“You can hardly equate the God of the universe to a mere man. God is all knowing, so of course He knows you, Colton. The Bible says He’s numbered the hairs on your head, and that before you were born, He knew you.”
“All right, so let’s say He knows me. He’s the God of heaven and earth, all knowing as you say. He knows what has taken place and what is yet to come. How is it possible, then, that my prayers should matter at all to Him?”
“Because we are His children, and He loves us. He wants to hear from us, just as I want to hear from my children.Prayer builds our faith in God. It draws us closer to Him. As we pray, we see God at work.”
“But do you believe He truly hears us and answers?”
“I do.” He smiled. “I’ve seen far too many prayers answered to think it happenstance. Were you close to your father, Colton? I only ask because ... well, I wasn’t all that close with mine for a long while. I rarely really spoke to him, nor he to me. There was a void there, and had I been willing to make it otherwise, our relationship might have been completely different. I think the same is true in our relationship with God. We should speak to Him regularly.”
“And tell Him what?” Colton looked at Charlie, trying to ignore that a part of him truly wanted an answer that might change his mind.
“Everything,” Charlie said, chuckling. “Tell Him everything. Your fears, your hopes, your desires, your concerns. He is pure love, Colton. That love is vast and renewing. There isn’t anything you have to say that God isn’t willing to hear.”
Decker’s words stayed with Colton long after they went their separate ways. They stayed with him well into the night, long after the boardinghouse fell silent and the boarders had fallen asleep.
Even now in the wee hours of the morning, Colton could hear Charlie urging him to tell God everything—that He would hear, that He cared.
Unable to sleep, he rose and went to the window. He sighed at the glimmer of light on the horizon.
“I want to believe. Emma believes, and it’s changed her. ... It’s given her hope ... peace.” He shook his head, feeling overwhelmed. “I want to believe.”
11
“Rob, I’m glad you could work it into your schedule to help teach Rosie to read,” Emma said, welcoming Rob into her house. She knew Colton was skeptical of the young man, but she felt Rob was sincere in his desire to help.
“They changed the hours they want me to be on duty. I hope that won’t be a problem, but afternoons are when I’ll have some free time.”
Emma took his hat and put it on the side table in the entryway. “I think afternoons are fine.”
He leaned closer. “And Mr. Benton is all right with this?”
“I told him I wanted to give it a try, and he begrudgingly said yes.” She glanced down the hall. “Rosie doesn’t know that Colton disapproves of you spending time with her. You have to understand, he’s worried about her. She’s spent all her life sheltered away from the world. She hasn’t been allowed to go to school because of her condition.”
“I understand, and it’s not my desire to hurt anyone or cause trouble. The fact is, from the moment I first met Rosie, I felt something for her that I’ve never felt for anyone else. I’ve even talked to my folks about it, and they urged me to pray about it, and believe me, that’s what I’ve been doing.”
Emma had wondered about the looks she’d seen on Rob’s face when he watched Rosie at church. He was in love. It seemed evident now that he’d brought it out in the open. This would complicate things with Colton. He had a hard time imagining his sister ever being able to marry and have a family of her own. Emma would have to work on him regarding that matter.
“I’ll pray on it too, Rob.” Emma patted his arm. She heard Rosie in the kitchen and motioned him into the dining room. “We’ll be working in here. Rosie! Rob has come.”
They entered the dining room just as Rosie came from the kitchen. She was dressed in a simple lavender skirt and white lacy blouse. Emma had offered to help her arrange her hair that morning. She had settled on a simple braid and left it hanging down her back, tied with a ribbon that matched her skirt. Emma thought she’d never looked quite so lovely. She glanced at Rob and saw that he was completely captivated by Rosie.
Rob stepped forward looking more than a little awkward. “It’s good to see you, Rosie.”
“You too. I’m really excited to learn to read. Emma has some special books that Mrs. Decker let us borrow.” She held up aMcGuffey Eclectic Primer.
Rob nodded. “I know them very well. I learned to read using these readers.”
“Emma taught me the alphabet,” Rosie continued. “I know how to sound out most of the letters, but sometimes I forget, and sometimes the letters have different ways to sound, so it’s confusing.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t confuse you for long. I think you’ll get through this book in no time at all, Rosie. You’re very smart.”
She frowned. “You shouldn’t lie. I’m not smart.”
Rob shook his head. “That’s the lie. You are smart. Peoplejust thought you couldn’t learn, and they were wrong.” He looked at Emma. “Isn’t that right?”
“It is.” Emma took hold of Rosie’s hand. “Rosie, sometimes people misjudge situations and the people in them. Your parents and the doctors who spoke to them didn’t realize how much you were going to want to learn. That’s a big part of mastering any task. They judged you on other cases and situations and believed they knew best. They didn’t hide you away because they didn’t love you, but took the best advice offered to them and followed those instructions. They were wrong, however. You are quite capable of learning, and because you want very much to learn, I believe you will.”
“I do too,” Rob quickly agreed. “You just need to work at it, and we’ll help you along.”
