Material Witness, Excerpt #1

Today I thought I’d share a short excerpt from Material Witness. This is from Chapter 10 (page 121). Melinda has learned that her son, Aaron — her handicapped son — is in danger. She’s hurried home to warn her family, but when she arrives no one is there.

As Ginger nudged Melinda’s hand searching for a treat, it was plain from her labored breathing to the way she shuffled her feet that she actually needed some water and a few minutes rest.

So Melinda unharnessed her from the buggy, pulled her into the coolness of the barn, and dropped a cup full of feed into her bucket. Then she made sure there was plenty of water for her to drink. Going through the motions of those chores calmed Melinda, forced her to think rather than react.

Her instinct was to turn and hurry back to town as quickly as possible, but hurrying wasn’t always the wisest course of action. Hurrying could get her family killed.

She needed to stop, rest the horse, and think.

She needed to focus and determine how best to prepare for the hours and days ahead.

She needed to pray.

(copyright 2012 by Vannetta Chapman)

Many of us admire the Amish–the way they support one another, the way they live simply, and the way they stand firm in their faith. I tried to show those things in this scene. Have there been times in your life when you wanted to hurry, but you needed to be still … and pray?

V~

p.s. – Click on the following title to link to more information (including purchasing links) for Material Witness.