Mark is just recovering from his gunshot wound and is in bed calling out, "Jonathan, Jonathan where am I?" He tries to raise up his head and feels pain and goes back down to his pillow, "Jonathan where are you?"

Jonathan comes in from the outside porch on a rocking chair and answers, "Here I am, here I am, Mark how are you doing?"

Mark responds, "We were driving along when a gunshot"... it goes blank from there... "Who shot me, Jonathan?"

Jonathan answers, "Well buddy apparently we have walked into a real-life old-fashioned hill folk feud and you got shot."

Mark answers, "Cute Jonathan, cute!" He pauses looks at Jonathan's face and then continues, You're kidding, this is the 1980s. I hear tell just about everybody has indoor plumbing now and I get shoot in a feud?"

Toady interrupts from the kitchen walking toward the room where Mark is lying in bed, "Well we ain't, it's rough having to find a tree, a hole or bush especially when it gets cold. Some Jasper over the hill stole our outhouse. I shoot at him but plumed missed. I wound up shooting the roof off my own outhouse. Now can't you beat that! Well he trashed it and had the gall to yell obscenities back at me. No account trash mouth. I'm glad Maw didn't hear him she's a lady."

Mark half grins closing one eye and says, "Jonathan what did we get ourselves into?"

Jonathan responds, "People who need our help."

Mark goes, "Huh" he ponders the situation and then says, "They got anything to eat around here, I'm starving?"

Jonathan answers, "You're on the mend, I will get you something."

Mark replies, "Cute Jonathan."

Jonathan brings Mark some hog jowls and beans. Mark gobbles them up he then sips on a fresh glass of buttermilk.

Toady says, "I'm glad your friend gettin' better I hate feudin. I just wish folks would get along and care about what the other man needs and stop fussing at him cuz it takes from what seems more than the second man is hogging to himself."

Jonathan listened and was touched by what Toady said and replies, "That is the truth my friend, that is the truth."

Jonathan is moved to prayer for direction from the Boss. The Boss is pressing something upon Jonathan. Jonathan asks, "Toady is there a Church in these parts?"

Toady answers, "Naw we ain't got no Church. There was this city slicker circuit preacher come through here about a year ago but was run off cuz some around here didn't take to his ways. His the one that left that Bible you read to your friend. I guess his name was Gideon cuz it said Gideon's Bible that was nice of Gideon to give us his own Bible wasn't it?"

Jonathan answers, "The Gideons are a group of people dedicated to distributing the Word of God into the hands of people who may not have it."

Toady says, "Well bless their hearts for being nice them McCalisters could learn from them Gideon people."

Jonathan beheld Toady to see how pure his heart was and said, "Toady have you ever felt the call to preach?"

Toady answers, "It's interesting you should ask, one night about two months back I got behind in chores so I had to plow it at night. Thankfully the moon was bright and stars were shining so pretty like. I had light enough to see what I was plowing. Well I caught a star twinkle a couple of times and I stood there and the phrase came to my mind, 'The firmament declares the glory of God.' I didn't know what firmament is but I understood declaring the glory of God. Something inside me said if the firmament can do it, why can't I?"

Jonathan responds, "Amen!"

Toady asks, "I ain't got no schoolin, could I preach for real?"

Jonathan answers, "Why yes, all you need is God caring and conviction and you got that."

Toady ponders on what Jonathan is saying.

Jonathan, Mark and the Hoad family all gathered around the breakfast table with grits, sausage biscuits and coffee. Toady asks the blessing.

Toady speaks, "Maw, your biscuits never fail. Mighty good, mighty good!"

Daisy Bell, Toady's mom says, "There's plenty. Eat'em up eat'em up. Mark you look like you need more grits."

Mark replies, "Yes, ma'am, I believe I will."

She puts two big spoonfuls on Mark's plate.

Billy, Toady's brother asks, "Jonathan could you please pass the jelly the strawberry?"

Jonathan hands him the strawberry jelly everyone is enjoying his breakfast when outside the Hoads home a gunshot is fired. Billy asks, "What's the Thunder was that?"

Daisy Bell responds, "Billy watch your language at the breakfast table. I taught you better manners than that. Toady go see what the commotion is."

A voice outside says as Toady is about to go outside, "This is Ralph McCallister with my boys Jake and Jimmy. We got ourselves some unfinished business come out and fight like a man ya yellow bellies."

Billy overhears and rushes up from The breakfast table, gets his gun and Toady's gun, hands Toady his gun and says, "Let's teach them McCallisters what for!"

Jonathan and Mark go outside to see if they can prevent the shedding of blood.

Toady yells out, "You got the gall to come onto my land especially while we're taking a meal with guests."

Jonathan says, "Toady, try reasoning with them."

Toady says, "Look all we want is water to keep our crops alive and us to live on. Just let more water over the dam so our property can thrive like yours."

Ralph retorts, "The river is on our land and we're keeping it and you can leave these Hills if you don't like it."

Jake says, "Let's shot'em and get it over with Paw!"

Ralph corrects back, "Jake we'll shoot when I say shoot and not before."

Toady asks, "Why should we have to shoot at all, we just want to live and let live."

Ralph answers, "These be Tennessee Hills and you Hoads weren't born here 'bouts. You're intruding on our life. Beside your name be funny, Toady Hoad, haha your mama is a sad sorry woman!"

Toady gets angry and says, "Nobody, I mean nobody talks that way about my mama."

Toady cocks his gun ready to shoot when Jonathan steps forward and says, "Enough of this don't you see this is getting out of hand. Don't you see all that's needed here is consideration."

Billy has his gun cocked and ready to shoot.

Ralph retarts, "Don't be preachn' to me you City dude. A man gets what he gets and God got nothing to do with it."

Jonathan corrects, "I wish you wouldn't have said that the Boss don't like his name misused."

Ralph goes, "Awww, fiddle faddle."

Just then a terrific rumble. The ground started shaking, branches were breaking off of trees, trees were uprooted. A large oak tree was about to fall on Jimmy but Daisy Bell saw it in time and pushed Jimmie, Ralph McCallister's youngest a 15 out of the way saving his life. Good thing she was watching on the porch.

A mighty rushing sound of gushing water came struggling fourth. An earthquake had now shifted the flow of the river to the Hoads land leaving the original path damned up with rocks drying out the riverbed on the McAlister's land.

The creek on the Hoad land was overflowing instead of five hundred yards away from the house the creek was now just two hundred yards away.

Mark replied to Ralph's previous comments, "It doesn't pay to misuse the name of God."

Ralph stands there flubbergased with his mouth wide open his jaw almost touching the ground at least that's how he felt.

After the earthquake the McCallisters went home.

Judy, Ralph's wife saw it all happened she relates the details to her mom when he arrives home with her sons. Judy says, "I was doing the washing in the river when all of a sudden the ground went to shaken something fierce. Earth was moving around like my brownie mix. Well you know how my mix is all chunky like. Tree limbs were falling like rain. A big oak tree was shoved right down where the River flows on our land and just plum stopped the flow of water. A great ditch, a chasm opened up on the Hoads land and that's where the river is now on the land of whom were feuding with.

Ralph goes, "Awww."

Jamie says, Let's stop feudin! That woman saved my life."

Judy, Jimmie's maw asks, "What's that you're saying boy?"

Jimmy weepin' a little says, "A tree nearly killed me Maw, and Toady's Maw pushed me out of the way. I coulda died! I coulda died!"

Judy responds, It's a sign, Ralph. It sure as shootin a sign!"

Ralph again goes, "Aww, hush a minute, woman hush I got me some figurin'."

Ralph goes down the river bed that's dry as Judy's mother's toast he saw the last bit of water sucked into the Earth leaving tracks in the dirt like nothing he's ever seen. He looks up at the sky and says, "Maybe God or somebody or something does have a part in man's affairs. I guess you know I make shine. You know I'm over protective. Well I'm flat out selfish." He breaks down and weeps, "I just don't know how to be different dear God."

Jonathan appears to Ralph, it startles him. Ralph asks, "Who are you?" After a second look he says, "Oh, you that City dude."

Jonathan asks, "What if I told you I'm an Angel sent by God?"

Ralph pleads, "Don't take me to Hell. Please, I do want to be different."

Jonathan assures him, ,"I'm not here in regards to your final judgment I'm here to help. God wants to help you. He loves you even with all your negatives He still loves you. Jesus is God's son and he was given to the world that the world may except the Light."

Ralph replies, "I want that Light.

Jonathan replies, "Amen, then receive it into your heart and soul."

Ralph answers, "I do, I do!" Ralph is a changed man.

What will happen in these Hills of Tennessee?

Jonathan is now on assignment with Mark. Providence has changed the course of everything involved here.

To Be Continued