Page 27 of Porter's Angel
“Five and seven. The oldest is having his birthday soon, so he’ll be eight. I only have the two, and then lots of grown sons, so as you can see, I’m at my wit’s end convincing them to provide me with more grandchildren.”
“Most of them are single?” Cadence sipped her drink, not sure why this was so important, only that Lily seemed so wonderful; her sons must be too. And if some of them were still bachelors? Well…
But she supposed that Lily wouldn’t want her to get too involved with her family, considering her circumstances. Lily was a saint, but Cadence would only push her so far. After moving from home to home as a child, she knew how the world worked.
“The oldest is the only one married, just last January actually,” Lily said, warming to the subject. It was clear that her family was her pride and joy. “My second was married for a time… he’s the father of my grandsons, but that didn’t end well.”
Cadence nodded her sympathy, but didn’t ask for details. It wasn’t her place.
“The rest are in and out of here,” Lily said, “but they keep this ranch running. They’re my husband’s right hand men. This place would go down without them, though they eat us out of house and home sometimes.” She set the last remaining Oreos on a plate for Cadence. “I have a feeling that they were the culprits here, not my grandsons.”
Cadence laughed, taking one of the cookies, but insisting that Lily have the other. Lily shook her head, pushing a stool on the other side of her. She leaned heavily against the counter to sit down, her palm resting against her chin. “No, no, I need to quit. I might be a little to blame for these disappearing too. My boys come by it honestly.”
Cadence laughed even harder. She enjoyed Lily’s gentle humor. They spent the better half of the afternoon giggling over Lily’s stories. Lily talked about how she’d met her husband, Jase, at a barn dance that he’d put together. He’d only invited girls, thinking that would give him better odds, but then when he wanted to get her alone, it was absolutely impossible.
“Jase had a lot of growing up to do back then,” Lily admitted with a twinkle in her eye. “He was mischievous, maybe more so than his sons are now—no one would ever guess if they didn’t know him back then, least of all our boys. He tries to keep those days under wraps. He doesn’t want to give any of them ideas.”
“Right?” Cadence said. She was fascinated at her glimpse into Lily’s life. Her family seemed so happy, despite their sorrows, though she supposed their sorrows were more heart wrenching because they’dbeenso happy. Jase was probably beside himself at the possibility of losing Lily. The whole family must be.
Glancing up at a plaque on the wall behind Lily’s head, Cadence noticed what it said:“Consider the Lilies of the Field.”That was cute. What did it mean? She pointed up at it. “I love that. Is that a play on your name?”
Lily broke into a smile. “I never thought of it before, but yeah, I guess it could be. It’s just a scripture from Matthew. Jase and I got it from his mother when we were first married.”
Cadence had never heard of this scripture, but Lily seemed willing to share. The woman’s pale fingers shook as she reached over to find a Bible near a pie tin.
Cadence startled, realizing it had been there the entire time. They just had Bibles sitting everywhere? Religion must be a big part of her new friend’s life. After all, Cadence had found Lily struggling up the steps of the church, trying to defy all odds to get there.
Lily opened the Bible and pointed to the page to read it for her. “‘Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?’”
What a statement.
All day,all weekactually, at every moment of the day, Cadence had been worried about how she would support herself and this baby in the long term—not just financially, though that was a daunting prospect, but also emotionally, mentally, and now spiritually? She’d never get it right, especially when she was so lacking in everything herself!
Cadence felt like she was hitting her head against the wall because no answer was materializing. She was exhausted from the stress, and yet, after hearing this scripture she wondered if God couldreallyhelp her?
God kept telling her that she wasn’t alone in so many ways, so why couldn’t she believe it?
“Here’s my favorite part,” Lily said with a sparkle in her eye and read more of the scripture. “‘Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.’” Her eyes drifted up to Lily. “Solomon was one of the richest kings in history,” she explained before she bent her head again and read on. “‘Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?’”
Cadence swallowed. She didn’t have the faith. She didn’t know how to have it.
“‘Therefore,’” Lily read the rest, “‘take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?’” She met Cadence’s eyes. “God will provide.”
Cadence’s mouth dropped at this unexpected comfort. And still… did Cadence’s idea of security and comfort align with God’s? Did it really matter?
Lily closed her Bible, smiling at Cadence like reading scriptures with her friends was as commonplace as watching the news together; maybe it was. “You might think it’s strange that I have a quote to remind me not to stress so much about finances and be more dependent on God.” Lily tapped her fingers over the counter. “I mean, people might look at me and think, oh! She has a nice home and a thriving business, but looks are deceiving, with hospital bills and loans from the bank that we have to pay back yearly.”
“Of course,” Cadence was quick to agree. She knew how much an emergency could wipe out all her assets. Look at herself! She was one of the highest payed employees at WhiteBoulder… for a reason. Now that she was useless to Lacy, things would be different.
He might even blacklist her in the industry.
“When I was first married to Jase, our situation in life was a lot rockier. We know what it means to scrimp and save, and who knows? We might get there again, depending on our losses, but… what scares me most is that he might have to do that without me.” Her voice broke. “Now that I’m sick, oh, I’m so worried.”
Cadence took her new friend’s trembling hand, trying to return the comfort that Lily had given her.
“I worry about my boys,” Lily whispered, “and how things will go on without me; I hate that I will miss out on grandkids and celebrations, and what if they need me?” She let out a soft laugh. “Not that they listen to me, anyway, but… Consider the Lilies of the Field, right?”
“God is in charge,” Cadence whispered. That was what that quote meant. She understood now.