The Little Sparrows (26 page)

Lizzie’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes. Come on. Climb in.”

When little sister was in the bed and under the covers, Mary doused the lantern and crawled in beside her. Lizzie snuggled up close, and Mary put an arm around her. “All right, go to sleep.”

Lizzie clung to Mary, sniffling. It took only a few minutes for the little girl to cry herself to sleep.

Lying in the darkness, Mary let her mind go over all that had happened to Lizzie, Johnny, and her since their parents had drowned in the ocean. Her own eyes began to grow heavy as she heard Lizzie’s deep, even breathing. She kissed the sleeping child’s cheek. “I love you.”

Then like Lizzie, Mary cried herself to sleep.

O
n the westbound train that evening after supper, Josie Holden was sitting alone on the seat in the girls’ coach, watching darkness fall over the Nebraska plains. Outside the window was a huge dark space of cool, windy emptiness, stretching seemingly into infinity under great winking silver stars.

Suddenly Josie sensed someone behind her. She pulled away from the window, looking up to see the smiling face of Rachel Wolford. A smile broke over her own face. “Hi.”

“Hello, sweet girl. Remember I told you we’d get together this evening?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“May I sit down?”

Josie straightened up on the seat. “Oh yes! Please do.”

When Rachel sat down, Josie hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for coming to sit by me.”

Rachel returned the hug and kissed Josie’s cheek. “Pleasure’s mine, honey. How are you doing?”

“Better than I was a minute ago. I miss Wanda so much, but now that you’re here, the loneliness went away.”

“I’m glad, honey.”

At that moment both of them were aware of Laura and Tabitha standing in the aisle beside them.

Tabitha leaned past Rachel. “How are you doing, Josie? I imagine you’re missing Wanda, aren’t you?”

Josie nodded. “I miss Wanda very much, Mrs. Conlan, but Miss Wolford told me right after Wanda left with her new foster parents that she would try to take Wanda’s place, and she is already doing it.”

Laura laid a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Bless you for that.”

Rachel smiled up at her. “This child is easy to love.”

Both women agreed with that statement and moved on toward the rear of the coach to sit down.

Rachel was praying in her heart that the Lord would now give her the opportunity she had been seeking. “Well, honey, have you been thinking a lot about the prospect of what lies ahead of you?”

“Mm-hmm. It’s exciting, but it’s scary too. You know. Just who will take me, and what they will be like. And what kind of home I will have.”

“Sure. I can understand why you would be apprehensive about your future and all that it holds.” She paused, then said, “Honey, you are uncertain about what lies ahead of you in this life, but may I ask you something?”

Josie smiled. “Of course.”

“What about when this life is over? Are you certain about where you will spend eternity?”

Josie’s smile drained away and a blank look took its place. “I … I’m not sure. You mean will I go to heaven?”

“Exactly. Will you?”

“Well, I don’t know. I guess it depends on how good a life I live.”

“If you didn’t live a life good enough to satisfy God, then what?”

“I … ah … I would go to hell.”

“Would you want to go to hell?”

“Oh no! I’ve heard people talk about hell all my life, and even use it as a curse word, but I really didn’t know what it was till Mr. Brace read about it from the Bible in those times at the Society. It’s a place of fire and torment. I sure wouldn’t want to go there.”

“Tell me this, sweetie. Just how good would you have to live to go to heaven when you die?”

The blank look came back. “I … well, I don’t know. Does the Bible tell us?”

Rachel opened her purse and took out a small Bible. She began flipping pages. “Let me show you what the Bible says on that subject. Do you know what it means to be righteous?”

“I didn’t till Mr. Brace talked about it. He said to be righteous is to be blameless and worthy of God’s blessing.”

“Right. Now, you just said you didn’t know how good you would have to be to go to heaven.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You would have to be righteous, wouldn’t you? Blameless before the holy God of heaven and worthy of His blessing you by giving you a place in heaven.”

Josie blinked. “You would have to be.”

“Right,” she said, holding her Bible so Josie could see the page. “Look here in Romans chapter 3 and verse 10. ‘As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.’ That includes you and me, doesn’t it?”

Josie swallowed hard. “Yes.”

“Then there is not one person on earth who is blameless before God and worthy of His blessing. So there is nobody who is worthy to go to heaven. Right?”

“Yes.”

“Look here at verses 11 and 12. ‘There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.’ Pretty sad commentary on this human race, isn’t it?”

Josie nodded.

“Now look over here in verse 23. ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ That would include the whole human race, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“You and me, too?”

“Yes.”

“So if it depended on how good we live to get us to heaven and keep us from hell, would we make it?”

Josie’s head moved back and forth slowly. “No. We’d go to hell.” She took a shaky breath. “So how can we go to heaven?”

“By putting our faith in God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.” She flipped a couple of pages. “Look here in Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ The opposite of death is life, right?”

“Right.”

“The Bible makes it clear that hell, in its final state, is the lake of fire. In Revelation we are told that the lake of fire is the second death. This is where all people who leave this life on earth without Jesus Christ will spend eternity. When the Bible speaks of death concerning human beings, it never means to go out of existence. It means a separation. When people die physically, they are separated from the living here on earth, but they are not out of existence. So it is of those who go to the lake of fire. They are separated from the living who are in heaven, but they never go out of existence. Revelation 14:11 says the smoke of their torment
ascends up forever. So you see, honey, it’s eternal death or eternal life for every human being.

“We just saw here in Romans 6:23 that eternal life is the gift of God. It is a gift, so it can’t be earned. And it comes in only one way—through Jesus Christ. If we have eternal life, we will live forever with Him in heaven. Do you understand that?”

“Yes. I remember Mr. Brace telling us some of this you are telling me. And I remember that he told us in order to have salvation, forgiveness for our sins, and eternal life, we must repent of our sin and receive Jesus into our hearts as our personal Saviour. It is all coming back to me.”

Rachel’s heart was racing. “That’s it, honey. In Mark 1:15, Jesus said, ‘Repent ye, and believe the gospel.’ “And according to the apostle Paul, the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. On the cross, Jesus shed His precious blood and died. He paid the full price for our sins. He arose from the grave as He said He would, and is alive to save every person who will repent and believe the gospel.

“John 1:12 tells us we must
receive
Jesus to become a child of God. We do that according to what Romans chapter 10 tells us.”

Rachel turned to Romans 10. “Look here, sweetie. Verses 9 and 10. ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’ Please note that it is with the
heart
that we believe. That’s receiving Jesus into your heart and that’s what makes us children of God. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do.”

“And look at this. It says with the heart we believe unto
righteousness
. Remember, this is what we lack in ourselves—righteousness.”

“Yes.”

“But when we repent of our sin, believing the gospel, calling on Jesus, receiving Him into our heart, and believing that He does all the saving all by Himself; He comes into our heart, washes our sins away in His precious blood, makes us a child of God, imparts
His
righteousness to us, and gives us eternal life. This is the guarantee that we will be with Him in heaven forever. Do you understand?”

Tears were coming down Josie’s cheeks. “Yes, oh yes! Will you help me? I want to receive Jesus into my heart right now!”

Rachel Wolford had the joy of leading Josie Holden to Jesus. After the twelve-year-old had called on Jesus to save her and received Him into her heart, she threw her arms around Rachel. “Oh, thank you, Miss Wolford, for showing me how to be saved! My sins are forgiven and washed away in Jesus’ blood, and whenever I leave this world, I know I’ll go to heaven to be with Him!”

On Tuesday afternoon, June 23, Sam and Emma Claiborne were in their wagon, heading for Cheyenne. They would go to the general store to pick up groceries and household supplies, stop by the post office, then have their daily visit with Jody at the clinic.

It was a beautiful early summer day. Not a cloud could be seen in the cerulean sky. A gentle breeze played with the leaves on the trees, and wildflowers along the road were showing off their glossy new blossoms.

Holding on to her husband’s arm, Emma sighed. “What a lovely day the Lord has given us, honey. I just love this time of year when everything is alive and fresh again.”

Sam turned and smiled at her. “Yes, sweetheart, and after the long, hard winter we just endured, it is especially welcome.”

She ran her gaze over the lush prairie. “I only wish Jody could
enjoy it. She loves summertime so much, riding Queenie across the land and spending the days in the fields working with you.” The tears spilled over and streamed down her cheeks.

Sam put his arm around her and pulled her tight against him. This was all he could do at the moment. His throat was too constricted to allow words to be spoken.

Soon they arrived in town and entered the general store. Immediately, they were approached by people they knew, who wanted to know about Jody’s condition. Others gathered around to hear about Jody. Sam and Emma told the group that as of their visit to Jody at the clinic yesterday, Dr. John Traynor was losing his optimism that Jody would ever come out of her coma. When Sam asked him if he honestly thought Jody had a chance of living, he told them he didn’t think she would live much longer.

One widow woman from their church, whose name was Oralee Baldwin, took hold of Emma’s hand. “I’m so sorry, dear.”

Emma squeezed Oralee’s hand. Her throat tightened, but she forced the words out. “It … it looks like the Lord is going to take our little girl to heaven to be with Him.”

She burst into tears. Oralee put her arms around her. “Don’t give up, honey. As long as she’s alive, there is still hope.”

Hardly able to comprehend the possibility that Jody might still live, Emma choked on a sob. “Sam and I—Sam and I are still asking the Lord to do that which will bring Him the most glory. If … He decides to take her to be with Him, heaven will be a brighter place with Jody’s presence there, but the sunshine in Sam’s life and mine will be very dim.”

Oralee squeezed her tight. “Emma, as you and Sam know, Pastor Forbes has asked all the members of the church to continue to hold Jody up in prayer. I for one promise I will do so.”

“Thank you for caring, Oralee. It means more than Sam or I can say.”

“Yes,” said Sam. “It sure does.”

The others in the group assured the Claibornes that they were pulling for Jody and were praying that she would come out of the coma and be able to live out her life.

The purchases were made, and Emma was still wiping tears as she and Sam left the store, both carrying grocery bags. When they stepped up to the wagon, Sam placed the bags he was carrying into the wagon bed, then took those Emma carried and did the same. He helped her up into the seat, climbed up beside her, and headed down the street for the post office.

Emma waited in the wagon while Sam went inside the post office to pick up the mail. It seemed that he was in there longer than usual, but he had her attention when he came out, holding the bundle of mail in one hand and waving an envelope in the other. As he drew up to the wagon, he said, “Letter from Ed and Sarah, sweetheart. I couldn’t wait till I got out here to open it.”

Emma dearly loved Sam’s brother and sister-in-law, who lived in Omaha, Nebraska. She and Sam had sent them a letter recently, advising them of Jody’s worsening condition. “What did they say, honey?”

“They are coming so they can be with us when—when—well, when Jody goes to heaven. They will arrive at the depot on the eleven o’clock train tomorrow morning.”

Emma’s eyes brightened. “Oh, I’m glad! It will be so good to see them again. You know how much Sarah and I always enjoy being together. I could really use her company. Especially when Jody—” She burst into tears.

Sam climbed into the wagon seat quickly and took Emma in his arms. He held her and spoke in soft tones, doing his best to comfort her.

When Emma’s emotions had subsided, Sam kissed her cheek.
“Let’s go to the clinic, sweetheart.”

He was about to put the wagon into motion when he saw Pastor Dan Forbes hurrying toward them on the boardwalk. When he drew up, he saw Emma dabbing at her cheeks with a handkerchief. “Are you all right, Emma?”

“I’m just having a hard time over Jody’s condition, Pastor.”

“I understand. I saw Sam holding you up there in the seat, and thought maybe—well, you know—Jody …”

“As far as we know, she’s still alive, Pastor,” said Sam. “We’re on our way to the clinic.”