little family neared the hill’s crest. From there, they would be able to see their home near the Sharp Branch Creek’s valley. However, Eleanor held her eyes closed. Nathaniel wondered she edited her coming response.

Then she lifted her chin and opened her eyes. “Whether or not you intended it, you drew a line between us and the fellowship. They may not be ready to accept the possibility that slavery is a sin in God’s eyes. Telling them makes you sound holier than the others. I fear this will make things harder for me. People will think I put you up to saying those things.”

Nathaniel rejected the notion. “I don’t believe anyone will think like that.”

“You don’t.” Eleanor shook her head as if she could not believe what she just heard. “How many people addressed you or shook your hand after the service?”

Nathaniel blinked. “A few.”

“How many greeted you in the past after services?”

“Many.”

“How long did it take you to discern God’s attitude toward slavery?”

With a quieter, almost childlike tone, he confessed, “Years.”

“What made you think you could change folks’ minds with a single message—one they may not be ready to hear?”

Nathaniel choked on his next words as he steered the horse to the left onto the path leading to their farmhouse. “I guess I assumed…”

“Too much, I fear.”

Nathaniel gulped. The possibility of his error sunk into the pit of his gut. “Maybe I should run my messages before you, first.”

“Maybe you should.”

“I think I will.”

 

Eleanor, Nathaniel and William rolled past the family graves in silence. When they reached the house, Eleanor climbed out of the wagon and gathered her blanket-wrapped baby and the baby’s things. She watched her husband drive the horse and wagon toward the barn. She wanted to enjoy the rest of the Sabbath, but a familiar emotion swept over her. Dewy-eyed, she tried to ascended the house steps, but her legs felt like foot-long iron chains linked them together, with shackles encasing her entire being. Lifting her eyes heavenward, she begged for an answer to her demanding question. Why do I feel so lost and alone?

Happy Hanukkah!