His Mother Knew It
If you do not doubt, God will deliver.
God delivered us from darkness the day Ammon came. It was like a curtain being opened in a dark room. Caring for you and your brother, pounding the maize, even mending the roof became a joy because life suddenly had purpose. And your father was transformed. He became so kind, started to play with you. Our home was filled with a peace we’d never known.
If you do not doubt, God will deliver.
None of us should have survived the day the army came. I’d seen raids before–my wedding dress was a fine linen your father pillaged before our betrothal, and his later spoils built our stone hut and bought my jade earrings. So I knew what was coming on the other side, when your man did not wield a spear in your defense, only shoved you under the flax pile to lie atop your children. But he went out anyway, with nothing but his open hands.
If you do not doubt, God will deliver.
How does one survive such a loss? Without husbands, without fathers, without our king. We carried the children on our backs, and God delivered us from the land of our new enemies to the land of our former enemies. I had never farmed before we came to Jershon. But somehow, a nation of widows now harvests enough to feed ourselves and most of the Nephite army.
If you do not doubt, God will deliver.
I cannot bear to let you go, but I cannot bring myself to stop you. What can I hold back from God?
I wish …
When it’s time …
You’re so much like him. The father you barely remember. He knew true deliverance is only in God.
This piece was published in 2024 as part of the 13th Annual Mormon Lit Blitz by the Mormon Lit Lab. Sign up for our newsletter for future updates.