Free The Healing Quilt by Wanda E. Brunstetter

of that.” Noreen paused, snickering quietly. “Now I recently did something that surprised even me. Imagine a sixty-five-year-old woman like myself buying a sports car. But I did, even though I’m still trying to figure out why.” She lifted her gaze to the ceiling, rolling her hazel-colored eyes.
    Everyone laughed. Everyone but Erika, who sat staring at her hands, clasped firmly in her lap. Emma thought about asking the girl if there was anything she’d ever done that would seem frightening to others, but decided against it. If Erika wanted to open up, she would.
    As if she were able to read Emma’s thoughts, Erika suddenly blurted, “I was never afraid of anything till I tried a new dive. It went horribly wrong, and I ended up with a spinal cord injury.” She lifted her chin in a defiant pose, although Emma noticed tears glistening in the girl’s pretty blue eyes. “Guess that’s what I get for showin’ off when I should have listened to my dad when he said I should get out of the pool. Some people might believe I got just what I deserved for doing the dive, and they’d probably be right about that.”
    “Blaming yourself is not the answer,” Emma said. “In the Bible we are told to forgive others, and I believe that means we need to forgive ourselves as well.”
    “I know what the Bible says; my dad and I go to church every Sunday,” Erika said with a huff. “So you don’t need to preach at me.”
    Emma’s heart went out to Erika. It was obvious that she held herself accountable for the accident that had left her legs paralyzed. Worse than that, Erika thought she deserved her physical limitations. She saw them as a punishment for disobeying her dad. No doubt that was the reason for her negative attitude and cutting remarks.
    I won’t say anything more to her about this right now
, Emma thought,
but I can certainly pray for Erika and ask God to bring healing to her young heart
.

C HAPTER 10
    E mma was about to have the class begin sewing their quilt squares, when she heard footsteps on the porch. “That must be B.J. or Phyllis,” she said to Lamar.
    “Whoever it is, I’ll let them in.” He moved toward the door.
    When Lamar returned a few minutes later, B.J. was at his side.
    “Sorry I’m late,” B.J. apologized. “Guess I was more tired than I thought last night, because I slept right through the alarm this morning.”
    Seeing the look of exhaustion on the man’s face, Emma became concerned. “Are you feeling alright?” she questioned.
    “I’m fine. Just tired is all.” B.J. took a seat at the table, next to Noreen. “Did I miss anything?’ he asked.
    “Not really. Emma was waiting until you and Phyllis got here,” Noreen replied. “I wonder what her excuse is for being late.”
    “Maybe something unexpected came up,” Emma was quick to say in Phyllis’s defense. “I’m sure if she wasn’t able to be here she would have called.”
    Noreen shook her head with a look of disgust. “In the world we live in today, it seems that many people aren’t dependable and only live for themselves. Why, the other day my neighbor’s teenage son was supposed to mow my lawn, but he never showed up.”
    “Did you call to see what happened?” Kim asked.
    “Of course I called. His mother said he’d gone off with his friends to watch a ball game.” Noreen’s forehead wrinkled. “That’s just one example of the lack of dependability I was talking about.”
    Emma tapped her hand gently against the table. “Once Phyllis gets here, I’ll explain what she needs to do with her quilt squares, but I think the rest of you should get started now.” She hoped Noreen wouldn’t make any negative comments when Phyllis arrived. Noreen and Erika’s catty remarks brought tension into the room.
    Noreen’s face tightened as she looked at her watch. “We’re already fifteen minutes behind, so we may end up needing to stay longer today.”
    “If that turns out to be the case, then any of you who