A Merry Heart

A
Merry Heart

W
anda
E.
B
runstetter

© 2006 by Wanda E. Brunstetter

ISBN 978-1-60742-018-7

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.

All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

All German-Dutch words are taken from the Revised Pennsylvania German Dictionary found in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

For more information about Wanda E. Brunstetter, please access the author’s Web site at the following Internet address:
www.wandabrunstetter.com

Designed by Greg Jackson, Thinkpen Design LLC,
www.thinkpendesign.com

Published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 719, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683,
www.barbourbooks.com

Our mission is to publish and distribute inspirational products offering exceptional value and biblical encouragement to the masses.

Printed in the United States of America.

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

Wanda E. Brunstetter enjoys writing about the Amish because they live a peaceful, simple life. Wanda’s interest in the Amish and other Plain communities began when she married her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church in Pennsylvania. Wanda has made numerous trips to Lancaster County and has several friends and family members living near that area. She and her husband have also traveled to other parts of the country, meeting various Amish families and getting to know them personally. She hopes her readers will learn to love the wonderful Amish people as much as she does.

Wanda and her husband, Richard, have been married forty-three years. They have two grown children and six grandchildren. In her spare time, Wanda enjoys reading, ventriloquism, gardening, stamping, and having fun with her family.

Wanda has written several novels, novellas, stories, articles, poems, and puppet scripts.

To learn more about Wanda, visit her Web site at
www.wandabrunstetter.com
and feel free to e-mail her at [email protected].

In loving memory of my sister-in-law, Miriam (Mim) Brunstetter,
who always had a merry heart
.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine;
but a broken spirit drieth the bones
.
P
ROVERBS
17:22

I
wish our teacher wasn’t so cross all the time.”

“
Jah
, my brother Sam says she’s just
en alt maedel
who never smiles. I think she must have a heart of stone.”

Miriam Stoltzfus halted as she stepped out of the one-room schoolhouse. She recognized the voices of Sarah Jane Beachy and Andrew Sepler and noticed that they were playing on the swings nearby.

Perhaps some of the children’s words were true. At the age of twenty-six, Miriam was still unmarried, and as far as she was concerned, that made her an old maid among the Old Order Amish group to which she belonged.

Miriam pursed her lips. “I’m not cross all the time, and I don’t have a heart of stone.” But even as she spoke the words, she wondered if they were true. She did tend to be a little snappish, but that was only when the children in her class didn’t behave or whenever she suffered with one of her sick headaches.

Miriam glanced at the swings again and was glad to see that Sarah Jane and Andrew had left the school yard. She didn’t want them to know she had heard their conversation,
and she wasn’t in the mood to hear any more talk against herself. She would be glad to leave the school day behind and get home to whatever chores awaited.

She hurried around back to the small corral where her horse was kept during school hours and soon had the mare hitched to the box-shaped buggy she had parked under a tree that morning. She wearily climbed inside, reached for the reins, and, for the first time all day, experienced a moment of solace. Speaking a few words of Pennsylvania Dutch to the mare, she guided it out of the school yard and onto the road.

A short time later, Miriam directed her horse and buggy up the long driveway leading to the plain, white farmhouse where she lived with her parents and Lewis, her only un-married brother. She spotted her mother right away, sitting in a wicker chair on the front porch with a large bowl wedged between her knees. “Look, daughter, the first spring picking of peas from our garden,” Mom called as Miriam stepped down from the buggy.

Miriam waved in response, then began the ritual of un-hitching the horse. When she was finished, she led the willing mare to the barn and rubbed her down before putting her into one of the empty stalls.

“How was your day?” Mom asked when Miriam stepped onto the porch some time later.

Miriam took a seat in the chair next to her mother, her fingers kneading the folds in her dark green cotton dress. “It went well enough, I suppose, but it’s good to be home.”

Mom set the bowl of peas on the small table nearby and pushed a wisp of graying hair away from her face where it had fallen loose from the tight bun she wore under her stiff,
white head-covering. “Problems at school?”

Miriam released a quiet moan. Her mother always seemed to know when she’d had a rough day or wasn’t feeling well, and she knew if she didn’t offer some word of explanation, Mom would keep prying. “It’s probably not worth mentioning,” she said with a sigh, “but after school let out, I overheard two of my students talking about me. They seem to think I’m cross and have a heart of stone.” She clasped her hands tightly around her knees and grimaced. “Oh, Mom, do you think it’s true? Am I cross all the time? Do I have a heart of stone?”

Mom’s forehead wrinkled as she shook her head. “I don’t believe any Christian’s heart is made of stone. However, I have noticed how unhappy you are, and your tone of voice is a bit harsh sometimes. Does it have anything to do with William Graber? Are you still pining for him?”

Miriam’s face heated up. “Of course not. What happened between William and me is in the past. It’s been almost two years, and I’m certainly over him now.”

“I hope you are, because it would do no good for you to keep fretting or dwelling on what can’t be changed.”

An uncomfortable yet all-too-familiar lump formed in Miriam’s throat, and she found that she couldn’t bring herself to look directly into her mother’s brown eyes. She was afraid the hidden pain in her own eyes would betray her words.

“If your troubled spirit isn’t because of your old beau, then what is the problem?” Mom asked.

Miriam shrugged. “I suppose everyone feels sad and out of sorts from time to time.”

“Remember what the Bible tells us in Proverbs: ‘A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.’ Happiness and laughter are good medicine for a troubled spirit, Miriam.”

“I know that, Mom. You’ve quoted Proverbs 17:22 to me many times. But it’s not always easy to have a merry heart, especially when things aren’t going so well.” Miriam stood. “I’d best go to my room and change. Then I’ll help you get supper started.”

“Jah, okay.”

Miriam hurried inside, anxious to be alone.

When the door clicked shut behind Miriam, Anna bowed her head.
Heavenly Father, I know my daughter says she is over William, but her actions say otherwise. I believe she’s still pining for him and hasn’t found forgiveness in her heart for what he did. Please take away Miriam’s pain, and help her to find joy in life again. Show me if there’s anything I can do to help her be at peace with You. And if it’s within Your will, please send Miriam someone who will love her in a way that will make her forget she ever knew a man named William Graber.