Christmas Gift for Rose (9780310336822) by Zondervan Publishing House

front bench, looked concerned. The other Louisa had started to cry softly over Heidi’s terrible homesickness. Seeing the young girl’s tears, Rosa’s throat grew thick and tight.
    Rose stayed for another hour, helping Lucy by listening to the younger ones read, but when it was time for Rose to head home, it felt as if all her energy had been drained from her. Her arms felt like thick, heavy logs as she pushed them through her coat sleeves.
    As she’d read about Heidi’s longing for the world in the mountains—beyond the white walls of Clara’s fine house—Rose had understood that feeling, of missing what had been there for so long. It was homesickness. Even when her mind didn’t remember, her heart knew.
    Heidi lived within a luxurious home and had more fine things than she could imagine. Heidi had a good friend in Clara. Clara’s family had taken her in as their own. And still she ached for what was lost.
    And Rose’s losses seemed to be multiplying.
    She’d been so hard on Jonathan, but had she really taken the time to think about what she was giving up? She’d been so focused on how the community felt, but had she really allowed herself to think how she felt about Jonathan … and how he would feel when she turned her back?
    Why hadn’t she been more open—to Jonathan and to God?
    Rose slipped on her mittens, preparing to leave, thinking of Grandmother’s words.
“God knows better. He knows the right time to answer your prayers.”
It made sense that perhaps the time wasn’t right for her and Jonathan, but what couldn’tbe right about living with one’s birth family? Had her mom prayed for a different way? She hoped so. Not that the prayer was answered.
    Was it true that someday she’d thank God for those unanswered prayers too?

Ten
    B UNDLED UP , R OSE BID THE CHILDREN GOOD-BYE AND prepared for the mile-long walk home. The cold wind—which carried tiny ice crystals from a soft flurry of snow—hit her cheeks as she walked outside. There, sitting in front of the school, was a wagon. Rose stopped short. The back was filled with long planks of lumber, and Jonathan was perched on the front bench.
    “Need a ride?” he called.
    Rose crossed her arms over her chest. Part of her was happy to see him. But part of her feared again growing close to Jonathan. Feared having to tell him her truth. Yet, as she gazed at his bright eyes and wide smile, Rose couldn’t help smiling back. “How did you know? What are you doing here?”
    “Don’t you always read to the children on Fridays?”
    “Ja.”
Rose didn’t ask how he knew that.
    “Then would you like a ride?”
    She nodded and moved down the stairs, hurrying across the schoolyard with quickened steps. “But it’s only a mile.”
    “A mile you don’t have to walk now.” He reached a hand down toward her as she lifted her foot to climb aboard.
    Rose hoisted herself up into the wagon, and Jonathan scooted over. “Here … I’ll even let you have my warm spot.”
    She sat without argument, the words of Heidi’s grandmother coming to her once again. Perhaps she did understand a bit more about them than she’d thought. By wishing she’d stayed with her birth family, she was negating all she’d experienced and felt with those she’d grown up with. She would have missed out on Dat, Mem, and her siblings. She wouldn’t be sitting here now, with Jonathan.
    “Hey-ya,” Jonathan called to his horse. The wagon wheels squeaked on the snow, accompanied by the sounds of rocks being crunched as they left the schoolyard.
    They shared small talk. He discussed his work. “I’d much rather be working on the farm, but delivering lumber in the winter helps Dat and Mem.”
    She talked about reading to the children and about Heidi’s homesickness. “Sometimes you don’t realize what you have until you lose it—not that losing it was Heidi’s choice,” she rattled on as if Jonathan understood what she was talking about.
    “Would
you
ever consider leaving