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Chapter Twelve
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Six friends stood in the cave in the early, early morning; none of them had slept well, and Jaben hadn't bothered to have his morning bowl of coffee.
"I called the police," Désirée said, "and they said that he can't be officially treated as a missing person until he's been gone for twenty-four hours. They asked me a number of questions -- his height, weight, physical appearance, when he'd last been seen, and so on -- and then left."
"I was praying yesterday," Thaddeus said. "I was praying, and I had a feeling of -- urgency, but even more strongly of waiting. I'm confused. Usually, when God tells me to wait, it is for a long period of time. This was an eyeblink. Does this mean that the waiting is over, or that I -- we? -- should still wait?"
No one answered.
"What do we do now?" Sarah asked.
"We can sing," Ellamae said. "Sing and pray."
"Sing?" Désirée asked incredulously. "At a time like this?"
"How can you not sing at a time like this? If you can't sing at a time like this, when can you sing?" Ellamae replied.
Désirée nodded.
Ellamae's high, pure voice began, and was joined by other voices, deeper voices.
"O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!
Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!
Underneath me, all about me, is the current of Thy love
Leading onward, leading homeward to Thy glorious rest above!"O the deep, deep love of Jesus, spread His praise from shore to shore!
How he loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore!
How he watches o'er his loved ones, died to call them all his own;
How for them he intercedeth, watcheth o'er them from the throne!"O the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best!
'Tis an ocean vast of blessing, 'tis a haven sweet of rest!
O the deep, deep love of Jesus, 'tis a heaven of heavens to me;
And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!
Désirée's heart had calmed considerably during the singing. "Let's sing it again," she said. And they did. Then her voice led a song:
"My life flows on in endless song above earth's lamentation.
I hear the sweet though far-off hymn that hails a new creation:
Through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing;
It finds an echo in my soul-- how can I keep from singing?"What though my joys and comforts die? The Lord my Savior liveth;
What though the darkness gather round! Songs in the night He giveth:
No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that refuge clinging;
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?"I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin; I see the blue above it;
And day by day this pathway smooths since first I learned to love it:
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart, a fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am his-- How can I keep from singing?"
"Can we pray now?" There was considerable concern in Ellamae's questioning.
Désirée hesitated, and then said, "Yes. I am calm now."
They joined hands and closed their eyes. For a while, there was silence, finally broken by Désirée's tear-choked voice. "Lord, keep my husband safe."
The songs held new meaning to her.
Jaben said, "I think of myself as a theologian, but I do not know the answers to the questions on our hearts. Lord, hold us in your heart."
The faint echo of a gust of wind was heard in the cave.
Sarah began to hum, "I love you, Lord," and the others joined in.
"Why?" asked Désirée.
Silence.
As the time passed, the silence changed in character. It became deeper, a present silence. The faint sounds -- of air passing through the cavern, of people breathing, of cloth rubbing against cloth as people moved -- seemed louder, more audible, and yet part of the silence.
"Lord, we come to you with so many things on our hearts," Ellamae said. "In the midst of all this, I wish to thank you for the many blessings we have enjoyed. I thank you for my music, and for all my students, especially Sunny. She is such a delight, and I look forward to seeing her abilities mature. I thank you especially for Amos, for the delight he is to us, his patience, his deep laughter." Voices had been saying "Amen," and Jaben added, "for his taking teasing so well." "If this is the last we have seen of him, we thank you for allowing us to pass these brief moments with such a friend," Ellamae finished.
"Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven," Lilianne joined. "Lord, we come before you in confidence that you have adopted us as your children, and whatever we ask will be done. May our request be your will, drawing on your willingness, as we ask that our fellowship be restored, and our friend and brother be found." They sat for a time, continuing to hold each other's hands, crying, listening to the silence. Then a squeeze went around, and with one voice they said, "Amen."
It had been an hour. The hugs were long and lingering, and Jaben felt the kisses a little more. The six friends out of the cave and into their days' activities, their hearts deeply troubled and even more deeply at peace.
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Chapter Twelve
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