THURSDAY, APRIL25, 1889•OUTSIDEDENVER
My Dearest Jacob,
We have loved receiving your letters and hearing that you are happy with your new job. Your father and I have prayed over you every evening and your siblings too. They each send their love and want me to tell you that you are missed.
This letter will be brief, but I need to share some quick things with you.
First, your cousin John has taken a mining job up in the mountains around Leadville. I’m not sure how far that is from you, but I thought it would be good to let you know in case the two of you can see one another. Your aunt Mary gave him your address at the boardinghouse in Denver.
Second, your father and I traveled to visit with Pastor Moody again. My fear and doubt had caused a great deal ofanxiety and your father, wonderful man that he is, knew the only way to help me was to get wisdom from a man of God.
We spent two days with Pastor Moody, and after much study of Scripture and prayer, I was able to release my anxiety to the Lord. He was correct—it doesn’t matter where God places you, it only matters that you use what you have to shine His light. He is certain that you can reach people with your good example and your testimony.
My fears were not from the Lord. And holding tightly to them wasn’t helping anyone. You are in your Heavenly Father’s hands, and I pray that He uses you in your beloved science.
I wanted to keep you in a sheltered, protective little space. But Pastor Moody reminded me that it isn’t the believers who need the truth. It’s those who haven’t heard yet. He gave us a copy of his book,To the Work! To the Work!,and it brought a lot of conviction to my heart. There’s a chapter titled “Faith and Courage,” which spoke to me as if he wrote it for me. At the beginning of the chapter he writes, “The key note of all our work for God should be Faith. In all my life I have never seen men or women disappointed in receiving answers to their prayers, if those persons were full of faith.” Oh, Jacob, those words brought me to tears. My faith has been weak. But no more. “Unbelief is as much an enemy to the Christian as it is to the unconverted.” I must admit to you that I got down on my knees and confessed my unbelief.
Sometimes it is hard for a mother to release her child into the world. That is no excuse for me, but I had been holding on, wishing to control things. As the oldest of my children, you are teaching me a great deal.
I encourage you in your work, my son. Do it all for the glory of God and shine your light.
I love you,
Mom
Jacob refolded the letter and shoved it in his pocket. He’d read the letter last night, this morning before heading to the dig site, and now again as he took a quick break to fetch water.
He hadn’t told his parents about the discouragement he was feeling about his job. Hadn’t wanted them to worry.
But this letter from his mom had lifted his spirits and given him new purpose. He headed back to his area amidst all the noise and sat back on his heels. Staring at the rock layer in front of him, he examined his next move. The sun burned into his neck, sweat slipping under his collar, soaking his back. There was no summer breeze cooling his face today.
Grabbing his handkerchief, he wiped his face then gripped his brush. A few more swipes with it and then a couple chisels of hard rock gave way to a smooth, curved bone. His heart pounded against his ribs. His fingers trembled as they slid over the surface of the large bone, checking for cracks and chips. So far, so good. The bone curved against the red rock, slim by his left hand and widening before it disappeared beneath the rock. It looked like another rib bone. If the whole bone was intact, it would be his greatest find! But he wouldn’t know for certain until more rock was chiseled away. It would take all afternoon and the next day if he ran out of light.
It was enough to get him through his self-imposed deadline and quit the job.
Even all the ugly things he’d overheard the past few days couldn’t keep him from enjoying the work.
For a second, he felt guilty. He wasn’t going to stay. All week, he’d been waiting for the opening—the right time—to put in his resignation.
Fear had kept him from doing it. Fear that Joe would suspect he’d overheard the conversation and that was why he was quitting. Fear that he wouldn’t be able to find another job. Fear that they would say he was bound by the contract.
What would he do then? The only thing that had kept himgoing was his faith and the job. The bones. He might have questioned his chosen profession before, but not anymore. This was what he was supposed to do. It would take time to figure out the balance, but he was determined.
If everything else could just go away, he’d be fine sitting here in the quarry and chiseling away at bones for the rest of his life.
But that wasn’t the case. Men were conspiring to go against the rules. To spy. To sabotage. How far they would take it, he couldn’t know, but instincts told him man would do anything for money. And money was at play here. The fossils were worth a fortune.
“Duncan.” Joe’s voice echoed down to him from above.
Jacob looked up. “Yes, sir?”
The foreman waved at him to come.
Maybe God was opening the door for Jacob to take care of things here and now. He took a deep breath, gathered his tools, then headed up the side of the quarry. At the top, his supervisor walked toward the tent where he had set up his table and papers.
Jacob followed.
Once they were at the tent, the foreman turned to him, hands on his hips. “There’s no easy way to say this, Duncan. Especially since you’re one of my best workers.”
