Joseph Bender hung his head, contemplating the implications of his actions. Am I really shunned? By the disappointed countenances of his family, he realized it to be true. What would he do now? Where would he go? His father’s words played in his mind for the umpteenth time, “You are no longer my son. Leave at once. There is no room in this home for unrepentant sinners.”
Joseph heaved a sigh of defeat. He searched his mother’s face for some trace of compassion, but she could only look away as she blinked at the tears that trailed her weathered appearance. So desperately he wanted to reach his arms around his mother and embrace her one last time, but he knew the time for affection had passed. It expired the moment Bishop Burkholder read his sentence.
He threw an old duffel bag over his shoulder. It contained the few belongings he owned: two pairs of trousers, two long sleeve cotton shirts, a few undergarments, and socks. He donned his black coat that had seen better days and his straw hat, and walked out of his folks’ home, and out of their lives, forever.
In just a few short months, he’d lost everything he’d ever held dear…