SIX #3
He shook his head. “No, I don’t mind. It’s quite simple, really.
Both of us have experienced personal loss in following our beliefs.
I was a simple preacher from Vermont. My wife and I spent many happy years there.
We never considered leaving until my friend, Samuel Wait, wrote asking us to join him in North Carolina.
We’d been inseparable as boys and our wives were close.
There was little hesitation. And here we’ve been since 1827…
North Carolina became our home. As we moved up and down the state, more often than naught, this covered wagon was our home.
My dear wife was one of a kind to put up with me.
But when we lost the baby… it was time to put down some roots to allow for healing. ”
Maggie’s mind flashed to the graves of her infant siblings. Mama had often visited their graves.
He cleared his throat. “Wait offered me a teaching position at Wake Forest. He’d just become president of the college—it felt like an answered prayer.
But shortly after arriving, I was shocked to learn that the college owned slaves.
Having both come from non-slaver families, I mistakenly presumed that with Wait at the helm, he would be setting an example.
After all, that is why he stated he had been called to North Carolina…
When I mentioned the subject to Wait, he brushed it off, calling me sentimental.
To appease me, he invited us to their new home.
A lavish, hundred-acre farm, purchased with all of his presidential salary, and then some.
Part of him must have realized what I would think when I saw who he’d become.
But I think part of him hoped I would see him as a god.
I followed all of our moral rules, yet had lost a child, was poorer than poor, and meanwhile, he’d become one of the North Carolina elites. ”
Maggie found herself disliking a man whom she’d never met.
“I resigned after one year and moved my wife and I back into the wagon. Our paths didn’t cross with Wait’s again until about twelve years ago at a state convention.
He’d become president of Oxford Female College.
I suppose a sense of nostalgia enticed me to accept an invitation to dinner…
Our wives joined and happily recalled the times of our youth.
Old grievances were soon forgotten. By the end of the dinner, Wait had once again offered me a teaching position, this time at the female college. ”
The puzzle pieces were starting to come together.
“My initial reaction was to decline. But I could see how much my wife desired to go, after hours of hearing the Waits praises. She’d always believed education was important for both sexes and wished she could have had more schooling herself.
After all that she’d given up for me, all the scarifies, over the year, how could I deny her this?
I hoped things would be different in Oxford.
There was no farm, no slaves, only education.
And for a while, it was one of the happiest times of my life.
The students and fellow educators were marvelous.
It was there that I met John Mills, of course. ”
Adams sighed. “But alas, happy times must come to an end. When the first swirls of talk on secession began, our differences rose full force. I urged Wait to make a statement for the college that was anti-slavery and he would not do it. He refused to speak on the matter, anti-slavery or pro-slavery. He felt that to do so would deviate from the mission…After many lengthy discussions, they finally admitted their true beliefs. They believe the gospel to be for all people, but also segregation in heaven.”
He grew agitated as he spoke. “At first, I couldn’t believe my ears. The idea of separate heavens, based on racial differences? This undermines the entire gospel. No amount of argument would change his position on the matter, so in the end, we left.”
Adam’s expression changed to one of sadness.
“It was not a joyful parting, and words that I will regret for the remainder of my days were said… I kept in touch with some of the faculty, but John was the only one to whom I revealed the reason for my departure. He’d shared his own story with me, and we became close in a mentor sort of way.
When Wait retired, John wrote to ask me to come back.
I was tempted, but it was no longer the haven it had been.
The image was tainted in my heart. My wife and I continued to travel, accepting the various pastoral positions, even as the war began.
I was considered for the position of chaplain to a Union general, but was turned down because of my age.
Halifax became our last position when my wife became ill.
And one day, I hope my body will be placed to rest, right alongside her. ”
The reverend finally was silent and sighed. “I’m sorry, you asked a simple question, and I gave you my life story.”
Maggie blinked back a tear. “Don’t be sorry. I’m honored you shared it with us.”
He straightened his frame on the bench seat, turning to look at each one of them.
“I do want to make one thing very clear with everyone in this wagon— the gospel is for all people. There is but one heaven, and it is for all people. All who believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord God’s son, sent here to atone for our sins.
That is the singular message that we will be sharing, and no other.
” He slouched back. “There, I won’t preach at you again. Unless you ask,” he chuckled.
“You sound like the man I am trying to find,” Maggie spoke softly.
“He a preacher, too?” Cynthia asked.
Maggie smiled contentedly. “No, just a good man.”