The Truth About Natalie
As Mirah and Mr. Benson stepped into the airport in Kansas City, joy swept over Mirah. There was Natalie, arms outstretched, rushing to greet her. She almost felt she was reliving that day so long ago when she had first come to the states to visit Natalie and was so touched by her beautiful family. Natalie looked a little thinner than she remembered her, but once again she saw that same light in her eyes and felt that same lovely warmth that flowed from her.
As they embraced and tears filled their eyes, Mirah felt hesitant to ever let go. Mr. Benson, watching this scene, was deeply moved.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, this is as it should be.” And he rubbed his own eyes.
Mirah was elated to see her old friend just as she remembered her, before Edward's death. She was so glad to have Natalie back. Now she knew she wanted this no matter what repercussions there might be. This dear, dear person was back and so was the peace that had left her in that gloomy hospital room. This love and friendship was well worth any price.
When they did finally release their embrace, Mirah remembered Mr. Benson. “Oh, Natalie, do you remember Mr. Benson, the gardener?”
“Yes, yes, of course. How could I ever forget dear Mr. Benson, who kept me out of trouble so many times when I was little? Good to see you!” She grabbed his hand and shook it warmly. Mr. Benson beamed.
“Your Majesty!” he said. But Natalie immediately disapproved. “Oh, no, Mr. Benson. No titles of superiority among friends who are all equals. I just won't have it!” She was smiling and added with a pleading look, “please?” This being said so sweetly, Mr. Benson could not resist.
He and Mirah felt awkward to treat their princess as an equal, but they could see that it was important to her. She was clearly in earnest, so they both agreed.
“Good. Thank you,” she said. “Now let me get you home where we can have lunch together and you can rest after your long trip.”
“Well, Mr. Benson was planning on getting a room here in town,” Mirah explained. “Please don't be angry with me for letting him know about you, Natalie. I hadn't planned to but he accidentally saw me after I talked to you and could see I was troubled. He is my friend and I needed someone I could trust to talk to. You can trust him completely.”
“It's okay, Mirah. I know he wouldn't be here with you if that weren't so. You've always been good to me. I trust your judgment. As I said, Mr. Benson covered for me many a time when I might otherwise have been in hot water with my mother.” She smiled at Mr. Benson.
“But is there some reason why you would rather stay here, Mr. Benson? I have more than enough room in my home and I'm so glad to see you both. It's such a wonderful day. Couldn't we share it?” “But I sort of imposed myself on Miss Mirah without an invitation. I thought she could use some support, and, well....”
“Oh, it doesn't matter, I am sure! Please let's be together!”
Mirah was relieved and happy. “If you're certain, Miss. I'd love to.” Mr. Benson not only agreed but was obviously thrilled. Mirah took him by the arm, saying, “We'll have a great time together.” He beamed like he had just received a present. He was enjoying himself immensely already. It did seem strange, however, seeing Natalie get into the driver's seat to drive them home. She had always been chauffeured when she lived at home in her mother's domain.
The drive to her home in the country took about thirty-five minutes. On the way, she and Mirah did most of the talking while Mr. Benson listened, took in the scenery and watched Natalie closer than she realized. Natalie asked about how things were back on the island and about nearly everyone except for the Queen. She asked what kind of changes there had been. Mirah filled her in, mostly on the differences in people she knew and in the staff.
“Mr. Benson and Susanne have changed quite a bit. They've become very religious and become good friends. They say it began with that incident in the garden when she cut her chin and Edward prayed for her.”
“Really.” It was more of an expression of pleased surprise than a question. “That was amazing. I remember it well. You should have seen it, Mirah. That awful deep cut, bleeding profusely, stopping and beginning to close up instantly as soon as he prayed. Even the doctor didn't know what to think when he saw it. Do you remember the look on his face when Susanne refused stitches and just walked off?” she asked Mr. Benson.
“Do I ever!” They both chuckled. “That day was the beginning of a new life for me, too,” Natalie added as she was pulling into her driveway.
“Here we are. This is home.” She pulled halfway up the drive and stopped. “We can talk more at lunch. I'm sure you've been wondering what has gone on with me for seven years. There's a lot to tell but I want to hear about you and Susanne, too.”
“I'll be glad to tell you,” Mr. Benson replied as he was springing out of the car. “Look at this!”he exclaimed. “Why, you're on the edge of the woods!
As they embraced and tears filled their eyes, Mirah felt hesitant to ever let go. Mr. Benson, watching this scene, was deeply moved.
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, this is as it should be.” And he rubbed his own eyes.
Mirah was elated to see her old friend just as she remembered her, before Edward's death. She was so glad to have Natalie back. Now she knew she wanted this no matter what repercussions there might be. This dear, dear person was back and so was the peace that had left her in that gloomy hospital room. This love and friendship was well worth any price.
When they did finally release their embrace, Mirah remembered Mr. Benson. “Oh, Natalie, do you remember Mr. Benson, the gardener?”
“Yes, yes, of course. How could I ever forget dear Mr. Benson, who kept me out of trouble so many times when I was little? Good to see you!” She grabbed his hand and shook it warmly. Mr. Benson beamed.
“Your Majesty!” he said. But Natalie immediately disapproved. “Oh, no, Mr. Benson. No titles of superiority among friends who are all equals. I just won't have it!” She was smiling and added with a pleading look, “please?” This being said so sweetly, Mr. Benson could not resist.
He and Mirah felt awkward to treat their princess as an equal, but they could see that it was important to her. She was clearly in earnest, so they both agreed.
“Good. Thank you,” she said. “Now let me get you home where we can have lunch together and you can rest after your long trip.”
“Well, Mr. Benson was planning on getting a room here in town,” Mirah explained. “Please don't be angry with me for letting him know about you, Natalie. I hadn't planned to but he accidentally saw me after I talked to you and could see I was troubled. He is my friend and I needed someone I could trust to talk to. You can trust him completely.”
“It's okay, Mirah. I know he wouldn't be here with you if that weren't so. You've always been good to me. I trust your judgment. As I said, Mr. Benson covered for me many a time when I might otherwise have been in hot water with my mother.” She smiled at Mr. Benson.
“But is there some reason why you would rather stay here, Mr. Benson? I have more than enough room in my home and I'm so glad to see you both. It's such a wonderful day. Couldn't we share it?” “But I sort of imposed myself on Miss Mirah without an invitation. I thought she could use some support, and, well....”
“Oh, it doesn't matter, I am sure! Please let's be together!”
Mirah was relieved and happy. “If you're certain, Miss. I'd love to.” Mr. Benson not only agreed but was obviously thrilled. Mirah took him by the arm, saying, “We'll have a great time together.” He beamed like he had just received a present. He was enjoying himself immensely already. It did seem strange, however, seeing Natalie get into the driver's seat to drive them home. She had always been chauffeured when she lived at home in her mother's domain.
The drive to her home in the country took about thirty-five minutes. On the way, she and Mirah did most of the talking while Mr. Benson listened, took in the scenery and watched Natalie closer than she realized. Natalie asked about how things were back on the island and about nearly everyone except for the Queen. She asked what kind of changes there had been. Mirah filled her in, mostly on the differences in people she knew and in the staff.
“Mr. Benson and Susanne have changed quite a bit. They've become very religious and become good friends. They say it began with that incident in the garden when she cut her chin and Edward prayed for her.”
“Really.” It was more of an expression of pleased surprise than a question. “That was amazing. I remember it well. You should have seen it, Mirah. That awful deep cut, bleeding profusely, stopping and beginning to close up instantly as soon as he prayed. Even the doctor didn't know what to think when he saw it. Do you remember the look on his face when Susanne refused stitches and just walked off?” she asked Mr. Benson.
“Do I ever!” They both chuckled. “That day was the beginning of a new life for me, too,” Natalie added as she was pulling into her driveway.
“Here we are. This is home.” She pulled halfway up the drive and stopped. “We can talk more at lunch. I'm sure you've been wondering what has gone on with me for seven years. There's a lot to tell but I want to hear about you and Susanne, too.”
“I'll be glad to tell you,” Mr. Benson replied as he was springing out of the car. “Look at this!”he exclaimed. “Why, you're on the edge of the woods!
How perfect! How green, spacious and private! What a spot!”
Natalie's home was a far cry from a palace but it did make a beautiful picture sitting amongst the large shade trees on the edge of the woods. The front yard was about half an acre, the house sitting that far from the road. It was a white house with green shutters and a green roof. The front yard made one think of a small park.
“Could use some flowers,” Mr. Benson observed as if thinking aloud.
“I would love to have you put your hand to it, if only you could come here and stay,” Natalie told him. “Just wait till you see the back yard! You'll love it! Hop back in and I'll drive around.”
As she pulled around the house both Mirah and Mr. Benson's mouths dropped open as they looked around smiling. Before either could say anything, Natalie was out of the car and headed to the trunk to unload suitcases like it was the most natural thing in the world, but here Mr. Benson put his foot down. He jumped out of the car, saying,
“I'll call you by your name, but I'll not have either of you ladies carrying luggage. You and Mirah run on inside now.”
Seeing the uncomfortable and determined look on the gentleman's face, she smiled and submitted. “Thank you, David. It is David, isn't it?”
“Yes... yes...” he stammered, taken aback at hearing her call him by his first name.
“Well then, David, thank you. Mirah and I will tend to lunch. Just set the luggage inside the back door and come on in.”
“Miss Natalie, this is perfect!” he said then as he looked around. “How did you ever find this place? Though only a small cottage, it has such charm and privacy!”
“It was the Lord who led me to it. I love the privacy myself. It's my own little hideaway. Maybe we'll swim later if you'd like to. It's very relaxing.”
“I'm sure it is!” As the two young women started to the house, Mirah couldn't hold back all the emotion she was feeling any longer. Again tears were welling in her eyes.
“Oh, Natalie, it's so wonderful seeing you like this in this lovely, peaceful setting, looking so healthy and vibrant! I left you in that awful hospital room in the depths of despair and then for so long thought you were dead!” She broke and began to weep.
“Mirah, I'm so sorry!” Natalie stopped and took her friend in her arms. “I'm sorry for making you suffer. You've been such a faithful friend. I've missed you so. Come inside. I've much to tell you.” Mr. Benson, coming upon this scene, sat down the suitcases, pulled out a handkerchief and swallowed back a cry of his own that was trying to surface.
Inside, Natalie made Mirah sit in the rocking chair which sat on a large braided rug in the oversized kitchen. She got a footstool for her, then hurried to get a glass of iced tea. Mr. Benson, having placed the suitcases inside the screened back porch, stopped in the doorway looking both amazed and amused.
“Goodness, Natalie!” Mirah exclaimed. “You're treating me like I'm the princess and you're the servant!”
“Ah, but I love being able to serve my friend today. I love you, dear, and I'm thrilled to have you in my home. Besides, you deserve a little pampering.”
A tear rolled down Mr. Benson's cheek. He quietly wiped it away and blew his nose.
“Now, now, David, here have a seat.”
She pulled up a chair from the table. “Do you drink sweet iced tea? Around here it's what everyone drinks, but I have some soda, too, or ice water.”
“Yes ma'am ! Tea would be fine. Thank you. That sounds real good.” She was already putting ice in a glass. She gave him his drink, then hurried to the refrigerator and began taking bowls out and carrying them to the table.
“Let me help you,” David offered. But Natalie refused. “You may help me another time, but you are my guest and I want to do this.”
There was a huge chef's salad, a tray of sandwiches and gelatin. She poured potato chips into a bowl and said, “I think this will do okay on such a warm day. What do you think, David?”
“Looks mighty good, Miss,” he answered enthusiastically, amazed and impressed that his princess even knew how to do such things. She looked so natural as an American homemaker. No one would have guessed that she was not only a princess, but the rightful heir to a throne, which was hers to occupy even now. She is beautiful, David thought. Surely God is in this woman. He wished Susanne could be seeing all of this. He would tell her everything. He was certain she had been right about how this would turn out. He smiled to himself, thinking, won't she be pleased? Soon they were seated at the table and Natalie was asking Mr. Benson to do the honors of thanking God for his blessings.
Natalie's home was a far cry from a palace but it did make a beautiful picture sitting amongst the large shade trees on the edge of the woods. The front yard was about half an acre, the house sitting that far from the road. It was a white house with green shutters and a green roof. The front yard made one think of a small park.
“Could use some flowers,” Mr. Benson observed as if thinking aloud.
“I would love to have you put your hand to it, if only you could come here and stay,” Natalie told him. “Just wait till you see the back yard! You'll love it! Hop back in and I'll drive around.”
As she pulled around the house both Mirah and Mr. Benson's mouths dropped open as they looked around smiling. Before either could say anything, Natalie was out of the car and headed to the trunk to unload suitcases like it was the most natural thing in the world, but here Mr. Benson put his foot down. He jumped out of the car, saying,
“I'll call you by your name, but I'll not have either of you ladies carrying luggage. You and Mirah run on inside now.”
Seeing the uncomfortable and determined look on the gentleman's face, she smiled and submitted. “Thank you, David. It is David, isn't it?”
“Yes... yes...” he stammered, taken aback at hearing her call him by his first name.
“Well then, David, thank you. Mirah and I will tend to lunch. Just set the luggage inside the back door and come on in.”
“Miss Natalie, this is perfect!” he said then as he looked around. “How did you ever find this place? Though only a small cottage, it has such charm and privacy!”
“It was the Lord who led me to it. I love the privacy myself. It's my own little hideaway. Maybe we'll swim later if you'd like to. It's very relaxing.”
“I'm sure it is!” As the two young women started to the house, Mirah couldn't hold back all the emotion she was feeling any longer. Again tears were welling in her eyes.
“Oh, Natalie, it's so wonderful seeing you like this in this lovely, peaceful setting, looking so healthy and vibrant! I left you in that awful hospital room in the depths of despair and then for so long thought you were dead!” She broke and began to weep.
“Mirah, I'm so sorry!” Natalie stopped and took her friend in her arms. “I'm sorry for making you suffer. You've been such a faithful friend. I've missed you so. Come inside. I've much to tell you.” Mr. Benson, coming upon this scene, sat down the suitcases, pulled out a handkerchief and swallowed back a cry of his own that was trying to surface.
Inside, Natalie made Mirah sit in the rocking chair which sat on a large braided rug in the oversized kitchen. She got a footstool for her, then hurried to get a glass of iced tea. Mr. Benson, having placed the suitcases inside the screened back porch, stopped in the doorway looking both amazed and amused.
“Goodness, Natalie!” Mirah exclaimed. “You're treating me like I'm the princess and you're the servant!”
“Ah, but I love being able to serve my friend today. I love you, dear, and I'm thrilled to have you in my home. Besides, you deserve a little pampering.”
A tear rolled down Mr. Benson's cheek. He quietly wiped it away and blew his nose.
“Now, now, David, here have a seat.”
She pulled up a chair from the table. “Do you drink sweet iced tea? Around here it's what everyone drinks, but I have some soda, too, or ice water.”
“Yes ma'am ! Tea would be fine. Thank you. That sounds real good.” She was already putting ice in a glass. She gave him his drink, then hurried to the refrigerator and began taking bowls out and carrying them to the table.
“Let me help you,” David offered. But Natalie refused. “You may help me another time, but you are my guest and I want to do this.”
There was a huge chef's salad, a tray of sandwiches and gelatin. She poured potato chips into a bowl and said, “I think this will do okay on such a warm day. What do you think, David?”
“Looks mighty good, Miss,” he answered enthusiastically, amazed and impressed that his princess even knew how to do such things. She looked so natural as an American homemaker. No one would have guessed that she was not only a princess, but the rightful heir to a throne, which was hers to occupy even now. She is beautiful, David thought. Surely God is in this woman. He wished Susanne could be seeing all of this. He would tell her everything. He was certain she had been right about how this would turn out. He smiled to himself, thinking, won't she be pleased? Soon they were seated at the table and Natalie was asking Mr. Benson to do the honors of thanking God for his blessings.
“Yes, I would be honored,” he consented and began to pray.
Mirah was astounded when she heard her friend pray. She caught herself staring at him rather than bowing her head. He was so at ease and prayed as if he knew God personally, as if he knew just what God was up to. He not only thanked him for the food and the people present, but for his purpose for bringing them together and for the things about to take place. What could he know, she wondered, of God's purpose or if he had anything to do with the events taking place in their lives? He did seem convinced and so did Natalie. Both were obviously pleased about it all. Natalie still had her faith. For some reason Mirah was glad of it. She remembered that she had been amazed when she first heard Edward pray. He too talked to God as if they were very familiar with each other and on intimate terms.
As they began to fill their plates, David noticed the dumbfounded look on Mirah's face and smiled to himself.
“First, let me tell you, David,” Natalie began, “that I gave my life to Jesus on the evening of the first day that Edward came to work on the gazebo, the same day God healed Susanne's chin.”
Mirah had heard of the incident, of course, but not the details she was hearing this day. It was an amazing story indeed. She had never thought about the fact that Natalie had been there and had seen it too. She knew Natalie would never lie about such a thing, so she listened carefully.
“I asked Edward to meet with me that evening and talk to me. Somehow I knew that he knew many things I needed to know and he did. I sat on the white bench near the fountain and was washed clean of all the sin that was between me and God.”
David smiled and nodded understandingly, but Mirah, though she said nothing, couldn't see how Natalie could have been considered sinful by anyone, even God. Natalie had, in her estimation, always been one of the best people she had ever known.
“I also fell in love with Edward that very day,” Natalie continued. “I know God brought him to that garden for me. I didn't realize how many other people he influenced. You see, his uncle had worked as a butler in the palace for a while and had been the one to suggest him to the Queen for the gazebo project while he was visiting for the summer from the states.
“His uncle didn't keep the position long, though. My mother caught him looking disapprovingly one day as she was belittling a maid in a most crude manner for a small error. When she saw his expression she fired him on the spot. This was before the gazebo was finished. Later he helped get things arranged for us to elope. We all knew mother would never have let us marry otherwise.
“By the time of Edward's death, I thought I had grown fairly strong in my relationship with God. I knew I was still growing but I didn't realize how much I depended on Edward and his faith. When I saw him get so still in that hospital bed and heard the doctor say he was gone, I didn't know what to do.
“Not only was I overcome with grief and pain, but the worst of it was, I was overcome instantly with hate for my mother. I didn't know then that she had anything to do with it, but I knew it was what she wanted. He represented all that was holy and good on earth to me and she was the one hurtful, unholy thing in my life who had sought to rob me of the good I loved and enjoyed. “Words, pictures, scriptures, love, fear, hate, despair and so many voices, began clamoring in my brain, until I just sort of short circuited. As Mirah can attest, I fell apart.”
Mirah nodded in agreement. Her expression was intense as she listened.
“Mirah, before the sedative they had given me had taken full effect, I opened my eyes for a second and saw you standing by the window with your hands clenched and I heard you say, 'I don't know how, but Lucienda has done this! I know it!' The hate I had felt became bitter and became a root choking out the light I had known.”
“Natalie! I never knew you heard that!”
“I know, but I did. That's when I suddenly became terrified for Terah. If mother couldn't have me, maybe she would get rid of me too and take Terah. At that point fear truly gripped me. That's why I made you promise to take my baby somewhere safe from my mother. I wasn't concerned for my own life at that point except for how it affected her. For myself, I had rather been dead any way.”
“And that's why I was willing to take her,” Mirah said. “Because I too was afraid of what might happen to her if Lucienda knew where the two of you were.”
“My, my!” Mr Benson commented thoughtfully.“So much love, fear, hate and despair to deal with all at the same time! What an awful, crushing weight! Old Sluefoot had dealt you a mighty dirty hand. I don't know anyone who would not have been overcome by such a load, except by supernatural intervention.”
“Sluefoot?” Mirah asked, having no idea who Mr. Benson was talking about.
“Yes. That's another name folks give to God's enemy and ours, Satan himself,” he told her.
“Without considering it,” Natalie went on, “I was giving Satan and my mother more position and power than I was giving God. Soon after you left the room, Mirah, I asked a nurse to get a priest for me to speak to. She was glad to oblige, thinking a priest might just be the one to help bring me out of the awful depression I was in. He was in to see me within half an hour. He was glad to see me so attentive and so agreeable with his words of wisdom and encouragement, though I was hardly hearing anything he was saying.
“When he finished his counsel, I even let him pray for me. I must have appeared much improved. I smiled, thanked him and tried to look peaceful. He agreed to bring me a small box to mail a few things to my mother.” 'I'll just run and get that right now,' he said. 'You sleep first and when you wake a nurse will be glad to help you fix it up,' he said happily.
Mirah was astounded when she heard her friend pray. She caught herself staring at him rather than bowing her head. He was so at ease and prayed as if he knew God personally, as if he knew just what God was up to. He not only thanked him for the food and the people present, but for his purpose for bringing them together and for the things about to take place. What could he know, she wondered, of God's purpose or if he had anything to do with the events taking place in their lives? He did seem convinced and so did Natalie. Both were obviously pleased about it all. Natalie still had her faith. For some reason Mirah was glad of it. She remembered that she had been amazed when she first heard Edward pray. He too talked to God as if they were very familiar with each other and on intimate terms.
As they began to fill their plates, David noticed the dumbfounded look on Mirah's face and smiled to himself.
“First, let me tell you, David,” Natalie began, “that I gave my life to Jesus on the evening of the first day that Edward came to work on the gazebo, the same day God healed Susanne's chin.”
Mirah had heard of the incident, of course, but not the details she was hearing this day. It was an amazing story indeed. She had never thought about the fact that Natalie had been there and had seen it too. She knew Natalie would never lie about such a thing, so she listened carefully.
“I asked Edward to meet with me that evening and talk to me. Somehow I knew that he knew many things I needed to know and he did. I sat on the white bench near the fountain and was washed clean of all the sin that was between me and God.”
David smiled and nodded understandingly, but Mirah, though she said nothing, couldn't see how Natalie could have been considered sinful by anyone, even God. Natalie had, in her estimation, always been one of the best people she had ever known.
“I also fell in love with Edward that very day,” Natalie continued. “I know God brought him to that garden for me. I didn't realize how many other people he influenced. You see, his uncle had worked as a butler in the palace for a while and had been the one to suggest him to the Queen for the gazebo project while he was visiting for the summer from the states.
“His uncle didn't keep the position long, though. My mother caught him looking disapprovingly one day as she was belittling a maid in a most crude manner for a small error. When she saw his expression she fired him on the spot. This was before the gazebo was finished. Later he helped get things arranged for us to elope. We all knew mother would never have let us marry otherwise.
“By the time of Edward's death, I thought I had grown fairly strong in my relationship with God. I knew I was still growing but I didn't realize how much I depended on Edward and his faith. When I saw him get so still in that hospital bed and heard the doctor say he was gone, I didn't know what to do.
“Not only was I overcome with grief and pain, but the worst of it was, I was overcome instantly with hate for my mother. I didn't know then that she had anything to do with it, but I knew it was what she wanted. He represented all that was holy and good on earth to me and she was the one hurtful, unholy thing in my life who had sought to rob me of the good I loved and enjoyed. “Words, pictures, scriptures, love, fear, hate, despair and so many voices, began clamoring in my brain, until I just sort of short circuited. As Mirah can attest, I fell apart.”
Mirah nodded in agreement. Her expression was intense as she listened.
“Mirah, before the sedative they had given me had taken full effect, I opened my eyes for a second and saw you standing by the window with your hands clenched and I heard you say, 'I don't know how, but Lucienda has done this! I know it!' The hate I had felt became bitter and became a root choking out the light I had known.”
“Natalie! I never knew you heard that!”
“I know, but I did. That's when I suddenly became terrified for Terah. If mother couldn't have me, maybe she would get rid of me too and take Terah. At that point fear truly gripped me. That's why I made you promise to take my baby somewhere safe from my mother. I wasn't concerned for my own life at that point except for how it affected her. For myself, I had rather been dead any way.”
“And that's why I was willing to take her,” Mirah said. “Because I too was afraid of what might happen to her if Lucienda knew where the two of you were.”
“My, my!” Mr Benson commented thoughtfully.“So much love, fear, hate and despair to deal with all at the same time! What an awful, crushing weight! Old Sluefoot had dealt you a mighty dirty hand. I don't know anyone who would not have been overcome by such a load, except by supernatural intervention.”
“Sluefoot?” Mirah asked, having no idea who Mr. Benson was talking about.
“Yes. That's another name folks give to God's enemy and ours, Satan himself,” he told her.
“Without considering it,” Natalie went on, “I was giving Satan and my mother more position and power than I was giving God. Soon after you left the room, Mirah, I asked a nurse to get a priest for me to speak to. She was glad to oblige, thinking a priest might just be the one to help bring me out of the awful depression I was in. He was in to see me within half an hour. He was glad to see me so attentive and so agreeable with his words of wisdom and encouragement, though I was hardly hearing anything he was saying.
“When he finished his counsel, I even let him pray for me. I must have appeared much improved. I smiled, thanked him and tried to look peaceful. He agreed to bring me a small box to mail a few things to my mother.” 'I'll just run and get that right now,' he said. 'You sleep first and when you wake a nurse will be glad to help you fix it up,' he said happily.
“I pretended to sleep. The box was in my room within an hour. When the coast was clear, I hurriedly packed it with my clothes, hair pins, my purse and even my watch. I took the money out of my billfold and put the billfold into the box, too. Then I put the money in the envelope you had given me, Mirah, and hid it under the bed between two springs.
“I got back in bed then and rested a little. I was so weak that just that small amount of exertion made me breathe hard and my head swim. As soon as I thought I looked normal again, I rang the buzzer and asked for a drink. The young woman who brought the drink was a candy striper, a volunteer aide. I told her I was feeling better and could hardly wait to get home to my little girl. She was pleased to hear me talk of going home.
“I asked her when she would be leaving for the day and she told me that her shift ended in a few minutes. So I asked her if she would run an errand for me and I would pay her for her help. I told her I had to start a new life and I wanted something new to wear out of the hospital. She agreed to run to the store when she was off and pick up a simple summer dress for me, a pair of tennis shoes, socks and a sweater. She was glad to help. No one was suspicious of me, only glad to see me pulling out of my despair.
“The night nurse even brought me some tape and got my box ready for the mail, unaware of its contents. She seemed to think that a visitor had picked something up for me to send my mother, asking if it was her birthday. I didn't lie directly, just said, 'I usually forget. Won't she be surprised?' She even took the box, saying she would mail it for me in the morning.
'You didn't put your name on it, only the name of the hospital,' she noticed. But I said it was all right, my mother would know it was from me.
“When they brought me my supper, my heart was still aching, my stomach was in knots and I was extra weak from getting up and packing the box, after not eating for some time. Still, I took a few bites while the nurse was in the room. She praised me for my effort, assured me my future would be bright after all, then left the room. As quickly as my weak body would allow, I got up and flushed the rest of the food down the toilet, lay back down and pretended to sleep until the doctor came to check me.
“I opened my eyes, faked a yawn and smiled. He was visibly relieved to see that response. He told me that I needed some time to rest and get some good nutrition since I was still weak from lack of food and extreme stress and sorrow, but that with a good attitude and determination, I should catch up fast. I thanked him and asked if I could take a walk. He said that the diversion might be good for me, but to rest awhile first and to be careful to only walk as much as I really had strength for. He said he would tell the nurse at the desk one short walk that evening would be all right and to assist me as needed. ‘Pace yourself,’ he said, ‘and lay down as soon as you're done.’
“About an hour later, I sat on the side of the bed and dressed myself in my new clothes. I put the envelope behind the waistline of my slip and slowly started out of the room. I walked past the nurses station, relieved to find all the nurses were out of sight, probably busy in other rooms for the moment. I turned the corner, got on the elevator, left the hospital and disappeared.
“I caught a taxi to the airport and took whatever flight was available, which happened to be a flight to Kansas. I used the name Lee Nivale, taking the last part of my first name and Terah's middle name, backward except for the ‘e’, so if anyone came looking for me they wouldn't find my name listed. I was in the air within forty five minutes.”
“What did you think you were going to do?” Mirah asked.
“I only knew I had to get away from my mother. I wanted her to think I was dead. I figured she would hunt for me in order to get Terah, but I had told Aunt Bessie that you were taking Terah home for awhile till I was better. She knew, of course, that you were a friend visiting from out of state. I asked her not to tell anyone who you were, only that it was a friend of Edward's. I told her that my mother was a very ungodly woman who might use some excuse to take Terah from me before I was strong again so she could know no more than that. Aunt Bessie loved Edward and me. She trusted us completely. I knew she would never say a thing I hadn't wanted.
'Don't worry honey,' she said, 'I know that baby belongs with her godly mother, so whatever you say is best, is best.'
“So I took off, figuring I would have to find a place to live and a job.”
“But you had never worked,” Mirah pointed out.
“True, and for all my maneuvering, I still wasn't thinking too clearly. My scheme to get away was pretty good, or so I thought, but by the time I sat my weak body down in the airplane, the sorrow and anger just overshadowed me. I almost passed out sitting there.
“I ordered some juice and my head cleared a little. I just kept drinking juice, telling myself I had to get my strength back and get Terah, while another voice was screaming in my head at the same time. 'He's gone and never coming back. Why live? Life is worthless now. Why go on? Why live?'
“Then I would see Edward's face smiling at me or at Terah and I would feel nauseous. I would see the doctor covering his face with that sheet and at the same time hear Terah calling 'Mama! Mama!' I felt like I was being attacked by some invisible force on the inside of my brain and didn't know how to stop it. I felt weak and powerless.”
“Indeed, my dear, you were being attacked,” Mr. Benson put in.
Mirah looked at him, obviously shocked, but didn't speak.
“Well, I did finally start to doze off,” Natalie went on.“Probably from pure exhaustion, but immediately I was dreaming. I saw my mother's face, smiling wickedly as she choked Edward with one hand, her long fingers wrapped completely around his neck. Under her other arm she held Terah, who screamed and kicked desperately. I woke in a cold sweat and had to shake myself. I nearly threw up. I was really out of it.”
“I got back in bed then and rested a little. I was so weak that just that small amount of exertion made me breathe hard and my head swim. As soon as I thought I looked normal again, I rang the buzzer and asked for a drink. The young woman who brought the drink was a candy striper, a volunteer aide. I told her I was feeling better and could hardly wait to get home to my little girl. She was pleased to hear me talk of going home.
“I asked her when she would be leaving for the day and she told me that her shift ended in a few minutes. So I asked her if she would run an errand for me and I would pay her for her help. I told her I had to start a new life and I wanted something new to wear out of the hospital. She agreed to run to the store when she was off and pick up a simple summer dress for me, a pair of tennis shoes, socks and a sweater. She was glad to help. No one was suspicious of me, only glad to see me pulling out of my despair.
“The night nurse even brought me some tape and got my box ready for the mail, unaware of its contents. She seemed to think that a visitor had picked something up for me to send my mother, asking if it was her birthday. I didn't lie directly, just said, 'I usually forget. Won't she be surprised?' She even took the box, saying she would mail it for me in the morning.
'You didn't put your name on it, only the name of the hospital,' she noticed. But I said it was all right, my mother would know it was from me.
“When they brought me my supper, my heart was still aching, my stomach was in knots and I was extra weak from getting up and packing the box, after not eating for some time. Still, I took a few bites while the nurse was in the room. She praised me for my effort, assured me my future would be bright after all, then left the room. As quickly as my weak body would allow, I got up and flushed the rest of the food down the toilet, lay back down and pretended to sleep until the doctor came to check me.
“I opened my eyes, faked a yawn and smiled. He was visibly relieved to see that response. He told me that I needed some time to rest and get some good nutrition since I was still weak from lack of food and extreme stress and sorrow, but that with a good attitude and determination, I should catch up fast. I thanked him and asked if I could take a walk. He said that the diversion might be good for me, but to rest awhile first and to be careful to only walk as much as I really had strength for. He said he would tell the nurse at the desk one short walk that evening would be all right and to assist me as needed. ‘Pace yourself,’ he said, ‘and lay down as soon as you're done.’
“About an hour later, I sat on the side of the bed and dressed myself in my new clothes. I put the envelope behind the waistline of my slip and slowly started out of the room. I walked past the nurses station, relieved to find all the nurses were out of sight, probably busy in other rooms for the moment. I turned the corner, got on the elevator, left the hospital and disappeared.
“I caught a taxi to the airport and took whatever flight was available, which happened to be a flight to Kansas. I used the name Lee Nivale, taking the last part of my first name and Terah's middle name, backward except for the ‘e’, so if anyone came looking for me they wouldn't find my name listed. I was in the air within forty five minutes.”
“What did you think you were going to do?” Mirah asked.
“I only knew I had to get away from my mother. I wanted her to think I was dead. I figured she would hunt for me in order to get Terah, but I had told Aunt Bessie that you were taking Terah home for awhile till I was better. She knew, of course, that you were a friend visiting from out of state. I asked her not to tell anyone who you were, only that it was a friend of Edward's. I told her that my mother was a very ungodly woman who might use some excuse to take Terah from me before I was strong again so she could know no more than that. Aunt Bessie loved Edward and me. She trusted us completely. I knew she would never say a thing I hadn't wanted.
'Don't worry honey,' she said, 'I know that baby belongs with her godly mother, so whatever you say is best, is best.'
“So I took off, figuring I would have to find a place to live and a job.”
“But you had never worked,” Mirah pointed out.
“True, and for all my maneuvering, I still wasn't thinking too clearly. My scheme to get away was pretty good, or so I thought, but by the time I sat my weak body down in the airplane, the sorrow and anger just overshadowed me. I almost passed out sitting there.
“I ordered some juice and my head cleared a little. I just kept drinking juice, telling myself I had to get my strength back and get Terah, while another voice was screaming in my head at the same time. 'He's gone and never coming back. Why live? Life is worthless now. Why go on? Why live?'
“Then I would see Edward's face smiling at me or at Terah and I would feel nauseous. I would see the doctor covering his face with that sheet and at the same time hear Terah calling 'Mama! Mama!' I felt like I was being attacked by some invisible force on the inside of my brain and didn't know how to stop it. I felt weak and powerless.”
“Indeed, my dear, you were being attacked,” Mr. Benson put in.
Mirah looked at him, obviously shocked, but didn't speak.
“Well, I did finally start to doze off,” Natalie went on.“Probably from pure exhaustion, but immediately I was dreaming. I saw my mother's face, smiling wickedly as she choked Edward with one hand, her long fingers wrapped completely around his neck. Under her other arm she held Terah, who screamed and kicked desperately. I woke in a cold sweat and had to shake myself. I nearly threw up. I was really out of it.”
“Poor child! So alone, so lost and alone!” Mr. Benson said, taking Natalie's hand and patting it.
“But not really alone.”
“No, though that is how I felt. Had I truly been alone, I might have died the next morning.” She paused, noticing that everyone had stopped eating, with half-full plates sitting before them.
“Now look what I've done,” she said, smiling. “Unless the food's pretty bad, I'd say I've ruined your appetites with my long, sad tale.”
“The food is very good, Natalie,” Mirah said as she poked her fork at her salad.
“The food is delicious,” Mr. Benson added, “but I won't deny it. This has been a very emotional day and this story, though we want very much to hear it, well... along with everything else, well... I do think our appetites have been affected, all in all.”
“It's okay. I understand. How about I put this away for now and I'll continue in a little while after you two get a chance to freshen up?” she asked. “Come, then. I'll show you to your rooms and the only two bathrooms in the house.”
Both of her guests followed her quietly, deep in thought. She returned to Mr. Benson's room a few minutes later and rapped at his door. When he opened it, she handed him his suitcase. He looked embarrassed and gently put a hand on her shoulder, saying, “I'm sorry, child. You didn't need to carry that. I completely forgot. I probably wouldn't have thought of it till I stepped out of the shower.”
“No problem,” Natalie laughed. “You would've been in a pickle. I've put a lot on your mind. Don't worry about it.”
Mr. Benson hadn't forgotten who this lovely young woman was: his rightful Queen. Nonetheless he reached down and kissed her cheek as a father might kiss a beloved daughter. ”Bless you, child,” he said. “Bless you.” She received his affection warmly, smiled sweetly and simply said, “see you in a few minutes,” then went back to the kitchen.
It was about 4:30 when Mirah and David came into the living room, where Natalie sat on the big overstuffed sofa.
“Why don't you try this recliner, David,” she said. “It's awfully comfortable. Just pull the lever on the side there and you can stretch out nicely.” “Here, Mirah.” She tossed her a throw pillow. “Sprawl out on the other end of this thing with me.” That brought a chuckle from Mirah, who, even after a shower and a change, did not look very relaxed.
“Use the footstool if you like. This sofa is great. I found it in a second-hand store and had it reupholstered. It's as comfortable as a bed. I love it.”
Mirah sat down as Natalie pushed the footstool in front of her and lifted her feet onto it. “Now, how is that?”
“How you're pampering me, Natalie! Oooo, this is comfortable!”
“I knew you'd think so.” She smiled, satisfied to see Mirah so cozy. “This place may be considered poverty level by those back in the palace, but I have plenty of comfort, plenty of peace and I enjoy the simple beauty all around, just as I like it.”
“I prefer this sort of comfort and beauty,” Mr. Benson replied, stretching out his legs and sighing deeply. “It's so much more relaxed and natural. A person can feel at home without all the stiffness of the palace.”
“Natalie, where did you go when your plane landed?” Mirah asked.
“Now, hold on. First let's try one of these cookies and tell me what you think.”
She placed bowls of cookies and more tea on end tables near her guests. “What do you think? Too hard? Too soft?”
“What are these?” Mirah wanted to know. “They melt in your mouth. They're fabulous, although... since they're so good and gone so quickly, a person might be tempted to eat too many!”
“They're butter cookies. I got the recipe long ago from Aunt Bessie.”
“Well, if you don't mind, I better take the recipe back to Susanne,” David stated. “She will want to serve them herself.”
“That's a good idea. But let me eat one more myself before I get started again with my story. Obviously it hasn't all been bad or sad. Hey, you two eat up. You didn't have much lunch.”
Thinking her guests looked somewhat more relaxed, she began again recounting her story. “Well, Mirah, I didn't know where to go when the plane landed. It was about 2 a.m. when I left and started looking for a cab. It took a while but I finally flagged a taxi and asked the driver to drive me to the smallest town he knew of, since I didn't want to be in a big city. I got out of the cab at about 3:30, not knowing what I would do next. The driver said there were no motels there - too small a town. I thanked him, looked around and started walking till the taxi was out of sight. I must have been going on adrenaline for a while, but then along with not knowing what to do next, feeling confused and scared, the loneliness really hit me nd I started crying. I couldn't seem to stop.
The orange juice hadn't been enough to strengthen me much. I had been a long time and hadn't eaten for too long. I was weak and could hardly walk. I started shaking all over. “To top everything else, it started raining. It seemed like I walked for hours, well, more or less stumbled along. I was sobbing and my head was pounding. It was like I was in a daze. I passed out on a sidewalk.
A man named Pete Johnson found me, when he came out to let his puppy relieve itself. He found me crumpled on the sidewalk. He ran and got his wife and the two of them somehow got me into their house. I really don't remember that part at all.
Sophie, Pete's wife, got me out of my soaked clothes and into a clean gown. I woke next morning on a small bed, being looked at by a doctor. Sophie hand-fed me broth and seemed to be praying all the time. The doctor said I had bronchitis and seemed to be suffering from exhaustion and lack of nutrition. He said that if Sophie could continue to get soft food down me, he would try leaving me there, but if not he would put me in the hospital and feed me intravenously. He gave Sophie medicine, which she gave me faithfully and I tried hard to eat and keep it down so I wouldn't have to go back into a hospital. I knew I would see Edward if I stepped inside any hospital. I was still pretty sick for a couple of weeks. Sophie tended me as if I were someone who mattered a great deal to her, although she didn't even know me. She hand-fed me for days, brought me medicine, combed my hair, read to me and talked ever so cheerfully about how well I was doing. She was like an angel.
“When I was stronger, I told her I would pay her for all her help, but she shook her head and said, 'First things first. Now, where is your home?' 'I have none,' was my only answer.
'Then where do you want Pete to take you?'
'I don't know. I have no place to go yet. Could I have a couple of days to think what to do?'
'Tell you what,' she said. 'How about you stay here till you can get around, okay? Then you can work off your keep. You can hold on to what money you have. I've a feeling you'll need it later.'
'Work at what?' I asked.
'Do you sew?'
'Never have, ma'am.'
'Well, I'll teach you if you're willing to learn. I run a little sewing business out of my home here and could use the help. What do you say?'
“She said I could live with them until I got things figured out, as she put it. She didn't ask me any personal questions, just brought me a small Bible and put it on the night stand next to my hard little bed. I know now, without a doubt that God saw to it that I ended up in front of that particular house at that exact time.”
Now Mirah shifted uneasily, looking very tense again and said, “I mean no disrespect to you or Mr. Benson, Natalie, but I've been hearing a lot of references to God for two days now and I just do not understand how you and others can speak so highly of him after he allowed so many awful things to happen to you. He lets you hurt and you act like he's so good to you. I don't understand such thinking at all. Not at all! You, a princess, collapse alone in the dark, in the rain, on a hard sidewalk, hurting inside and out, and then speak as if God was with you, helping you right along. This makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.”
“Well, Mirah, God gave each of us a free will. He loves us, but he is a gentleman. He was always there, not far from me, willing to help whenever I wanted his help, but he would never force himself on me. I knew how to pray and ask God for help. I had done so many times before but this time I didn't. When I saw that Edward was gone, I started reacting out of fear and desperation. I think that although I hadn't admitted it to myself, I was angry at God and was ignoring him. He knew what was going on inside of me and that I was shutting him out.
“I chose to hate my mother. That hate was like a cancer on the inside. I knew God didn't approve of the kind of hate I was holding on to so I simply didn't start any conversations with him, but neither did I want to face him and his disapproval of my attitude.
“God doesn't promise a life with no difficulties or we wouldn't grow. Like a child who never gets exercise, never has to deal with problems or learn responsibility will grow up to be a weak adult, getting nowhere in life. God will always be with his children, help them, guide them and give them the power to make it through. If we do suffer the death of a loved one, still he has promised us eternal life, so even our time apart is temporary. The eternity we have together is much longer than our lives here on earth.”
“Oh, how true,” Mr. Benson agreed, clapping his hands in a small applause, seeming to find joy and pleasure in hearing Natalie speak with knowledge of such things.
“And how good to hear you say so!” he added.
Mirah had been listening carefully. She nodded, and said no more that would seem to accuse God. She appeared to understand, at least in part, and accept Natalie's explanation of God's character. “How long did you live with the Johnsons?” she asked.
“A very long time. As soon as I was strong enough I walked into town, which was only six blocks, and called Edward's Uncle Bill, the one who had helped us elope. I wanted to know if my mother had believed I was dead and if there had been any mention of Terah. I knew Uncle Bill would keep my secret. He had no respect for my mother and no reason to betray me.
“He was glad to hear from me. I could tell he was crying over the phone. He kept saying 'thank you, Lord.' He told me of the closed casket funeral that had been held for me. I knew then that mother knew I was alive. I hadn't thought things through well enough. Of course, she would have inquired
“But not really alone.”
“No, though that is how I felt. Had I truly been alone, I might have died the next morning.” She paused, noticing that everyone had stopped eating, with half-full plates sitting before them.
“Now look what I've done,” she said, smiling. “Unless the food's pretty bad, I'd say I've ruined your appetites with my long, sad tale.”
“The food is very good, Natalie,” Mirah said as she poked her fork at her salad.
“The food is delicious,” Mr. Benson added, “but I won't deny it. This has been a very emotional day and this story, though we want very much to hear it, well... along with everything else, well... I do think our appetites have been affected, all in all.”
“It's okay. I understand. How about I put this away for now and I'll continue in a little while after you two get a chance to freshen up?” she asked. “Come, then. I'll show you to your rooms and the only two bathrooms in the house.”
Both of her guests followed her quietly, deep in thought. She returned to Mr. Benson's room a few minutes later and rapped at his door. When he opened it, she handed him his suitcase. He looked embarrassed and gently put a hand on her shoulder, saying, “I'm sorry, child. You didn't need to carry that. I completely forgot. I probably wouldn't have thought of it till I stepped out of the shower.”
“No problem,” Natalie laughed. “You would've been in a pickle. I've put a lot on your mind. Don't worry about it.”
Mr. Benson hadn't forgotten who this lovely young woman was: his rightful Queen. Nonetheless he reached down and kissed her cheek as a father might kiss a beloved daughter. ”Bless you, child,” he said. “Bless you.” She received his affection warmly, smiled sweetly and simply said, “see you in a few minutes,” then went back to the kitchen.
It was about 4:30 when Mirah and David came into the living room, where Natalie sat on the big overstuffed sofa.
“Why don't you try this recliner, David,” she said. “It's awfully comfortable. Just pull the lever on the side there and you can stretch out nicely.” “Here, Mirah.” She tossed her a throw pillow. “Sprawl out on the other end of this thing with me.” That brought a chuckle from Mirah, who, even after a shower and a change, did not look very relaxed.
“Use the footstool if you like. This sofa is great. I found it in a second-hand store and had it reupholstered. It's as comfortable as a bed. I love it.”
Mirah sat down as Natalie pushed the footstool in front of her and lifted her feet onto it. “Now, how is that?”
“How you're pampering me, Natalie! Oooo, this is comfortable!”
“I knew you'd think so.” She smiled, satisfied to see Mirah so cozy. “This place may be considered poverty level by those back in the palace, but I have plenty of comfort, plenty of peace and I enjoy the simple beauty all around, just as I like it.”
“I prefer this sort of comfort and beauty,” Mr. Benson replied, stretching out his legs and sighing deeply. “It's so much more relaxed and natural. A person can feel at home without all the stiffness of the palace.”
“Natalie, where did you go when your plane landed?” Mirah asked.
“Now, hold on. First let's try one of these cookies and tell me what you think.”
She placed bowls of cookies and more tea on end tables near her guests. “What do you think? Too hard? Too soft?”
“What are these?” Mirah wanted to know. “They melt in your mouth. They're fabulous, although... since they're so good and gone so quickly, a person might be tempted to eat too many!”
“They're butter cookies. I got the recipe long ago from Aunt Bessie.”
“Well, if you don't mind, I better take the recipe back to Susanne,” David stated. “She will want to serve them herself.”
“That's a good idea. But let me eat one more myself before I get started again with my story. Obviously it hasn't all been bad or sad. Hey, you two eat up. You didn't have much lunch.”
Thinking her guests looked somewhat more relaxed, she began again recounting her story. “Well, Mirah, I didn't know where to go when the plane landed. It was about 2 a.m. when I left and started looking for a cab. It took a while but I finally flagged a taxi and asked the driver to drive me to the smallest town he knew of, since I didn't want to be in a big city. I got out of the cab at about 3:30, not knowing what I would do next. The driver said there were no motels there - too small a town. I thanked him, looked around and started walking till the taxi was out of sight. I must have been going on adrenaline for a while, but then along with not knowing what to do next, feeling confused and scared, the loneliness really hit me nd I started crying. I couldn't seem to stop.
The orange juice hadn't been enough to strengthen me much. I had been a long time and hadn't eaten for too long. I was weak and could hardly walk. I started shaking all over. “To top everything else, it started raining. It seemed like I walked for hours, well, more or less stumbled along. I was sobbing and my head was pounding. It was like I was in a daze. I passed out on a sidewalk.
A man named Pete Johnson found me, when he came out to let his puppy relieve itself. He found me crumpled on the sidewalk. He ran and got his wife and the two of them somehow got me into their house. I really don't remember that part at all.
Sophie, Pete's wife, got me out of my soaked clothes and into a clean gown. I woke next morning on a small bed, being looked at by a doctor. Sophie hand-fed me broth and seemed to be praying all the time. The doctor said I had bronchitis and seemed to be suffering from exhaustion and lack of nutrition. He said that if Sophie could continue to get soft food down me, he would try leaving me there, but if not he would put me in the hospital and feed me intravenously. He gave Sophie medicine, which she gave me faithfully and I tried hard to eat and keep it down so I wouldn't have to go back into a hospital. I knew I would see Edward if I stepped inside any hospital. I was still pretty sick for a couple of weeks. Sophie tended me as if I were someone who mattered a great deal to her, although she didn't even know me. She hand-fed me for days, brought me medicine, combed my hair, read to me and talked ever so cheerfully about how well I was doing. She was like an angel.
“When I was stronger, I told her I would pay her for all her help, but she shook her head and said, 'First things first. Now, where is your home?' 'I have none,' was my only answer.
'Then where do you want Pete to take you?'
'I don't know. I have no place to go yet. Could I have a couple of days to think what to do?'
'Tell you what,' she said. 'How about you stay here till you can get around, okay? Then you can work off your keep. You can hold on to what money you have. I've a feeling you'll need it later.'
'Work at what?' I asked.
'Do you sew?'
'Never have, ma'am.'
'Well, I'll teach you if you're willing to learn. I run a little sewing business out of my home here and could use the help. What do you say?'
“She said I could live with them until I got things figured out, as she put it. She didn't ask me any personal questions, just brought me a small Bible and put it on the night stand next to my hard little bed. I know now, without a doubt that God saw to it that I ended up in front of that particular house at that exact time.”
Now Mirah shifted uneasily, looking very tense again and said, “I mean no disrespect to you or Mr. Benson, Natalie, but I've been hearing a lot of references to God for two days now and I just do not understand how you and others can speak so highly of him after he allowed so many awful things to happen to you. He lets you hurt and you act like he's so good to you. I don't understand such thinking at all. Not at all! You, a princess, collapse alone in the dark, in the rain, on a hard sidewalk, hurting inside and out, and then speak as if God was with you, helping you right along. This makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.”
“Well, Mirah, God gave each of us a free will. He loves us, but he is a gentleman. He was always there, not far from me, willing to help whenever I wanted his help, but he would never force himself on me. I knew how to pray and ask God for help. I had done so many times before but this time I didn't. When I saw that Edward was gone, I started reacting out of fear and desperation. I think that although I hadn't admitted it to myself, I was angry at God and was ignoring him. He knew what was going on inside of me and that I was shutting him out.
“I chose to hate my mother. That hate was like a cancer on the inside. I knew God didn't approve of the kind of hate I was holding on to so I simply didn't start any conversations with him, but neither did I want to face him and his disapproval of my attitude.
“God doesn't promise a life with no difficulties or we wouldn't grow. Like a child who never gets exercise, never has to deal with problems or learn responsibility will grow up to be a weak adult, getting nowhere in life. God will always be with his children, help them, guide them and give them the power to make it through. If we do suffer the death of a loved one, still he has promised us eternal life, so even our time apart is temporary. The eternity we have together is much longer than our lives here on earth.”
“Oh, how true,” Mr. Benson agreed, clapping his hands in a small applause, seeming to find joy and pleasure in hearing Natalie speak with knowledge of such things.
“And how good to hear you say so!” he added.
Mirah had been listening carefully. She nodded, and said no more that would seem to accuse God. She appeared to understand, at least in part, and accept Natalie's explanation of God's character. “How long did you live with the Johnsons?” she asked.
“A very long time. As soon as I was strong enough I walked into town, which was only six blocks, and called Edward's Uncle Bill, the one who had helped us elope. I wanted to know if my mother had believed I was dead and if there had been any mention of Terah. I knew Uncle Bill would keep my secret. He had no respect for my mother and no reason to betray me.
“He was glad to hear from me. I could tell he was crying over the phone. He kept saying 'thank you, Lord.' He told me of the closed casket funeral that had been held for me. I knew then that mother knew I was alive. I hadn't thought things through well enough. Of course, she would have inquired
for my body and learned that I hadn't died at the hospital. But it would be less embarrassing for her to have people think I was dead than to know I had turned my back on her.”
“Oh my!” Mirah exclaimed, “what a scam! Of course she knew! She had to!”
“Just wrote you off?” Mr. Benson asked.
“Yes, and Terah too, I guess. She knew I would never part with her. Anyway, if she looked for her at all, she would be hard to trace since she was born at home without a doctor. Edward had delivered her and we hadn't gotten a birth certificate yet.”
“My goodness! You poor thing! What will you tell us next? You didn't even make it to the hospital to have your baby? You never told me that before. What pain! What awful thing happened that time?” Mirah could hardly believe all she was hearing.
“Nothing awful at all, Mirah. We chose to have a natural birth, as God designed it to be, in the pleasant atmosphere of our own home. It was a wonderful, beautiful experience. God had assured us the birth would go well and it did. But that's another story that I'll save for another time.” “Forevermore! Natalie, you and Edward were an unbelievable pair!” Mirah exclaimed. “Unbelievable!” Mr. Benson laughed aloud. “I love it! I love it! God has certainly been with you, young lady!”
“Yes, in both the good times and the bad. He was definitely watching over me while I was with the Johnsons.”
Natalie began recounting some of her experiences in the Johnson home. She first learned simple hemming, then crocheting and embroidery. Mrs. Johnson let her do work she could do by hand, sitting, first in bed, then later in the living room, since she was weak for a long time. Natalie began reading the Bible again, now and then, in the evening. She told herself she would get good at sewing, get the Johnsons paid, then save for an apartment for her and Terah as quickly as possible. But she kept catching a cold that would turn into the flu or bronchitis again, and going in and out of depression over the course of a year.
She couldn't seem to get back to normal or get ahead. Mrs. Johnson said she had paid back any doctor bills from the time they found her, as well as for her keep within the first three months and that she was such a help, it was time for her to receive a wage. But then she would get sick again, need more medicine and not be able to do much work. Her money wasn't going far and she seemed to be in a hopeless, vicious circle, going nowhere fast. Sophie, as Mrs. Johnson insisted Natalie call her, was patient and kind, insisting Natalie was a help to her and not a burden.
It was a long time before Natalie would talk much with the Johnsons about anything other than work or the weather. But eventually she began to feel comfortable enough to talk about other things. It was nearly a year before she mentioned Edward's death and that the worst of her troubles had begun when he died.
“But isn't it a comfort to know that God's children have the blessed hope of being reunited forever?” Sophie had said, smiling lovingly.
“Husbands and wives?” Natalie had asked, looking quite shocked. “Of course, dear, especially husbands and wives,” Sophie said, then read her 2 Thessalonians, 4:13-18, as well as other verses from the Bible.
Natalie knew there was eternal life, but somehow the truth Sophie now shared with her had never been made clear to her. The reality of it had escaped her. Her mind had been a torment to her for a long time. She ached for Edward and wanted to die to escape the emptiness and pain, but never considered a better life with Edward in eternity. She had thought of her mother and wished her dead, not allowing herself to think about what would happen to mother's her soul. She would ached for Terah, then after a long time of weeping become determined all over again.
I have to get her soon! she would say to herself. But the thought of this life being but fleeting in comparison to eternity where she and Edward would be together again forever, with Jesus, had somehow been lost to her. Sophie saw her shocked expression. She was staring as if stunned. Her eyes were wide and full of tears.
“My goodness, dear, what is it?” Sophie asked, moving to her quickly.
Natalie turned her eyes to Sophie's, then dropped her face into her hands and wept. “I'm so ashamed! Why didn't I think!” she said between sobs. “I forgot so much that I knew and overlooked so many things that mattered!”
“Then you did know the Lord before, didn't you?”
“Yes, but, but...”
“But anger and pain choked out the Word,” Sophie finished for her, holding her close. “There now, go ahead. Have a good cry and get it out. Give it all up to the Lord now.”
“I've been so angry with God,” Natalie cried out. “Why did he let my mother do it? I love him! I need him!”
“Do what, honey? What did your mother do?”
“Kill my husband, the most loving, godly man who has ever lived, and who served God so faithfully. My own mother!”
“Oh my!” Mirah exclaimed, “what a scam! Of course she knew! She had to!”
“Just wrote you off?” Mr. Benson asked.
“Yes, and Terah too, I guess. She knew I would never part with her. Anyway, if she looked for her at all, she would be hard to trace since she was born at home without a doctor. Edward had delivered her and we hadn't gotten a birth certificate yet.”
“My goodness! You poor thing! What will you tell us next? You didn't even make it to the hospital to have your baby? You never told me that before. What pain! What awful thing happened that time?” Mirah could hardly believe all she was hearing.
“Nothing awful at all, Mirah. We chose to have a natural birth, as God designed it to be, in the pleasant atmosphere of our own home. It was a wonderful, beautiful experience. God had assured us the birth would go well and it did. But that's another story that I'll save for another time.” “Forevermore! Natalie, you and Edward were an unbelievable pair!” Mirah exclaimed. “Unbelievable!” Mr. Benson laughed aloud. “I love it! I love it! God has certainly been with you, young lady!”
“Yes, in both the good times and the bad. He was definitely watching over me while I was with the Johnsons.”
Natalie began recounting some of her experiences in the Johnson home. She first learned simple hemming, then crocheting and embroidery. Mrs. Johnson let her do work she could do by hand, sitting, first in bed, then later in the living room, since she was weak for a long time. Natalie began reading the Bible again, now and then, in the evening. She told herself she would get good at sewing, get the Johnsons paid, then save for an apartment for her and Terah as quickly as possible. But she kept catching a cold that would turn into the flu or bronchitis again, and going in and out of depression over the course of a year.
She couldn't seem to get back to normal or get ahead. Mrs. Johnson said she had paid back any doctor bills from the time they found her, as well as for her keep within the first three months and that she was such a help, it was time for her to receive a wage. But then she would get sick again, need more medicine and not be able to do much work. Her money wasn't going far and she seemed to be in a hopeless, vicious circle, going nowhere fast. Sophie, as Mrs. Johnson insisted Natalie call her, was patient and kind, insisting Natalie was a help to her and not a burden.
It was a long time before Natalie would talk much with the Johnsons about anything other than work or the weather. But eventually she began to feel comfortable enough to talk about other things. It was nearly a year before she mentioned Edward's death and that the worst of her troubles had begun when he died.
“But isn't it a comfort to know that God's children have the blessed hope of being reunited forever?” Sophie had said, smiling lovingly.
“Husbands and wives?” Natalie had asked, looking quite shocked. “Of course, dear, especially husbands and wives,” Sophie said, then read her 2 Thessalonians, 4:13-18, as well as other verses from the Bible.
Natalie knew there was eternal life, but somehow the truth Sophie now shared with her had never been made clear to her. The reality of it had escaped her. Her mind had been a torment to her for a long time. She ached for Edward and wanted to die to escape the emptiness and pain, but never considered a better life with Edward in eternity. She had thought of her mother and wished her dead, not allowing herself to think about what would happen to mother's her soul. She would ached for Terah, then after a long time of weeping become determined all over again.
I have to get her soon! she would say to herself. But the thought of this life being but fleeting in comparison to eternity where she and Edward would be together again forever, with Jesus, had somehow been lost to her. Sophie saw her shocked expression. She was staring as if stunned. Her eyes were wide and full of tears.
“My goodness, dear, what is it?” Sophie asked, moving to her quickly.
Natalie turned her eyes to Sophie's, then dropped her face into her hands and wept. “I'm so ashamed! Why didn't I think!” she said between sobs. “I forgot so much that I knew and overlooked so many things that mattered!”
“Then you did know the Lord before, didn't you?”
“Yes, but, but...”
“But anger and pain choked out the Word,” Sophie finished for her, holding her close. “There now, go ahead. Have a good cry and get it out. Give it all up to the Lord now.”
“I've been so angry with God,” Natalie cried out. “Why did he let my mother do it? I love him! I need him!”
“Do what, honey? What did your mother do?”
“Kill my husband, the most loving, godly man who has ever lived, and who served God so faithfully. My own mother!”
“But how? How could your mother get by with doing such a thing, or why would she?”
“Because she's queen of Teylia Island. She's powerful and very evil. Maybe that's why I've put God out of my thoughts and been so angry. I felt my mother had more power than my God. That left me with nothing!”
Mrs. Johnson had certainly not expected anything like this. For a moment it seemed a little overwhelming. For a year she had had a princess living in her home, teaching her to sew and paying her low wages to work for her. Now she was being told that not only was this so, but that the queen had killed the princess' husband. 'Lord,' she prayed silently, 'please help me now. Give me wisdom. I surely need you now.'
“Natalie, are you certain of what you're saying?”
“Yes, of course,” she said, still sobbing.
“Okay, just a minute, honey.”
Sophie jumped up and ran into the bedroom, shuffled through a box in her closet and hurried back carrying a magazine. She sat back down by Natalie, turning the pages quickly.
“Here it is,” she said, aghast. “Oh my! Oh my!”
It was a story about the death of the Queen of Teylia Island's daughter. There was a large picture of Natalie, pictures of other family members and of the elaborate funeral procession.
“It truly is you! Here is your picture and I didn't even recognize you! Not that I was expecting to have a princess from some far-off island drop into my front yard! And they think you're dead, too!” she exclaimed, looking at Natalie.
“No, she doesn't. Don't you see? She knew there was no body in that casket. That's why it was kept closed. She wants the world to think I'm dead rather than to know that I gave up my position to live with a commoner, as she would call my husband, my precious Edward.”
She told Sophie what had happened that terrible day, both before and at the hospital and that she wanted her mother to think she was dead. She did not, however, tell Sophie about Terah. “I have no actual proof that my mother did it, but I know it. She tried every underhanded thing she could think of to try to get me to leave Edward. She even sent people to the U.S. to spread rumors to discredit him. For the most part I didn't let it get to me. People who knew him wouldn't believe any evil reports of him anyway. But oh, how she tried! I kept praying for her and really thought I could care for her, without anger, no matter what.
“Edward reminded me that she could not control lives that belonged to God. Finally I thought she had given up. Can you believe it?” Natalie was speaking angrily between sobs, as pent-up emotion burst out, as though a dam had broken.
“Then she went too far, had to have what she wanted no matter what the costs. But she never got it and never will. She poisoned my husband, but she will never have me or get her hands on....!”
Here she caught herself and stopped. She wasn't ready to talk about Terah and wasn't sure she should. “I... I think she knows that now. The closed casket sent me a clear message. I am dead to her. It's over. We understand each other. She must have realized when she inquired after my body that I had left the hospital alive and made her decision then.”
“Well, now, I've heard a lot of things in my life but never have I heard such a thing as this!” Sophie clearly was astonished. “Child, if ever a person had a reason to hate, surely you have. But I assure you, honey, that mother of yours is no way as powerful as you might think, nor is she nearly as powerful as God. I don't know why he allowed your husband to go so young, but he certainly isn't lost. He is alive and well in the presence of the Father in Heaven and you can have eternity with him if you choose.
“You're going to have to give up this awful hate, though. It's been killing you. I know you can't just make the feelings go away on your own. You have reason to hate the injustices that have been done to you and yours. But you need to understand that it's our enemy, Satan, who's behind all this. God can give you compassion for the person Satan's been using. He's destroying her too. She is a miserable, unhappy person, I can assure you. You can admit this hate is wrong, give it to God and ask him to take it away from you. He is able to do what you cannot.
“Truth is, your mother couldn't have done this if God had chosen to stop her. He must have had some purpose for allowing it. He must have a powerful plan for your life, if you'll just let him see it through. Remember your separation from your husband is a temporary thing.” “Oh, Sophie, thank you!” Sophie took her in her arms.
“Edward is with God. I'm glad you reminded me. He knew God like no one I've ever known. God was a part of his entire being.”
Sophie leaned back, took Natalie by the shoulders and looked right in her eyes. “You said that with mighty conviction. You clearly have no doubt about your husband's relationship with God. He is up there in the presence of the Lord himself, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now, there's no time to waste. Satan didn't like your husband and he doesn't like you. You are a threat to him and his kingdom. He was out to destroy you both because he's afraid of what God will do in your life. You must repent now of your anger, hate and doubt. Let God have his rightful place in your life once again. It's time to put the enemy to flight.”
Natalie wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes, I didn't leave my mother only to be with Edward, but also to serve God.”
“Because she's queen of Teylia Island. She's powerful and very evil. Maybe that's why I've put God out of my thoughts and been so angry. I felt my mother had more power than my God. That left me with nothing!”
Mrs. Johnson had certainly not expected anything like this. For a moment it seemed a little overwhelming. For a year she had had a princess living in her home, teaching her to sew and paying her low wages to work for her. Now she was being told that not only was this so, but that the queen had killed the princess' husband. 'Lord,' she prayed silently, 'please help me now. Give me wisdom. I surely need you now.'
“Natalie, are you certain of what you're saying?”
“Yes, of course,” she said, still sobbing.
“Okay, just a minute, honey.”
Sophie jumped up and ran into the bedroom, shuffled through a box in her closet and hurried back carrying a magazine. She sat back down by Natalie, turning the pages quickly.
“Here it is,” she said, aghast. “Oh my! Oh my!”
It was a story about the death of the Queen of Teylia Island's daughter. There was a large picture of Natalie, pictures of other family members and of the elaborate funeral procession.
“It truly is you! Here is your picture and I didn't even recognize you! Not that I was expecting to have a princess from some far-off island drop into my front yard! And they think you're dead, too!” she exclaimed, looking at Natalie.
“No, she doesn't. Don't you see? She knew there was no body in that casket. That's why it was kept closed. She wants the world to think I'm dead rather than to know that I gave up my position to live with a commoner, as she would call my husband, my precious Edward.”
She told Sophie what had happened that terrible day, both before and at the hospital and that she wanted her mother to think she was dead. She did not, however, tell Sophie about Terah. “I have no actual proof that my mother did it, but I know it. She tried every underhanded thing she could think of to try to get me to leave Edward. She even sent people to the U.S. to spread rumors to discredit him. For the most part I didn't let it get to me. People who knew him wouldn't believe any evil reports of him anyway. But oh, how she tried! I kept praying for her and really thought I could care for her, without anger, no matter what.
“Edward reminded me that she could not control lives that belonged to God. Finally I thought she had given up. Can you believe it?” Natalie was speaking angrily between sobs, as pent-up emotion burst out, as though a dam had broken.
“Then she went too far, had to have what she wanted no matter what the costs. But she never got it and never will. She poisoned my husband, but she will never have me or get her hands on....!”
Here she caught herself and stopped. She wasn't ready to talk about Terah and wasn't sure she should. “I... I think she knows that now. The closed casket sent me a clear message. I am dead to her. It's over. We understand each other. She must have realized when she inquired after my body that I had left the hospital alive and made her decision then.”
“Well, now, I've heard a lot of things in my life but never have I heard such a thing as this!” Sophie clearly was astonished. “Child, if ever a person had a reason to hate, surely you have. But I assure you, honey, that mother of yours is no way as powerful as you might think, nor is she nearly as powerful as God. I don't know why he allowed your husband to go so young, but he certainly isn't lost. He is alive and well in the presence of the Father in Heaven and you can have eternity with him if you choose.
“You're going to have to give up this awful hate, though. It's been killing you. I know you can't just make the feelings go away on your own. You have reason to hate the injustices that have been done to you and yours. But you need to understand that it's our enemy, Satan, who's behind all this. God can give you compassion for the person Satan's been using. He's destroying her too. She is a miserable, unhappy person, I can assure you. You can admit this hate is wrong, give it to God and ask him to take it away from you. He is able to do what you cannot.
“Truth is, your mother couldn't have done this if God had chosen to stop her. He must have had some purpose for allowing it. He must have a powerful plan for your life, if you'll just let him see it through. Remember your separation from your husband is a temporary thing.” “Oh, Sophie, thank you!” Sophie took her in her arms.
“Edward is with God. I'm glad you reminded me. He knew God like no one I've ever known. God was a part of his entire being.”
Sophie leaned back, took Natalie by the shoulders and looked right in her eyes. “You said that with mighty conviction. You clearly have no doubt about your husband's relationship with God. He is up there in the presence of the Lord himself, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now, there's no time to waste. Satan didn't like your husband and he doesn't like you. You are a threat to him and his kingdom. He was out to destroy you both because he's afraid of what God will do in your life. You must repent now of your anger, hate and doubt. Let God have his rightful place in your life once again. It's time to put the enemy to flight.”
Natalie wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “Yes, I didn't leave my mother only to be with Edward, but also to serve God.”
“Okay, then, it's time to do what they both want. Let's just kneel down right now and get it taken care of.”
And they did. The tears seemed to wash away years of stress and anger. It was wonderful as her body and mind went from torment to peace.
Interrupting Natalie's story, Mirah asked. “So you have doubted God too?”
“I think everyone does at one time or another, Mirah. But it certainly isn't worth it. I knew better than to doubt his existence because he had already been too real in my life and I had seen him do too many things. But I came to doubt the extent of his love and whether or not my mother had overpowered his will.”
Mirah was very thoughtful as she listened to Natalie recount many of the happenings of the following year. The expression on her face was a little softer now. She had until now been growing more and more angry, the more she heard of what her friend had endured. The very mention of God had begun to irritate her. Some of that anger was subsiding now as new light was shed on the situation.
For months after praying with Sophie, Natalie began growing stronger in spirit and body. She began learning a lot about patterns and how to use the sewing machine. Her heart and her arms still ached for Terah, but now that she was making more money, she had hopes of getting her baby back soon. She didn't intend to tell the Johnsons about Terah until she was able to do something about getting her back.
She was better and putting out more work at a faster pace, but physically she still wasn't as strong as a healthy person should be. She still had trouble eating right and was nauseous a lot. Sometimes her stomach felt like it was burning. But she felt driven by the need to get her beautiful little girl back in her arms. She wished she could contact someone who could let her know how Terah was, but was afraid to do anything that might be traced by her mother. What if her mother had an informant watching her even now? One of her problems in regaining good health was her lack of adequate rest. Too often she still had troubling dreams. She would see Terah in dreams, smiling and reaching for her. Then before she could get to her, someone would be taking her away while she cried for her mother. But Natalie could never quite get to her. She would wake in the middle of the night, calling out frantically for Terah. She got little rest after such dreams.
After turning her thoughts back toward God, they began increasing. Natalie didn't realize how many times she had cried out so desperately that she had awakened Sophie and Pete. A few times, however, Sophie had rushed to her bed and shook her to get her awake. She woke shaking and feverish. Sophie hadn't told her of hearing her cry out, “No, mother, don't touch my baby! Mother, no! No! No!' Though Sophie asked no questions, she knew Natalie must have had a child. She wondered what had happened to it. The way Natalie would hesitate in the little girl's clothing department of the large department store, wistfully looking at the tiny dresses and hats, convinced Sophie that Natalie had, had a little girl.
Toward the end of the second year with the Johnsons, she delivered some garments to a lady, who was quite ill. She went inside and brought the clothing to the lady's room and even served her some tea. As she left the house a light rain began to fall. It was a cool day and the rain caused her to chill. She was a little dizzy and feverish when she got home but tried to ignore it.
She kept pushing herself to accomplish a lot of sewing and tried to ignore the fact that she was getting weaker by the day. The more she sewed, the more money she made and she felt she couldn't stand to be away from Terah much longer without losing her mind.
By the end of that second year, however, she was in the hospital with pneumonia. Nearly all the money she had saved was now paid to the hospital. She felt this set back was too much to take. She just wanted to give up now. She was tired. All she wanted was to be given something for the pain and allow nature to take its course. She needed rest for her mind and heart and did not want to live any longer without Terah.
On the third day, when the Johnsons came to the hospital, the doctor was worried. “She is not doing well at all,” he informed them. “This girl is critically ill and the worst of it is, I think she actually wants to die. One of the night nurses heard her talking in her sleep, something about her mother being a murderer and begging someone to keep her baby hidden from her. When the nurse woke her, she begged her to let her die.”
“It's time I spoke to her,” Mr. Johnson said. “This can't be allowed to happen.”
Sophie's expression was grave as she nodded to her husband. He had never involved himself directly with Natalie concerning her problems, but let his wife tend to that. However Sophie knew her husband was a wise man. When he did speak up, he usually had something to say that the Lord had given him. Sophie trusted him completely.
As he entered Natalie's room she smiled weakly but didn't speak. He pulled up a chair next to her bed, reached over and took her hand. She looked curiously into his eyes, a little surprised by his manner. He had always been kind to her but his only gestures of affection toward her were, until now, words of approval or encouragement.
“Natalie,” he began, “you have been consorting with the enemy for far too long now. It's time you stop going along with his plan of destruction and the silencing of the Word of God, which God wants you to give to others, including your daughter.”
The look on Natalie's face was one of horror. What horrible things this man, who she had thought was her friend, was accusing her of! And how did he know she had a daughter?
“Now, Sophie thinks,” he went on, “that you lost a little girl by death. I do not. I've recently come to believe you have a little girl somewhere, you're hiding from your mother and you work hard and save to be able to get her back. I also believe you still have a fear of your mother that is eating you up. You've tried not to hate her, but the fear that haunts you in the night has revived that hate just as Satan wants.
“Yes Natalie, you have been going along with him, agreeing with him that he still can hurt you and your daughter and you demonstrate your faith in what he says. You have stopped carrying the good news of Jesus and what he died for, or representing what your husband stood for. You give in to
And they did. The tears seemed to wash away years of stress and anger. It was wonderful as her body and mind went from torment to peace.
Interrupting Natalie's story, Mirah asked. “So you have doubted God too?”
“I think everyone does at one time or another, Mirah. But it certainly isn't worth it. I knew better than to doubt his existence because he had already been too real in my life and I had seen him do too many things. But I came to doubt the extent of his love and whether or not my mother had overpowered his will.”
Mirah was very thoughtful as she listened to Natalie recount many of the happenings of the following year. The expression on her face was a little softer now. She had until now been growing more and more angry, the more she heard of what her friend had endured. The very mention of God had begun to irritate her. Some of that anger was subsiding now as new light was shed on the situation.
For months after praying with Sophie, Natalie began growing stronger in spirit and body. She began learning a lot about patterns and how to use the sewing machine. Her heart and her arms still ached for Terah, but now that she was making more money, she had hopes of getting her baby back soon. She didn't intend to tell the Johnsons about Terah until she was able to do something about getting her back.
She was better and putting out more work at a faster pace, but physically she still wasn't as strong as a healthy person should be. She still had trouble eating right and was nauseous a lot. Sometimes her stomach felt like it was burning. But she felt driven by the need to get her beautiful little girl back in her arms. She wished she could contact someone who could let her know how Terah was, but was afraid to do anything that might be traced by her mother. What if her mother had an informant watching her even now? One of her problems in regaining good health was her lack of adequate rest. Too often she still had troubling dreams. She would see Terah in dreams, smiling and reaching for her. Then before she could get to her, someone would be taking her away while she cried for her mother. But Natalie could never quite get to her. She would wake in the middle of the night, calling out frantically for Terah. She got little rest after such dreams.
After turning her thoughts back toward God, they began increasing. Natalie didn't realize how many times she had cried out so desperately that she had awakened Sophie and Pete. A few times, however, Sophie had rushed to her bed and shook her to get her awake. She woke shaking and feverish. Sophie hadn't told her of hearing her cry out, “No, mother, don't touch my baby! Mother, no! No! No!' Though Sophie asked no questions, she knew Natalie must have had a child. She wondered what had happened to it. The way Natalie would hesitate in the little girl's clothing department of the large department store, wistfully looking at the tiny dresses and hats, convinced Sophie that Natalie had, had a little girl.
Toward the end of the second year with the Johnsons, she delivered some garments to a lady, who was quite ill. She went inside and brought the clothing to the lady's room and even served her some tea. As she left the house a light rain began to fall. It was a cool day and the rain caused her to chill. She was a little dizzy and feverish when she got home but tried to ignore it.
She kept pushing herself to accomplish a lot of sewing and tried to ignore the fact that she was getting weaker by the day. The more she sewed, the more money she made and she felt she couldn't stand to be away from Terah much longer without losing her mind.
By the end of that second year, however, she was in the hospital with pneumonia. Nearly all the money she had saved was now paid to the hospital. She felt this set back was too much to take. She just wanted to give up now. She was tired. All she wanted was to be given something for the pain and allow nature to take its course. She needed rest for her mind and heart and did not want to live any longer without Terah.
On the third day, when the Johnsons came to the hospital, the doctor was worried. “She is not doing well at all,” he informed them. “This girl is critically ill and the worst of it is, I think she actually wants to die. One of the night nurses heard her talking in her sleep, something about her mother being a murderer and begging someone to keep her baby hidden from her. When the nurse woke her, she begged her to let her die.”
“It's time I spoke to her,” Mr. Johnson said. “This can't be allowed to happen.”
Sophie's expression was grave as she nodded to her husband. He had never involved himself directly with Natalie concerning her problems, but let his wife tend to that. However Sophie knew her husband was a wise man. When he did speak up, he usually had something to say that the Lord had given him. Sophie trusted him completely.
As he entered Natalie's room she smiled weakly but didn't speak. He pulled up a chair next to her bed, reached over and took her hand. She looked curiously into his eyes, a little surprised by his manner. He had always been kind to her but his only gestures of affection toward her were, until now, words of approval or encouragement.
“Natalie,” he began, “you have been consorting with the enemy for far too long now. It's time you stop going along with his plan of destruction and the silencing of the Word of God, which God wants you to give to others, including your daughter.”
The look on Natalie's face was one of horror. What horrible things this man, who she had thought was her friend, was accusing her of! And how did he know she had a daughter?
“Now, Sophie thinks,” he went on, “that you lost a little girl by death. I do not. I've recently come to believe you have a little girl somewhere, you're hiding from your mother and you work hard and save to be able to get her back. I also believe you still have a fear of your mother that is eating you up. You've tried not to hate her, but the fear that haunts you in the night has revived that hate just as Satan wants.
“Yes Natalie, you have been going along with him, agreeing with him that he still can hurt you and your daughter and you demonstrate your faith in what he says. You have stopped carrying the good news of Jesus and what he died for, or representing what your husband stood for. You give in to
fear and hatred the enemy offers, because it slips in in the night. He uses you as a tool against God's will and your husband's purpose. A root of bitterness has taken hold inside your heart and is choking the life out of you.
“God wants you to teach your daughter many things. His hand is on her even now. He has put his Word in you, but you let it be choked by pain. You have at your disposal all you need to do mighty things for the kingdom of God. God wants to teach your daughter to know him and to carry on her father's ministry as he also wants you to do. But he cannot use you or bring your daughter back to you while you consort with the enemy of your own soul.
“Do you want Satan to deceive and destroy you and your daughter or do you want her to be a mighty soldier of the cross? Will you help Satan take her? Or will you put a stop to all of this once and for all?”
These words seemed so horrible Natalie could hardly believe Mr. Johnson was saying them. They cut into her soul like a knife. However, she felt the presence of God in the room as he spoke.
“Now enough is enough, Natalie. You must stop this here and now, for your sake, your daughter's sake and for the many souls God wants to use you to reach. Today is the day for you to give up this awful, dark hate and this crippling fear. Give it to God now. Ask him to pull it out by the root. Turn from darkness to light and be set free, or the alternative is you will probably die soon, taking with you the protection you are supposed to be for your daughter, leaving her exposed to the enemy and his destructive plans for her.
If you willingly die, do you not rob your daughter of her mother? Will you be a thief, or a child of the most holy God? Today is the day for you to resist the enemy, walk from him to God once and for all time. No more indulging in hate and despair. I'm here to help you. “The Bible says in Matthew 18:19, 'Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.' I am here to agree with you, to see you experience victory today and to see you recover.”
His words shocked Natalie to a consciousness of the truth. They stung her and pained her sorely but they and the Holy Spirit turned on a light so she could see. She held out her other, trembling hand toward Mr. Johnson. He took it tenderly as she nodded and said, “I'm ready. Let's do it!”
Mr. Johnson smiled a smile of joy and relief. His heart was full of thankfulness. He prayed as a man anointed from the top of his head to the soles of his feet by the Spirit and power of God. Natalie had not experienced such intercessory prayer since Edward had been gone.
As Mr. Benson had been listening intently to all Natalie had been sharing, many an expression had crossed his face. But now he could not contain himself.
“My! Oh my! What a lot of courage it must have taken for that man to speak to you like that! You were sick, must have looked so frail and vulnerable, but he walks in and tells you you've been consorting with the enemy, so bluntly, so direct and so sure!”
“Didn't you want to tell him off?” Mirah wanted to know.
“I did have a terrible flash of anger at first. Who was he to accuse me when I had been trying so hard and for so long? But not only was he speaking the absolute truth, I began to realize it was God speaking to me through him. I could feel his presence strongly in that room. It hadn't been my intention to come into agreement with the enemy, but that's why I hadn't recognized what I was doing. It took Mr. Johnson's obedience to God, his love for me, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to what was really going on. I had been letting the enemy serve me a plate of poison, so to speak - a plate of sorrow and despair, doubt, fear and hate. I would take it and eat every bite, then try to move ahead toward my goal, getting sicker and sicker as I went.”
“So,” said Mr. Benson, “Satan poisoned Edward first, then you.”
“Yes, that's true. I'm so grateful that Mr. Johnson uncovered the truth and held it right in front of my face. It was a turning point in my life. That time when I cried out to God, I gave him everything, including my will. By the time Mr. Johnson left my room, I had made up my mind to live and to declare, by my life, the Word, character and life of Christ.”
“Sounds scary to me,” Mirah put in, “to give up your will.”
“Yes, I guess it does, but it's only when giving our life over to Christ that we are truly able to live. So often we think we're doing what we want without realizing how much we are actually being influenced by an unseen force that wishes us no good. When I turned everything over to my heavenly father, who loves me, I was given the power to really live and be the me I wanted to be.
“I don't know if I could have done what that man did,” Mr. Benson said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “But thanks be to God he obeyed. I would like to meet that Mr. Johnson, truly I would.” “Maybe one day you will, David. I'm sure he would like to meet you.”
“I was in the hospital a full month and still had to take it easy when I got out. I began praying before I went to sleep for God to take control of my dreams, and in the name of Jesus, I forbade Satan to bother my mind while I was asleep. After that I began resting well.
“I went back to hand sewing and a lot of sitting, but I was a determined person then. I devoted myself to communication with my heavenly father and reading the scriptures. I made myself begin eating better and took short walks every day, if only around the house.
“Mr. Johnson and Sophie were constant encouragers. They were happy to see the change in my life. I can't say everything became easy. Satan had one more huge plan of attack but this time I was ready. God was bringing me to a place of greater spiritual strength and power so he used the next trial to bring much blessing and much glory to himself.
“God wants you to teach your daughter many things. His hand is on her even now. He has put his Word in you, but you let it be choked by pain. You have at your disposal all you need to do mighty things for the kingdom of God. God wants to teach your daughter to know him and to carry on her father's ministry as he also wants you to do. But he cannot use you or bring your daughter back to you while you consort with the enemy of your own soul.
“Do you want Satan to deceive and destroy you and your daughter or do you want her to be a mighty soldier of the cross? Will you help Satan take her? Or will you put a stop to all of this once and for all?”
These words seemed so horrible Natalie could hardly believe Mr. Johnson was saying them. They cut into her soul like a knife. However, she felt the presence of God in the room as he spoke.
“Now enough is enough, Natalie. You must stop this here and now, for your sake, your daughter's sake and for the many souls God wants to use you to reach. Today is the day for you to give up this awful, dark hate and this crippling fear. Give it to God now. Ask him to pull it out by the root. Turn from darkness to light and be set free, or the alternative is you will probably die soon, taking with you the protection you are supposed to be for your daughter, leaving her exposed to the enemy and his destructive plans for her.
If you willingly die, do you not rob your daughter of her mother? Will you be a thief, or a child of the most holy God? Today is the day for you to resist the enemy, walk from him to God once and for all time. No more indulging in hate and despair. I'm here to help you. “The Bible says in Matthew 18:19, 'Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.' I am here to agree with you, to see you experience victory today and to see you recover.”
His words shocked Natalie to a consciousness of the truth. They stung her and pained her sorely but they and the Holy Spirit turned on a light so she could see. She held out her other, trembling hand toward Mr. Johnson. He took it tenderly as she nodded and said, “I'm ready. Let's do it!”
Mr. Johnson smiled a smile of joy and relief. His heart was full of thankfulness. He prayed as a man anointed from the top of his head to the soles of his feet by the Spirit and power of God. Natalie had not experienced such intercessory prayer since Edward had been gone.
As Mr. Benson had been listening intently to all Natalie had been sharing, many an expression had crossed his face. But now he could not contain himself.
“My! Oh my! What a lot of courage it must have taken for that man to speak to you like that! You were sick, must have looked so frail and vulnerable, but he walks in and tells you you've been consorting with the enemy, so bluntly, so direct and so sure!”
“Didn't you want to tell him off?” Mirah wanted to know.
“I did have a terrible flash of anger at first. Who was he to accuse me when I had been trying so hard and for so long? But not only was he speaking the absolute truth, I began to realize it was God speaking to me through him. I could feel his presence strongly in that room. It hadn't been my intention to come into agreement with the enemy, but that's why I hadn't recognized what I was doing. It took Mr. Johnson's obedience to God, his love for me, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to what was really going on. I had been letting the enemy serve me a plate of poison, so to speak - a plate of sorrow and despair, doubt, fear and hate. I would take it and eat every bite, then try to move ahead toward my goal, getting sicker and sicker as I went.”
“So,” said Mr. Benson, “Satan poisoned Edward first, then you.”
“Yes, that's true. I'm so grateful that Mr. Johnson uncovered the truth and held it right in front of my face. It was a turning point in my life. That time when I cried out to God, I gave him everything, including my will. By the time Mr. Johnson left my room, I had made up my mind to live and to declare, by my life, the Word, character and life of Christ.”
“Sounds scary to me,” Mirah put in, “to give up your will.”
“Yes, I guess it does, but it's only when giving our life over to Christ that we are truly able to live. So often we think we're doing what we want without realizing how much we are actually being influenced by an unseen force that wishes us no good. When I turned everything over to my heavenly father, who loves me, I was given the power to really live and be the me I wanted to be.
“I don't know if I could have done what that man did,” Mr. Benson said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “But thanks be to God he obeyed. I would like to meet that Mr. Johnson, truly I would.” “Maybe one day you will, David. I'm sure he would like to meet you.”
“I was in the hospital a full month and still had to take it easy when I got out. I began praying before I went to sleep for God to take control of my dreams, and in the name of Jesus, I forbade Satan to bother my mind while I was asleep. After that I began resting well.
“I went back to hand sewing and a lot of sitting, but I was a determined person then. I devoted myself to communication with my heavenly father and reading the scriptures. I made myself begin eating better and took short walks every day, if only around the house.
“Mr. Johnson and Sophie were constant encouragers. They were happy to see the change in my life. I can't say everything became easy. Satan had one more huge plan of attack but this time I was ready. God was bringing me to a place of greater spiritual strength and power so he used the next trial to bring much blessing and much glory to himself.
“Six months into the third year, the Johnsons' son and his family from Texas came for a visit. They had three children. The oldest seemed to have a cold. Her mother said that she had thought she would have been over it by the time they arrived, but it just hung on. They'd given her medicine, but she was getting worse. They stayed and visited for a week, then decided to go home and get the little girl to their doctor. The doctor told them that she had tuberculosis.
“The exposure to that dreaded disease did its work on me. I was not strong enough to resist it. Three months later I was in a tuberculosis sanatorium where I lived for two long years. But don't either of you be dismayed. It wasn't all bad. I had no despair or hate this time. In fact, I knew I was going to be healed and that at the end of this battle I would be facing a glorious victory.
“I was allowed to go through that and both see and experience the power of God in action. God used me to serve others and to share the good news of Jesus Christ. The joy and hope he gave me was strength to my spirit. I knew I was going to walk out of that place completely whole but first there were things I needed to do.
“I began telling the girls around me what God could do and encouraging them to give him their lives and to trust him. Sometimes when the doctors would examine me I seemed to be improving. Then again I would get a little worse. I would say, 'Look closely, doctor, and remember what you see because one day you'll look and find only a healthy body. The tuberculosis is going to disappear.'
"I knew I was there for a purpose and would leave as soon as I had fulfilled that purpose. I would be healed as quickly as Susanne had been.”
“But, Natalie, a cut is one thing, disease like tuberculosis is quite another!” Mirah was astounded to hear Natalie make such a comparison.
“It's no different to God, Mirah. He can do one thing as easily as another,” Natalie told her with a knowing look.
“I had a lot of time to read the Bible in that place and to talk to people about Jesus. God began moving mightily. I saw weak, forlorn young women begin to smile and to hope, grouchy tired nurses laugh, and in those two years I saw several healed of the disease that had been destroying their bodies, to the absolute amazement of the doctors and nurses.”
“So,” put in Mr. Benson, “women were healed of the disease of their bodies, minds and souls! Now, isn't that just what God is like?” he said, nearly laughing. “What a turnabout for you who had grown so tired and near death yourself.”
“Was it ever! I had pain in my body, but my spirit soared. Then after I had been there a year, the doctors began talking about doing a major operation on me. I refused. I told them no one was going to cut on me, My healing was already settled when Jesus took stripes for my healing and I would see the evidence in God's time. 'You may not have much time left if something isn't done soon,' they told me.”
“But how could you keep from getting angry when other women were getting better while you still suffered?” Mirah wanted to know.
“And what about Terah?”
“Being away from Terah was worse pain than any other. But I remembered that God had given up being with his only son, for a time, in order to save me and others and that his son had suffered much to heal our souls and our bodies. With his help, I could suffer if it meant being with other women when they needed me to help them find healing. I would be healed and reunited with my daughter in time.
“After a year and a half I began feeling relief from some of the pain, though examinations didn't show an improvement. The doctors were amazed that I had not worsened after refusing the operation. I knew something was going on. “One night I dreamed that I was holding Terah, only she wasn't a baby. I saw her face so clearly. When I woke I knew my time was close at hand. God was going to release me from that place before long and my next project would be preparing a home for my precious child. I didn't know where the money would come from, but it would be there.
“Then one week before my two year anniversary of being in the sanatorium, I was in prayer alone in my room. The other girls hadn't returned from a movie they were watching down the hall. Suddenly I felt as if a heatwave went over me. It started at the top of my head and not only swept over me but soaked through me. I felt like I was saturated with it, like a sponge soaks up water. “After it passed through me, I felt absolutely new. I had not been healthy for so long that I had forgotten what normal felt like. I could actually feel strength surging into my body and I could breathe deeply without pain in my lungs. I began crying and praising God. I felt like I could jump over a car and run for miles.
“I jumped up, ran down the hall and straight to the nurses' station. I was so excited that I startled the nurses. 'I have to see a doctor right away!' I nearly yelled. 'Oh, hallelujah, my time has come!'
'Is there an emergency?' one particularly stern nurse asked me.
'Well, not exactly, but there has been a miracle and I want to see a doctor quickly! Please!'
'No emergency, no doctor. Not right now,' she said firmly. But I could see the other nurses were more than curious. They wanted to get a doctor for me. I went back to my room and started to pray again. What I didn't know was that one of the other nurses slipped out of the stern nurse's sight and called a doctor for me. She told him that there was something unusual going on with me physically and she thought he should check me right away. He called me in my room.
'Something has happened to my body,' I told him, excitedly. 'There was this heat, an indescribable heat that seemed to soak into and go all through me. Something went through my whole body, doctor. Oh, please come and check me out. Something has happened to me. I have never felt anything like it and I am feeling so unusual. Please don't leave me all night like this without examining me.
“The exposure to that dreaded disease did its work on me. I was not strong enough to resist it. Three months later I was in a tuberculosis sanatorium where I lived for two long years. But don't either of you be dismayed. It wasn't all bad. I had no despair or hate this time. In fact, I knew I was going to be healed and that at the end of this battle I would be facing a glorious victory.
“I was allowed to go through that and both see and experience the power of God in action. God used me to serve others and to share the good news of Jesus Christ. The joy and hope he gave me was strength to my spirit. I knew I was going to walk out of that place completely whole but first there were things I needed to do.
“I began telling the girls around me what God could do and encouraging them to give him their lives and to trust him. Sometimes when the doctors would examine me I seemed to be improving. Then again I would get a little worse. I would say, 'Look closely, doctor, and remember what you see because one day you'll look and find only a healthy body. The tuberculosis is going to disappear.'
"I knew I was there for a purpose and would leave as soon as I had fulfilled that purpose. I would be healed as quickly as Susanne had been.”
“But, Natalie, a cut is one thing, disease like tuberculosis is quite another!” Mirah was astounded to hear Natalie make such a comparison.
“It's no different to God, Mirah. He can do one thing as easily as another,” Natalie told her with a knowing look.
“I had a lot of time to read the Bible in that place and to talk to people about Jesus. God began moving mightily. I saw weak, forlorn young women begin to smile and to hope, grouchy tired nurses laugh, and in those two years I saw several healed of the disease that had been destroying their bodies, to the absolute amazement of the doctors and nurses.”
“So,” put in Mr. Benson, “women were healed of the disease of their bodies, minds and souls! Now, isn't that just what God is like?” he said, nearly laughing. “What a turnabout for you who had grown so tired and near death yourself.”
“Was it ever! I had pain in my body, but my spirit soared. Then after I had been there a year, the doctors began talking about doing a major operation on me. I refused. I told them no one was going to cut on me, My healing was already settled when Jesus took stripes for my healing and I would see the evidence in God's time. 'You may not have much time left if something isn't done soon,' they told me.”
“But how could you keep from getting angry when other women were getting better while you still suffered?” Mirah wanted to know.
“And what about Terah?”
“Being away from Terah was worse pain than any other. But I remembered that God had given up being with his only son, for a time, in order to save me and others and that his son had suffered much to heal our souls and our bodies. With his help, I could suffer if it meant being with other women when they needed me to help them find healing. I would be healed and reunited with my daughter in time.
“After a year and a half I began feeling relief from some of the pain, though examinations didn't show an improvement. The doctors were amazed that I had not worsened after refusing the operation. I knew something was going on. “One night I dreamed that I was holding Terah, only she wasn't a baby. I saw her face so clearly. When I woke I knew my time was close at hand. God was going to release me from that place before long and my next project would be preparing a home for my precious child. I didn't know where the money would come from, but it would be there.
“Then one week before my two year anniversary of being in the sanatorium, I was in prayer alone in my room. The other girls hadn't returned from a movie they were watching down the hall. Suddenly I felt as if a heatwave went over me. It started at the top of my head and not only swept over me but soaked through me. I felt like I was saturated with it, like a sponge soaks up water. “After it passed through me, I felt absolutely new. I had not been healthy for so long that I had forgotten what normal felt like. I could actually feel strength surging into my body and I could breathe deeply without pain in my lungs. I began crying and praising God. I felt like I could jump over a car and run for miles.
“I jumped up, ran down the hall and straight to the nurses' station. I was so excited that I startled the nurses. 'I have to see a doctor right away!' I nearly yelled. 'Oh, hallelujah, my time has come!'
'Is there an emergency?' one particularly stern nurse asked me.
'Well, not exactly, but there has been a miracle and I want to see a doctor quickly! Please!'
'No emergency, no doctor. Not right now,' she said firmly. But I could see the other nurses were more than curious. They wanted to get a doctor for me. I went back to my room and started to pray again. What I didn't know was that one of the other nurses slipped out of the stern nurse's sight and called a doctor for me. She told him that there was something unusual going on with me physically and she thought he should check me right away. He called me in my room.
'Something has happened to my body,' I told him, excitedly. 'There was this heat, an indescribable heat that seemed to soak into and go all through me. Something went through my whole body, doctor. Oh, please come and check me out. Something has happened to me. I have never felt anything like it and I am feeling so unusual. Please don't leave me all night like this without examining me.
“He thought I was frightened. Not knowing what might have happened, he came straight to the hospital.
'Please!' I said, looking very serious when he came into the room. 'Please give me a fluoroscope treatment. Please! I felt something go through me. Something has happened to me. Oh, please, look inside of me.'
'What did you feel?'
'I've never felt anything like it. It was in my chest, even my skin. It was hot, or, that is, I was hot. How can I explain?'
“I begged determinedly for a fluoroscope treatment and he did seem concerned. I learned later that he was afraid that the one lung that was not collapsed had begun to collapse, although he didn't understand why I was not having more trouble breathing. Finally he said, 'Okay, okay now, calm down and we'll have a look. I suppose we should check you out. This doesn't sound good.'
'But you'll check my blood too, won't you?'
'Let's see what we see first. If I feel I need to, then I will check your blood. First things first.'
“They did the treatment, taking me to and from the treatment room in a wheelchair, saying I should not move any more than necessary.
“In about half an hour the doctor was back in my room. 'You didn't call me because you were afraid, did you? You called because you knew and wanted it confirmed, didn't you?' 'Knew what?
'What did you find?'
'I found what you expected; lungs that show no signs of ever having had any disease, but look perfectly normal and healthy.'
"I smiled and hugged the doctor, saying, 'Isn't God good? I told you I would see the evidence of my healing in time!"
'Yes, you did,' he said with a smile. 'But I will have to go ahead and do some blood tests and document the results. I feel quite certain that all the test will show what you already believe. I have never seen healthier looking lungs. They do not look like they could possibly be the same lungs that we looked at just two weeks ago. And I will have to do another fluoroscope treatment tomorrow and again in a couple of days for absolute verification.
Young lady, I have never known anyone e
ven remotely like you before, nor have I ever seen the evidence for such a God as yours before.' “I grabbed the doctor again and hugged him tightly.”
“The tuberculosis was gone? Just like that?” Mirah interrupted, staring wide-eyed.
“Yes, and I saw that the doctor's eyes were red and wet.
'Okay,' he said, shaking his head. 'You get some rest and we'll run the tests first thing in the morning.' “He left my room still shaking his head. I started shouting praises to God and dancing around the room. A nurse opened the door, smiling ear to ear.
'I heard,' she said. 'The doctor doesn't know what to think. I'm supposed to tell you it's almost time for lights out. Old Miss Sourpuss is bothered by your noise. The other girls should be getting back from their movie any minute now.'
“I grabbed her hand and twirled her around, laughing. 'How can I be still when I've just been healed of tuberculosis?'
“She stopped laughing, lowered her voice and said, 'Today was your day, huh, honey?'
'Oh, yes,' I said, and I grabbed her again, hugged her tightly, lifted her off the floor and twirled her around again. "There's no pain when I breathe and the doctor's pictures show healthy lungs! Watch!' “I took off running down the hall past the nurses, who called out, 'Mrs. Williams! Mrs. Williams, stop! What are you doing?'
“I ran all the way to the lounge where the girls' movie was just ending and ran around the room, shouting, “hallelujah to God! It's gone! The TB is gone! I'm healed!'
“I caused quite a stir. Some of the women started shouting too and believe it or not, two of them were also instantly healed as well. It got pretty noisy in that hospital.
“Then the stern-faced nurse came down with reinforcements to try and settle us down, but you can't hold down the joy of the Lord or the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Victory had taken over death and the victory cry was going to be heard!
“I was breathing like an athlete when I finally returned to my room. That stern nurse gave up and went back to the nurses' station but she was seething with anger.
“Several nurses came to my room, tears streaming down their faces, wanting to receive Jesus. Although I left the hospital soon after, I heard that a revival broke out in that place and many patients walked out of there healed. The stern nurse who was so angry was an atheist. She quit her job and left.
“When the lights were out I called the Johnsons. Mr. Johnson answered the phone. 'It's happened tonight, Mr. Johnson!' I said in a loud, excited whisper. 'I've been healed! Oh, uh, it's me, Natalie. They've already looked at my lungs and they are perfect - not a sign that there ever was tuberculosis!'
Well, well now child, when did this occur?''Please!' I said, looking very serious when he came into the room. 'Please give me a fluoroscope treatment. Please! I felt something go through me. Something has happened to me. Oh, please, look inside of me.'
'What did you feel?'
'I've never felt anything like it. It was in my chest, even my skin. It was hot, or, that is, I was hot. How can I explain?'
“I begged determinedly for a fluoroscope treatment and he did seem concerned. I learned later that he was afraid that the one lung that was not collapsed had begun to collapse, although he didn't understand why I was not having more trouble breathing. Finally he said, 'Okay, okay now, calm down and we'll have a look. I suppose we should check you out. This doesn't sound good.'
'But you'll check my blood too, won't you?'
'Let's see what we see first. If I feel I need to, then I will check your blood. First things first.'
“They did the treatment, taking me to and from the treatment room in a wheelchair, saying I should not move any more than necessary.
“In about half an hour the doctor was back in my room. 'You didn't call me because you were afraid, did you? You called because you knew and wanted it confirmed, didn't you?' 'Knew what?
'What did you find?'
'I found what you expected; lungs that show no signs of ever having had any disease, but look perfectly normal and healthy.'
"I smiled and hugged the doctor, saying, 'Isn't God good? I told you I would see the evidence of my healing in time!"
'Yes, you did,' he said with a smile. 'But I will have to go ahead and do some blood tests and document the results. I feel quite certain that all the test will show what you already believe. I have never seen healthier looking lungs. They do not look like they could possibly be the same lungs that we looked at just two weeks ago. And I will have to do another fluoroscope treatment tomorrow and again in a couple of days for absolute verification.
Young lady, I have never known anyone e
ven remotely like you before, nor have I ever seen the evidence for such a God as yours before.' “I grabbed the doctor again and hugged him tightly.”
“The tuberculosis was gone? Just like that?” Mirah interrupted, staring wide-eyed.
“Yes, and I saw that the doctor's eyes were red and wet.
'Okay,' he said, shaking his head. 'You get some rest and we'll run the tests first thing in the morning.' “He left my room still shaking his head. I started shouting praises to God and dancing around the room. A nurse opened the door, smiling ear to ear.
'I heard,' she said. 'The doctor doesn't know what to think. I'm supposed to tell you it's almost time for lights out. Old Miss Sourpuss is bothered by your noise. The other girls should be getting back from their movie any minute now.'
“I grabbed her hand and twirled her around, laughing. 'How can I be still when I've just been healed of tuberculosis?'
“She stopped laughing, lowered her voice and said, 'Today was your day, huh, honey?'
'Oh, yes,' I said, and I grabbed her again, hugged her tightly, lifted her off the floor and twirled her around again. "There's no pain when I breathe and the doctor's pictures show healthy lungs! Watch!' “I took off running down the hall past the nurses, who called out, 'Mrs. Williams! Mrs. Williams, stop! What are you doing?'
“I ran all the way to the lounge where the girls' movie was just ending and ran around the room, shouting, “hallelujah to God! It's gone! The TB is gone! I'm healed!'
“I caused quite a stir. Some of the women started shouting too and believe it or not, two of them were also instantly healed as well. It got pretty noisy in that hospital.
“Then the stern-faced nurse came down with reinforcements to try and settle us down, but you can't hold down the joy of the Lord or the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Victory had taken over death and the victory cry was going to be heard!
“I was breathing like an athlete when I finally returned to my room. That stern nurse gave up and went back to the nurses' station but she was seething with anger.
“Several nurses came to my room, tears streaming down their faces, wanting to receive Jesus. Although I left the hospital soon after, I heard that a revival broke out in that place and many patients walked out of there healed. The stern nurse who was so angry was an atheist. She quit her job and left.
“When the lights were out I called the Johnsons. Mr. Johnson answered the phone. 'It's happened tonight, Mr. Johnson!' I said in a loud, excited whisper. 'I've been healed! Oh, uh, it's me, Natalie. They've already looked at my lungs and they are perfect - not a sign that there ever was tuberculosis!'
'About 7 o'clock, I think, while I was praying.'
'Praise be to God!' he shouted 'Sophie and I got a call from Francis tonight telling us that our granddaughter had been touched by the Lord and is improving rapidly. We were thanking and praising the Lord when we suddenly felt a strong drawing to begin praying and interceding for you. It was 6:30 when Francis called so we would have been holding hands praying for you just a few minutes before 7. All of a sudden we were overcome with unspeakable joy. Here, here, let me put Sophie on.'
“There was a pause and when I heard Sophie's voice I could tell she was having a hard time trying to talk.' 'Is it true? The doctor even verified it?' she asked excitedly.
'He said he saw healthy lungs. There is no sign of tuberculosis.'
'Oh, my dear, isn't God good? How are you feeling right now?'
'Sophie, I've shouted, danced, run down the hall, around the lounge, and even picked up a nurse and twirled her around. I have no pain and I'm not even tired. I could run more. I feel strong and have no discomfort in my body of any kind. It no longer hurts to breathe!'
‘Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, child! Now you come home as soon as you can. I miss you! Besides work's pilein' up,’ she said, laughing. ‘I need ya!’
'Don't worry, Sophie, I'll be able to put out some work now. You'll see!'
'Aw, honey, you just get on home and let's celebrate!'
“Next morning I was called into the doctor's office where he took blood tests. That afternoon he told me I could go on home, but to come back in a day for him to look at my arm where he took the TB test. That showed up negative, which in itself is amazing. It was as if I had never even had the disease. I refused any more fluoroscope treatments but I did have a TB test this year and it too was negative - no sign of ever having TB.
“The Johnsons picked me up and took me out to a restaurant for supper. We rejoiced for days. Well, I have never stopped rejoicing, actually. I will never stop being thankful. I have copies of medical records from the time I entered the sanatorium to the time I was discharged that testify of the miracle of God.”
Mirah's eyes looked like they might pop out of her face. Natalie and David started laughing. “Natalie,” she said, “if it wasn't you telling this, I would never believe this story, you know.”
“Well, Mirah, it is me and I will show you the records if you would like to read them.”
Mirah just shook her head.
“My goodness, young lady,” David put in, sighing deeply. “You're still so young and you've experienced such wondrous things! It's hard to comprehend it all!”
“Well, the rest of my story that brings me to now is not too long, but I'll put it off 'till after supper. Do you think you'll feel more like eating now?”
“Absolutely! I'm actually quite hungry now and a lot more relaxed.”
“How about you, Mirah? What do you think? Feel like eating?”
“Sure do. How about more of what we had for lunch? It was very good.”
“Are you sure? I could cook something else.”
“No, no,” her guests agreed. “let's just finish off lunch.”
“Okay, but let's eat on the porch where we can watch the sun set.”
“Sounds great,” Mirah said. She looked happy now and much more relaxed. This evening was turning out to be very pleasant since hearing the part of Natalie's story where things turned for the better. Mirah felt like a weight had lifted from her and now to sit and eat while watching the sun set with Natalie would be refreshing.
David only wished Susanne could have been with him during this special time, not only to hear Natalie tell her story but also to see her as she was, here in her life away from all the glitz and glamour of palace life. Here where she was more beautiful and more wealthy than she had ever been living in her mother's domain. David would have liked Susanne to see what a remarkable woman of faith Natalie had become
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