A reminder that God's hand is able to save and to keep safe

"Mom! Look at what Skunky Monkey brought!"

There in the hands of my youngster lay a baby squirrel. It had no chance of survival without some tender care and warm milk from someone besides its mommy. Where was its mother, anyway? Now that it had been handled by a cat and human hands, there was no way its mother would take it back. I debated. Then I explained to the children that if I would have a volunteer to help me care for it day and night, we could give it a try.

That evening we took it along to the hymn singing and fed it milk throughout the evening, enjoying listening to stories of others who had rescued baby squirrels, including one who had been raised a number of years ago and liked to "help" mix up cookies by holding the doughy scraper with both hands and licking it off when they were finished with it.

Austin took position as primary caretaker of the little rodent and volunteered to care for it at night. The second day, however, it did not do so well taking its milk from the syringe. We wondered about it and kept giving it small amounts of goat's milk. On Tuesday morning when Elijah ran to check on it first thing in the morning, he was disappointed to find it limp and gone.

It was hard on me to see the children sad, yet as my friend, Mrs. Nissley, quotes her mother, "If you have animals, you'll need to be okay to see them go."

Little Joshua took it the hardest. "Squirrel — move — MOVE!" he would say again and again as he held it in various positions. It was no use; it would not move. A couple minutes later we were all seated at the breakfast table when Brother John knocked on the door. "The shop was on fire," he stated calmly.

His explanations gave more clarity as we kept asking questions. No one knows for sure how it all happened. During the night, a little fire started due to an electrical short. John had come to work an hour early that morning — in time to discover it and put it out by grabbing a water hose and dousing the area that was smoking and had burst into flames.

Praise the Lord! What a miracle! The children and I went out to survey the damage — some burnt rafters and wiring.

It was not long until our property was a hive of busy bees. People stopped by to see what they could do to help. In short order the charred metal was taken down and the rafters repaired. The bigger project was still at hand — rewiring most of the shop. Eli, an electrician in the area, was hired for the project. Several others helped along. It would be several days until the furniture shop was back up and running. We are thankful to have most of the shop rewired.

I do not cease to thank the Lord for His protecting hand. That shop, where we hosted various weddings, funerals, and other big events, is still standing today. I am clearly reminded that God's hand is able to save and to keep safe.

That evening, the children discovered a host of old treasures in the attic of the south side of the shop. Now, talking about five excited children scrambling for the attic and rummaging through all sorts of possibilities! For me it brought back fond memories of girlhood days, especially of trailing after my dad and brothers on the farm.

The children had little interest in going to the house at suppertime, so we brought our supper out to the shop where Grandpa and several guys were still working on getting the lights up and running. As the children all gathered around to eat, it brought back nostalgic feelings of how we'd take a meal out to the shop to eat with Daddy.

Tonight we'll wind up with Mom's ultra-soft wheat bread, which she brought for lunch to feed the guys who had come to help with the fire damage. Note that she uses crushed wheat, #1 and #2. Other types of wheat may also be used. Joshua likes Grandma's bread and asks for her bread with "those flakes" (flaxseeds) in it.

Bread with Crushed Wheat

Ingredients

3 cups hot tap water

2/3 cup honey

2/3 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoons sunflower lecithin (I use Now brand)

3 cups #1 wheat

1 cup #2 wheat

1/4 cup flaxseed

5 cups flour (approximately)

3 heaping tablespoons instant yeast

2-4 tablespoons additional flour (as needed)

Instructions

Mix the hot water, honey, olive oil, salt, and sunflower lecithin well.

Add 3 cups #1 wheat, 1 cup #2 wheat, and 1/4 cup flax seed. Mix.

Add 5 cups flour and sprinkle 3 heaping tablespoons instant yeast over the flour, then mix well. Add more flour as needed (2-4 tablespoons, usually).

Knead for 7 minutes at speed 1. Let set for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 5 pans (these are small loaves, approximately 17 oz. each). Cover with a tea towel and let rise for approximately 30 minutes.

Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes (internal temperature should be 190°-195°F).

Let set for 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Notes

Makes 5 small loaves

Each loaf is approximately 17 oz.