Free The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer

it means that my time on earth is through. I have been a selfish
     woman. For most of the day I’ve felt my life slip away. I’ve battled sickness all
     my life, but nothing like this. It’s as if the pull to heaven is stronger than the
     pull to earth .
    I thought about having Dat use a neighbor’s phone to call you and tell you to come,
     but I convinced myself to wait until tomorrow. I want to see you, dear daughter, but
     not the sadness in your gaze. And I want one more day with your father just to appreciate
     the ordinary, simple moments of our life .
    Although it has not always been an easy life, I don’t regret one day of it. I am thankful
     to the Lord for many things: To live the Amish lifestyle. To be surrounded by a gut
     community. To have been taught to know the Lord and love Him. And last—and most—for
     your father and you .
    Some women have ten children, but I wouldn’t trade ten for you. Though you are far
     from me in miles, you are not far in heart. With each promise I write, I not only
thank the Lord for His goodness, I also pray you can find hope in these words .
    Out of all the promises one is my favorite:
    “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy
     God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee,” Deuteronomy
     31:6 .
    No matter where you go our good Lord will be with you. He will never leave you. My
     prayer is that you don’t feel as if you left Him when you left the Amish .
    Dear Lydia, I don’t know what words a mother is supposed to share with her daughter,
     but the ones I share here, within this wood casing, are those that have meant the
     most to me. They are not thoughts or quotes, they are promises. This is my Promise
     Box .
    I didn’t understand God’s promises for many years. I assumed our Lord giving us salvation
     and the hope of heaven was enough. But through the years God has promised so much
     more. And I learned this promise because of you, the first promise offered .
    Within these notes is your story, daughter. The promises from God are for you .
    Love, Mem
    The letter ended. Lydia wished there was more. She wished Mem had called.
I’d give anything for one more day with her
.
    Her heart sunk with heaviness, but the joy of finding this box of treasures was like
     helium balloons, holding it up from sinking completely.
    Annie had mentioned something about Mem’s promises too.
Promises? What promises?
What did Mem mean?
    Lydia put the letter back into the box and closed it. Shecouldn’t read more now. Not yet. Mem’s words were alive to her, as if she was sitting
     right next to her. She’d have to take them slowly, treasure them. Or at least that
     was her excuse.
    She rose and folded up the quilt…and noticed Gideon striding across the pasture, approaching
     Blue. Lydia had books to edit. The wise thing would be to go shopping in Eureka and
     then spend some time working on a manuscript. Yet the sight of the man and the horse
     tugged at her like a magnet. She approached the fence and watched as Gideon tied a
     loose rope around Blue’s neck. The horse acted like Gideon had done so every day of
     his life.
    Lydia knew the truth: Blue was untamed and unreliable. Gideon knew that about the
     horse and understood.
    She pulled the quilt tighter to her chest, running her fingers over the straight hem.
     Did Gideon read people as well as animals? What did he see when he looked at her?
     Her mem saw someone worthy of God’s promises, but Lydia hadn’t seen that in herself.
     Not for a very long time.

CHAPTER
8
    G ideon straightened and adjusted his hat, willing his heart to calm its double beat.
     Lydia watched from a distance. Beside him Blue’s ears twitched, and the horse tossed
     his head. Gideon chuckled. “You felt that, did you?”
    If he wanted to succeed with Blue, he’d better pay the pretty redhead no mind. The
     horse picked up Gideon’s piqued emotions. Confidence and