Abe chuckled and gestured at his plate with his fork. “You thank Him for this sorry excuse of a meal?”
Jacob smiled and pushed the beans around on his plate. “Ido. It may not be much, but it gives us the strength to keep doing our job. And it could be worse. I’ve been on digs where we’ve run out of food and had to forage.” A shudder rippled across his shoulders. “There were days we didn’t have anything to eat.”
“How long you been diggin’?”
“Seven years. You?”
“’Bout the same.” Abe scratched his jaw and dropped his spoon with a loud clatter on the tin plate. “Do you only pray over food?”
The jump in subjects jarred Jacob. He chewed his bite of biscuit for a moment before answering. “No. I talk to the Lord about a lot of things.”
“Like what?”
He propped his elbows on the table and folded his hands together. “Anything really. My life out here in Colorado. How the dig is going. I ask the Lord to be with my family. I even pray for you.”
Abe’s shoulders stiffened. “You don’t need to do that, Duncan. Don’t know that the Almighty is interested in hearin’ about the likes of me.”
Jacob studied his new friend for a moment. Dark shadows hollowed out Abe’s green eyes. His hair was wild from working in the wind. His shoulders curved inward in an almost permanent hunch.Lord, please fill my mouth. Help me be a faithful witness.“You’re my friend. And I talk to Jesus about my friends. Besides”—he pinched off another bite of biscuit—“I can promise you the Lord takes an interest in you.”
The slender man hunched even further over his empty plate. “You don’t know what I’ve done, Duncan. The kind of life I’ve led. Trust me, God wants me to stay far away from Him.” He stood and grabbed his plate. “I’ll see you back at the site.”
Jacob watched him walk away. Clearly the burdens Abecarried were deeper than just losing his father and brother. Jacob sighed and tossed the hard edge of the biscuit on his empty plate. Standing up, he picked up his plate and cutlery to put them in the wash bucket.
A large man got up from the bench at the same time and jammed his shoulder into Jacob’s, throwing him off balance. “We don’t need your God talk around here,” he growled.
Shock rippled through Jacob. “What?”
“Keep yer religion in yer church.” The man’s voice dipped low. “You don’t want to find yerself in the bottom of a ravine.” He shoved Jacob again and stalked out of the tent.
Jacob stood there. What should he do? He glanced around and noted several of the men glaring at him. He hadn’t been shouting his faith from the top of the tent. Abe was the one asking questions. Still, he wasn’t going to stay in the middle of the tent, making himself the target of their anger. He made quick work of his dishes and got out of the tent as fast as his legs would carry him.
His hands trembled, and his chest burned. If they expected him to stop praying for his meals or answering questions about his faith, they would be disappointed. Still, he needed to be wise.“Be ye therefore wiseas serpents, and harmless as doves.”
“Lord,” he muttered under his breath as he followed the path back to his workstation. “Please lead me. Help me to learn what it means to be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove.” He came around the bend and spotted Abe digging around theBrontosaurustoe. Compassion filled his heart for his friend. He was broken in ways Jacob didn’t fully understand. But he knew Jesus did. As he picked up his chisel and sat back down, Jacob continued to lift Abe to the Lord. And he asked for the courage to keep showing the younger man the love of Jesus, no matter what anyone else threatened to do to him.
Jacob almost fell onto his bed, he was so exhausted. The small room he rented in Denver allowed him to use the tub twice a week. He’d chosen tonight for one of his times since it was the end of the week and he’d rather go to church tomorrownotsmelling like a horse that had been overworked. The effort of hauling the water up to his room had used up every ounce of remaining energy he had. But he climbed into the small bath and scrubbed away at the dirt that had taken up residence, hoping he’d be a bit rejuvenated and have the strength to tidy up things once he was done.
Another long day at the dig site had taxed every muscle in his body. More men were added daily, and the foreman put them in shifts and teams over specific areas. He said the boss had even offered them prizes for whichever team finished gathering all the bones from their area first.
While the money was a nice incentive, Jacob didn’t like the way it made some of the men work in a haphazard manner. Safety should always come first for the men and the priceless fossils they worked with day in and day out.
There were now over seventy-five men chinking away at the stone quarry each day.
Not only did his body hurt when he came home, but his ears had begun to pound from all the noise.
Normally, his work at a dig site was lonely work. Oh, there were always a few others, but they were usually spread out over a large area chiseling away at the fossils. Working with Abe had been good. It was nice to have a partner. Someone to rely on.
Over the years, he’d been privileged to find an intact horse skeleton, a cat, and two dogs. Anytime they found a full or almost full skeleton, it was a prize. Usually, the bones were so scattered that it was difficult to find pieces that went together, so the rare finds with all the bones in close proximity were always celebrated. He’d had his name on a few of thefinds and the funds from selling them to the museums helped with his schooling. But at this rate, he wouldn’t be able to finish for a while. University was expensive and he worked to pay for a term and then worked another year or two to be able to afford the next term. All the while studying as much as he could.
It would be nice if all his experience in the field counted toward his education, but it seemed only wealthy students were handed that opportunity.
He shook his head.Sorry to have such bitter thoughts, Lord.I should be thankful for all You’ve given me.
He cringed. Twice now in the past week his exhaustion had led to a bad attitude. It wasn’t that he’d never been a grouch before when he was tired, but as an adult, he’d done a pretty good job keeping his attitude positive and uplifting. Especially since he’d been challenged by his evangelist grandfather to always rememberWhomhe represented.
Even more of a reminder for him to take care of himself and get plenty of rest. The summer was sure to be a grueling one.
He leaned back against the edge of the tub. It wasn’t the exhaustion getting to him. He’d allowed the thoughts of his peers to change his perception.
