The Selfless Act (7 page)

“How well I know.” Arlene sighed. “I think we’ll be paying on Scott’s hospital bill till the end of this year.”

“We all need money right now.” Elsie bit her bottom lip. “I don’t mean to sound greedy, but it would sure be nice if we could all open our envelopes to see how much Dad left us.” She looked out the window, watching the birds eating from one of the feeders.

Arlene cleared her throat. “I’m sure he gave us equal shares of whatever his assets are, but if Joel doesn’t do something we can all agree is a heartfelt, selfless act, we may never get whatever Dad wanted us to have.”

Elsie drank some tea, then added a bit more sugar. “Have you heard anything from Joel lately?” she asked, looking back at her sister.

“No. Have you?”

“Huh-uh. Not since he came by a few weeks ago to see if we all liked our Christmas presents. I think he was hoping we’d say his gift-giving was a selfless act.” Elsie pushed her chair back a ways to cross her legs.

Arlene folded her arms. “Same thing for when he gave Scott the dog. I heard from Aunt Verna a few weeks after that, and she said Joel had called and told her what he’d done.”

“What’d she say in response?”

“Not a lot. Just said she told Joel she thought Scott would enjoy having the dog, but it wasn’t a selfless act.”

“Maybe our bruder isn’t capable of doing something completely selfless. Whatever he’s done so far has been with an ulterior motive.” Elsie blew out a breath, rattling her lips. “He’s trying too hard, and it’s not heartfelt.”

“What’s not heartfelt?” Scott asked when he entered the room and squatted beside his dog.

“Nothing, Son.” Arlene pointed at the terrier, still lying beside her feet. “I don’t really like having your dog in the kitchen, but he has a persuasive way about him.”

“I showed Uncle John and my cousins the tricks I’ve taught my hund, and I want Aunt Elsie to see what he can do.”

Elsie rose from her chair. “I’ll go out to the living room, and you can show me in there.”

Scott’s face lit up. “Okay! After that, I’m gonna play a song I learned on the harmonica Uncle Joel gave me.” He looked up at Arlene. “Are ya comin’, Mom?”

She nodded. “I’ll be there as soon as I put our tea cups in the sink.”

Scott headed for the living room with the dog at his heels, and Elsie followed.

Arlene smiled as she cleared the dishes from the table and placed them in the sink. Joel had done a good thing by giving Scott the mutt, but it really wasn’t enough. He needed to do something sacrificial without trying to get anything in return. Unless her brother had a complete change of heart, it wasn’t likely he’d ever do a good deed for anyone without expecting something back.

Elsie had felt uptight most of the day, but after laughing at Bristleface’s antics as he did several tricks, she relaxed a bit. Laughter was good medicine. She remembered her mother had often quoted Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Her bones had certainly felt dry since they’d lost their house. She’d struggled to find any joy at all, but she still tried to hide her frustrations and despondency from the children. If they knew how disheartened their mother felt, it would upset them. Even John didn’t know the extent of her depression. She’d shared a few of her thoughts with him, but most things she kept hidden in her heart. There was nothing her husband could do about their situation, so what was the point in saying anything? Truth was, John probably held in his thoughts and feelings, too. Some days Elsie wondered if anything in their lives would ever feel right again.

Thunder sounded in the distance, causing Elsie to rise from her seat in the rocking chair. She went to the living-room window and looked out. “It’s snowing—really hard!”

Arlene and both of the men joined her at the window.

“You don’t hear
dunner
when it’s snowing very often,” Larry commented. “I have a feeling we might be in for another storm.”

“Could turn into a blizzard.” John’s brows furrowed. “I can hear the horses out in the barn, whinnying something awful.”

Arlene slipped her arm around Elsie’s waist. “I think it would be safer if you spent the night here.”

Larry nodded. “I agree with my
fraa.
Sure wouldn’t advise going home with a spooky horse in this kind of weather, even though Charm’s not that far from here.”

Elsie looked at John to get his reaction.

“I believe you’re right, Larry,” he replied. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, we’ll crash here tonight. If things look better in the morning, we’ll head back to Charm.”

“What about
schul
?” Hope spoke up. “If we spend the night here, how am I gonna get to school on time tomorrow?”

“I’ll take you there with my horse and buggy.” John gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Try not to worry about it, okay? If the storm is too bad, school will probably be cancelled tomorrow, anyway.”

Elsie shivered as another clap of thunder sounded. This one seemed a little closer than the last. The snow was falling harder. She was pretty sure they were in for a blizzard.

Hearing the thunder made her think about Dad and how lightning and thunder had struck the night he’d been killed in his tree house. She closed her eyes.
I miss you, Dad. I’d rather we had you here with us right now than be waiting to see how much of your money we were going to get.

Akron

Joel had developed a headache soon after he’d left the church, but even though he’d taken something for it, the pounding pain remained.

It’s probably from the stress of knowing I’ve lost Kristi for good,
he told himself as he lay down on his bed. Joel had spent most of the day in bed, hoping some rest would help the headache go away, and he’d only gotten up once to get a bite to eat.

A clap of thunder brought his head off the pillow. “Dunner this time of the year?” Joel didn’t know why, but the German-Dutch word rolled off his tongue. He got up and looked out the window. It was snowing hard, and the wind blew furiously. Another boom sounded, and a vision of his dad came to mind.
What must it have been like for him, up in the tree house when the lightning struck?
He shuddered at the thought.

For the first time since his father’s death, Joel teared up. A knot formed in his stomach, and a gut-wrenching sob tore from his throat. “Oh, Dad, I have so many regrets.” It grieved him to know he hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye or make amends with Dad before he died. But it was too late to do anything about it now.

Blurry-eyed, Joel’s gaze came to rest on the black book with golden embossed letters along the spine lying on his dresser. It was the NIV Bible Kristi had given him last year at Christmas. He’d taken it to church with him a few times, hoping to impress her, but had never opened it when he was at home. But now Joel felt a strong need to open it.

He picked up the Bible and sat on the end of his bed. A green ribbon stuck out, so he opened it to that section. After reading several verses, Joel paused at 1 John 3:17: “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”

He continued to read verses 18, 19, and 20: “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”

Tears stinging his eyes, Joel read on, until he came to verse 23: “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

As the words from the passage pierced his heart, Joel fell to his knees beside his bed. The truth of his transgressions hit him with the force of a strong wind. His self-centeredness and deceitfulness had caused him to lose Kristi, and they had put a wedge between him and his family for years. He hadn’t been a good son and had brought shame to his father.
No wonder Dad was so hard on me. He wanted me to see the error of my ways and become the man I should be.

“Father in heaven,” Joel prayed tearfully, “I’ve been so selfish, always thinking of myself instead of others. I believe in the name of Jesus and ask Your forgiveness. Let Your love flow into my heart, and help me to be a better person. I commit my life to You.”

When his prayer was finished, Joel stood, holding the Bible against his chest. The seed that had been planted when he’d attended the Amish church with his parents and siblings as a child had finally taken root.

A deep ache pressed against Joel’s heart. He felt the pain of what his sisters had recently gone through as though it were his own. Joel sank to his bed as a realization hit him. He knew what he had to do. The only problem was, it might take some time to make it happen.

I
t was the third Saturday of March, and Doris had been back to work for over a month. While she found her job enjoyable, it didn’t fulfill her deepest desire to raise a family. The extra money she made helped pay some of their bills, but many expenses from her hospital stay hadn’t yet been covered.

Doris had been enjoying a day off and was about to begin washing the breakfast dishes when she glanced out the kitchen window. She was surprised to see her brother’s truck pull in. She hadn’t heard from Joel in several weeks, and he’d even quit doing things to try and win the right to open his envelope. She hadn’t been able to figure that out because, until then, he’d been so open about how much he needed money.

We all need money,
Doris thought as she dried her hands on a clean towel.
Arlene and Larry have expenses, and John and Elsie need to build a new house. There is no doubt in my mind that a large sum of money is in Dad’s bank account. But thanks to Joel, none of us can touch a penny of it.

She waited until Joel got out of his truck, then went to the door to greet him. The minute he stepped onto the porch, Doris knew there was something different about her brother. Gone were the worry lines on his forehead and dark circles beneath his eyes. There was no grim twist to his mouth, nor the determined swagger he normally had. Instead, Joel’s countenance was serene, as he smiled and took Doris’s hand. Speaking in a gentle, sincere tone, he said, “I have something for you. It should help your current financial situation.” He reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to her.

“What’s this?” she questioned.

“Open it and see.”

Doris did as he asked. Staring at the certified check inside, all she could do at first was manage a little squeak. “One hundred thousand dollars? Where did you get this kind of money, Joel, and why are you giving it to me?”

He gestured to the door. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll explain.”

When they entered the living room, Doris called for Brian, who’d been in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. After he joined them, they all took a seat, and Doris showed him the check Joel had given her.

Brian’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Joel with disbelief. “What’s this all about?”

“I sold a very expensive classic car I got at an auction several months ago,” Joel explained. “I was able to get top dollar for it, and this is one-third of the money. Arlene and Elsie will each get a third as well. I’ll be going to see them after I leave here.”

Doris sat on the sofa with her hands folded in her lap, unable to take it all in. “But why, Joel? What made you sell the car?” She scooted to the edge of her seat.

Joel’s eyes watered, and his chin quivered slightly as he began speaking. “On a cold night in February, when thunder sounded during a snowstorm, I thought about Dad and all the things I’d done to hurt him, as well as the rest of my family.” His voice cracked, and he paused to pull a hankie from his pocket. “I read some verses in the Bible Kristi had given me last Christmas, and it opened my eyes to the truth. I’ve been selfish and arrogant. Because of it, I’ve lost Kristi—the love of my life. Dad died without ever knowing that I loved him.” He looked at Doris with pleading eyes. “Can you forgive me for being so self-centered?”