The Little Sparrows Read online

  Johnny and Lizzie spoke their agreement. Red was at Johnny’s side and enjoyed the attention his new friend was giving him.

  Having caught the mood of the children, Leah smiled. “We want you to be very happy here.”

  Mary moved to her and hugged her. “Oh, Mama, we will be happy living here with you and Papa. It’s all new and different, but everything is perfect. Thank you for choosing us.”

  “Thank all three of you for wanting to come and live with us,” Will said.

  Leah smiled, a feeling of satisfaction growing in her heart. “Sounds like we’re all pretty happy. Well, Will, let’s show them through the rest of the house, then give them the grand tour of the rest of the place.”

  After being shown through the rest of the house, the children were taken on a tour of the barn and outbuildings. They were able to see the saddle horses and pet them, which was a thrill. The tour also included a walk for some distance in the pastures and the cornfields and hayfields. Red, of course, tagged along, happy to be petted by his new friends.

  That evening at suppertime, the family gathered in the large kitchen at the round oak table. The kitchen had lots of cupboards. There were windows on two sides, looking out onto the yard and the fields and pastures beyond.

  Will glanced at the fully loaded table. “What’s for supper, honey?”

  “Pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh green beans, and tomatoes. Mary and Lizzie helped me prepare it.”

  Johnny smacked his lips. “Smells good to me!”

  As they all sat down, Leah said, “Now, children, if I should put food before you at meals that you don’t like, please tell me. It will take a while for me to know your likes and dislikes. Papa and I are happy to have you in our home, which is now your home too.”

  Mary smiled at her. “We are very happy that it is, Mama. We will help around here any way we can. Just let us know what you want us to do. We are pretty hard workers, even though we are young. Our parents believed that everyone in the house who was old enough should do their part of the work. Lizzie’s only four, but she can help out in many ways.”

  “Your parents were wise people, honey, and they have raised three special children,” said Will. “Well, let’s eat!”

  As was usual for him, Will picked up one of the bowls and started to scoop potatoes on to his plate.

  Johnny looked at Mary, then at Leah. “Aren’t we going to offer thanks to the Lord for the food?”

  Embarrassed, Leah cleared her throat. “Papa Will must be so hungry, he forgot.”

  Will’s face tinted. “Uh … let’s bow our heads and close our eyes.”

  He waited till all had complied, then bowed his head and closed his own eyes. “We thank You for this food, God. And thank You for bringing Mary, Johnny, and Lizzie into this home. Amen.”

  When Will opened his eyes, he found Mary and Johnny looking at him quizzically. “What’s wrong?”

  Johnny frowned. “Papa, you’re supposed to close your prayer in Jesus’ name.”

  Will’s features turned crimson. “Oh. I’m sorry. I forgot. I’ll remember next time.”

  After the meal was over and the kitchen was cleaned up, they all sat down in the parlor—including Red, who was happy to have Johnny sitting on the floor with him.

  Will and Leah, wanting to learn all they could about the Marston children’s background, carefully asked questions, trying not to upset them over the loss of their parents. The conversation soon led, however, to their parents and their death in the Atlantic Ocean. Mary and Johnny began to cry, and this caused Lizzie to do the same.

  Will took Johnny on his lap and Leah gathered the girls to herself.

  When the weeping subsided, Will kept Johnny on his lap. “Mary, Lizzie, Johnny: we’re so sorry for this terrible tragedy happening in your lives, but let me say again that we are happy to have you in our home. We promise that we will take good care of you. And whenever you need to talk to either of us, we want you to feel free to do so. Okay?”

  Mary and Johnny both nodded, and Leah kissed Lizzie on top of her head. “Children, like I said, we’ll take you into town tomorrow and buy you new clothes and shoes.”

  Lizzie rose up on her knees and planted a kiss on Leah’s cheek. Then she ran her gaze back and forth between her sister, who sat on Leah’s other side, and to Johnny, who sat on Will’s lap. “Mrs. Roberts was right. God does take care of His little sparrows.”

  Mary’s brow furrowed as she looked at her little sister. “What do you mean, Lizzie?”

  “Papa Will an’ Mama Leah are gonna let us live here in their house. They’re gonna feed us, an’ they’re gonna buy us new clothes. God gave ’em to us.”

  Mary and Johnny agreed and that made Will remember Lizzie’s comment about having little sparrows on their farm.

  “Exactly what did Lizzie mean by having little sparrows?”

  “Yes,” said Leah. “I’d like to know.”

  Mary said, “Mrs. Roberts is the neighbor lady who took care of us when Mama and Papa went on their trip. And when the policemen came and told us that our parents had drowned in the ocean, Mrs. Roberts tried to encourage us by showing us in the Bible how God loves little sparrows and takes care of them. She showed us that Jesus said those of us who belong to Him are more valuable to Him than many sparrows.”

  Leah’s eyes widened. “Really? Jesus said that?”

  “Mm-hmm. If you will let me use your Bible, Mama, I’ll show you.”

  Will and Leah exchanged glances.

  Leah stood up, leaving the girls on the sofa. “I … ah—we … ah—have a Bible in one of the closets upstairs. I’ll be right back.”

  After a few minutes, Leah came down the stairs, carrying a Bible and wiping dust from its cover with her hand. When she entered the parlor, she handed it to Mary. “Here you go, sweetie.”

  Mary accepted the Bible, and while Leah sat down once again between her and Lizzie, she opened it to Matthew chapter 10. “Here it is. It’s Jesus speaking. ‘Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ ”

  Leah shook her head in wonderment. “Isn’t that interesting? I sure didn’t know that was in the Bible. Did you, Will?”

  “Ah … no. I sure didn’t.”

  “It’s also in the book of Luke, too,” said Mary. “And when Mrs. Roberts read us both passages, our Lizzie got all excited and said, ‘Mary, Johnny, we’re God’s little sparrows!’ ”

  Will gave Lizzie a tender look. “Well, sweetheart, it seems to me that you understood exactly what Jesus was saying, didn’t you?”

  Lizzie smiled at him. “Uh-huh.”

  Leah pulled her close once again and kissed her cheek. “Sweetheart, Papa Will and I are so glad that we have God’s little sparrows in our home!”

  The Bantons asked more questions of Mary and Johnny, and as the night drew its curtain of darkness over the land, Lizzie began to yawn and rub her eyes.

  Leah noted it. “Okay, little ones, I see Lizzie about to fall asleep, and her sister and brother look pretty tired too. It’s been a big, exciting day, and I think it’s bedtime for all of us.”

  In Johnny’s room, he patted Red’s head, told him good night, and doused the lantern. Seconds later, the happy Irish setter hopped up on the bed and went to sleep, folded in Johnny’s arm.

  In the girl’s room, Mary helped Lizzie into her nightgown, which they had brought with them on the train, then pulled her own over her head. Using a brush provided by Leah, she stroked Lizzie’s hair and asked, “Which bed do you want?”

  Standing in her bare feet, Lizzie ran her gaze to one bed, then the other. “I’ll take that one by the wall, an’ you can have the one by the window.”

  “You sure you wouldn’t rather have the one by the window?”

  Lizzie shook her head. “I like the one by the wall.”

  “
All right. That’s fine with me.”

  Mary brushed her own hair, then turned down Lizzie’s covers. When she had turned her own covers down, she took hold of Lizzie’s hand, and they knelt down together at Mary’s bed. Mary led them in prayer. She thanked the Lord for the Bantons, and for giving them a home so soon.

  Just as Mary finished praying, she felt Lizzie’s little body begin to tremble. “Lizzie, what’s wrong?”

  Lizzie sniffed and choked on the lump in her throat. “I … I miss our real Mama an’ Papa.”

  Mary hugged her. “Johnny and I miss them too. But we must make them proud of us. We have to be strong and realize that our real Mama and Papa are in heaven, and they want us to treat our new Mama and Papa right. They want us to be happy. God has given us this nice new home, with people who love us. It’ll get better as time goes on. I promise.” Mary was fighting a lump in her own throat.

  When they stood up, Mary cupped Lizzie’s little round face in her hands. “Tell you what, sweetheart: how about you just sleep with me in my bed tonight?”

  Lizzie’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Yes. Come on. Climb in.”

  When little sister was in the bed and under the covers, Mary doused the lantern and crawled in beside her. Lizzie snuggled up close, and Mary put an arm around her. “All right, go to sleep.”

  Lizzie clung to Mary, sniffling. It took only a few minutes for the little girl to cry herself to sleep.

  Lying in the darkness, Mary let her mind go over all that had happened to Lizzie, Johnny, and her since their parents had drowned in the ocean. Her own eyes began to grow heavy as she heard Lizzie’s deep, even breathing. She kissed the sleeping child’s cheek. “I love you.”

  Then like Lizzie, Mary cried herself to sleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  On the westbound train that evening after supper, Josie Holden was sitting alone on the seat in the girls’ coach, watching darkness fall over the Nebraska plains. Outside the window was a huge dark space of cool, windy emptiness, stretching seemingly into infinity under great winking silver stars.

  Suddenly Josie sensed someone behind her. She pulled away from the window, looking up to see the smiling face of Rachel Wolford. A smile broke over her own face. “Hi.”

  “Hello, sweet girl. Remember I told you we’d get together this evening?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “May I sit down?”

  Josie straightened up on the seat. “Oh yes! Please do.”

  When Rachel sat down, Josie hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for coming to sit by me.”

  Rachel returned the hug and kissed Josie’s cheek. “Pleasure’s mine, honey. How are you doing?”

  “Better than I was a minute ago. I miss Wanda so much, but now that you’re here, the loneliness went away.”

  “I’m glad, honey.”

  At that moment both of them were aware of Laura and Tabitha standing in the aisle beside them.

  Tabitha leaned past Rachel. “How are you doing, Josie? I imagine you’re missing Wanda, aren’t you?”

  Josie nodded. “I miss Wanda very much, Mrs. Conlan, but Miss Wolford told me right after Wanda left with her new foster parents that she would try to take Wanda’s place, and she is already doing it.”

  Laura laid a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “Bless you for that.”

  Rachel smiled up at her. “This child is easy to love.”

  Both women agreed with that statement and moved on toward the rear of the coach to sit down.

  Rachel was praying in her heart that the Lord would now give her the opportunity she had been seeking. “Well, honey, have you been thinking a lot about the prospect of what lies ahead of you?”

  “Mm-hmm. It’s exciting, but it’s scary too. You know. Just who will take me, and what they will be like. And what kind of home I will have.”

  “Sure. I can understand why you would be apprehensive about your future and all that it holds.” She paused, then said, “Honey, you are uncertain about what lies ahead of you in this life, but may I ask you something?”

  Josie smiled. “Of course.”

  “What about when this life is over? Are you certain about where you will spend eternity?”

  Josie’s smile drained away and a blank look took its place. “I … I’m not sure. You mean will I go to heaven?”

  “Exactly. Will you?”

  “Well, I don’t know. I guess it depends on how good a life I live.”

  “If you didn’t live a life good enough to satisfy God, then what?”

  “I … ah … I would go to hell.”

  “Would you want to go to hell?”

  “Oh no! I’ve heard people talk about hell all my life, and even use it as a curse word, but I really didn’t know what it was till Mr. Brace read about it from the Bible in those times at the Society. It’s a place of fire and torment. I sure wouldn’t want to go there.”

  “Tell me this, sweetie. Just how good would you have to live to go to heaven when you die?”

  The blank look came back. “I … well, I don’t know. Does the Bible tell us?”

  Rachel opened her purse and took out a small Bible. She began flipping pages. “Let me show you what the Bible says on that subject. Do you know what it means to be righteous?”

  “I didn’t till Mr. Brace talked about it. He said to be righteous is to be blameless and worthy of God’s blessing.”

  “Right. Now, you just said you didn’t know how good you would have to be to go to heaven.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “You would have to be righteous, wouldn’t you? Blameless before the holy God of heaven and worthy of His blessing you by giving you a place in heaven.”

  Josie blinked. “You would have to be.”

  “Right,” she said, holding her Bible so Josie could see the page. “Look here in Romans chapter 3 and verse 10. ‘As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.’ That includes you and me, doesn’t it?”

  Josie swallowed hard. “Yes.”

  “Then there is not one person on earth who is blameless before God and worthy of His blessing. So there is nobody who is worthy to go to heaven. Right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Look here at verses 11 and 12. ‘There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.’ Pretty sad commentary on this human race, isn’t it?”

  Josie nodded.

  “Now look over here in verse 23. ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.’ That would include the whole human race, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  “You and me, too?”

  “Yes.”

  “So if it depended on how good we live to get us to heaven and keep us from hell, would we make it?”

  Josie’s head moved back and forth slowly. “No. We’d go to hell.” She took a shaky breath. “So how can we go to heaven?”

  “By putting our faith in God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.” She flipped a couple of pages. “Look here in Romans chapter 6 and verse 23. ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ The opposite of death is life, right?”

  “Right.”

  “The Bible makes it clear that hell, in its final state, is the lake of fire. In Revelation we are told that the lake of fire is the second death. This is where all people who leave this life on earth without Jesus Christ will spend eternity. When the Bible speaks of death concerning human beings, it never means to go out of existence. It means a separation. When people die physically, they are separated from the living here on earth, but they are not out of existence. So it is of those who go to the lake of fire. They are separated from the living who are in heaven, but they never go out of existence. Revelation 14:11 says the smoke of their torment ascends up forever. So you see, honey, it’s eternal death or eternal life for every human being.


  “We just saw here in Romans 6:23 that eternal life is the gift of God. It is a gift, so it can’t be earned. And it comes in only one way—through Jesus Christ. If we have eternal life, we will live forever with Him in heaven. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes. I remember Mr. Brace telling us some of this you are telling me. And I remember that he told us in order to have salvation, forgiveness for our sins, and eternal life, we must repent of our sin and receive Jesus into our hearts as our personal Saviour. It is all coming back to me.”

  Rachel’s heart was racing. “That’s it, honey. In Mark 1:15, Jesus said, ‘Repent ye, and believe the gospel.’ “And according to the apostle Paul, the gospel is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. On the cross, Jesus shed His precious blood and died. He paid the full price for our sins. He arose from the grave as He said He would, and is alive to save every person who will repent and believe the gospel.

  “John 1:12 tells us we must receive Jesus to become a child of God. We do that according to what Romans chapter 10 tells us.”

  Rachel turned to Romans 10. “Look here, sweetie. Verses 9 and 10. ‘That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’ Please note that it is with the heart that we believe. That’s receiving Jesus into your heart and that’s what makes us children of God. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “And look at this. It says with the heart we believe unto righteousness. Remember, this is what we lack in ourselves—righteousness.”

  “Yes.”

  “But when we repent of our sin, believing the gospel, calling on Jesus, receiving Him into our heart, and believing that He does all the saving all by Himself; He comes into our heart, washes our sins away in His precious blood, makes us a child of God, imparts His righteousness to us, and gives us eternal life. This is the guarantee that we will be with Him in heaven forever. Do you understand?”

  Tears were coming down Josie’s cheeks. “Yes, oh yes! Will you help me? I want to receive Jesus into my heart right now!”