Joe woke up one day and felt great.
He was ready to travel. Luther had told him he could stay as long as he wanted,
but both of them knew that he was not “ripe” yet, and had to finish the journey
at all costs. He planned to leave the next morning. Before he left, however, he
had some things he needed to talk over with Luther. The most important of these
concerned the Seventh Truth. He got out of bed and walked down to the lake and
took a swim au naturel. He had been more than a week now without outer
clothing. He had spent the time at Luther’s in only his underwear. The grass
tunic didn’t seem necessary. He was beginning to feel rather primal. Now that
his body was healed, he was noticing changes. He was lean and tanned and, for
the first time in many days, healthy. It was more than just physical health, he
was emotionally healthy also. The burdens of the city, the sense of regret and
loneliness he’d experienced earlier were all gone. Spiritually he felt at peace
with God and the world. For the first time he realized that right where he was
in his life, was right where he was supposed to be. The sun was up over the
treetops and he lay by the lake watching Spot stalk a mouse in the grass. He
was still sore in a few places, but overall, and in every way, he felt healed.
Luther came back from his “face
time” carrying a rabbit. It would be a nice change from the venison they had
been eating. Joe had found out earlier that “face time” for Luther was a time
of prayer and meditation. Luther would walk the forest and talk to God. Luther
said it was a necessary discipline he practiced every day the weather would
permit. “It keeps me from the edge,” he told Joe. That had been enough
information for the time, but Joe wanted to know more about Luther’s life. He
wanted to ask him about the picture over the bed. After Luther had dressed the
game he set out a plate of vegetables and they sat at the table.
“LJ,” Joe began, “tell me about the
Seventh Truth.”
“Ah…that’s the good one, Joe,” he
said, “That’s the mountain.”
“What does that mean?” Joe asked.
“The mountain…the mountain will
take you there.”
“Where?”
Luther looked up suddenly and said:
“the mountain is heaven.” It was the most sane he had ever appeared. His eyes
burned with passion. “Have you ever wanted to go to someplace that you could
see off in the distance?
“I don’t know,” Joe said.
“Let’s say a mountain is your
destination and you see it off on the horizon. If that were true, everything
you did would be to reach that place. Sometimes you wouldn’t be able to see it,
but you keep going because you have to get there. Everything here is
determined by there…Heaven is like that mountain. You can see it off in
the distance, and it draws you, it guides you. It determines your every action
here in this life. Without it your life has no direction, no goal, and no
ultimate purpose.”
“So heaven is the Seventh Truth?”
Joe ventured.
“Yes, Joe! Heaven is the Seventh
Truth. But heaven is not disconnected from this life. We reach out to what lies
ahead. We pursue it. It’s not just our reward for following The Way,
it’s our compass.” Then he sang a verse from a song Joe had never heard:
“Ahead where home awaits the heart.
Ahead where home is waiting.
Ahead where home awaits the heart.
Peace is near.”
“That’s nice, Luther.”
They sat without talking for a
while and finally Joe ventured to ask the question he’d been pondering for
several days. “Who’s that in the picture, Luther?”
“Oh, uh…mmm, some call me Ishmael
in the worst of times. In the best of times, they call me Deacon Blues. Died
behind the wheel…she died behind the wheel.”
“Who died behind the wheel, LJ?”
Luther answered by pointing at the
picture.
“Luther…” was all Joe could manage.
There was a long silence, and then
Joe asked, “LJ, what was her name?”
Luther became very agitated. He stroked his
beard. He stood up. He sat down. He stood up again and went out. He came back.
He started pacing around the cabin. All the time he was talking, but it was
more like babbling. “Ah…she…Joe, I didn’t ask what I could do for my country…An
ounce of prevention. I did it my way and lost my head and said some things.
When it the course of human events. To be or not to be…not to be…not to be. No
one knows what it’s like to be the bad man, the sad man behind blue
eyes. I am what I am, Joe. I am what I am and that’s all that I am. I couldn’t
see the joke was on me. Give me liberty, or…”
“Luther,” Joe said, “You don’t have
to talk about it. It’s really none of my business.”
Luther stopped. He relaxed and sat
down. Remarkably, he was as lucid as Joe had ever heard him. “No, Joe, I want
to talk about it. I need to tell you…It’s been twenty-one years. We were on our
honeymoon. Road trip down the coast staying at bed and breakfast inns. Third
night we had an argument. Some stupid thing about the tip we left at dinner. I
got mad and said some things…Ah, Joe if I could just have thirty seconds
of my life back! She went for a drive to cool off. Rainstorm. Lost control.
Died behind the wheel. You can't go on thinking nothing's wrong. Who's gonna
drive you home tonight, Meg? Her name was Megan. She’s in heaven, Joe. That’s all
I’ve got.”
“LJ, I don’t have anything I can
say about that, but I know one thing: you have helped me. A lot.”
“Okay, then. That’s good. You’re a
good man, Joe. It’s good I got to know you. So here is what I can tell you
about the Seventh Truth. Go see the Seamstress. You gotta have new
clothes. Them rags is filthy.”
“Okay, but I don’t have any money.”
“Work it out with her, Joe.
Somethin’ll come up.”
“So, where does the Seamstress
live?”
“She’s got a mansion just over the
hilltop. Nice place. Go back out to the main trail and then head north again.
Take you right there. Long and winding road, Joe, leads right to her door.
Probably take you most of a day.”
Joe asked Luther to wake him when
he got up, and so the next morning he left at first light. Luther gave him some
jerky, a couple of apples and a small bag of the trail mix. Joe put on his
grass tunic, took his staff and headed out the way they came in. Luther walked
with him until they came to the main trail. Then he just clapped Joe on the
shoulder and said, “Reach out, Joe. Reach out to what lies ahead.” With that he
turned and walked away. Joe watched him disappear into the trees and then he
turned and started down the trail.
The first part of the trail was
relatively flat. Joe walked for the better part of two hours without incident.
Once in a while he could see glimpses of the ocean through the trees to his
left. The salt air mixed with the pine smells all around him. To his right the
ground rose sharply. Perhaps this was the hill Luther referred to. He saw
little wildlife save a few birds and a squirrel. He could walk now almost free
of pain. His feet were healed and only the remnants of his worst bruises
remained. His nose was tender, but he could breathe through it now. The only
thing that challenged his overall sense of well-being was his clothes. He had
not seen any people, but he was concerned that he might. His homemade grass
tunic was tattered, falling apart and mostly brown in color. His briefs weren’t
in much better shape. How he was going to meet the Seamstress without total
embarrassment was a question he couldn’t answer.
Toward midmorning Joe began to hear
the sound of water. He knew there must be a river up ahead. The sound got
progressively louder, and soon it was all he could hear. Finally he came around
a bend and what he saw took his breath away. He was standing at the edge of a
chasm that was perhaps a hundred feet across. The trail crossed the chasm by a
suspension bridge. The water he heard was an extremely tall waterfall. Actually
it was two waterfalls. The first fell into a large pool right at the level of
the bridge. Then another fell below into an inlet of the ocean. Joe estimated
that the two falls must have been a total of five to six hundred feet in
height. There was mist everywhere and the sound was deafening. He held on
securely when he crossed for fear of slipping on the wet bridge deck. The
swaying of the bridge was a little disconcerting at first, but Joe kept moving.
He was amazed to see that there was a series of steps on the other side zigzagging
up the side of the chasm. Even more amazing, he saw another bridge high above
him. Apparently the trail crossed back again. Whoever made this trail purposely
designed it this way. The steps could just as easily have been on the south
side of the chasm. All that extra work just so the hiker could experience the
waterfall twice. It was so gratuitous.
Joe crossed the bridge and began to
climb the steps. There were hundreds of them. After the first hundred steps Joe
began to sweat. The mist from the waterfall kept him cool but it was tiring
work. It took him almost a half an hour to reach the top. He sat down and
rested before he crossed the bridge. He ate some of the jerky and one of his
apples. After he had sat for a while he got up and crossed the bridge. The
waterfall disappeared below him into mist. The effect was surreal, but it made
Joe want to find the Seamstress as soon as he could. On the other side Joe
departed from the trail and followed the river upstream until he found a calm
spot where he could get a drink. The climbing had made him really thirsty. When
he had taken a good long drink he got back on the trail. He had only walked for
thirty minutes when he came out of the trees. There was no doubt at that point
where he was headed. He was standing on the edge of a grassy plain that was
perhaps a mile across. He could see the trail winding out across the plain
toward the foothills of some mountains where it appeared to end at a house that
sat on the crest of its own little hill. Even from this distance Joe could tell
it was a mansion. It was huge. If this was the Seamstress’s house, she had done
pretty well. But he also looked down at himself. What would the people who
lived here think? How would they receive him? Would they receive him? He was
more than a little ashamed of his appearance. He looked at the house again, the
hill it sat on, and the mountains behind. The sun was behind him now and the
whole panorama was golden. It was beautiful, inspiring and inviting all at the
same time. Joe wanted to be in that place. He was filled with a joy he couldn’t
explain. Then all at once he started running. Then he ran faster. Then he ran
as fast as he possibly could. He barely noticed the grass or the trail; he just
kept his eyes ahead. When he was out of breath he stopped, but then he started
running again.
Halfway across the plain another
feeling came to his attention: awe. He thought about how good God must be who
could create such beauty. He slowed to a walk. As he came nearer he could see
more detail. The house was Victorian in style with turrets at the corners and
wings that branched off the main house. He neared the hill and the house was
out of view for a time. He could just see the tops of the turrets. The trail
led to a long set of steps that took him up to a large yard surrounded by a
picket fence. He stopped and admired what he saw. There were wide steps leading
to a covered porch that wrapped around the front of the bottom floor. The house
appeared to have at least four stories. He noticed several small balconies on
some of the upper levels. Many of the windows had flower boxes and shutters. A
carved sign hung over the porch steps that read: Gloryhaven. In front of him
was a gate under an arched trellis that was covered in small roses. When Joe
opened the gate three children came out of the house and ran down the steps to
greet him. They seemed to take no regard for his odd clothing.
“What’s your name?” “Where did you
come from?” “My name is Andrew.” “Did you know we have two cats?” They did not
wait for an answer to any of the questions. They took his hands and led him up
to the porch.
“Sit there,” one boy said, pointing
to a porch swing, and they all disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. Joe
had not waited for more than five minutes when a man came from around the side
of the house followed by the children. He was wiping his hands on a rag. Joe
was relieved to see him smiling. He stood when he came up the steps.
“Good afternoon,” he said extending
his hand, “my name is Paul. These are my three children: Benjamin, Andrew, and Megan.
Ben is nine, Drew is six, and Meg is four.”
Megan nodded excitedly when he
introduced her, “My birthday was yesterday. We have two cats and I can go potty
by myself,” she announced.
“My name is Joe,” he said smiling
as he shook each child’s hand.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Paul
continued. “We have water, ice tea or milk.”
“A glass of ice tea would be
great,” Joe said.
Paul instructed Andrew to go for
the tea. When he returned the two men sat on the porch steps while the children
played in the yard.
“So, what brings you to Gloryhaven
Joe?” Paul asked.
“I am a follower of The Way.” Joe
answered. “It’s a long story, but I stayed a few days with a hermit named
Luther. He told me that if I wanted to find the Seventh Truth, I needed to see
the Seamstress.”
“Yes, I know Luther, but how did
you get to Luther’s? That isn’t exactly on the way to anywhere. Actually, most
people who want to go visit him have a hard time finding his cabin.”
“As I said,” Joe began, “it’s a
long story, but let me offer the short version. I had suffered some
mistreatment at the hands of a bully and I ended up stranded on a beach. I
climbed a cliff and shortly after that I met Luther. I was in pretty bad shape
and he helped me.”
“That’s saying quite a bit,” Paul
said. “Luther doesn’t help just anyone.”
Joe then told Paul his whole story.
Paul listened without comment. When Joe finished, Paul said, “You are at the
right place for new clothes. I needed to hear your story before I offered any
new information. The Seamstress is my wife, but her name is Priscilla. There
are two roads you can take from this house, Joe. One leads to the Seventh
Truth, the other leads back to the city. If you weren’t a true follower I would
have sent you down the road to the city. But it seems to me that you really do
want to find the Seven Truths.”
“More than anything, Paul. As I
said, I’ve had other offers. This is what I want.”
“Okay then. Pricilla’s inside
somewhere. Let’s go find her and we can talk.”
Paul took them inside. They stood
in an entryway. To their right a staircase curved up to the next floor. To their
left was a sitting room. Immediately in front of them was a hallway that led
back to the kitchen and dining room. Paul called out for his wife but no one
answered. “She must be upstairs,” he explained.
They went up the stairway to the
second floor where the master bedroom and two other bedrooms were. Priscilla
was in the sewing room bent over a sewing machine. It appeared like she was working
on a dress of some kind. She looked up when they came in. Joe immediately
became aware of his near nakedness. He started to back away in embarrassment.
But even before Paul could introduce them, she took Joe’s hand and said, “You
look like you need some clothes, Joe.” Her voice was calm and kind. There was
no sense of condescension. Joe forgot his discomfort, but all he could say was,
“yes,” and for no apparent reason tears came to his eyes. Then Paul put his
hand on Joe’s shoulder and said, “Joe, I’ve got some things you can wear until
we work something out. Let me take you up to a room where you can clean up and
change. How’s that?”
“That would be great,” Joe managed.
“Thanks to both of you.”
Paul took him up another flight of
stairs. They came to a landing that faced three doors. Paul opened the center
door and Joe walked in. It was a medium sized bedroom. To his left was a
four-poster bed to his right was a door leading into a bathroom. There was a
small table and chair next to the bed. Directly in front of him was a door
leading out to a private balcony.
Paul said, “Take a bath if you
want. There is plenty of hot water. I’ll go find something for you to wear.
There should be some towels and in the closet there. Paul closed the door
behind him. Joe went out to the balcony. From here he had a magnificent view of
the mountains behind the house. He could see a road leading away from the house
up into the mountains and wondered if that was where he would find the Seventh
Truth. He hoped it was. There was a chair so he sat down and watched the clouds
play games with the mountain peaks. He saw birds flying overhead. Megan was
playing below and singing. The boys were up in a tree fort “shooting” at something
with sticks. When he went back inside he noticed Paul had brought some clothes
and also a razor, toothbrush and a comb. How long had it been since he’d used
those? He took off his grass tunic for the last time. He wasn’t going to miss
it. He got a towel and went into the bathroom. There was no shower, only a big
claw-foot tub, a sink and a toilet. He ran the water as hot as he could stand
it and climbed in. The water came up to his neck. What could he say? It was
heavenly. He could see blue sky out the little window by the sink. Somewhere
down below him someone was playing the piano. He was going to be okay.
Joe soaked in the tub for thirty or
forty minutes, mostly dozing. He finally pulled himself out of the water,
toweled off and looked in the mirror. He hadn’t shaved or cut his hair in over
two weeks. His nose was a little crooked and slightly bruised. He was quite a
sight. The haircut would have to wait, but he could shave. After that he combed
his hair, which was quite tangled. Then he brushed his teeth and went out into
the bedroom. Paul had brought him a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt.
There was also a t-shirt, shorts and socks. On the floor was a pair of suede
slippers with lamb’s wool on the inside. It felt really good to have clothes
again. Really good. He wondered what Bruiser was doing right now. He lay down
on the bed. Luther’s bed was functional and much appreciated, but this was a
bed. This was something that you might look forward to each evening. Just then
there was a small knock at his door. He opened the door to see Benjamin standing
there. “We’re gonna eat, and I’m supposed to ask if you would like to have
dinner with us. Would you? Please?”
“Yes, Ben, I would love to eat with
you.”
“Cool! Let’s go.”
They went down the two flights of
stairs to the dining room. The children were seated and Paul and Priscilla were
putting things on the table. When Megan saw him her eyes lit up, “Mommy look,
the wild man is a person just like us! Can he sit by me? Please?”
“You are right, Meg, he is a
person. Why don’t you ask him? His name is Joe” Priscilla said.
She looked at him with those
pleading eyes that only a precocious four year old can muster and said, “Joe,
would you please sit by me?”
“It would be an honor,” Joe
answered.
When all was arranged and everyone
was seated Paul reached out and they all joined hands around the table and
bowed their heads. “Thank you, Lord,” Paul began, “for your blessing. Thank you
for this family and this house and our guest. Mostly, Lord, thank you for salvation
and the hope of eternal life. May we be worthy of our calling. Amen.” The meal
was roast beef with red potatoes, steamed vegetables, and green salad. Joe
savored every bite. After the meal Paul took a Bible and devotional book from a
round table in the corner. He handed the Bible to Benjamin.
“Ben our passage this evening is
Philippians 3:20 & 21. Will you read it for us?”
Priscilla helped Ben find the
passage, and then he read:
“But our citizenship is in heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the
power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform
our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
“Thank you, Ben. Here is what the
devotional says: ‘We are citizens of another world. We live in this world but
we belong to another. This world is not my home, as the old hymn says. We look
forward to a place that far surpasses anything in this life. Hebrews eleven,
the great faith chapter of the Bible speaks of the men and women of the faith
and says: “they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God
is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” So
today let us lay up our treasures in heaven. We are serving a kingdom that will
never fail.”’ Andrew, do you love our home here?”
“Yes.”
“Who built this house?”
“You did.”
“That’s right. And didn’t you tell
me just yesterday that you loved our house and you didn’t want to live anywhere
else?”
“Yes, dad.”
“Do you know why I built this
house?”
“My brain hurts, dad. Ask someone
else.”
“Dad built this house,” Ben
interjected, “because he loves us. He wanted us to have a wonderful place to
grow up.”
Paul continued, “So, anyone, if
your father can build a nice place for you, what about our Father in heaven?
What could he do?”
“I know!” Megan almost shouted, “He
could build a better place!”
“That’s right, honey,” Priscilla
said, “Jesus is making a place for us that is so special and beautiful that
someday we won’t even think about this world or this house.”
“Dad, why can’t we go there now?”
Ben asked.
“God has work for us to do here. He
wants us to bring along as many people as we can when we do go there.”
“Can we bring Joe?” Megan asked.
Everyone laughed, and Joe said,
“Yes, Meg. You can bring me. Thanks for asking.”
After that they went around the
table and everyone got a chance to pray. When they’d said the last ‘amen’
Priscilla brought out a plate of chocolate chip cookies for dessert. When the
meal was over everyone took their plate out to the kitchen and helped clean up.
“Priscilla is going to start getting
Meg ready for bed,” Paul said to Joe. “Would you like to take a walk with me?”
“Sure,” Joe answered.
They went out the back door and
turned left. Just past the tree fort Joe had seen from his room was a path that
led out to the foothills above the plain. The sun was low in the sky and was
beginning to set behind the trees. They walked a hundred yards to a little rise
where there was a gazebo with a round table and some chairs underneath.
“I like to come out here around
sunset. Deer and elk like to graze in the field.”
Sure enough, as they sat down Joe
could see several animal shapes with their heads down dotting the plain. “You
have a beautiful place, Paul.” Joe said.
“Thank you. I have been blessed. My
great grandparents homesteaded this land. Just about everything you can see was
theirs at one time. I left home and spent some time in the service. Then I
found The Way and everything changed. When Priscilla and I got married we wanted
to do something important for God. So when I inherited this place we naturally
thought of moving here. No one had lived here in a while, but the thing was, we
couldn’t afford to build. There was only a little cabin here ten years ago. But
then I had an opportunity to sell some land to the government. So I sold them
this plain with the stipulation that it could never be developed. They made it
into a roadless area. With that money we were able to build the house and other
buildings. I kept 400 acres for myself. Gloryhaven is a working farm, but it
was also to be a sort of stopping place for those who were seeking the Seven
Truths. Eventually Priscilla came to be known as the Seamstress. That is a
story all by itself, but I think Luther had something to do with it. It’s a way
we can serve the Lord and raise our family in a great environment at the same
time.”
“When I first saw this house,” Joe
admitted, “I thought I was looking at heaven.”
“Well, that’s kind of by design. We
want everything we do to point heavenward. Even the name Gloryhaven says that.
God gave Priscilla and me the ability to make things. So we make them for him.
But it hasn’t been easy. Our neighbors did not want us to move here. There were
two or three brothers and their wives living on a place down the road. We found
out later that they had a marijuana farm. They really treasured the privacy
they had up here. They harassed us unmercifully for the better part of a year.
It only escalated when they found out we were believers. Then it all came to a
head one day. We had ordered some Bibles to give away and the deliveryman had
dropped them at their house by mistake. When the package didn’t come I called
and found out what happened. I thought I could just go down there and pick them
up. When the one brother answered the door I could tell right away he was high.
I asked about my package. ‘Yeah, come in’ was all he said. I went inside and
the place reeked. I had smoked my share of reefer back in the day. I knew what
I was smelling. They were all there, drinking beer if you can believe that, but
no one wanted to get the Bibles. They wanted me to drink with them, but I refused.
‘You guys are stoned,’ I said. ‘Where is my package?’ From there it just went
from bad to worse. I saw I was getting nowhere so I turned and started to walk
out. One of them threw an unopened can of beer at me and it hit me in the head.
Knocked me down. I got up and stumbled out the door. They came after me and
beat me up. Then one of them said, ‘Hey, he thinks we’re stoned. Let’s stone
him!’ They started throwing rocks at me. All I could do was lie on the ground
and cover my head. Only thing that saved me was one of their wives came out
with a gun screaming at them to stop. I was in the hospital for two weeks. My
pastor gave me a verse to memorize. Galatians 6:17 ‘Finally, let no one cause
me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.’” Paul unbuttoned his
shirt. He was covered with scars.
“I told you that story for a
reason, Joe,” Paul continued. “You’ve had a similar experience, and you almost
died. God takes our suffering and turns it into victory. That beating just
strengthened my resolve to build this place. Plus the incident led to an
investigation. The police found the cannabis plants in the back. They got
arrested and lost their place. The police also found our Bibles. The box had been
opened and they had used pages from some of the Bibles for cigarette papers.
But, thankfully, most of the Bibles were unharmed. So, what I’m saying is that
God has great plans for you also. Press on. Reach out to what lies ahead.”
“That’s what Luther told me.”
“Yeah, he told it to me also. Why
don’t we head back? It’s getting dark.”
They walked back to the house. The
kids were in bed and Priscilla was making coffee. When it was done they took
their mugs out to the front porch. Paul made sure to grab the plate of cookies
on the way. Paul and Priscilla sat on the swing and Joe sat in a big wicker
chair. Finally he asked, “So how did you come to know Luther?”
“Luther’s my uncle,” Priscilla
explained. “We named our daughter after his wife. He had a hard time of it when
she died. As you probably know, he pretty much went over the edge. He’s come
back somewhat, but it’s only been the last five or six years that you could
even understand what he was saying. He comes up when he feels like it. The kids
love him. I think that is why you didn’t shock them. After knowing Luther for
any time at all, unusual takes on a different meaning. He’s a good man though.
Extremely intelligent with a wide breadth of knowledge. He has his Master’s in Literature.
He could be a wonderful teacher.”
“He told me to come see you,” Joe
began. “He said that you could make me some new clothes.”
“Why do you want new clothes, Joe?”
Priscilla asked.
“I want to find the Seventh Truth
and my grass tunic was not going to make it. Can you help me?”
“I can make you clothes. It would
take a few days, but unless you’re in a hurry, that’s no problem for us.”
“Thing is,” Joe said, “I have no
money. You both saw what I came here with.”
“Well,” Priscilla said. Paul was
unreadable. Then Joe remembered his coin. He grabbed at his necklace. “I do
have this,” he said, pulling the necklace over his head. “So an odd coin, an
old pair of briefs and about 3 pounds of dry beach grass is all I have to
offer.” When he handed it to Paul, Priscilla leaned over and they looked at it
together. Paul was about to hand it back to Joe when Priscilla gasped and
grabbed his arm. She looked at the coin, this time much closer. “Paul, she
said, “Do you know what this is?” Tears came to Priscilla’s eyes. She turned to
Joe, but she was smiling. She was more than happy, she was almost ecstatic.
“Joe…I…” she looked down at the
coin in her hand, “I will make you whatever you need.”
“What does it mean?” Joe asked.
“I haven’t seen this in over twenty
years. I was in high school. I had already won several awards for sewing at the
fair and I got asked to make a wedding dress for someone who was very special
to me.”
Suddenly Joe connected the dots.
“Luther’s wife,” he said.
“Yes. I adored her. When Luther
brought her over and introduced her to the family I thought she was the coolest
person on the planet. We became friends. She was about six years older than me
and became my big sister. She really helped me through my fifteenth year. After
the engagement I was shocked that she had asked me to make her dress, but I had
hoped beyond hope that she would ask me. I threw myself totally into the
project. For weeks that’s all we talked about. I had so many ideas. Then she
brought up a tradition that was still around back then that the bride would
walk down the aisle with ‘something old, something new, something borrowed
something blue.’ I got the idea of integrating those things into the dress in
some subtle way. She really liked that.
“For the new thing we decided on a
brand new penny that I would sew into the hem. It would be from the year they
were married. The blue was seven little sapphires her dad given her. He was
kind of a rock hound, and had mined them himself in Montana
Paul broke in at this point. “Let
me finish the story. The wedding dress was in the back seat of the car when Meg
ran off the road. I don’t know if Luther ever told you, but her car went into
the ocean not far from here. They searched for days and never found the body.
They finally found the car, but the dress was not in it. Nobody really cared
about the dress at that point anyway.”
“Did Luther know about the coin?”
Joe asked.
“Yes. I told him about it,”
Priscilla explained.
“When I first met Luther he saw the
coin and thought there was something significant about it, but he didn’t appear
to recognize it.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. After
all it was my coin, and it has been underwater for two decades. I almost didn’t
recognize it myself.”
“Of course I had never seen the
coin,” Paul said, “but I had heard the story from Priscilla and some other
others in the family. It has been hard for a lot of people.”
Priscilla spoke again. “Everyone,
including Luther, has come to terms with the loss in one way or another. But
because we couldn’t bury her, it was hard to find closure. But the discovery of
this coin…it does that. And it wasn’t like you found it in the sand. A coin in
a fish’s mouth was one of Jesus’ miracles. Now, I think he has done it again.
Plus, there is something else Joe.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Do you know what kind of coin this
is?”
“No.”
“It’s a lepton. Are you familiar
with the story in the Bible about the widow who gave more than the rich man?”
“I’m sorry; I don’t know too many
Bible stories.”
“That’s okay, Joe. I’m sure you
will someday. Anyway the widow gave two little coins. They were lepta just like
this one. Some rich guys gave a whole bunch of money, but she gave more because
she gave everything she had. In essence, that’s just what you have done, Joe.
You have given everything you have to find the Seven Truths. And in doing so
you’ve brought healing to my family.” She got up and hugged him. “Thanks for
coming to Gloryhaven, Joe. I will start on your clothes in the morning.”
The days that followed brought Joe
an odd mix of wonder and intense anticipation. He was so close now he had a
hard time waiting to leave. Every morning he woke up to see the mountains out
his window. He would go downstairs and get a cup of coffee and then come back
to his room, sit on the balcony and read from a Bible he borrowed, and pray.
Joe decided that he wanted to be with God first thing every day. He loved
mornings. But then, if a person could wake up to this view every day, it would
be hard not to love mornings. He spent most of the rest of the day with Paul.
He was probably the most competent person Joe had ever known. That is where
wonder came in. He seemed to be good at a whole lot of things. Joe finally
figured out why that was so: Paul loved to learn, and he was not afraid to try
new things. It was obvious he was very good at carpentry, but he was also a
cobbler. In fact he was making boots for Joe. Joe tried to stay out of the way,
but he found he wanted to learn also. Paul was a patient teacher and Joe gained
a few good skills from him in the few days he was there. He also gained a huge
amount of respect for both Priscilla and Paul, not just in the way they used
their skills for God, but also in the way they raised their children and ran
their lives.
People came and went while Joe was
staying there. Friends would drop by for dinner, family members came, neighbors
stopped to chat. Their house was like a meeting place. Once there was another
traveler like Joe. But then he wasn’t like Joe. He had clothing. And what clothing!
He looked like he had just stepped out of an outdoor store. While he was
getting measured in the sewing room, Joe happened to see him coming up the
trail. He saw Paul go out to him. They talked for a few minutes and Paul sent
him on. There was also a young woman about Joe’s age that came by every day.
She was Priscilla’s niece and she was sewing clothes for her.
On the morning of the third day
there was a break in what was becoming a routine. Joe was on the balcony
reading and praying as usual. At one point he opened his eyes and saw Luther
sitting on the grass over by the tree fort. Joe didn’t want to yell down at him
and so he was about to get up when he saw Paul come out of the house and walk
over to Luther. They shook hands and then started talking. They were a ways
away from him so Joe could not make out what they were saying. At first they
appeared to be just two men talking, but then it was obvious that Luther was
becoming agitated. Joe had been around him long enough to recognize the body language.
At one point Paul put his hand on Luther’s shoulder. The hermit seemed to
crumble. They walked over and sat on a bench outside the barn. Joe saw Paul
point up toward his room and then take something out of his pocket and hand it
to Luther. It had to be the coin. Luther looked at it then handed it back. He
sat with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands for a long time.
Then Joe heard the screen door open and slam shut. Priscilla came out and Paul
got up so she could sit next to Luther. She took him in her arms like a child
and held him. They both appeared to be crying. At that point Joe began to feel
like he was eavesdropping so he went into his room and lay down on the bed. It
wasn’t long before there was a knock at his door. It was Paul.
“Luther wanted to talk to you, Joe.
Could you come down?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Joe went down and then out to
Luther. He was still sitting on the bench. He appeared to be okay. When Joe
walked up, Luther said, “Sit down, Joe, you don’t know what you’ve
done.” As Joe sat Luther continued. “Ah…hmmm, well.” Joe saw the string from
his necklace hanging out of Luther’s fist. He stroked his beard. “She’s gone,
Joe. There was a time I would have paid the devil to replace her, but he went
down to Georgia
“Luther, if I can be of any help,
please let me know.”
“You already have, Joe. You already
have.” He stood up, handed the necklace to Paul and walked out to the path that
led to the gazebo.
Paul watched him go, and then
turned to Joe, “Remember when I said the other night that God turns our
suffering into victory? If you hadn’t been on that beach to catch that
particular fish we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. It may be a
bit premature to say that Luther is going to heal, but I don’t think so.”
Two days later Andrew came and
found Joe out in the pump house with his dad. “Mom wants to see you.” Joe
followed him back to the house and up to her sewing room. “Joe,” she said with
a smile, “Your clothes are done. Take them up to your room and try them all on
one last time to make sure.”
Joe didn’t see the need to try them
on again. She’d had him up there every day fitting and refitting. She had
practically made him a wardrobe. There were two pairs of jeans. One of the
pairs was lined with flannel on the inside for cold weather. She had made him
two flannel shirts, two t-shirts and a hooded sweatshirt. There was a cap and
gloves and socks and underwear. How was it possible that one woman could make
so much so well in such a short period of time? Everything not only fit, but it
was extremely comfortable. Joe had thought once that genius manifest itself in
different ways for different people. Some geniuses were philosophers or rocket
scientists and some were seamstresses. She had told him that there was more
here than he could take with him, she just couldn’t forget how pathetic he
looked the first time she saw him. At any rate Joe decided he would leave after
breakfast the next morning. Paul had finished the boots two days earlier and
had Joe wear them to break them in. They were already comfortable.
That night Joe and Paul talked at
the gazebo like they had done on his first night at Gloryhaven. “Do you
remember when you arrived and I told you that just south of our property the
road splits?” Paul asked.
“Yes.”
“At the fork take the road to the
left.”
“Is that the road up into the
mountains?”
“Yes it is, Joe. The road ends at a
trailhead. The trail will take you where you want to go. It could get cold,
especially at night. It’s beautiful up there, Joe. Nothing like anything you
have ever seen. Stop on your way back. You are welcome here anytime.”
The next morning they had pancakes,
sausage, and orange juice for breakfast. After the meal Joe followed Paul out
to the barn. He had a backpack, sleeping bag, and water bottle he wanted Joe to
use. Joe went back to his room. He put on his new jeans and packed the
flannel-lined pair in the backpack with some of the other clothes. He filled
the water bottle and went downstairs. Priscilla gave him food for the trip.
They went outside. Paul was there with Ben and Megan. Joe had gotten to know
the kids pretty well these last few days. He realized that he was going to miss
them. Meg ran over and hugged his leg, “I don’t want you to go!” she said. Ben,
trying to act like a man said, “don’t let any bears eat you.” They shook hands.
“Where’s Drew?” Joe asked.
“He was acting kind of weird,” Paul
said, “and ran off. I’ll go find him in a bit.”
Joe hugged Priscilla. She made him
promise to stop by the house on his way down. “We’re having a wedding here in a
couple of days. If you can make it, you’re invited.”
He and Paul hugged, and then he was
off. He went down the driveway. Their property was at the end of the road, so
there was nothing to do but head out. He had barely started when he saw someone
sitting by the side of the road up ahead. At first he thought it might be
Luther whom he hadn’t seen since they talked about the coin, but the person was
too small to be Luther.
Then he realized it was Andrew.
When he approached Andrew looked up. “Hey, Drew, what are you doing out here? Your
dad is looking for you.”
“I’ll go back, but I wanna talk to
you alone.”
“What’s up?”
Andrew didn’t answer at first. He
looked back down. He was really quiet. Then he looked up and the words rushed
out, “I don’t want you to go because there is something really important I need
to do. I can only talk to you.”
Joe sat down next to him. “Why
can’t you tell your parents?”
“You. Only you.”
“What is it?”
“I did something. Something bad.”
“Do your parents know about it?”
“No! That’s why I am out here. I
can only tell you.”
“Andrew, what did you do?”
There was another pause, then he
said, “I lied.”
“What did you lie about?”
“It’s the worst lie, Joe. The
worst!”
“Andrew, what did you lie about?”
Joe repeated.
“I told my parents I was a follower
of The Way, and I’m not. I wanted them to like me. My brother did it, and I
knew they wanted me to do it too, and so I said that, and it’s a lie.”
Joe was stunned. This was not at
all what he’d thought.
“Andrew, can I say something?”
“Yes.”
“Your parents love you, no
matter what. You don’t have to lie to get them to like you.”
“But I’m not a follower.”
“Do you want to be?”
“Well, I want to be, but I’m afraid
to die.”
“What do you mean?” Joe felt like
he was way out of his league here.
“In devotions one night we read
that if you want to save your life you must lose it.”
“I don’t know a lot about the
Bible, Andrew, but I know it doesn’t mean you have to actually die and get
buried. I think it means you have to die to uh, yourself, you know your plans
and stuff. You have to give up your life to God. I learned that the hard way.”
There was another long silence.
Then Andrew said, “Okay then. I want to be a follower.”
“Then you need to talk to your”—
“No,” Andrew interrupted, “I want
to be a follower right now. I want you to do it.”
“Do what?”
“Show me The Way.”
That wasn’t what Joe wanted to
hear. He was terrified. Why him, why now? He knew so little. But then finally
he said, “Andrew I don’t know much, but I can tell you my story and maybe a little
more.”
“Okay,” was all Andrew said.
“I used to live only for myself. I
didn’t believe in God and I didn’t follow The Way. To me Jesus was just a name.
But you know it was like I was blind. I wandered through my life like I was
walking in a cloud. Then God started speaking to me, and-“
“What did he sound like?”
“What? Oh, no, he didn’t speak to
me like that. I meant he spoke to me through other people and through the
Bible.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Anyway, I started listening. He
made me realize how much he loves me. Like I said, God brought people into my
life to help me. And he brought hardship into my life to make me realize how
much I wanted to follow him.
“I broke my arm once,” Andrew
offered.
“Yeah, kind of like that. I knew
God could have stopped the hard things, but he wanted me to love him no matter
what. I couldn’t just love him if he made my life easy. So I became a follower,
and that means my sins are forgiven and I have eternal life. Andrew, I’m going
to live forever! Isn’t’ that cool?”
“Yeah, that’s pretty cool.”
“So, I know this much. I know that
God loves you too. He loves Andrew a lot. If you are going to follow him, you
have to do it to please God, not because you want to please your parents. It’s
between you and him.”
There was another pause. Then, “What
do I do now?”
“I think you need to pray.”
“What do I say?”
“Do you want me to help you?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, follow after me. You can say
what I say, but you have to mean it.”
“Okay, I’ll mean it.”
“Dear God.”
Andrew bowed his head, “Dear God.”
“Thank you for loving me,”
“Thank you for loving me,”
“Forgiving me,”
“Forgiving me,”
“And dying for my sins.”
“And dying for my sins.”
“I love you God.”
“I love you God.”
“And I will follow you,”
“And I will follow you,”
“For the rest of my life,”
“For the rest of my life,”
“Amen,” Joe concluded.
“Amen,” Andrew repeated. When he
opened his eyes he had that look of certainty that only children have: his lips
pressed together, his head confident. He looked Joe in the eyes, ready to face
whatever came next.
“Andrew, you’re on his team now.
You have eternal life. There are some things I should pass on to you. First of
all, find the Seven Truths. You parents can tell you about that. Second, never
look back. Make your whole life about God.”
“Okay.”
“And one more thing, Andrew.”
“What’s that?”
“You need to apologize to your
parents for lying to them.”
“Really?”
“That’s the easy part. They love
you so much. Tell them the whole story. I promise it will be okay. When I get
back, if you got in trouble, tell me and I will see what I can do. Okay?”
“Thanks, Joe.”
“You probably ought to go home now.
I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye!”
With that he turned and ran back
toward the house. Joe watched him go and then he turned the other way and
headed down the road. Something had happened to him. He had passed the message
on. He had been used by God to give a little boy hope and to bring him into the
kingdom. That was pretty extraordinary. There had been so many who had reached
out to him, now he was on the giving end. That was a whole new thing for Joe,
but it felt great.
Thirty minutes later Joe reached the fork in the road.
Without deliberating he took the road to the left. It was another mile, mostly
uphill to the trailhead. There at the trailhead were two boulders similar to
those he had seen before. On one boulder it read: “Revelation 21:2-4: I saw the
Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the
throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with
them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their
God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” Joe
walked over to the other rock. It read: “Hebrews 12:22-23 But you have come to Questions:
1. What is the Seventh Truth?
2. What is the significance of
Joe ’s clothing? (See Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 22:1-14 and Revelation 3:4-5, 18.)
3. In what way is the Seventh
Truth the mountain.
4. What event sent Luther over the edge?
5. What truth kept him from
becoming completely crazy?
6. How was the waterfall
gratuitous?
7. How did the devotional at
dinner relate to the Seventh Truth?
8. How does Gloryhaven, the
place where the Seamstress lived, relate to the Seventh Truth?
9. Why did Paul tell Joe
the story of the time he got beat up?
10. In what way did the coin
tie everything together?
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