Amanda and the others were ready when Riley and Ben arrived the next morning for the short walk to the new church.
“Oh, it is really exciting to have our own church building, isn’t it?” exclaimed Beth. “It seems better to have a separate place to worship. The community building was fine, but since it is used for so many of the town’s gatherings, I am glad we have the church building. And Mandy, you will be teaching there in the fall!”
Amanda agreed that it was nice to have the separate building for the church and school. She had been a little concerned about her supplies for school, but the men had planned a large storage area where she could store items over the weekends.
Amanda was so happy that she felt she could almost fly at the thought that this morning Riley would make a public declaration for Christ. And then she would be able to spend some time with him, getting to know him better. She smiled broadly at Riley as he took her arm, never noticing the smiles the others shared.
They were greeted by all as they neared the church and went in to take their seats. Pastor Taylor began speaking shortly thereafter.
“Good morning! And what a glorious morning it is here in our new place of worship! I have been thanking God for His goodness in providing such a beautiful building for us. I thank Him also for each of you. Your presence here today is a joy to me. I trust that you will receive a blessing from our service. We are especially glad to have Miss Amanda Stone back with us this morning. We are so thankful that she is recovered from her injuries and is able to be with us today. We will continue to pray for Will Sloan as he continues to improve.”
Pastor Taylor went on to mention several others in the community who were in need of their prayers before making several announcements. The congregation sang several hymns before settling back to listen to Pastor Taylor’s message for that morning.
“Today our message comes from the book of Matthew. I will be reading in the fourteenth chapter, verses 25 – 33.” He paused to allow those who wished to find the passage in their Bible and follow along as he read.
‘And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid.
And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water.
And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid’ and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth Thou art the Son of God.’
“Friends, too often I am like Peter here. Remember that this happened soon after the Lord had fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. You would think that a miracle like that would have convinced these men, these fishers of men, who had left everything in order to follow Jesus, that He was truly the Son of God. But, just like some of us, as soon as the miracle had passed, they forgot about it. When I imagine what it must have been like to be with Jesus every day, to actually be able to touch Him physically, to talk with Him and ask Him questions, why, it must have been so wonderful! They heard His messages of eternal life and saw miracles every day as He healed the sick. How could they doubt Him for even a second? But they did. The minute things were not going exactly as they wanted, they were afraid and called for Him to save them.”
“Then when they did see Him, Peter asked Him to call for Peter to come to Him. Yet when Christ did and Peter was walking on the water to Him, Peter looked away from Christ and looked at the wind and the water, and he doubted. And don’t we do that too? We take our eyes from Jesus and look instead at the world around us and then doubt slips in. And the same thing happens to us that happened to Peter. We began to sink and then we have to call out to the Lord to save us, when we would be so much better off just to keep our focus on Jesus. Jesus did save Peter just as He will save each of us.”
“I think of how miraculous this was. Here was Christ walking on the water, and then Peter, a mere human, did likewise! You would think that they would all be praising His name, but it took a miracle for them to say, ‘ You are the Son of God.’ How could they doubt it when they saw Him everyday, lived with Him, heard Him preach, saw Him perform miracles?”
“You know, many times I speak with people about Jesus and giving their heart to Him and I hear all types of excuses. People say, ‘ Oh, those are just nice stories. Miracles like that don’t happen in real life.’ But, friends, they do happen! Why, right here today, we have a miracle. Miss Stone was lost, but the Lord led Riley and Will right to where she was. Will was severely injured, but the Lord has seen fit to heal him, and he is well on his way to good health again.”
“But even with those miracles, they are nothing to the miracle of eternal life! Just think of it. We are sinners, every one of us. And none of us can earn forgiveness. We cannot earn our way into heaven! Only God’s grace is sufficient to wash away our sin! And all it takes is one simple thing! You have to ask Him to forgive you. So simple yet many refuse. If people could only know what believers know, how wonderful is His perfect peace, I believe there would be no sinners left in this world. For how could anyone turn away from something so wonderful?”
“We are going to sing a final hymn and I would ask anyone who is willing to take that step to come forward. I will be glad to speak with anyone who has questions so I urge you to make that step now.”
The congregation stood and began to sing. They had only sung a few words when Riley stepped forward. Beth, sitting next to Amanda, squeezed her hand, and they smiled happily at each other. Amanda looked down as tears of joy rolled down her cheeks, and she praised God for answering their prayers.
As the hymn ended, she looked up to see that there were several others at the front with Riley. She was happy to see Jacques and Jane, along with two of the new women and Mack McDonald. Pastor Taylor introduced each one and asked that the church family pray for these new Christians.
Pastor Taylor led in prayer, and they were dismissed. It had been decided that the lunch would continue to be served at the community building since it was larger, so most of the congregation walked or rode the short distance. Amanda and the others stopped back by their home to pick up their basket of food before joining the group.
“Beth, do I look all right?” Amanda turned to try to see herself in the small mirror in the bedroom. She had changed her dress for a blouse and skirt and brushed her hair back and tied it with a ribbon.
“Mandy, you look fine. Why are you so nervous today? You aren’t usually this worried about how you look?” Beth teased Amanda, guessing at her close friend’s feelings for Riley.
Amanda blushed as she turned to face Beth. “Oh, I guess you are right. I just . . .” She broke off as Beth started laughing.
“Mandy, I was just teasing you. I don’t think Riley cares about how your hair is arranged. I am sure he will think you are lovely. But remember what my mother used to tell me, ‘Pretty is as pretty does,’ so you should have no worries there!”
Amanda went into the front room to wait for Riley. He had gone to borrow a wagon and horse so that they might ride up to look at his house. Amanda had to admit to herself that she was nervous about what Riley wanted to discuss with her. She would not even admit to herself what her hopes were as far as Riley was concerned. She just prayed that God would be with her and give her the correct words, whatever happened.
Riley soon returned and, after helping Amanda into the wagon, they were on their way. Amanda admired the beautiful scenery. She breathed in the scent of the pine trees and smiled to herself as she thanked God once again for leading her to such a lovely area.
“Mandy,” Riley interrupted her thoughts. “Does it make you nervous to be out of the town?”
“Why, I hadn’t thought about it. I guess I feel safe with you, although I don’t think I would feel as safe if I were by myself. But I don’t plan to come out here by myself.” Amanda smiled at Riley before realizing that her answer seemed to make Riley more nervous.
Amanda gasped when the trees cleared, and she caught the first glimpse of Riley’s house.
“Oh, Riley, it is beautiful! I had no idea it was so large. And look at the view of the Sound. I know you will love living here!”
Riley helped Amanda from the wagon before saying, “Well, let’s look inside and see what you think.”
Riley led the way through the house, showing Amanda each of the rooms, as well as the loft, root cellar and shed for the animals.
“Riley, you have thought of everything. I can’t think of anything you have left out! It is wonderful. We will miss you in town, but I know you will love living out here.”
“Mandy, can we go out front so we can talk?”
Amanda readily agreed, and they walked out to the fallen log in front where they both sat down. Amanda admired the view once again before turning to Riley.
“Riley, I wanted to tell you how happy I am – all of us – that you gave your heart to the Lord. We have been praying for you since the first night we met you at Sarah’s family’s home. I am so glad that you came to see that you need Christ in your life.”
Riley smiled and nodded, “Yes, I know you have. Sarah and Beth told me too. I was too stubborn about it. I thought I could make it fine on my own, but I was starting to listen and read God’s Word. Then that day when you were missing, I knew I could not go on without Him in my life. I just couldn’t make it any longer without His help. And, Mandy, I truly believe He led me to you that day. I had no idea where I was going, but somehow I ended up right where you were. There was no sign of you but something – or rather Someone - told me to look in that crevice of the rock and there you were. I had been praying and praying the whole time we were looking for you! And God answered our prayers! We found you and now you are well and healthy again! And I thank God for that everyday!” He took Amanda’s hands in his and gave them a squeeze.
Amanda had tears in her eyes as she remembered that day and the prayers she had sent up that she would be found.
Riley continued, “Mandy, I want to thank you for witnessing to me, even when I was not receptive. I know you probably wondered why I ignored you on the trip out here. I told you a little on the ship, but I wanted to tell you the whole story.”
“When the first group of women came out here, there was one girl that I really liked. I even thought I loved her. She was beautiful to look at, blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked something like you; but Mandy, she was not beautiful on the inside. I was working at the logging camp then, so I could only come into town on weekends. I thought she felt the same way about me, and I was planning to ask her to marry me as soon as I could get some land and build a house. It was several months before I found out that she had been seeing several men, letting them all think that they were special to her. When I finally found out, I went to her, and she just laughed at me! She said I didn’t have enough money for her, and she married a farmer down in the Willamette Valley
“Then I met you. I was sure you were just like her, and that Emily was too. I don’t know if you knew it, but every time I was around Emily, she kept asking me how much land I owned and if I had a big house. I was convinced she was just looking for the richest husband she could find. I guess, maybe I wasn’t too far off on that after the way she acted in San Francisco
Amanda could not take her eyes from Riley’s face as he spoke. All this time she had wondered why Riley had ignored her, and now she knew.
“Mandy, I know now that you are beautiful inside and out. I have seen that you are a believer and that you put God first in your life. That makes all of the difference!”
Riley paused, and his face reddened but he took a deep breath before continuing. “Mandy, I know now that I never really loved Susan. I guess you might call it a crush. I didn’t know what love was then. Now that I have felt the love of the Lord in my heart, I think I know what love is. Because now I do love someone. Mandy, . . . I need to tell you. . . . “ Riley did not take his eyes from Amanda’s, but he seemed to hesitate until Amanda smiled at him. Then he went on, “Mandy, I love you. I’m not sure when I fell in love with you but I knew it for sure that day when I was looking for you. It was like I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you. I just knew that I had to find you and when I did, I was not ever going to let you go away again. Then, when I did find you, you were injured so I had to wait. And now, I think that was a good thing. Because as a Christian, I couldn’t make a decision like this without prayer. And, believe me, I spent a lot of time on my knees during your recovery. Mandy, I have prayed and prayed, and I feel that the Lord wants this for us as much as I do. I want to marry you. Will you consider becoming my wife?”
Tears ran down Amanda’s face as she tried to take in all that Riley had said. She could not believe that Riley loved her! Unable to speak, she simply nodded, and Riley took her in his arms.
It was a short while later when Amanda had cried her tears and was able to speak once again. She looked at Riley with loving eyes.
“Riley, I would be honored to be your wife. I don’t think I have ever known a finer man. But I do want to pray about it. Please know that you have been in my prayers since the moment I met you. But I had no idea that you felt this way. In fact, I thought you might be falling for Beth for a while. I knew I loved you that day when you brought Beth up here. That’s why I was so upset that I didn’t realize that I was going into the woods. I don’t think I will ever forgive myself for doing something that put you and Will in danger. I am so sorry for that.”
Riley was quick to reassure her that he and Will had both forgiven her for her actions that day.
“I also knew that, even though I loved you, I could never marry a non-believer. But even when you gave your heart to the Lord, I had no idea that you loved me! I still can hardly believe it! I would like to take a little time to pray about this before I give you my answer. I want you to know that my heart is crying for me to say yes, but I don’t think I should make this important decision without spending some time in prayer with the Lord. You do understand, don’t you?” she asked worriedly.
“Mandy, I would be disappointed if you did not want to talk it over with the Lord. That is part of why I love you. I know that you are a strong Christian, and I felt that you would want to pray about your decision. But I also wanted you to see the house. I like it here, but I don’t want you to think we have to live here. If it is too frightening for you, we can live in town. And there is another decision we have to make if you decide to say yes. The town has asked me to be the first sheriff. I need to know how you feel about that. I am praying about it, and I am not sure what the Lord would have me do about it. I would like for you to pray as well. If you feel that this is not God’s plan, then I will turn down the job.”
Amanda agreed that she would pray for the wisdom to seek God’s plan for their lives. She knew she wanted to marry Riley, but she had to pray about where they would live and the job before she could make such a serious commitment. They agreed that they both would continue to pray and would talk it over later in the week. Riley assured Amanda that she could take all the time she felt she needed to make the decision.
“I want you to be completely sure, Mandy. This is the second most important decision we will make, so it deserves all the time necessary to make the right choice.”
Amanda assured him that she would wait on the Lord as they rode back to town.
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