Lord, I know You tell us to pray for our enemies.I need Your help to do that now. It’shard when enemies seem to come from the very place that is supposed to be about loving You and others.
The vandals had to be those women who had lambasted them yesterday. How could people who called themselves believers do such a thing?
Then again, Eliza had been worried that rumors would fly after yesterday’s debacle. What if someone had heard the story and decided to do this? It seemed far-fetched but not beyond the realm of possibility. At this point, he really didn’t trust anyone. How could he leave Eliza here in the midst of all this?
He knew all too well the stories of the lengths people went to sabotage one another in paleontology. Could this just be another example of that? If so ... who would do it? Maybe he should speak to Mr. Douglass about it.
Devin made his way back to Eliza. Her shoulders were hunched tight, her lips pinched. But it was the sheen of tears in her eyes that broke his heart.
“Eliza...” He touched her elbow. She was trembling. Without another word he slipped his arm around her shoulders, and she turned into him, face pressed into his waistcoat. After a moment, she pulled away and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Someone really doesn’t like us, do they?” Her laugh was shaky.
Devin offered her his handkerchief. “Someone is a coward.”
Eliza wiped her face and shook her head. “I’ve had a lot of struggles in my chosen profession. I always knew it wouldn’t be easy, but the sense of purpose I felt ... It always seemed God-given. But now...” Her gaze flicked back to the wordblasphemersplashed on the side of a tent as she pointed to it. “What ... what if I’m wrong?”
Devin shoved his hands into his pockets. Never in his life had she thought she’d misheard the Lord in regard to her passion for His creation. The confident smile, the joy that usually shone from her face when she was here at the quarry ... all of that was gone. How could she even think that these people were acting on God’s behalf?
“You can’t let the crazy actions of deluded people shake your foundation.”
Eliza shook her head, refusing to meet his gaze. “You don’t understand.” She walked toward a pile of empty toolboxes. Devin followed her, picking up various chisels, brushes, and shovels out of the dirt. They worked in silence for a while, making their way around the camp. The longer they worked, the more Eliza’s statement pecked at him.
She said he didn’t understand. Maybe that was true. He didn’t face a lot of opposition in his job at the University. Unless it was an old-timer resistant to a schedule change. Some had gotten surly when new books were proposed for curriculum. But no one had ever called him a blasphemer.
He picked up a hammer and twisted it around in his hands. He’d seen one like this in Eliza’s grip hundreds of times as she tapped against a chisel, working to free a fossil from the earth. The pleasure she felt in exploring treasures of the earth was contagious. Even if he didn’t share her passion for the work, he could share her happiness. And she’d taken so much of the criticism leveled at her in stride. Even when several scientists at the museum protested her hiring, Eliza merely smiled and worked twice as hard to show she was smart enough and qualified for the job.
Devin tossed the hammer in the toolbox and carried it to the wagon where they’d been stashing all the tools. First, the tools that were stolen. Now this. And not even a day apart.He slid the toolbox into the bed and then walked toward the tent on the far left side of the quarry. He’d seen Eliza enter it a few minutes before.
She was there, bent over the square table in the middle, furiously scribbling something on a piece of paper. She looked up with a small smile, then went back to her paper. “We will need buckets, turpentine, rags, brushes, and a few other things to get the worst of the paint off the tents. A couple can be sewn back together, the others will need replacing. I needed to write it down before I forgot.”
Devin nodded. “I think we picked up all of the tools.”
“Good. If we missed any, the men will know when they go to dig tomorrow morning since they’d just compared the inventory with what was still here last night. Thank you for your help, Devin. I know this wasn’t what you had in mind for your Sunday afternoon.” Eliza folded the paper and slipped it into the pocket of her skirt, along with the pencil.
“I’m happy to help however you need me to, you know that.”
She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “I need to go out to Mr. Sanders and see if he has some of these supplies available. If not, I’ll check the general store.”
“Sounds good. I can—”
“No, Devin. It’s fine. I can get this clean by myself.”
Devin rocked back on his heels. “What do you mean, by yourself?”
“Just what I said.” She finally looked at him and Devin’s heart sank.
Her face was free of any emotion. His best friend was retreating into a shell and trying to block him out of her pain. Well, he wouldn’t let her.
“Don’t shut me out. I know you’re hurting.” He kept his voice low and soothing. “You don’t have to face this alone.”
Eliza shook her head. “I do, though. All my passion and ambition have brought me to this point. What if it’s some sortof sign that I’ve missed the Lord? That I’m not actually where I’m supposed to be?” Frustration laced every word. “How can I honor Jesus and say I’m following Him when even people in the church think I’m some kind of irreverent woman, rebellious in the face of God?” She crossed her arms, looking out of the open tent flap at the quarry.
Lord, help me. Help Eliza. How can I encourageher that You have her in the very palm of Your hand?
He rubbed his face, hoping words of hope and comfort would come. But his mind was blank.
“See? Even you can’t argue with me.” Eliza gave him a sad smile. “I think maybe I’ve been too stubborn in my pursuit and haven’t listened to God. It’s time to figure out what the Lord really wants me to do. Grandfather has made plenty of comments over the years, and Grandmama pushed against me almost every step of the way.”
