Revelation (Abram's Daughters Book #5) , livre ebook

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137 pages

English

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Beverly Lewis Bestseller, Beautifully RepackagedIn The Revelation, Jonas Mast has given Leah Ebersol reason to hope again. Yet events threaten that might force Leah and her sister Sadie to reveal their closely guarded secret--a secret with the power to split the Mast and Ebersol families even further apart, this time forever.

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 juin 2005
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781585586820
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0432€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2005 by Beverly M. Lewis, Inc.
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2010
Ebook corrections 10.4.2012, 02.19.2013, 11.29.2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-5855-8682-0
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Cover design by Dan Thornberg, Design Source Creative Services
Dedication
Dedication
For Mary Jo and Helen Jones, two wunderbaar aunties.
Contents
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Part One
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Part Two
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About Beverly Lewis
Books by Beverly Lewis
Other Books by Beverly Lewis
Back Ads
Back Cover
Prologue
October 24, 1963
S ix endless days have come and gone since that wonderful-good crimson-and-gold-speckled day when Jonas returned to Lancaster County to declare his fondest affection for me. Yet I’ve had no word since—not even following his important visit with the bishop. And as each day passes I am mindful not to give in to fretting, losing myself in needless worry. I must simply bide my time till I know precisely what my beloved is up against. That decision will be made following Preaching service tomorrow, though I don’t dread this meeting as much as I did my sister Sadie’s kneeling confession, because Jonas did not commit a sin of the flesh, as Sadie did. His only transgression was to disobey Bishop Bontrager’s rigid position on never leaving the church of one’s baptism, a sin as defined by our Ordnung .
The winds of autumn bluster over Dat’s frayed fields and Smitty’s silver pond, and the sound reminds me of the work remaining to be done before winter sets in fully. Often I feel as if I’m chasing after the daylight, hoping to complete every last chore on my mental list. All the while the mules eagerly dismantle one bale of hay after another, growing thicker coats for the coming cold.
Sadie and I have talked frankly about Jonas’s return—I simply had to share my heart lest it burst apart. She is the only one who knows he saw me before he went to visit Bishop Bontrager, as he should have done straightaway. Honestly there are times when I am nearly giddy with anticipation, knowing Jonas is only thirty minutes away, living once again in the orchard farmhouse on Grasshopper Level. The sky seems nearly like a blue jewel on clear days, and I have never been so awestruck by the color and texture of grazing land, windswept dew ponds, or even the shy silhouettes of clouds. What I thought had long since died in me has sprung to vibrant life, surprising me all to pieces.
Truly, it is a rare night when Jonas is not present in my dreams, and he is my cherished first thought at daybreak. I carry within my heart the hope of one day being reunited with my darling beau, if God should see fit.
Still, I must be ever so careful not to let this renewed passion for Jonas distract me from mothering Lydiann and Abe. The dear Lord knows there are enough issues to provide conflict under one roof, including Lydiann’s rumschpringe, which, despite an unexpected twist, has thus far been innocent compared to Sadie’s running-around time long ago.
We have heard by way of Jake Mast’s letters to Lydiann that he’s chomping at the bit to get home and right the wrong he feels was done to him by his father—not to mention rekindle the flame with Lyddie—even though I am sure Peter Mast will continue to put the nix on things. My heart quivers at the thought of Jake’s potential return—a prickly prospect, to be sure. Although he remains in Ohio at the moment, Sadie and I agonize over what will befall us if his identity should ever be revealed. Truth be told, if the Masts were aware their youngest son is in fact Sadie’s, there would be no question in anyone’s mind that the two youngsters must never marry.
Thinking again of Jonas, I have no way of knowing if he’ll be expected to abandon his woodworking. The bishop, in particular, has scorned any livelihood but those related to the soil—sowing and reaping—and blacksmithing or other necessary tasks. For Jonas to be forced to farm would be heartache, what with his keen interest and skill in the area of crafting fine furniture. Just how long his Proving will last is hard to know . . . if the bishop will require one, considering the lesser sin he’s committed against the church.
Secretly, though, I fear something will yet keep us apart. I pray not, but alas, ever since first seeing swarms of ladybugs a few weeks back, heralding the advent of winter with its dearth of light, I have been aware of a sense of foreboding. Soon snow as thick as lamb’s wool will fall, and if I lose myself in the flurry, the road seems to become a looming tunnel . . . and as I imagine riding horse and buggy through its shadowy center, the eyes of my heart become painfully aware of the confinement. Try though I might, will I ever truly find my way out to the other side?
Part One

Our joys as winged dreams do fly;
Why then should sorrow last?
Since grief but aggravates thy loss,
Grieve not for what is past.

—Thomas Percy
Chapter One
A chill had settled into the rustic planks of the old farmhouse overnight, and Jonas worked quickly to remedy the situation. He crouched near the wood stove and watched the kindling seize hold of dry logs in a burst of flame. Temperatures had unexpectedly dropped to the midthirties in the wee hours, and the wind had crept up, too. His aging mother and his youngest sister, Mandie, Jake’s twin, would especially mind the cold.
Jonas had roused himself while it was still dark, enjoying the stillness and a renewed sense of duty since his permanent return from Apple Creek, Ohio. He had taken a mere two days to say good-bye to his longtime church friends and to pack his belongings—passing along his unfulfilled orders for several pieces of fine and fancy furniture to a good friend and seasoned woodworker. Here in Grasshopper Level, his father had given him permission to live at home, working alongside him, till such time as Jonas hoped to marry.
His father had made it mighty plain where he stood on the tetchy topic of marrying an Ebersol, but there was nothing he could do now that Jonas was thirty-six years old. Jonas pondered just how difficult Dat might make things, especially for Leah as his daughter-in-law. Would he exclude them from family get-togethers? And what of Jonas and Leah’s children, if God so willed it; would they ever know their Mast grandparents?
Hard as it was to envision his and Leah’s living with such a situation, Jonas was determined to get on with the business of marriage and having a family of his own. When he was most discouraged with his father’s disapproval, he had only to think again how the Lord had kept dearest Leah for him all these years!
But, for the time being, he must convince the bishop by his compliant attitude and willingness to come under the People’s scrutiny that he was ready indeed to begin courting Leah immediately following his confession at Preaching today. He suspected Bishop Bontrager of wanting to keep him at arm’s length. “There’s no need to be thinking ’bout doing much of anything ’cept farmin’ now,” the revered elderly man had pointedly admonished him at their initial meeting. “If you’re not so keen on that, then there’s not much for ya to do round these parts.” Such was not the case in Ohio, where a good number of Amishmen made their living making and selling furniture. Jonas guessed the reason Bishop Bontrager was so set against his woodworking was because he’d been creating fancy, fine furniture for Englishers, using turned lathe pieces and scrollwork. The bishop likely had in mind to get the hankering for such things out of Jonas’s system—even though the Ohio brethren had permitted them.
But Lancaster County was the original settlement of their Amish ancestors and remained by far the most traditional. Still, even if it meant Jonas could not sell them, he hoped to someday make at least the necessary pieces of furniture for his own house.
Hurrying out to the woodshed, Jonas was glad to be of help at the start of this Lord’s Day. He would do whatever it took to change the bishop’s mind about allowing furniture making to be his primary source of income, but only once the Proving was past. He was a woodworker through and through, but if required, he would attempt to make a living as a farmer and dairyman, or even perform o