And the greatest of these is Love
Chapter 3
Page 7
All of Dottie and Henry's friends arrived at the Community Church excited for them both. Everything had happened so fast, yet you couldn't tell as it was going so smoothly. Dottie's dress arrived in time and only needed a shortening of the hem, making her very happy.
As Angela Canfield began playing the Wedding March on the piano, Dottie came walking down the aisle looking elegant, while warmly smiling at her guests. Henry waited at the altar looking quite stately as he beamed watching Dottie coming up to the front to join him.
Molly was the matron of honor and held a simple bouquet of cherry blossoms while wearing a lovely evening gown in lavender. Henry's best man, his son Christopher, looked very handsome in his gray suit with his cherry blossom boutonniere. When Dottie joined Henry they were quite a striking couple standing side by side.
After Pastor Joseph welcomed everyone, he preached on 1st Corinthians 13:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.
Following his sermon, Henry and Dottie shared their vows and exchanged their rings. Then Pastor Joseph announced the new Mr. and Mrs. Gowen and instructed Henry to kiss his bride. Henry was private so he barely pecked Dottie on the cheek. Dottie didn't let him get away with just a peck and pulled him back to face her and planted a nice and somewhat long kiss right dab on the lips. Henry's face was as red as the lipstick on his lips left from Dottie and everyone chuckled and clapped.
Dee was asked to sing for their wedding and she sang with crystal clear clarity. Her rendition of "You made me love you", at their reception was received with applause while they cut the cake that Emily had made. It was as delicious as it was pretty.
"I'd like to congratulate my father for finally realizing that life is worth happily living, especially when you have a loving partner by your side. I love you dad and I'm so happy for you and Dottie both!" Christopher held his glass of champagne up for a toast.
Molly followed with a toast, "To my loyal friend and lovely friend, who is devoted to her new husband, may they live a long happy life!" Cheers continued.
Meanwhile, Trevor went to Fr. Ricardo's residence. The parishioners had cleaned, painted, and spruced up the old hunting cabin that the priest was now temporarily using until St. James Church and rectory were completed. Luke had encouraged Trevor to talk to Fr. Ricardo about his nightmares of the war. When Luke and Trevor rented a row house, Luke became aware and concerned by Trevor's meltdowns. If Luke heard a gunshot anywhere he would cower and shake.
"Good to see you Trevor," Fr. Ricardo greeted, "come on in."
"Sorry to bother you Father, but Luke insisted I see you. Apparently, my roommate is upset with my sleeping patterns," Trevor tried to make light of his situation.
Fr. pointed to a chair at the table and then he sat down too across from him. "Would you like a cup of coffee or water?"
"No thanks, I hope I won't keep you," Trevor replied.
"What is it that brings you here?"
Trevor told him how he was in the war, trained as a mechanic to keep the tanks and trucks working. Explaining that his good friend, Buddy, was with him and they would always be where the fighting was in case equipment broke down. They would scramble to whatever was broken and if they could, they'd fix it up. Often times there were shots fired at them and that meant they would run for their lives to dive into the foxholes.
The last time this happened Trevor was the first to reach the foxhole and broke his ankle jumping in. But right after he fell in, Buddy came flying in right behind him and landed in Trevor's lap. Buddy was bleeding from multiple shots and was injured so badly that he lay dying in Trevor's arms. Trevor begged God for help, for mercy, but God didn't save Buddy and he died in Trevor's arms.
"I cried out loud for God to answer me, to save Buddy, but He didn't," Trevor was shaking as he recalled that fateful day.
Father shook his head and reached for Trevor's hand, but Trevor snatched his hand quickly away from him. "I don't need any pity."
"I just want to help you deal with your pain and grief. Will you let me?"
It didn't take long and Trevor's eyes were overflowing with tears now. They streamed down his face like a hot river of lava. "I don't believe God cares, so why would you want to help me?"
"You blame God for Buddy dying, right?" Father kept trying.
"Yes, of course, he could've saved Buddy and so many others I saw first-hand in the hospital ward, but he didn't. So, if that's the God you want me to accept, than you're more foolish than I was," Trevor said angrily.
Father Ricardo let him rage for a few more minutes hoping he'd get it all out in the open, and Trevor did just that. His anger gave away finally to uncontrollable sobbing.
Father tried again to let him know he cared and he was there for him. Pushing his chair away he walked over to Trevor and just laid his hand on Trevor's shoulder while laying a cloth down on the table for Trevor to wipe his face.
"Son, what you've been through no one should ever have to deal with. War is pure evil and good men like you are thrown into the midst of it. You can't expect to come home and feel normal after going through hell on earth. What you are feeling is buried deep down inside and I'm here to let you release some of it."
"I don't even know why I go to mass with Luke. He thinks if I pray, things will get better for me. Well, I prayed in that foxhole and it did no good," Trevor said spitefully.
Father Ricardo let the silence between them sit there. "Trevor, maybe you're not ready to pray yet. I think you need to tell me all about your anger first. Being your priest though, I will pray for you. I will stand in the gap for you now. So, if you will allow me I'd like to start with a simple prayer."
When Trevor didn't respond, Father Ricardo closed his eyes and prayed out loud for Trevor to let his anger and hurt out no matter how long it took. He asked the Lord to provide the words he needed to help Trevor and thanked God in advance for his mercy. When he ended with Amen, Trevor was no longer trembling, but still crying.
"Trevor, take your time, and when you're ready please know that I am here for you," and with that Fr. Ricardo walked back to his seat and waited.
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Trevor didn't want to deal with the haunting pain of war. The rage had been let loose again and he didn't like it one bit. Always searching who or what to blame, he consistently fell back on blaming God. Who else could he blame? His thoughts were whipping through his head like a tornado. Father Ricardo told him what he knew already, that it was evil. Yes, evil was to blame. Yet, God never stopped it from happening. Why? Why would God allow evil to win? The turmoil seemed to have no answer, no end was in sight.
Uncontrollable rage swept through him if he allowed it to. He was furious, so he couldn't control it. Why did God let him lose his best friend to war versus the God he grew up to love, the one that he even thought at one time he'd follow into the priesthood. It all left him exasperated. God tore Buddy away from him. He was livid. Somehow now his anger was turning into desperate grief.
Fr. Ricardo sat and watched Trevor as his seizing body twitched with almost spasm-like sobs. It wasn't that he didn't care, it was because he did care. He knew Trevor needed to release all this conflict. All this confusion bottled up inside him was like a tea kettle waiting to blow. When Trevor looked up, Fr. Ricardo saw a red, tear-soaked face with little streams where the tears had flowed etched into his cheeks. Trevor stared back at Fr. Ricardo's face where he saw the kindness and caring that he was searching for.
Father's voice broke the frailness of the moment, "Trevor, you are loved, so very loved by our Lord. It doesn't feel like it or make any sense right now, but you need to know. Once you allow yourself to remember that you are His child and He only wants the best for you, we can try to answer all the questions you have."
Trevor didn't know what to say. He knew deep down inside, buried under all the pain, that God did love him. He just couldn't feel it. "I don't feel like his child, I feel abandoned."
"I know you do," Father said. "Can you share with me what you're feeling right now?"
Trevor nodded and began spilling out all the angst and torment that was built up inside him. "Father, I know there is evil in the world. I get that. We have to fight it. That's why Buddy and I signed up in the first place. We wanted to do what was right. Yet to God, it didn't seem to matter."
"War is not and never will be an answer to anything. Our Lord wanted nothing less than peace and for everyone to love their neighbor. But, he gave us free will. We cause evil if we choose to follow down the wrong path.
In Ephesians 6:12, it is written, For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Trevor listened intently, "So are you saying that we are fighting the devil?"
"Yes, demonic powers are urging those rulers who want more power to fight. When that happens, we need to defend ourselves and stop the evil from spreading. Unfortunately, there are casualties. Casualties of good people caught in this battle."
"That isn't fair," Trevor countered. "Buddy was just there at the wrong time. He wasn't hurting anyone."
"War is never fair. War is wrong, it is evil. In Matthew 5:9 Jesus says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." A peacemaker is someone who emulates Jesus — called the Prince of Peace — by working to reconcile people with God and with each other. That is what we are called to do. So, what our enemies were doing was horrific but that's what happens when people abuse their free will," Father was trying to help Trevor.
"How are we supposed to be peacemakers when we're being attacked?" Trevor asked.
"If everyone was obedient to God's will, there would never be any war, yet we sin. We can't control other's bad decisions, so ultimately bad things happen and the ripple effect unfortunately includes innocent people. That's what happened to Trevor and the other soldiers you saw in the hospital ward," Father explained.
There was silence as Trevor was struggling to comprehend what Fr. Ricardo just said. "But, why Buddy? Why not me?"
Father sighed, "That's the age-old question that all of us ask at one time or another. We will never know while on this earth. We just need to trust in God and stay faithful. God will do the judging. In the Gospel of Matthew, He tells us that as our shepherd, He will separate the sheep from the goats so the sheep will follow our Lord into heaven. Does any of this help you Trevor?"
Trevor sat there and was just soaking it all in like a sponge. "How do I pray now? I'm still so agitated, I just don't know what to say."
"I think you've had an exhausting night Trevor. Think about what we've discussed and please come back to talk to me anytime. You know, when words fail us, it might be useful to just say the prayer our Lord gave us. Are you ready, Trevor?"
"As ready as I'll ever be. Thank you, Father."
"Good, then let's begin," as Father crossed himself, Trevor followed, "Our Father..."
Page 9
When Nathan was out with Andy and Gunther riding Newton while doing rounds, he couldn't help but notice that spring was definitely popping up now through the dirt. Daffodils and peonies were showing off how beautiful they were. The days were longer and the nights shorter so farmers were turning over the soil to plant their crops. Baby calves and lambs were making entrance to the world and the children were definitely getting spring fever.
With spring break now, the young men from the Hopefuls were busy after work helping in various town activities. It was time for baseball to start back up, the school band and choir were an practicing for the Easter Worship and Praise concert, and plans were being made for the Boy Scouts to go camping.
Henry and Dottie were back from their honeymoon visit to the States and seemed to be still in wedded bliss. Whenever they were in public together, they were holding hands. The men of the town, like Bill and Lee especially, often gave Henry a hard time about acting so lovey-dovey in public, but he didn't mind. He felt like a new man.
Just like he expected, with the ground thawed, he had his oil business working full time now. It meant long days and now that he was married to the love of his life, he appreciated firsthand how his crew felt when they wanted to go home to their families. Dottie shared with him that even though they were so busy with work now, they still had families that needed them and she needed him home too.
"Henry darling, life is too short to just work. We're not young anymore, let's face it. We don't have to work so hard." Dottie reasoned.
Henry looked at his bride and put his arm around her as they sat on the sofa. Cupping her face he gently kissed her. "Molly, I don't want to work hard, I want to be with you more. I don't know if I can relinquish my responsibility to Hickam yet though."
Laying her head on Henry's shoulder, Dottie softly answered, "Henry, Mike has been your right-hand man for quite some time. He knows the company inside out. It's time you let him have more responsibility."
Henry sat cuddled with Dottie thinking. He had never trusted anyone to help run his business before, but now that he had a wonderful wife, he no longer needed to get lost in his business. He wanted Dottie happy and knew she was right.
"I'll talk to Mike tomorrow honey. Now, you too need to cut back on your business. I know it's expanded but, it's time to follow your own advice," Henry smiled as he watched Dottie for a clue to her response.
Dottie looked into Henry's loving eyes and said, "You've got a deal, Mr. Gowen," as she held her hand out to shake his.
Henry chuckled, no handshake my dear, not when we can seal it with a kiss!"
Allie was taking Penny for a ride when she saw Harper delivering the mail. He gave her a letter and when she saw the return address she galloped home, put Penny in the stable and ran to the house.
"Mom, dad!" Allie called out as she rushed through the door of the Grant home.
"What is it?" Dee asked as she watched her happy-go-lucky daughter open up a letter.
"It's a letter from Robert!" Allie was enthralled with the letter she held tightly in her hands.
Dee smiled and looked at Nathan to see his reaction. Nathan raised his one eyebrow, showing his concern to Dee.
"Well, what does he say?" Emily asked.
"Oh, sorry Oma, I didn't see you there. He says hi to everyone and that it's tougher than he expected."
Nathan began to chuckle, "Yes, sir. It sure is an eye-opener. Boot camp is when the boys drop out."
"He says he has to get up before dawn to meet at the flagpole. They have to be dressed just perfectly and their bed made with exact square corners of their sheets with the same amount of sheet on both sides of their cot!" Allie gulped.
"How's the food?" Emily asked.
"Ma, it's not your cooking, that's for sure," Nathan answered, "we called it slop!"
Allie was reading as fast as she could. "There's a guy he met, by the name of Peter Reynolds that he has made friends with. He says his oldest brother knows you dad!"
"Peter Reynolds?" Nathan tossed that name around out loud.
"You know son, the Reynolds family up in Brook Springs. Remember you went to school with Paul. I think he was a year or two behind you," Emily remarked.
Nathan thought for a minute and it clicked, "Yes, yes, I saw him when I was up there to bring Allie home from her summer visit with you. Wow, I'll be darned! I wonder what he told his little brother about me?"
Allie laughed, "not to worry dad, he said it's all good!" Allie stuck her head back in the letter and then ran up the stairs to her room.
"Allie, where are you going?" Nathan inquired, but it was met with a slam of her door. He shook his head, "thank goodness Christopher is up and awake."
Dee winked at her perturbed husband, "Allie wants to be alone. I'm sure Robert wrote more than she shared with us."
