Abram's Daughters 03 The Sacrifice by Unknown Page A

little. "Maybe Dawdi John will come over and look after our baby sister."
    "That's not such a gut idea, do you think? Not as quick on her feet as Lydiann is gettin' to be." Mary Ruth had a point there.
    "Jah, he may be hard-pressed to keep up with our baby sister; it's a good thing Dawdi John's hip has improved with Dr. Schwartz's help."
    Hannah was anxious for sleep to come.
    Mary Ruth yawned and turned to face her. "Do you ever wonder who it was Lizzie must've loved enough to give up her innocence before marry in'?"
    "I hate to admit it, but I've thought about the same thing. . . ." She didn't want to speculate, but she guessed Leah's birth father must surely be the son of one of the Hickory Hollow ministers. And, if so, well . . . wouldn't it be interesting to know just who? "Best be say in' good night now," she said, hoping to turn off the chatter.
    Ida found herself standing in the hallway where she had stood that first morning twenty years ago now here, at the top of the stairs, where the window looked out to the southeast, to the Peacheys' fine-looking spread of land. Tonight, though, she did not care to admire the smithy's acres and acres of corn and grazing land. No, she was looking up, high overhead. The stars captured her attention this night.
    Bless the Lord, o my soul: and all that is within me, bless hisholy name. She paused to rest her hands on her middle. O
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    jfrttlw < iiitl, place your hand of blessing on this babe of mine, fjjgjjmifig mi restlessly within, she prayed silently. HMeif ;.ln' stood, suffering twinges in her stomach on the ^^B .Npui where so long ago she had accidentally overheard ^Hiin iflling young Lizzie what she must do about her baby. ^^Jf Ii;u I begun to soften from the near-rebellious state she ^Hin when she and Abram brought her home to live with ^H|n Ma recalled, too, that Abram had repeatedly ques^Hnl I i.:;:ii- to no avail that same day. "Your baby's father . . . P""! in In:'" Her sister could only weep, not once mentioning
    i< youiif, mans name.
    i 'ijnv/v s/ie'II want to share the truth with Leah someday, Ida l|liniiK(lil, Mill staring at the sky strewn with stars. But deep IIIimIi!*, in ihat near-sacred place where a woman frets silently HBt her dear ones, Ida was fearful. Nervous for Lizzie and ^Hl I'nih, for what such a revelation might do to the good Bwfl u-liii ionship they enjoyed. But, most of all, she worried El \|ii;ini. If Leah were ever to know her blood father, would I i i ,1111 lose his rightful, even special place in Leah's eyes? She I "ilil only imagme what hurt this could cause him and the I All of them, really.
    [ 'hi- moved away from the window, wincing as she I id her stomach . . . her unborn child, wondering if
    |! '" natural father even knew he had a daughter. She liililrd down the hall, stopping at the first bedroom to look Hit mi l.i-nh, sound asleep, then on to Hannah and Mary H^i'. mom, where they, too, slept peacefully, like two small ^H*n" nearly nose to nose.
    ^L'lu'cking, observing, loving . . . her beloved family of ^^M, minus one. Would the hands of time turn things around
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    for Sadie? Would the grace and goodness of God the blessed Holy Spirit woo her to Him faster than the People's shun? She prayed it would be so.
    How she loved her girls, all of them equally, and she prayed as she walked the hallway, speaking to the Lord silently, imploring Him for each one's future. Ida longed for them to walk uprightly, to know the Holy One of Israel not only as their heavenly Father, but to embrace the atonement of His Son, the Lord Jesus.
    Bring peace to this house . . . to my heart, she prayed without speaking. At last she headed back to the bedroom where Lydiann slept in a wooden crib in the corner and Abram lay sound asleep, not knowing she had been walking softly and praying earnestly. Not knowing that all too often, of late, the wee hours were filled with sharp pain, and sleep was far from her.
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