A Life of Joy Read Free

me,” she said. “I’ve been yawning nearly nonstop all day.”
    He tilted his head and studied her with concern. “Are you feeling well?”
    “Ya.” She shrugged. “I guess I just need to go to bed earlier.” She pushed the ties of her prayer covering back from her shoulders while she gathered her thoughts. “Lindsay told me that Katie and Lizzie Anne are beginning instruction classes soon.”
    Daniel nodded. “Robert mentioned to me that Katie and Nancy were going to be in the new class, along with a few of our other nieces and nephews. It may be a big class this year.”
    “I think Lindsay is considering taking the class, but she feels torn about making a final commitment to the Amish church.”
    “That’s not something you can decide for her, Rebecca,” he said with a gentle smile. “I know you want to be the best mamm you can for her in honor of your sister, but you have to let her think for herself. She’s eighteen now.”
    “I know, but she seems very anxious about it, Daniel. I think it’s eating her up inside.”
    He touched his beard, a mannerism he often practiced when he was deep in thought. “The decision to be baptized is a decision that is made between the candidate and God. You need to trust her to listen to her heart and to God.”
    Rebecca breathed out a deep sigh while she idly studied the clock on the wall. “I can’t imagine losing her,” she finally said. “I want her to decide to stay here permanently, but I know that’s not my place.”
    “She’s a very intuitive and special girl, but you have to remember that she lived among the English before she came here,” he said. “Joining the church may not be what’s right for her.” He stood and took her hand, lifting her to her feet. “You look exhausted, Becky. I think you should head to bed.”
    “You’re probably right,” she said, squeezing his hand.
    As he led her to the stairs, Rebecca sent up a silent prayer asking God to point Lindsay to a path that would lead to her happiness, preferably in Lancaster County.

2
    H ave a gut day,” Lindsay called to her uncle Daniel before hopping from the van and heading through the parking lot toward the front steps of the Kauffman Amish Bakery the next morning.
    Daniel paid a driver to take him and Lindsay to work instead of using the horse and buggy. Every morning, the driver took Lindsay to the bakery before heading to the Kauffman & Yoder Amish Furniture store, where Daniel worked alongside his father, brother, brother-in-law, and friends.
    While crossing the parking lot, Lindsay glanced toward the farm where a cluster of large houses sat back off the road surrounded by four barns, along with a beautiful lush, green pasture.
    This area had become her home during the past four years. The property was owned by Elizabeth and Eli Kauffman, Daniel’s parents. Daniel’s younger brother, Timothy, and his wife, Miriam, lived in one of the houses. Nearby was the home Daniel’s sister, Sarah Rose, shared with her husband, Luke, and their two sets of twins. The bakery was the fourth house, the one closest to the road. Daniel and his five siblings grew up in the biggest house, where his parents still lived.
    Lindsay quickened her steps while approaching the white clapboard farmhouse with the sweeping wraparound porch.Although it resembled a farmhouse, the building had served as the bakery for longer than Lindsay had been alive. A large sign with “Kauffman Amish Bakery” in old-fashioned letters hung above the door. Soon after the “Open” sign was turned over in the front window, the parking lot would be overflowing with cars as tourists came to sample a taste of the Amish way of life.
    Out behind the building was a fenced-in play area, where Elizabeth Kauffman’s grandchildren played during the day, and beyond that was an enclosed pasture. The three other large farmhouses and four barns were set back behind the pasture. The dirt road leading to the other homes was roped off with