Imagine you are a mother, and you just found out that your oldest daughter has just been injured in a serious accident. And the doctors tell you that she will never walk again, but will be paralyzed from the waist down. And the daughter sees her hopes of marriage, or any kind of meaningful life destroyed, and she says that she just wants to die.
(An excerpt from the book)
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At six o'clock in the evening, the telephone in the parlour of Vandergriff home rang. It rang four times before Rachael could reach it. The voice on the other end of the line was one which she did not recognize.
"Mrs. Vandergriff. My name is Penelope. I'm a friend of Sarah's. Sarah has been injured in an accident. She's in the hospital in Wayfield. She is very bad. Pray. Pray very hard! And come as quickly as you can."
And Rachael did pray. She prayed very hard. As she sat on the train next to her husband, as the steam pushed the engine up ahead, forward at a fast pace, she gripped tight to Martin's hand. And she prayed.
And in other homes, friends joined in the prayer. Anna Wimberly in her home. And Ann Lancaster in her home. Rachael had called them prior to leaving for the railroad station. They too were joining in with Rachael's prayers.
Martin sat silently next to her, but he too prayed. Why couldn't the engine move faster, he asked himself? Of course, the steam was being produced as fast as it could be produced. The pistons in the cylinders were pounding back and forth as fast as they could be pounding. The driver wheels were spinning as fast as they could spin.
But it should be moving faster. It would be hours before they would reach Wayfield. Then the taxi ride from the railroad station to the hospital would take its own time. And would his daughter be alive once they arrived at the hospital?
He gripped his wife's hand tighter. "It's okay, Mother. She's going to be fine. She will be fine. Aye, she will. I know it."
"I'm so frightened," Rachael replied, her voice choking. "I'm so frightened."
"Faith, Mother," he replied. "Remember, faith. God made promises. Remember what..." He struggled to find the next words to say. "God answers prayer, you know. Pray, Mother. Pray. God will answer."
"I am, Dear," she answered. "You are a good man, Martin. A good man. I am so blessed." She squeezed his hand in return. "Do you really believe she will be okay?"
"Mother, I can only trust, or put my trust, my faith you know, in God." The words came awkwardly, but she knew what he meant.
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This is the concluding novel in the 'Legacy of Abigail' series. The previous three books in the series are:
A Ship Called Abigail
Voyage of Abigail
When Love Finds Hannah
The author hopes that you will read the entire series, and if you do, please share your recommendations to your fellow readers.
