“Always,” she said, smiling.
“Do you want to go inside, Grandma? It’s a bed-and-breakfast now. They would probably let you look around.”
“No,” Emma said quietly. “No, let’s not.”
She turned away and rolled down the window on the other side of the car. Grace turned, as well, and followed her gaze. “Oh, you can see the river from here! You never told me that you had such a beautiful view.”
“That’s because I could never force myself to look at it. My bedroom faced the front, you see . . .” Emma’s voice grew hushed. “And that little hump of land in the middle of the river there . . . is Squaw Island. . . .”
They drove down the hill and across the bridge, following River Road to Friedrich’s church. “I wish I had a dollar for every time Eva and I walked this road into town and back,” Emma said. “And now the town comes all the way out here, just as Papa said it would. My, wouldn’t he and Mama be amazed at how huge their church is now.”
Emma didn’t want to go inside it, so they walked around the building to visit the cemetery in back. “See how old I’ve grown!” Emma said. “These huge trees were only saplings when Papa planted them . . . and I was just a little girl.”
All three women grew quiet as they gazed down at the three graves—Reverend Friedrich Schroder, Louise Fischer Schroder, Eva Schroder. Emma’s older sister, Sophie Mueller, and her husband, Otto, were buried nearby. Before they returned to the car, Emma stood on the small rise beside the Sunday school addition, where the parsonage used to be and looked out at the river again. “Only the river has remained the same,” she said. “There’s a lesson there—‘Joy and sorrow come and go like the ebb and flow.’”
Suzanne rested her arm on Emma’s shoulder. “Would you like us to take you out to Squaw Island, Grandma?”
“No, dear . . . that’s one place I’d prefer to always remember the way it was.”
Emma was solemn as she climbed back into the car. She didn’t look back at the church as they drove away but gazed sightlessly through the window as if deep in thought. Grace worried that this trip was becoming too painful for her. Then they pulled into Aunt Vera’s driveway, and when Emma saw her sister, her joy overflowed.
“Vera! Oh, I’ve missed you so! A lifetime is much too long for sisters to spend apart!”
“You haven’t aged a day, Emma! I’d know you in a crowd of millions!”
“I understand that you’ve already met my daughter, Grace, and my granddaughter, Suzanne.”
“Yes. And I’m so glad they kept their promise to bring you home again. You have a beautiful family, Emma.”
“Gracie looks just like her father, doesn’t she, Vera?” Emma’s voice had grown very soft. Her face wore a guarded look. Grace understood that she was asking Vera how much she knew, and pleading with her for acceptance and forgiveness.
“She’s the very image of him. And oh, what a handsome devil he was!” Vera’s hands suddenly flew to her face as she laughed out loud. “Did I really say devil? What an awful thing to call a priest!”
“Then you knew about my father?” Grace asked in surprise.
Vera smiled. “Honey, the biggest mystery of my lifetime was solved the moment you showed up at my door and told me who you were!”
Their reunion with Aunt Vera had been both touching and hilarious. As usual, Emma turned the smallest event into a grand occasion. When the day finally drew to a close, she accepted Vera’s invitation to spend the night, while Grace and Suzanne returned to the motel. Altogether, it had been a momentous weekend.
Early Sunday morning when she awoke, Grace felt a small shiver of excitement. Tomorrow morning she would begin her new job as director of Grace House. Too excited to lie still, she rose and began to dress.
“You’re up awfully early,” Suzanne muttered from beneath the covers.
“I thought I would worship at my grandfather’s church this morning. I read on the signboard yesterday that they have an eight-thirty service. I’ll wake you up when I get back, and we can collect Mother from Aunt Vera’s house.”
Suzanne yawned and stretched. “Would you mind if I came to church with you?”
“No! I’d love it!”
Grace hadn’t expected the church to be so crowded for the early service. The hallways were fairly bursting with activity as parishioners of all ages packed the sanctuary. She and Suzanne had to sit near the front in order to find empty seats. She recognized the pastor from their previous visit.
“We have a special guest this morning,” he announced after the opening prayer and praise service. “A former member of this congregation has returned for a visit and has agreed to play a special number for us on the piano.”
Grace’s heart began to pound. It couldn’t be! She turned and saw her mother striding down the aisle toward the front. Grace’s vision blurred with tears.
“This is Emma Bauer. She’s the daughter of Pastor Friedrich Schroder, the man who first established this church at the turn of the century and made it what it is today.”
Emma sat down at the piano to enthusiastic applause. “Thank you,” she said, smiling. “It’s so good to be home! You know, I was baptized in this church eighty years ago. Papa preached here, and I first learned to play the piano here. My goodness, so much has changed since those days! But isn’t it nice to know that in a world of change, God’s grace never changes?
“Papa loved the story of the Prodigal Son. He loved the way it portrayed God as a loving, forgiving father. When the prodigal came to him and said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee,’ there followed a glorious celebration in his father’s house. I’d like to play a song for you this morning. And, Papa . . . if you’re listening up in heaven . . . this song is for you too.” Emma closed her eyes and began to play, singing the words in her clear, strong voice:
“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see. . . .”
LYNN AUSTIN is a six-time Christy Award winner for her historical novels Hidden Places, Candle in the Darkness, Fire by Night, A Proper Pursuit, Until We Reach Home, and Though Waters Roar. In addition to writing, Lynn is a popular speaker at conferences, retreats, and various church and school events. She and her husband have three children and make their home in Illinois.
Books by
Lynn Austin
FROM BETHANY HOUSE PUBLISHERS
* * *
All She Ever Wanted
Eve’s Daughters
Hidden Places
A Proper Pursuit
Though Waters Roar
Until We Reach Home
While We’re Far Apart
Wings of Refuge
A Woman’s Place
Wonderland Creek
REFINER’s FIRE
Candle in the Darkness
Fire by Night
A Light to My Path
CHRONICLES OF THE KINGS
Gods and Kings
Song of Redemption
The Strength of His Hand
Faith of My Fathers
Among the Gods
www.lynnaustin.org
Lynn Austin, Eve's Daughters
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