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 therealljidol week 12 Prompt From The Wreckage

Habakkuk wasn't the quickest horse by far, but he was old and he was smart enough Father said. And smart was what Samuel needed more than anything.  Mother was already leading Obadiah to the cart and she'd have him harnessed fast as you please, but smart as Habakkkuk was Samuel felt at a disadvantage.  The horse was three times his height.  How would he ever reach up to fasten the buckles?   But he was a gentle one and they knew one another well as Father had put the boy on the big horse's back as soon as he could sit up by himself.   Biting his lower the lip the boy lead Habakkuk to the cart.

 "Thank you, Samuel.  I'll finish up here.  Go see if Priscilla needs anything.  We should bring your father out soon.  Fetch a few more blankets while you're there."  Her voice was as light as ever but the boy could feel she was strained to the point of breaking.

"Yes, Ma'am."

In the house his big sister knelt by their parent's bed.  As he entered she turned, "Hush."  She spoke softly, "It's the first time Father has slept since the whipping.  Look at his poor back, he's still bleeding.  What do you want, Sam?"

 "Mother wants to know what you need.  I'm to take more blankets and we're to get Father to the cart.  The wind is picking up and we need to leave before the clouds shift and the moonlight exposes us.  It's okay, Pris, he can sleep in the cart."

 It took all three of them to move the man outside and onto the makeshift bed in the cart.  All around where he lay were all the worldly possessions they could take, tied down, latched on, and packed in the barrels and casks Gilbert Cooper made and sold all over New England.  They were leaving in the dead of night the town where father and mother had met and married and sister and brother were born.  They left in fear and determination and hope.  They were going to Rhode Island.  There was a man there who was gathering the faithful together where they could celebrate God's Sabbath on the seventh day freely without fines or beatings or persecution.

Samuels heart swelled with pride when he thought of Father's courage, his strength, and his unwavering faith.  But it also filled with terror when he imagined that this Rhode Island might be worse than what they already knew.  He and Pris had never been anywhere else.  Father had travelled across an entire ocean, and he'd taken Mother to see that ocean once.  It wasn't as hard for them.  That was sure.

When Father was secure in the cart, and covered over so he couldn't be seen.  The children climbed up beside Mother and she clicked softly to the team and gave the reigns a gentle jiggle and their journey began.

 "Now remember children, we are to be quiet as mice.  Samuel, you keep that dog still, hear?"  Samuel pulled Micah in close and gently scratched his neck to keep him calm. 

"If we come across anyone, anyone whether we know them or not, you let me speak.  I will say we're going to stay with a distant cousin until things settle down."

 "But Mother that's a falsehood!"  Priscilla exclaimed.

 "It is necessary.  Your father and I agreed.  Do you understand?  And we know from The Word that God has permitted lies for His purpose, remember Rahab.  Now, Gilbert, you will lead us in a prayer for a safe journey, and then we will all be still until we are well out of the county."

 Father cleared his throat and began, "Great and loving Creator God, we beseech you in the name of Your Son, Our Saviour, to grant us safe passage to Brother Mumford in Rhode Island and that something wondrous and to Your Glory come from the wreckage and destruction of this persecution..."
 
(Matthew 5:10-12)


AN:  Tomorrow is the First Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, I am in the hotel and writing on my Kindle.  I have known what I was going to write about from the moment I read the prompt.  While the Coopers are completely fictional their situation is not.  Sabatarians came over with the Puritans and were accepted, but then, as often happens things changed, power shifted and they were prohibited from keeping the Seventh Day Sabbath and then persecuted and punished for doing so.
Okay, now I'm going to save this and fix, or attempt to fix, all my mistakes.
For those who keep it, Happy Feast!