Into His Arms Read Online Free

whispered, “Will you speak with him tonight?”
    Naomi sighed. “Aye, I’ll speak with him.”
    Afternoon faded into evening, and the males of the Cooper family left the joinery. Seven-year-old David and twelve-year-old Isaiah, both towheads, playfully splashed each other at the pump outside as they washed away the day’s sweat and sawdust. Naomi clapped her hands and firmly reminded them that the spring evening was too chill for such play. They traipsed in noisily behind Faith’s twin brother, Noah. With a happy grin, Noah accepted a small pail of stew and half a loaf of bread to take home to his wife, who was heavy with their first child. His hands full, he shook a stray lock of blond hair from his face.
    “I thought I’d deliver that sideboard tomorrow, father, if you can spare me from the joinery.”
    Faith’s spirits lifted. “Are you bound for Boston, then? May I go with you?” Boston was always exciting, and it would be a pleasant diversion from her woes.
    “I’d welcome the company,” he replied. “The hours get long when I’m riding alone.”
    “Aye, that’s a fine idea,” Jonathan agreed. He exchanged a quick glance with his wife that said they had much to discuss while Faith was gone.
    Noah left, taking his mother’s food and his sister’s promise to be ready to go early the next day. At dinner, David and Isaiah were subdued. The tension between their sister and parents was palpable, and in a home where discord was most uncommon, it dampened their usual boisterous natures. The meal was a quiet one, punctuated by the clatter of dishes and the occasional strained cough.
    That night, Faith blew out the candle next to her bed and stared up at the pitch-black ceiling. “Dear God,” she prayed in a fervent whisper, “grant me deliverance, some means of escaping this terrible fate. I beg you, I will try harder, do anything! Please, show me the way!”
     
    *
     
    In the keeping room, Naomi knelt by the waning fire, glad that her husband and children had gone upstairs and that she had a few moments to herself. Like her daughter in the room above her, she spoke her heart in her prayers.
    “Dear Father in Heaven, for many years now my church and my family have been blessings beyond measure. I am deeply and profoundly grateful. But now, my two greatest blessings are entirely at odds. We need Your guidance! I sacrificed my sister for You, once. I beg of You, Holy Father, do not take my daughter as well.”
    Knowing that God saw into her heart, she made no attempt to stop her tears. “Faith has been foundering for a while, I have sensed it. And yet, she seeks only to please us and to obey You. This test is too much, and I fear that we will lose her! In the darkest moments, I fear that You will lose her, as well. It is not merely her comfort I look to. It is her soul.
    “And Jonathan’s, too,” she whispered, uncertainly. “I have never seen him so torn. How can he choose between You and his child’s happiness?
    “I know it is not my will that must be done, but Thy will. I have no doubt that you have a plan for my girl, just as you did for me. But I cannot hide from You my dearest hope that Owen Williams is not a part of it, that you will send her another, even as you sent me my Jonathan. But if he is—if she must endure this trial—help her to keep her faith. Hold her, keep her, protect her in Your love. Amen.”

Chapter 3
     
    Rambling buildings of brick and wood surrounded Boston Harbor, a veritable forest of masts and tightly furled sails. The timbers stood tall against the pale gray sky and deep greenish gray of the ocean. Mammoth ships rocked and creaked in the lapping waves. The smell of salty sea air mingled with fish, though occasionally a faint hint of spices would waft through, a ribbon of tangy sweetness amid the earthier scents.
    Faith loved coming to town and the port, where the wide world beyond their little village was displayed in wares brought by the ships and the men who