Chapter 34
Praying for Katie

We didn’t see Katie or Uncle Nick much the whole week after Christmas. Katie kept to herself in their house up across the creek. No more was said by anyone about what had happened, but it was obvious she was avoiding us. From Uncle Nick’s behavior it was clear he still felt mighty bad about what had happened. And from the look on his face it didn’t seem that things were so well between him and Katie either. He’d walk down to our place most evenings, and although he didn’t say much, his face said plenty. He loved Katie, I could tell that, but when she got in one of her moods, he didn’t know how to help. Eventually it started to bother him that she wouldn’t pay any attention to what he tried to say or do. And of course none of the rest of us were too anxious to get involved. Katie had made it plenty clear what she thought.

After a week and a half, one afternoon Almeda finally said, “Well, it’s been long enough. I’m going up to see Katie. If she’s not ready to see me yet, she ought to be. This isn’t doing anybody any good.”

She packed up some food, asked Becky to carry it up for her, and took a small pot of soup she’d made. The two of them headed for the bridge. We’d been sending things up with Nick, but this was the first visit any of us had paid in person. They were back about in about fifteen minutes. Almeda’s face wore a smile.

“How is she?” I asked.

“The same,” she answered. “Sullen, quiet. I didn’t get a single smile and hardly two words out of her. But it’s an open door, Corrie. Before long, when the time is right, I’m going to sit her down and have a long talk with her. And by then I think she’ll be ready to listen.”

“With the heart?” I said with a smile, recalling our conversation of the other evening.

“Yes,” she smiled back in return. “Katie’s heart is nearer the surface than she lets on. I saw something in her today, Corrie, for the first time since I’ve known her—hunger. Something in her eyes tells me she knows she isn’t as self-sufficient as she wants everybody to think. She is being broken and made ready. I can see it! It’s exciting. The Lord is tilling her soil, making her ready for the moment when he comes to her and says, ‘Katie, it’s time to let me in.’”

“But what about everything she said about God?” asked Becky, who was still standing beside Almeda. “She said she hates it when anybody even mentions him.”

“Oh, but Becky, that’s the best part of all!” replied Almeda. “The closer the Lord gets to a person’s heart, sometimes the more that person resists and shouts and complains. That can take many forms, like Katie’s outburst the other night. It’s just a sign that God is getting ready to take hold of her heart. It’s a sign that circumstances are pressing in closer and closer around her, that thoughts and ideas about God are on her mind, that she is watching and observing all the rest of us, seeing the part God plays in our lives. You see, Katie is aware of all that, aware that we are trying to live in a certain way. She says she hates it because way down deep inside she actually wants God living with her too. She wants him but she doesn’t want him at the same time.”

“How can that be?” said Emily, joining the discussion. The two boys were off with Pa at the mine, and it was special, just the three of us girls talking with Almeda.

“The human heart is a complicated thing, Emily,” said Almeda with a smile. “It finds no difficulty at all in wanting and not wanting the same thing at once. That is especially true of a woman!

She chuckled, obviously thinking something to herself, then laughed outright. “If you doubt that, girls, just ask your Pa!” she said, still laughing. Gradually she got serious again, and then went on.

“It’s also especially true in spiritual things, because just like love, our spiritual beings live in our hearts, not our heads. We both want God and don’t want him. He created us to need him, to hunger for him. Life can never be complete unless we are living in a relationship with God. That’s the only way we can be fulfilled as human beings. The only way. But at the same time, we’ve all got a stubborn streak. And that part of us wants to keep hold of our independence. We want to think we don’t need anyone—God included. We want to think we’re self-sufficient and strong.

“That’s the great conflict down inside all of us—every man or woman, every boy or girl—until the time comes in our lives when we realize we need to walk with God, not independently from him. It’s just like the minister was saying about horses and wagons. And I think Katie’s time is coming, and so the independent part of her is fighting and resisting and complaining and yelling inside.”

“Inside and outside,” added Becky.

We all laughed.

“Yes, Becky,” said Almeda. “But it’s not any of us she’s angry at. She’s not really even angry at God. It’s just her independence fighting to keep control, while all the time her Father in heaven is drawing her heart closer and closer to his, so that he can pour out his love to her and give her his life.”

“But what if she doesn’t want his life, doesn’t want to be a Christian?” asked Emily.

“Then God may keep bringing circumstances to her that are harder and more painful, until one day she finally comes to the point of realizing happiness and freedom and contentment are not qualities she can have without him.”

“So it’s just a matter of time?” I asked.

Almeda shook her head. “Maybe. But God never forces people to accept him. Katie still has a choice—we must pray that she chooses to accept God instead of rejecting him.”

We were all silent again, thinking about Almeda’s words.

“Can we pray for her now?” said Becky.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

We all bowed our heads and closed our eyes, and softly we prayed for Uncle Nick’s wife. Almeda prayed for an opportunity to speak with her, the rest of us prayed that she would be open to God’s voice and that we’d have chances to do things for her and show her how much we cared about her.

Praying with other people you love always makes you feel closer to them—especially when you are joining together to pray for someone else you love just as much. The rest of the day I found myself thinking about people praying together. I wondered if that was one of the reasons Jesus told us to pray in groups of two or three. In addition to the answers to the prayers, maybe praying itself brings those two or three people closer together.

Our prayers did get answered, although we sure couldn’t have seen ahead of time how it was going to happen. It’s a good thing Almeda told us about God sometimes using painful circumstances. That way, when the time came, at least we were a little more prepared for it.