Chapter Three #2
“Brent was lying in wait for you,” Micah said understandingly. “You couldn’t have known.”
“No, but looking back it feels obvious. I was the illegitimate child of Grandfather’s wayward daughter.
They’d barely even looked my way, much less invited me to any sort of gathering.
” She sighed as the front door to the clinic opened once more and the smell of roast chicken and fresh bread wafted inside.
Pastor Jim’s voice, a little less jovial than normal, sounded.
“I’ve got lunch! Callie’s right behind me.
” He stepped through the door to the patient room and stopped with a raised brow.
“I should’ve known you’d be here, Micah.
I thought we discussed you weren’t to come here without Callie or myself present.
I trust you, and so does Callie, but we do have Ellie’s reputation to think about.
” Ellie had no doubt if the pastor’s hands weren’t full of food, he’d have crossed his arms over his chest.
He wasn’t stern with his speech, but he was correct. Micah looked a little like a dog who’d been tapped with a rolled up newspaper. “I knew you two were coming, but I let my impatience get the better of me. Do I need to leave?”
Jim gestured to the bed. “That’s up to Ellie, I reckon.”
“No, he can stay. I promise, he was never anything but a gentleman.” He had been.
Despite her difficulty trusting men in general, the men here in Cloverdale and on the Sutton ranch had been nothing but kind to her.
Jim had been kind as well, sitting and talking with her often when Callie was busy with other patients.
“Is that from Rosie’s Cafe?” Her mouth watered, her body still craving full meals after all the weight she’d lost.
“Sure is, and I think she threw in some chocolate cake for ya to boot.” Jim grimaced jokingly. “She never does that for me.”
As always, Rosie sent plenty of food to feed an army, so Ellie offered her leftovers to Micah as the two of them and Pastor Jim talked.
Micah asked him questions about his sermon that morning on Scripture from Micah’s namesake book of the Bible.
“Micah,” Ellie asked as she finished her slice of bread and the last of her beans and roasted potatoes.
“You and all your brothers have biblical names, but you’ve told me your father wasn’t any more religious than my grandfather. How did that happen?”
Micah smiled softly, the pain in his eyes breaking Ellie’s heart.
“Our mama loved the Lord more than anyone else I’ve ever met, and she trusted He’d guide us even when she was gone.
We’ve all had our doubts, and sometimes mine still feel big enough to bury me, but she figured we could always come back to our namesakes for answers if nothing else. ”
An understatement, for sure. Sometimes, his doubts over what the Lord had allowed in their lives felt harder to summit than the tallest mountain. “I don’t reckon I’ve looked into Micah all that much, though I’ve heard Jim preach on him a few times - like today.”
Pastor Jim grinned wide, and Micah knew he thrived under these situations. “We all have our doubts, son. Do you want to know why I love the story of Micah?”
If he was honest, Micah hadn’t paid much attention to the service that morning, anxious to get to Ellie and make sure she was all right after being left alone.
Now, he was distracted by all she’d told him about her childhood.
What kind of grandfather would treat his granddaughter that way?
What possible motive would he have for leaving her the money with such an impossible stipulation?
Sensing he needed to respond, Micah shook the distraction free. “Why’s that?”
Lip quirked in a knowing smile, Jim continued.
“Micah was a prophet during a time of great injustice and unrighteousness. The Lord was angry at the people, and Micah had to communicate the judgement to come. Despite it, he also shared the hope of the coming Messiah. He had every reason to doubt, yet instead he used his anger to fuel his faith in the Lord and bring the promise of greater tomorrows.”
“Even when it felt hopeless,” Ellie whispered. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”
She had every reason to question, and Micah opened his mouth to reassure her when Pastor Jim beat him to the punch.
“Of course, you aren’t, dear one. None of us are.
It’s only through the Lord God and His Holy Spirit we can possibly keep our eyes fixed on the things above outlined in Colossians chapter three.
‘Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.’” Jim winked at Ellie.
“I’ve failed over and over with this particular goal, but God has been faithful to bring me back every time. ”
The way Ellie asked questions of Jim, the way she listened with such reverence and curiosity, it convicted Micah regarding his often wandering thoughts during the service.
“Ellie, were you ever able to attend church in California?” She spoke as though she had some understanding of faith, but it was a young one at best. Ellie blushed, and Micah immediately regretted the question.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. ”
“No, you didn’t,” she said quickly. “I…my tutor back in my grandfather's house was a Christian. She reminds me a little of how you describe your mother, actually. She couldn’t teach me too much about the Bible since Grandfather thought it all a waste of time, but she did manage to work Bible stories into our literacy lessons when she could. She even shared about it with my mother, though I’ve always wondered if Mama accepted Jesus before she died. ”
“You know,” Pastor Jim said. “There’s been more than one occasion in my life where I’ve been fascinated by the ability of plants to put down roots in awful conditions.
Sure, we do our best to take care of them, but how often have you seen a plant sprouting up from gravel or even growing from the waste of an animal? ”
Micah had seen it more than once, so many times it had become normal to him. “Happens all the time.”
“Exactly,” Jim replied. “Ellie, and Micah too, both of you are growing in your faith from rocky soil. Sure, Micah, you’ve grown up in church with your mother and your brothers, but it takes courage to fight through the childhood you had.
To view God as a loving father, you have to come to peace with your upbringing.
Ellie, you’re much the same, but you didn’t have the benefit of a church family the way Micah did. ”
He was right. Hal, Pastor Jim, Florence, and a whole host of other adults had joined Mama in bolstering their young faiths.
It didn’t mean Micah hadn’t had his doubts, pretty big ones even recently, but the Lord had always met him where he was and guided him back.
He was about to speak when Ellie beat him to the punch, tears in her eyes as she spoke.
“Those plants that grow in rocky soil, what kind of roots do they put down?”
“Well,” Jim chuckled. “Depends on the plant. You know, if they do manage to put down deep roots, roots like the trees planted by the water in the book of Isaiah, they’re nearly impossible to take out.”
Pastor Jim took her hand, a far more fatherly action than it would’ve been if Micah had done it.
“I’m so sorry about your mother. There has been more than one death over the years in which I’ve had to remind myself not a single person knows the heart of a man on their deathbed.
It’s given me great comfort over the years. ”
Could it be possible? Micah had always wondered if his upbringing meant he’d be relegated to a shallow faith, unable to understand the depth of the Father’s love, as well as the finer points of Christian doctrine.
He was a simple cowboy, after all. Jim made it sound like it didn’t matter where one started, and it may actually be a benefit to him.
They continued to talk for a bit longer, and Pastor Jim more or less shared his whole sermon from the morning with Ellie.
She seemed to love every moment of it, latching on to his words like a starving man encountering a table laden with food.
By mid-afternoon, Callie had returned, and Micah knew it was time to head home.
“I’ll come back as soon as I can get away this week,” he promised Ellie as Pastor Jim excused himself to help Callie fold some laundry. At least, that’s what he said.
“You don’t have to come so often Micah,” Ellie replied quickly. “I hate to think I’m keeping you from your work.”
Micah raised his hand, slowly so he didn’t scare her, and ran the backs of his fingers down her still too thin cheek. “I want to come. I need to make sure you’re safe - need to see it for myself.”
Ellie bit her lower lip, studying him but clearly thinking. “This isn’t your fault, Micah. None of it’s your fault.”
He could disagree, but he didn’t bother arguing. It wouldn’t do any good anyway. “All I can do from here is make sure you’re safe, and you will be as soon as you get out to the ranch. I can promise you that.” He’d more or less avoided her reassurance, but it was the best he could do.