Teaching Patience (Homespun) Read Free

working on getting the house cleaned.  I don’t know if you remember how dirty it was in the months before I came.”
    Patience nodded.  “I do remember that.  I was so happy you were here making it clean, and fixing good food.”
    “Well, I decided to make a pie for supper and I was so mad at your papa that I remember hoping cherries made him break out in hives while I cooked it.”
    Patience’s jaw dropped.  “You really thought that?  About Papa?”  She couldn’t imagine Millie having hateful thoughts toward anyone, but her papa? 
    Millie smiled.  “I sure did.  He made me so angry I was ready to spit nails.  I felt like he didn’t see the things I’d done, just what I didn’t do.   I was working so hard to show him I was old enough to be his wife and that I’d be a good wife and mother.”
    Patience thought about that for a moment.  “I never would have guessed.  You always seem so calm and happy.”
    “There have been many times I’ve been glad you children couldn’t read my thoughts and moods.  I’m not perfect.  I still have thoughts like that from time to time.  It’s human nature.  When you start feeling that way, you need to pray about it, and God will help you get past it.”
    Patience nodded.  “I’m going to make sure I take the time to talk to Mr. Walker at church on Sunday.  I don’t need to harbor the anger I’m feeling.”
    Millie stood and went to the stove to stir the beans she had cooking.  “I think that’s a fine idea.  Now, why don’t you mix up the cornbread for me?  I’m going to bake a cherry pie for supper.”
    “Because you’re mad at Papa?”   Patience was confused.
    “Because I love him.  Every time I think about the evil thoughts I had toward him, I always make a special dessert I know he’ll love.  It makes me feel better, even though he doesn’t know I ever had those mean thoughts.”

Chapter Two
     
    Patience found herself dreading church on Sunday morning for the first time in her life, not because she didn’t like church, but because she knew she needed to apologize to Mr. Walker.  Her comment about praying for him had been condescending and rude, and she’d had no right to make it.  She didn’t know if she’d be talking to him about it if he hadn’t realized she didn’t mean it in a good way, but she liked to think she would.
    She dressed carefully in a pink long-sleeved dress and a new sunbonnet.  Her waist length blond hair was braided and wrapped around the back of her head.  She sat in the back seat of the wagon as her papa drove into town, clutching her Bible in her lap and mentally rehearsing exactly what she would say.
    She didn’t get a chance to say anything before the sermon because Mr. Walker and Charlie got there right as the singing started.  Afterward, she sought out Mr. Walker instead of chatting with her friends as she usually did after the service.
    “Mr. Walker?”   She studied the man as she waited for him to acknowledge her.  He was tall with broad shoulders and had dark hair and eyes.  She took after her mother with fair hair and blue eyes.  His skin was dark and tanned from the hours he spent outdoors.  He wore a pair of dark pants and a white button up shirt with a nice tie.  He looked very different today from how he looked when he picked Charlie up after school every day.
    He turned, lifting one eyebrow at her.  “Yes?”   His face told her he was not going to have another discussion about his son’s behavior and if that’s why he was approaching her, she could just leave him alone.
    She sucked in a deep breath saying a quick silent prayer to help her say the right thing.  “I want to apologize to you for what I said on Friday.” 
    “Really?”   His face showed he didn’t believe she was at all sorry for what she’d said.
    She nodded.  “I shouldn’t have said I’d pray for you the way I did.”
    “So you won’t pray for me?  Am I not good enough for you to pray