As Jennie stood watching Stephen's plane fly off into the night, she felt terribly downcast. Every victory of the past months seemed lost in the face of this empty moment. Life would be different. She just knew it had to be different with Stephen gone. She never appreciated until now how much of her acceptance of Jaffrey was due to his presence.
She marveled that she could so vividly recall each detail of the past months. It was like a huge panorama slowly passing by her. Now it was the present that bothered her. She was already thinking of Stephen in relation to the many young people he would be with, the mountain climbing, and other activities.
Would he be thinking of her as she stayed behind in Jaffrey, in the same old rut she was in before he came to the village?
Back in her room, the sleep she had been fighting finally overcame her.
When she wakened in the morning, there was no ready victory, but an even deeper depression settled over her. She was feeling quite sorry for herself.
Should she visit Aunt Sarah? Reluctantly, Jennie could at last admit that her attitude toward Mrs. Adams was changing. She no longer regarded her as an old person who couldn't possibly understand her needs, but thought of her now as a very real friend in whom she could confide.
Aunt Sarah was so solid, whereas Jennie felt her emotions were like a ye-ye. Yes, she must go to see Aunt Sarah. She could not conceal things from her anyway.
Later, as she rang the bell, the door opened promptly and the Adams, with their usual warm welcome, ushered her inside. Mr. Adams hurried into the kitchen to set out a plate of pastries, while Jennie told of her bitter disappointment. The entire summer was ruined, lost. Jennie was sitting slumped in a chair, completely absorbed with her own problems.
Mr. Adams smiled at Jennie with a twinkle in his eye, as he set down the pastries. "How hard it seems for you young girls," he said, surprising her with his understanding of the situation.
"After all," Jennie thought, "it must seem rather unimportant to an older man!"
Aunt Sarah looked at her with a questioning look in her dark eyes, "Jennie, would you truly want Stephen if the Lord didn't want you to have him?"
Jennie was unable to answer. She wasn't completely sure, deep down inside. There was a struggle because of her deep desire to want... really want God to work His will in her life. She felt the secret nagging that perhaps His will might be different from hers after all. Everything could be so simple if she would just yield herself to Him....
Jennie was lost in her thoughts when Mr. Adams suggested they move in by the small fire he had built for them. A soft summer rain was falling and it felt a bit chilly. "Sit down, Jennie," he said with a smile, pulling a chair close to the fire for her. Both of the Adams continually made her feel so welcome. She was glad there was a place she could go to with people she could confide in when she didn't feel like telling her parents all that was on her mind.
Mr. Adams excused himself and disappeared to his workshop in the basement. Reaching for her Bible which was always close at hand, Aunt Sarah looked at Jennie with her dark eyes. "As a Christian," she said, "you have every reason to be happy at all times. That is the way it should be. But I know it isn't that way for you and it isn't that way for me, even though I'm years and years older than you are. We're all weak creatures. But we shouldn't ever be cast down or in despair, and we won't be, according to the measure in which we learn to fully trust the Lord, to truly believe that He is working for our good." She smiled lovingly at Jennie. "Do you realize what that means, Jennie? The Lord has ordered something hard for you in His love, knowing it is best for you."
Jennie thought again of the verse she enjoyed in the quiet of her room, "To know the love of Christ." She knew and understood very little of that love.
Aunt Sarah rose to add another stick to the fire, then sat down at the far end of the sofa. "Someday, Jennie," she continued, "perhaps sooner than you think, someone will need comfort, probably for a far different reason than you are needing it today. The things you learn through this experience will make you a richer person inside, strengthened in the Lord to be able to help others. That is just one reason the Lord sends us trials. In a way its like climbing. As we climb upward a step or two, we may bring a weaker brother or sister along through the comfort we have received from the Lord. If life were just full of fun and good times, then we would remain weak. We wouldn't grow in our Christian life."
She turned to Jennie again with a twinkle in her eye, "I have a feeling that you may be surprised at what this summer is going to bring. It may be far better than you think!"