The morning of the third day before the wedding, Christopher clicked on the TV. The Weather Channel reported that the storm ended late yesterday evening.
“Most of the main roads were cleared by morning, but there is no estimate on when all the farm roads will be re-opened. It could take two or three days. And the electric company personnel can’t get to some of the downed lines until the roads are cleared. Many people might not have power for several more days.”
After taking his shower, Chris sat in the recliner in the bedroom and picked up his well-worn Bible from the table beside it. “Lord, I need a word from You.” Talking out loud kept Chris from feeling so lonely. “I haven’t done this very many times, but I’m going to close the Bible and hold it between my hands.
When it drops open, Lord, please let it be a passage You want me to read.” When the book lay in his lap, Chris realized that the pages of Isaiah were open before him. What could Isaiah have for him? Chapter 30 started on the first page. He began to read, but nothing spoke to him specifically until he reached verse 21: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ ”
“That’s what I’m asking for, Lord. I want to hear Your clear voice speaking to me, telling me what to do right now.”
A whisper as clear as if someone stood behind his shoulder sounded in Chris’s spirit. With bowed head, he listened as the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart, giving him direction. With resolve, he thanked the Lord and reached for the phone.
The morning of the third day before the wedding dawned bright. Christine stood at the front window where she had scraped a hole in the crystal frost that covered the pane. The wintry sun revealed all the diamond sparkles from the snow banked against the house and buildings. Both cars were almost covered.
“What are we going to do today?” Mona came into the living room, stretching and yawning. “I’m sure we won’t be able to get out.”
“Only if you want to shovel snow.” Christine turned and smiled at her cousin. “I don’t suppose you’ve done much of that in California.”
“Naw, we let the servants do it.”
Christine and Mona laughed at the joke.
“Well, we could play another Monopoly game.” Christine leaned down to put more wood on the fire. “That is, if you want to lose again.”
Gram started a pot of homemade soup while the girls set up the board. Just as Christine imagined, it lasted almost all day. They only broke for lunch. By early evening, Mona finally prevailed. At least each of them won a game while they were there. Soon they sat in front of the fireplace eating more of the delicious soup Gram made.
When she finished, Mona took her bowl to the kitchen and returned with a wrapped package in her hand. “Here. I bought this as a wedding gift, but you might need to use it now.” She dropped it in Christine’s lap.
Like a child, Christine tore the paper away, revealing a battery operated reading light. The package even contained extra batteries.
“I know how much you like to read in bed, and I didn’t want you keeping your executive husband awake.” Mona laughed. “Of course, the two of you might be otherwise occupied, and you might not even need this.”
Christine felt the blush creep up her neck and cheeks. She hoped something else would keep Christopher occupied at night, but she didn’t want to think about it right now. That was for after the wedding.
“Thanks, Mona. I tried to read my Bible after I got ready for bed last night, but it’s hard to do by candlelight. I’ll get to tonight.”
Christine pulled her warm plush robe close around her. Under it, she wore her sweats instead of pajamas. Because the floor was too hard, the cousins took turns on the couch. At least Gram’s room, next to the living room, was warm enough when they left the door open. After the girls built the fire up, Mona went to sleep. She would have about four hours while Christine kept the fire going. Then Mona would take her turn and let Christine sleep.
Curled up in Gram’s big rocker, Christine attached the reading lamp to her Bible, wondering where she should begin reading tonight. She had never done this before, but she prayed that God would open the Bible to the page where He had a message just for her. She ran her thumbs along the gold edge and flipped the book open. It had been a long time since she had read anything from Isaiah. She usually tried to do a chapter of Psalms, Proverbs, or the New Testament. Occasionally, she did one of those read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year things, but not recently.
Her gaze roved over the open pages, and an underlined verse jumped out at her. She wished she had noted when and why she highlighted it, but maybe that was what God wanted her to see again.
“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ ”
It must have been sometime when she wanted God to speak to her. That’s what she needed tonight. Lord, what are You saying to me?
In the quietness, the still, small voice answered. “Trust Me, child. Just trust Me.”
Christine bowed her head and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit hovering all around her. I do, Lord.
“Can you trust Me with your wedding?”
For a moment, panic seized Christine’s heart. But only a moment. With resolution, she took a deep breath. I trust You with the wedding. I think I always trusted You. I just let things get in the way. Forgive me, Lord. Whatever You want, I’m willing.
For several minutes the heavy presence of the Lord filled the room in an almost tangible way. Christine basked in that presence, and peace like a soft blanket settled into her heart, covering everything there.
Since both of the cousins were tired, they built up the fire one last time near morning and fell asleep. Later, the smell of brewing coffee and sizzling bacon pulled Christine from her slumbers. She sat up and stretched the kinks out of her body.
Mona, who had fallen asleep on the other end of the couch, began stirring. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know.” Christine stood up and started folding her blanket. “But it smells like Gram beat us to the kitchen. I could use some coffee.”
She walked into the cozy kitchen. “Do I smell biscuits, too, Gram?”
Swaddled in a huge apron, her grandmother turned and smiled at her before taking the last slice of bacon out of the pan and placing it with the others on a paper towel–covered plate. “Yes, breakfast is almost ready, but it’s more like brunch time.”
Christine couldn’t believe how much meat Gram had cooked. “We won’t eat that much.” She picked up a slice and took a bite.
“I just felt like fixing a big breakfast. Maybe we can have bacon sandwiches for lunch.”
“Are we expecting anyone?” Mona’s voice called from the other room. “Someone is coming up the drive in a horse-drawn sleigh.”
“Must be Mr. Watson. He’s probably checking to see if we’re all right.” Gram poured some of the bacon grease into the old coffee can on the cabinet and started breaking eggs into the skillet. “I’ll scramble enough for him, too. He probably ate breakfast early, so he should be hungry by now.”
Mona came through the door. “I don’t think it’s your neighbor. I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like a younger man. I’m going to put some clothes on before he comes in.”
Christine rushed to the front of the house and pulled the door open a crack. She peered around the door into the brightness. Squinting her eyes against the glare, she shrieked, “It’s Chris!”
Mona stopped on the stairs. “Who?”
“Christopher! He’s driving the sleigh.”
“Did you just call him Chris?” Mona smiled.
“I guess I did.” She pulled the door farther open. At least she still was fully clothed beneath her robe.
“Chris!” She stepped out on the porch just as he stopped the sleigh near the front gate. She couldn’t believe he guessed so accurately where it was under the snow. He had only been here a few times.
Bundled up in lots of layers, he looked almost Neanderthal, but Christine’s heart beat in her throat as she looked at him. She couldn’t remember when she had been so glad to see him. He took horse blankets from under the front seat of the sleigh and placed them on the animals. It looked like a really large sleigh.
When he turned, he pulled away the scarves that covered the lower part of his face and gave her a dazzling smile. With halting steps, he made his way through the snow up the completely hidden sidewalk toward her.
Her breathing accelerated. She didn’t care what happened, or when. She and Chris were supposed to be together. Just looking at him made her quivery inside.
After he stepped onto the porch, he pulled her into a bear hug. His cold lips descended and covered hers. The heat of their passionate kiss soon warmed them.
“Come into the house,” Gram called from the open doorway. “You can warm up before the fire while I finish scrambling the eggs.”
They followed her into the house and closed the door. Christine helped Chris start to peel off his layers.
“God told me to fix lots of breakfast. Now we know why.” Gram continued toward the kitchen.
Seated across the table from his fiancée, Chris studied her face with amazement. Peace and contentment shone through the smile she gave him. He grinned, remembering the heart-stopping kiss they shared on the porch. Good thing he listened to the Lord.
“Are you girls ready to load up and go away with me?”
“Is that why you came? To take us back?” Chrissy sounded like an excited little girl, but no one looking at her would mistake her for a child.
“An interesting thing happened last night.” Chris took the bowl of scrambled eggs Gram passed to him and piled them on his plate beside the biscuits and bacon. “I really wanted a word from the Lord, so I asked Him to open my Bible where He wanted me to read. It was in Isaiah 30.” At Chrissy’s gasp, he stopped.
“That’s where He took me, too. The verse about the voice speaking from behind you telling you the way to go.” She put her fork down and stared into his eyes. “This is so awesome.”
Gram seemed to be unaffected by what was happening. After taking a bite and chewing it awhile, she spoke quietly. “I knew God had this all worked out.”
Mona nodded and continued eating.
Chris laid his fork down and reached to take Chrissy’s hand. “Did something happen day before yesterday? Late in the morning?”
Momentary sadness veiled her face. “It was the most horrible thing.” She swallowed as if she had a lump in her throat. “I almost decided we weren’t supposed to be getting married. It felt like my heart broke in two.”
Everything in the room receded as though he and Chrissy were alone. “I felt your pain.”
“Felt my pain?”
“I was on the phone with Mr. Jones and something shot through my chest, ending in my heart, making me gasp. I had to hang up.” Just the memory was uncomfortable. “I went into my private suite and prayed for you.”
With her other hand, Chrissy wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “How could that happen?”
He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “God has tied our hearts and souls together. That’s the only way to describe it.”
Gram got up to refill the plate of biscuits. “That’s when God gave me something for Chrissy.”
Chris glanced at her. “What?”
Chrissy answered for her. “He said, ‘If you can’t trust Him through the storms, how will you learn to hear His still, small voice during them?’ It helped me decide to trust Him. After that He was able to speak to me, and I heard Him.”
Mona got up to take her plate to the sink. “God is awesome, isn’t He?”
No one disagreed.
As soon as the dishes were washed and put away, Christine started packing her things. Chris was more than just her fiancé; he was her hero. She wondered how much trouble it had been for him to obtain a sleigh to come get them. Just the fact that he would go to so much trouble touched her heart.
When she went downstairs, Chris came into the house carrying a large, sort of flat box. “I got this from your friend at the wedding dress company. It’s for shipping the gowns. There’s just room for it under the backseat of the sleigh.”
She dropped her overnight bag and took the carton. Soon the dress and veil were safely surrounded by tissue paper in the sealed container.
With Gram and Mona in the back seat and Christine beside Chris in the front, they started across the snow toward Litchfield.
“So what do we do when we get there?” Mona called from the back seat.
“We’ll leave the sleigh at the edge of town. I have a car waiting for us there.” Chris’s breath caused puffs of steam in the cold air. “We’ll have you to Chrissy’s house before it’s time to go to dinner.”
“Dinner!” Chrissy grabbed his arm. “The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were supposed to be tonight.”
“They’re still on.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Everything is right on schedule.”
Right on schedule the next day, Christine started down the aisle clutching her soon-to-be father-in-law’s arm with one hand. In the other she carried the beautiful bouquet Melissa and Karen created from her favorite flowers. Lazy white snowflakes drifted outside the windows of the church, but here in the sanctuary, the stained glass windows hid them from sight. Her bridesmaids lined the front in red velvet dresses trimmed with white fur. Melissa, as maid of honor, looked beautiful in a green dress.
Quickly Christine’s eyes were drawn to the handsome man across the aisle from her attendants. The man of her dreams. Her hero who didn’t move the mountain of snow to get her here. With God’s help, he carried her across the mountain to get to this wedding of her dreams. She knew God smiled down from heaven with His blessing.