A balmy breeze blew across the area, but the sun was shining as Quinn and Livia turned off the interstate and took the secondary road to Sheltering Arms Church. After they’d been married three years ago, Livia and Quinn had set up their veterinarian practice in Bowling Green. Livia took care of the small-animal end of the business, while Quinn devoted his time to farm stock.
Since they lived nearby, they’d often driven by the church where they’d been reunited five years ago. But today they’d come for a reunion with the travelers with whom they’d shared three anxiety-filled yet exhilarating days. The snowstorm that stranded the eight of them at Sheltering Arms Church had gone down in the history books as one of the worst blizzards in northwestern Ohio.
Turning in her seat to be sure that six-month-old Ruth was still cozy in her car seat, Livia said to her husband, “Quinn, I’m so excited. Won’t it be wonderful to see everyone again?”
“Sure will. I feel like we’re going to a family reunion.”
“I feel closer to these people than some of my own relatives, so it is a family reunion. I’m a little sad though that Les won’t be with us.”
“Yes, but he left his mark on the old church. I’m sure we’ll be aware of his presence.”
Six months ago, Quinn and Livia had attended Les’s funeral in the church. Livia looked toward his grave marker as Quinn parked their van.
Annie Colver, Les’s daughter, who’d taken on the role of looking after the church since her father’s death, came out to greet them.
Livia carried Ruth’s car seat into the church, while Quinn brought in two picnic baskets.
“I’ve pushed the seats forward and put up these folding tables in the back to hold our food,” Annie said. “We won’t need much heat tonight, but I built a fire in the stove to remind you of your wintery sojourn here.”
The next to arrive were Roxanne, Marie and Eric, who led their two-year-old son into the building. Eric was now the senior pastor of a church in Illinois, and the Damrons hadn’t seen the Stover family since Livia had graduated from OSU.
Soon after their forced stay at Sheltering Arms Church, Allen Reynolds had moved to the Cincinnati area. Quinn had kept in touch with Allen as a spiritual mentor, and they looked forward to meeting his wife and two daughters.
Sean was the last to arrive, and his friends cheered as he drove up in his late-model Jaguar. With his first check from his NBA contract, Sean had bought Sheltering Arms Church from the denomination that owned it and established a trust fund for the permanent upkeep of the building and cemetery. He had invested stewardship of the property in a board of local citizens with the stipulation that the original architecture of the building be maintained.
The windows had been repaired and the walls painted and papered. The exterior of the building had been repaired and painted, and the sign refurbished.
As they took a tour of the premises, the friends noticed that the woodshed and the johnny houses had new roofs. Otherwise, the area seemed unchanged.
Livia shivered and, pointing to the johnny houses, she whispered to Marie, “I can still feel the cold air and blowing snow we had to endure to make our trips to this building.”
“Yes,” Marie agreed. “But it doesn’t look like it will snow tonight.”
Motioning to the sun setting in a clear sky, Livia said, “I don’t think there’s any danger of that.”
They gathered around the two folding tables Annie had provided, filled with turkey and ham, vegetables, salads and desserts. Marie had brought two dozen doughnuts as a comical reminder of how many of them they’d eaten when they were snowbound. As they enjoyed the food, their conversation centered nostalgically on the past.
Electricity was still not available in the building, so Annie lit candles as dusk fell. When Roxanne started playing the piano, now in tune and melodious, the others took their seats.
Sitting in the pew beside Quinn, holding Ruth in her arms, Livia reflected on the past five years. She and Quinn had been engaged two years before they were married, giving her time to finish college. Their marriage had been the love match she’d always dreamed of having. And the thing that made it so special was their mutual commitment to the Lord’s service.
Eric stood behind the lectern and read the Scripture he’d used for his text five years ago. “‘But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son.’”
Livia was thankful that God had worked His will in her life at the right time. She had wanted to be with Quinn when she’d met him as a teenager. But it wasn’t God’s timing. She’d often wondered if they had been married when she was so immature, if their marriage could have survived.
A sob filled her throat when Livia thought how blessed she was tonight. She lifted her hand and caressed Quinn’s face. He shifted his eyes from Eric to look at her. He took her hand and kissed the palm, then he bent over and pressed a light kiss on her lips. Marveling at the love she felt for him, Livia realized that they were sitting in the same pew where he’d kissed her for the first time.
Quinn continued to hold her hand as Sean stood to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The words found lodging in Livia’s heart as if she were hearing them for the first time.
“No ear may hear His coming, but, in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.”
Livia bowed her head and worshiped the Child in the manger who’d become the Savior of all mankind.