Our Father who art in Heaven
Hollowed be Thy Name
Thy Kingdom come
Thy Will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day
Our daily bread
Forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who have trespassed against us
Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom
The Power and the Glory forever
Amen
Abigail squeezed Henry's hands.
"Dearest Father in Heaven, we come to You with humble hearts thanking You for who You are and all You have done. Thank You in Your mercy and grace You do not hold anything against us, but allow us to come to You in free will. Lord Jesus I come to You now with a repentant heart, not because I should change but because I want to change. Forgive me for my sin of pride and self righteousness- there have been times that I know that I hold myself above others as if 'I'm living correctly' in comparison to other people around me…"
Henry let out a soft snicker and gently caressed her fingers.
"Truth is, I'm no better than the dust and dirt on this very floor, and yet it is in You I have my value and my worth. It is in You, Jesus, that I am washed clean and made new, by Your sacrifice on the Cross for my sins. I have and continue to believe in Your sacrifice in saving me. Thank You for hope and salvation. Thank You for grace and mercy to convict. Thank You for repentance- to be able to bring You my dirt and grime, with which You scrub clean and turn me once again on the path to You."
Abigail took a breath and squeezed Henry's hands.
"Father, I thank You for this man beside me, Henry Gowen. He is Your child, Your son, and Your masterpiece… one of many."
Henry felt tears prick his eyes again.
"Father it's been a long road for both of us."
"Amen" Henry chipped in. Abigail giggled.
"When we met he was like a stone marble slab… chunks and pieces missing, rock fragments sticking out every which way… so unlike the chiseled marble feature I envisioned when we first met"
Henry guffawed, wondering if Abigail always prayed this honestly…
"You've brought him so far, and he has changed, so I'm thanking You for that, and praying that You can change me the way You changed him."
Henry was confused. What did she mean by that?
"Father, You not only changed his physical outlook on life, but You also changed him emotionally and spiritually. I can see both of these evidenced in the hard work that he does, and the way he relates to others."
Henry feels a slight pain of conviction especially when it came to the saloon and gambling… not everything had been changed for the better…
"We all have our weaknesses, and our choices we make may not always be the best ones; but we seek Your guidance and pray that You would help us to do the will that You have planned for us."
Henry wondered just how she was praying that… it was almost like she was reading his mind…
"Lord, for so long I had been angry with Henry for the decisions that he made- some of which caused the deaths of my family. Others which caused my business and many others to crumble and ruin."
Crumble and ruin? Wouldn't that be exaggerating just a little bit?
"Father he has made restitution - he's turned his life around to create a new life for himself. Father I have done the same. I've been able to move on by Your grace and Your guidance with help from Elizabeth and Frank and even my own children…"
Henry felt uneasy about her praying about Frank but pushed it away from his mind, just wondering exactly what she was praying about…
"I promised myself that after Noah I would not marry again. I didn't want to marry again especially because once I'm met Noah I felt I had met my soulmate."
Henry increasingly became intrigued by Abigail's prayer- what was she praying for?
"I closed off my heart in pride and anger, especially when Henry approached me after Noah's death. He was cordial, but I couldn't help but take offense…"
Henry wondered could she be praying about… them…?
"Lately Lord I've been feeling differently and it feels slightly exposing to pray about this especially in front of Henry, but I'm asking You to take hold of my heart, and mold it as You will… I will go where You send me and do my work as it pleases You. If that includes Henry, Father, in any way Thy will be done in Jesus' Name Amen"
"Amen" Henry said somewhat hoarsely, then realized it was his turn to pray.
He had prayed a lot in prison, especially about the conviction, and back when Cody was ill, but other than that and the occasional "please God get me out of this mess" type of prayers, he wasn't quite an expert…
Then as if he could hear Abigail's voice in his head, he felt something in his heart.
You don't have to pray as if You were a minister like Frank, Henry…just come to Me
"Lord I-" he choked up.
"I can't even begin to mirror the prayer that Abigail just prayed so I'll just do what I can and offer You what's in my heart…"
He could feel Abigail squeezing his hands.
Lord You know who I was, and You know who I am now. You know that I strive to be the man I was born to be- the man You created me to be.
Without Your help I could never have changed and without You working through Abigail… without seeing You work in her… Thank You for using her to bring me back to You… she is such a treasure and a blessing to me, and to everyone around us."
Henry and Abigail both squeezed each other's hands, and a peace… something in the atmosphere… settled their hearts into peace…
Without Your grace I wouldn't be sitting here today, with her in Your presence. Without Your grace and mercy on my life, I could've died there alone the night of the accident."
It was Abigail's turn to choke up. Where had this feeling, this perfectly imperfect desire to see them together, come from?
"Without You I wouldn't be alive. And without You I wouldn't have come to know Your Son as my Savior.
Thank You for Your work in my life, thank You for using Abigail as an example of what Your love is. Thank you for the chance to experience what it feels like and how it's put into practice…
"Speaking of putting things in the practice, I believe You're trying to tell us both something, but I'm not quite sure what it is…"
Abigail squeezed his hands again, tightly, rubbing the backs of his hands with her thumbs.
"If we're not careful I do believe fear and pride will definitely aim to destroy what could be… so I'm asking right now for the both of us that You would keep our hearts pure, and keep us from pride and fear, especially when it concerns our community and their opinions."
Abigail took a sharp breath. Henry gently rubbed her hands again.
"Be with us always and lead us as we make these next steps… we pray for guidance and counsel, especially when deciding when to make a relationship public, should that be your plan for us.
He could hear Abigail swallowing thickly, and grinned.
"These things we ask in Jesus Name, Amen"
Amen Abigail whispered.
As both open their eyes, Henry was kind of scared by the tears streaming down Abigail's cheeks if he were honest with himself, he would break down crying as he did before; but a certain amount of pride wouldn't allow him to do that in front of her again… at least not for some time.
Just as she had done before, Henry felt the need to open his arms to embrace Abigail and comfort her during the emotional pass that had taken her over.
She willingly accepted, scooting closer to him and laying her head on his chest. That motion, as well as his rubbing her back up and down, felt to Abigail and Henry both,like coming home.
She smelled of lemon and lavender, two of his favorite scents. As he lightly kissed her soft hair and nuzzled the crown of her head, he also smiled as he had the first opportunity to run his fingers into her hair…
Was this how it felt? To be totally loved and comforted by the one you love? To be a comfort when the other is upset?
Is this how it worked for Jack and Elizabeth?
Lee and Rosemary? Jesse and Clara? And now Dr. Shepherd and Nurse Faith?
Henry had been surprised to see them out together picnicking the other day, but if he thought about it, it was a long time in coming…
He hadn't exactly felt comfortable with Rosemary's friend who had come to visit… something about her didn't set well with him… perhaps because he could see the pain in Faith's eyes when he had seen her at the Mercantile…
"What are you thinking about?" Abigail murmured, the haze of sleep accompanied the muffling of his cravat and vest…
Henry flushed. No more hiding…
"How about Carson and Faith and how Faith didn't look very comfortable when Rosemary's friend came to visit."
Henry nearly laughed out loud when Abigail suddenly let out an undignified snort…
"You weren't the only one who felt that, Henry… No offense to her as Rosemary's friend, but I don't know if it was as much her personality as it was something else…" she made a face.
Henry hooted with laughter, having a feeling he knew what that 'something else' was….
Abigail wasn't as sweet as everyone considered her to be… hmmm…
"This is rather enlightening Abigail…I'm seeing a side of you I've never seen before…"
"I think you bring out the worst in me Henry or at least encourage it's freedom"
This time Henry laughed aloud.
"Oh no you're not putting this on me…
They laughed about it for a few moments more when Henry braved his fear and took her hand. She smiled shyly, not quite able to meet his eye…
Henry braved his fear again, gently taking his thumb and forefinger of his left hand and brought her chin up to meet his eyes.
"What's wrong, Abigail?"
She surprised him by sniffling, tears welling in her eyes...
"I was so angry at you for so long I just wonder what would've happened if things turned out differently…"
Henry chuckled softly, wiping her tears from her eyes and her cheek.
"What does Ecclesiastes say?"
Abigail giggled through tears.
"For every time there is a season…"
"Yes. At the time that I pursued you I was not ready. I loved you and desired you, but it was important that we not come together until I learned so many very important lessons, including how to be a humble man of God, taking responsibility for my words and actions, and standing on my own two feet instead of conspiring against everyone…"
Henry flushed in shame, his own eyes watery. He cleared his throat.
"You needed that time for anger, time for grief -was also a time for you to realize your dream and to learn lessons of your own including leadership" he winked.
Abigail flushed, wanting to lay her head up on his chest again and yet feeling very shy.
Henry was right. She had needed to grieve for Peter so that she could become a mother to Cody and Becky.
She had needed to lose her row house in order to run the café with the best partner she ever had.
And finally, she had to lose Noah, Bill, and finally Frank, to in a sense wipe her heart clean and present it as a pure clean slate to the Lord… for Henry…
"I'm scared!" She said, gripping his hand again.
"Me too." He admitted, rubbing her fingers gently. "But whatever comes we'll face it together…"
As if on cue, knock sounded at the door: the one leading to Abigail's home.
Abigail and Henry made to get up. It took a few minutes since they had been sitting on their feet bent down in prayer for so long…
Abigail giggled when Henry handed her his handkerchief…
She quickly wiped her eyes, took a deep breath let it out and quickly straightened her hair.
Henry chuckled to himself, shaking his head… she was stunning as always…
When she was prepared she looked for him, which took him by surprise.
They walked to the door together, and Abigail opened the door to see a man about Henry's height with long hair down to his shoulders.
He was dressed in ministerial garb, holding a Bible.
When Abigail opened the door the man looked from her to Henry, eyes flashing in recognition.
"Oh, Mayor Gowen…I hope I'm not disturbing you…"
Henry and Abigail looked at each other trying not to burst out laughing.
If that wasn't a sign from the Lord they didn't know what was…
"Reverend Anderson" Henry smirked trying not to laugh, "I trust you are acquainted with Mrs. Abigail Stanton…"
The pastor look confused. "why yes I do believe we've met sometime before… I was confused when they told me that they would find you here, Mayor"
Again Abigail and Henry tried not to laugh…
"Please, come in"
He did so, hesitantly. Once he entered the parlor, Reverend Anderson turned around.
He did so with a look of wonder and curiosity in his eyes.
"If I may ask how is it that you two are acquainted?"
Henry and Abigail smiled as they stood side-by-side, Henry confidently placing an arm around Abigail's shoulders, rubbing gently.
"Mrs.. Stanton is a very dear friend of mine. We were acquainted shortly before you left."
The pastor nodded his head. "I see" he said, still slightly unsure…
He turned to Abigail "And you were running the café?"
"I still am" Abigail smiled. "Among other things" Henry beamed with pride which took Reverend Anderson by surprise.
"Much has changed since you were last in town my friend" Henry said. "The most important of which is, I am no longer the Mayor."
Anderson looked from Henry to Abigail back to Henry again.
"Who is?"
"I am" said Abigail with a small smile.
Reverend Anderson, who hadn't been in Valley for quite some time realized that there had been some major changes that had occurred while he was away.
He was looking forward to hearing the story, and all of the developments he had missed…