"Jennie, you've been neglecting your old friend." It was Mrs. Adams talking as the two of them sat out on the porch swing. The past weeks had been busy for Jennie. She was preoccupied with Stephen and Julia's coming, as well as helping out at home with another batch of company.
"Why don't you just call me Aunt Sarah from now on? It would make me happy," Mrs. Adams smiled. She reached out a hand and put it on Jennie's arm, lovingly. "It's wonderful you have friends now, but please don't forget us. We need you, too."
Mr. Adams, with a trowel in his hand and a big grin on his face, came up the walk. "Sarah, shall I run down to the store and get some of that fresh strawberry pie?" Jennie's face brightened. She watched him turn and walk into the garage, back the spotlessly clean car out and head onto the main road.
The flower beds were at their peak of beauty now at the end of August, a mass of color. It seemed only yesterday, at the beginning of summer, that she had bicycled over to get the rolls and noticed the flowers freshly planted. How fast the seasons were rolling by! Now trees were giving their summer shade and in the back yard the vegetable garden was overloaded with produce. Jennie must take a large sack home to her mother. The Adams could never use it all.
The two friends settled into the porch swing. They visited in the delightful summer air as they waited for Mr. Adams to return.
"How do you like the new young people?" Mrs. Adams asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"Very much," Jennie answered thoughtfully. "It makes all the difference, having friends my own age." She was beginning to see that the Lord did have a purpose in bringing her to Jaffrey. For some reason not yet known to her, He had brought Stephen and Julia here as a part of that plan.
"Do you like him?" Aunt Sarah ventured. "Stephen, I mean."
Jennie smiled. "I felt right at home with him from the start. He seemed like someone I had known for a long time, and I think he felt the same way. It's so easy for us to talk and share our experiences and the homesickness we both feel for the friends we left behind. He loves the beauty of nature, the roar of the ocean, and the relaxation of gardening, just as I do. You'd almost think we came from the same family," she concluded.
Aunt Sarah smiled at Jennie. "The Lord brought Stephen here for a purpose, Jennie. How would you feel if you knew that the whole reason for your corning here was to meet Stephen?" Aunt Sarah was always so much to the point. Jennie felt that this time she was jumping to conclusions too quickly!
Stephen was certainly not an ordinary young man. When he entered a room, everything changed. There was something about him that charmed young and old alike. His slow easy walk suggested that nothing ever bothered him. Yet there was also an inner strength which contrasted with that easy-going impression. Jennie thought of his obvious fondness for his cocker spaniel Charlie and the gentleness with which he cared for his dog. She felt that she would never really know Stephen, even if she knew him for an entire lifetime. It was this very mystery that appealed to her.
Jennie turned from her reverie to Aunt Sarah. "I like Stephen very much," she continued, "but what means the most to me right now, is having him for a friend. I realize that if I don't keep our relationship that way, it could ruin everything. All of us here in Jaffrey need each other so much. I trust I will have enough sense not to spoil it."
"I've been so hoping you'd see it that way, Jennie. I've been praying about you and Stephen, knowing how important it would be to you."
Recalling their visit to the graveyard, Jennie related to Aunt Sarah how Stephen accepted it all so naturally. She was proud of him because she herself never enjoyed going through a graveyard. It only intensified her fear of death.
"You do fear death, don't you?" Aunt Sarah recognized.
Jennie squirmed, "I fear it terribly. Not the after part, because I know all of us who love the Lord will be with Him. That isn't what bothers me. It's the dying part and the thought of being put into the ground!"
Aunt Sarah gave a little shudder. "Jennie, that's just not the way to think of it at all. A Christian who has died is immediately with the Lord."
Just then, Mr. Adams came up the walk with the pie. Aunt Sarah turned to Jennie with a whisper. "We'll talk more about this later, Jennie. I would like to see you have a better attitude about death. I know many young people feel as you do, but it's important to learn that Christ has conquered death and removed its sting for the Christian. To depart from this life to be with Christ can be looked forward to without fear—rather, with great joy. In fact, not until we are in His presence will our joy be full."
Later as they sat eating strawberry pie, the conversation returned to Stephen.
Aunt Sarah began, "You don't realize what a wonderful opportunity you have to get to know Stephen in a casual way. Waiting on the Lord and going slowly can make all the difference." She frowned, adding, "There is so much nonsense that goes on between young people. Many couples get married when they don't even know one another. They've been blinded by the glamor of dating."
She looked intently at Jennie. "When you marry, it's a whole lifetime you're committing yourself to and the glamor can wear off pretty fast. When the babies and the bills and the everyday sameness of life come on a young person, it's then that the marriage is tested. If the Lord has blessed it, there will be strength to face the stresses and strains. But if not, there will be rough sailing for a good many years."
She looked off into the distance, lost in her thoughts. "I can't understand how a person can rush into marriage without realizing all the years they will be living together, sitting at the same table day after day, having this person as the father or mother of their children. Some young people seem to get married with no more thought than if they were buying a car or planning a vacation trip. The thrill of a wedding and new home and all the gifts coming in doesn't last very long."
She frowned again, "You know, Jennie, if a fellow has some traits that irritate you before marriage, you can be certain it will be worse afterward. Sometimes things that seem attractive at first are the very things that are hard to live with later on. Things like being thoughtless, self-centered, a showoff, or a spendthrift!'
She turned to Jennie with concern. "It's so important for even a young person to be thoughtful of others, to show kindness. It's important to establish the habit of reading God's Word each day. You can tell a lot about a person by whether they attend the meetings regularly, too. A formula for marriage isn't something you can put down on paper. A couple should really love each other and have peace that the Lord has brought their lives together before they get married. But all of these other things are important to consider as well."
Aunt Sarah looked at Jennie. "There are many worse circumstances than not being married. One of those things is being married to someone you wish you weren't married to. Believe me, I've seen it happen over and over again."
She was quiet a moment, then spoke again. "I know of a young couple who just wouldn't wait on the Lord. The parents of the boy felt very definitely they should warn their son. They clearly sensed danger ahead and had no peace about the situation. He refused to accept their advice to wait, even though they pleaded earnestly with him."
She picked up her Bible and turned to Psa. 69. "When the Lord places a hindrance in our way, we should always wait. Verse six here says, 'Let not them that wait on Thee, 0 Lord God of hosts, be ashamed...' You know, if a person according to the will of God is waiting, the waiting won't hurt. Nothing can frustrate His counsels. In Isa. 43:1313Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? (Isaiah 43:13) we read: 'Yea, before the day was I am He; and there is none that can deliver out of My hand: I will work, and who shall let it?'
"Girls don't have to be afraid of losing what the Lord has for them. There is much more to fear in rushing ahead of Him! This young couple I referred to had two children and then the wife lost interest in following the Lord, became involved with someone else, and eventually sought a divorce." She shook her head sadly. "Those poor children! If only he had listened to his parents' advice, the Lord would have shown him before the marriage took place."
She turned to Jennie and smiled affectionately. Jennie felt her love and concern. What a dear friend the Lord had sent her! Aunt Sarah cared about her. She wasn't just taking her relationship to Stephen lightly. It was almost as important to her as it was to Jennie. She wasn't preaching at her; she wanted to help, to make her see things through the eyes of someone who long ago walked the same path.
"I'll be praying for you every day. I want you to know that," she finished. "I'm praying the Lord will bless your friendship with Stephen, help you to get to know each other, and in the end make the path of His choosing clear to you."