A Hopeful Heart by Amy Clipston

Barbie is just trying to protect you.”
    Hannah shook her head. “No, it’s not that. She’s always criticized me. No matter what
     I do, it’s wrong, whether it’s hanging out the laundry or making lunch for my
kinner.
But now she’s trying to hurt me by telling
mei kinner
what I do wrong.”
    Ruth frowned. “I guess you’re right. You’ve mentioned before that she was hard on
     you. Maybe she’s worried about you and the
kinner
since Gideon is gone. She just doesn’t know how to express how much she misses her
     son, so she takes it out on you.”
    “I don’t know. I always thought she wished Gideon had married someone else. I know
     he dated another
maedel
for a short period of time before we met. Maybe she wanted him to marry her instead
     of me.”
    “That’s a little odd. She should be
froh
that Gideon had a
wunderbaar
marriage, even for a short time.”
    Hannah nodded. “I know I can’t change how she feels about me, but I wish I could at
     least smooth things over. We have to get along. We’re family.”
    Ruth smiled. “Let me share one of my favorite Scripture verses with you. It’s from
     Colossians: ‘Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full
     of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.’“ She squeezed
     Hannah’s hand. “I think that’s
gut
advice,
ya
? Pray for the Lord to soften Barbie’s heart and let your conversations always be
     full of grace. If you do that, you can’t go wrong.”
    Hannah smiled. “You’re right.
Danki
, Ruth.”
    Ruth’s smile faded. “You don’t have feelings for Mr. Peterson, do you?”
    “I see now that being his
freind
may jeopardize my relationship with my
kinner
and possibly even my community.” Hannah felt her lips turn down in a frown. “I need
     to tell him that we can’t be
freinden
anymore.”
    Ruth studied Hannah for a moment and then tilted her head. “Just guard your heart
     well. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
    Hannah opened her mouth to insist her heart wasn’t in jeopardy but was interrupted
     by Ruth’s son, Solomon, along with his wife and Ruth’s four grandchildren as they
     walked up and began talking. Hannah smiled, but her thoughts were still focused on
     Ruth’s advice. Why was Ruth worried about Hannah’s heart?After all, Trey was only her friend. How could anything possibly go wrong when she
     explained to him that their friendship could cause problems for her in her community?
     He’d understand, and they would go their separate ways.
    She suddenly realized that she had begun to think of Mr. Peterson as “Trey.” Although
     she called him by a formal name when they spoke, her thoughts of him were less than
     formal. The realization caused her to ponder what that meant. Was she developing deep
     feelings for him?
    She turned toward the youth group and found Lillian standing with Leroy King. She
     thought back to the time when she and Gideon had fallen in love. Just like Lillian
     and Leroy, they’d known each other for years, but didn’t truly notice each other until
     they were older.
    Hannah looked back toward Ruth and her family while she contemplated how God worked
     to provide love for people. Just like God, love was mysterious and often appeared
     when folks least expected it. She wondered if God would provide love for her again
     in her life or if she’d already had her opportunity.
    Although Hannah didn’t know if she’d ever find another man to love, she knew one thing
     for certain—she loved her family and community and didn’t want to risk losing them.
    Later, at the youth gathering, Amanda smoothed her dress over her knees and then hugged
     her arms around her legs while sitting on the grass next to her best friend, Nancy.
     The warm afternoon sun kissed her cheeks and she smiled. Spring was her favorite time
     of year.
    “Do you want to play volleyball?” Nancy gestured toward the group of teenagers choosing
     teams by the