Free Faith and Hope in Lancaster (The Amish of Lancaster County #1) by Daisy Fields

Faith and Hope in Lancaster
    (The Amish of Lancaster County #1)
     
    By Daisy Fields
     
    Copyright 2013 Daisy Fields
    All Rights Reserved
     
     
    “ Mamm? I’m ready.”
    Hannah Stoltzfus froze with her hand on the jar of flour. The wooden spoon she held clattered to the counter. Dear God , she prayed, protect me from a broken heart. Guide me, please guide me. How do I be a good, trusting mother when all I want to do is hug her to my chest and never let her leave?
    The day she’d always dreaded had come at last, the day when her youngest daughter Miriam, now sixteen, went on rumspringa , the “running-around” time all Amish adolescents went through before committing to the Ordnung and a life in the community. Aaron had come back cockier, but at least he’d come back. Annie had returned full of stories about television shows, movies, and something called the Internet, her head stuffed with impossible dreams. But for her, dreams were all they would ever be. She’d never even considered abandoning the community in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, or her beau Stephen.
    But there’d always been a spark in Miriam, a sense of restlessness and discontent. Ever since she’d turned fourteen, she’d hardly paid attention to her chores or her schoolwork or even her family. Hannah had even caught her behind their house without her prayer kapp and her dress hiked to her knees as she listened to rock music on a radio she’d found somewhere. If anyone had seen—!
    It had to be a choice, Hannah reminded herself. No one was forced to remain Amish. Miriam had to be free to make her own personal commitment to God and their way of life. But knowing that didn’t stop Hannah’s heart from squeezing fearfully. She was going to lose her daughter to the Englischers , she just knew it.
    God help me endure this , she prayed again before turning to smile at Miriam. Her daughter’s face was lit by a smile that stretched from cheek to cheek, and she bounced up and down in the blue traveling dress, stockings, and sturdy black shoes. At least she was wearing her kapp , Hannah thought.
    “I’ve packed you a sandwich and some cookies for the trip,” Hannah said, hoping her voice sounded calm. “You promise you’ll write as soon as you get to New York City?”
    “Of course, Mamm ,” Miriam said, laughing. She snatched up a chocolate-chip cookie and stuffed it into her mouth. “I’ll miss these. No one can bake as good as you.”
    Tears sprang to Hannah’s eyes. She wanted to thank her daughter, to say something, but the words choked her. Instead, she opened her arms, and Miriam ran into them. “Please be careful,” Hannah whispered, her chin on her daughter’s head.
    The front door opened, and Miriam pulled away. “ Daed! Are we ready to go?”
    “We are, my daughter,” Thomas said. He glanced Hannah, his face full of concern. Hannah knew he shared her fears but didn’t want Miriam to know. She forced herself to smile and pat his hand.
    “Lunch for the road,” she said, handing them a pail packed with food.
    Annie hurried down the stairs, huffing and puffing. “I’m sorry I’m late!” She held out something to her sister, a hand-stitched book with a flower pressed onto the cover. “I thought you might like a place to record your thoughts. I know it helped me.”
    Miriam gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “ Denki , denki , so much!” She tossed the book into her bag and beamed at the whole family.
    Hannah resisted the impulse to grab her daughter and lock her away until she was married. Miriam needed to make her own choices about her future. God wouldn’t have it any other way. And, Hannah reminded herself, hadn’t she managed to triumph over the lure of drugs and sex and miniskirts? Hadn’t she come home to Plain living and a community run without modern technology?
    Miriam hugged them all again and then glided out the door. Hannah watched as she climbed into the buggy. Thomas pulled on the reins, and the horses set