The Confession Quotes
"I remember everything about my first glimpse of Cousin Lydia’s kitchen. It was modern as the day is long and all aglow with electricity."
"All my life...If, and only if, I was willing to go to the bishop and repent—bend my knees in earnest contrition, pleading with God and the church membership for mercy—only then could a sinner such as I ever be brought back into the fold of the People."
"True, Samuel and Rebecca Lapp’s sandstone house was just one buggy mile away, up Hickory Lane a bit, though it might’ve been a good hundred miles on dark December days like today."
"Sometimes Lydia had to call me two and three times to catch my attention. I suppose it wasn’t so much the sound of "Katherine" that threw me off—it was latching on to what the name stood for that was the biggest struggle."
"What freedom I felt when the scissors started snippin’ away at my long, uneven locks that’d never been cut my whole life long."
"Glory be! What freedom I felt when the scissors started snippin’ away at my long, uneven locks that’d never been cut my whole life long."
"Enough of this pondering over my faults and misdeeds. It was high time to take the first step toward finding my roots. A giant step, to be sure."
"Will I live to see another Christmas Day? she wondered, glancing away from the enormous tree."
"During one such discourse, Laura had to gently remind him that the estate, in fact, was legally hers—her childhood home—having been left to her upon the death of her widowed mother, Charlotte Mayfield, twelve years earlier."
"She understood full well that Katie’s return to Hickory Hollow would have to be the providence of God, because just last week, Samuel had made a fiery announcement."
"Playing it safe, Dylan did not enlighten her as to the reason, letting her think she was barren."
"Fulton Taylor was quick to respond, waiting in the doorway of Dylan’s office suite."
"Mary ’n Katie. For always, they’d agreed once."
"The community as a whole had begun to rally, but only at a snail’s pace."
"Contact with a shunned person could result in that person being shunned, too."
"She said her silent prayers, thinking about Katie bein’ just down the lane."
"Still, it seemed she might never meet someone to love her."
"If the Lord God heavenly Father wanted her to get married, well, He’d just have to send along the right man."
"After her bread making and baking chores were done, Mary slipped away to her bedroom."
"Sleet fell on Hickory Hollow later in the day."
"Memories of her life with Samuel and Rebecca Lapp brought certain tears all too often."
"The tall, deep window was the same one where she’d pressed her fingertips on that sad, sad day."
"It’s been ever so long since I heard one of your stories."
"The pain in Rebecca’s eyes, the bend of her back, ach, how she’d aged."
"Scanning the entrance to the dining room and beyond, she felt as though she were seeing it for the first time."
"Laura dabbed a tissue at her eyes repeatedly."
"Everything humanly possible," the doctor had reiterated. "There’s always the hope of divine intervention, certainly, which is precisely what we must believe for if your wife is to survive the holidays."
"You’re taking orders from me until every last detail is accomplished."
"I’m a princess in a castle!" She spun about, hugging her arms to herself.
"Today I’m going to meet my real mamma," she whispered to the oval mirror, hoping it would be so.
"I’d give almost anything to be rid of this blurred vision," Mrs. Bennett said softly. "It’s terribly annoying.…"
"What kinda silly woman would do such a terrible, awful thing?"
"Not on Christmas Eve. This night was a time for family, for sharing one another’s company, wasn’t it?"
"Ain’t nothin’ put on ya more than you can bear. The Good Lord said so."
"Painful’s not the only thing about this situation."
"Losing someone you love is the hardest thing in the world."
"It’s mighty hard trying to see anywheres past our noses when it comes to problems."
"What she needs," declared Rosie, "is a miracle!"
"There’s been lots better Christmases than this."
"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
"The waiting turned awkward; an annoyingly empty space of time ensued, one devoid of a response."
"For questioning, no doubt. For gaining an understanding of Amish life and its peculiar customs."
"Very well. Let me tell you something of my own beliefs—my faith in Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord."
"People connected by love often passed silent intimacies with their eyes."
"Attempting to rid her mind of past lovely things, she tore her bread in half before buttering it."
"She was fairly sure he didn’t know it was she who’d been assigned the tray of hors d’oeuvres."
"For him, the most difficult part—composing the letter—was finished."
"Swimming to shore had been excruciating ... he thought his arms might give out after more than an hour in the swirling waves."
"But emotionally spent, he’d fallen asleep with his head resting heavily on his hands."
"My storytellin’ days are behind me," declared Rebecca. "And nobody, not you, not any of the family, can make me start again."
"Knowing how Laura adored Christmas—her religious beliefs being what they were—he suspected that if things had gone well, tomorrow might be the day he’d been waiting for."
"She’d planned to inform Katie of the will earlier this morning."
"She was delighted Rosie had asked her to serve Laura Bennett on this special day."
"Your mamma’s going crazy, Ben ... and I can’t just stand by and watch ... watch her ... She’s not herself no more."
"Truth be told, nothing about the woman was honest or decent."
"It’s been a real blow, losin’ her daughter both to a bishop’s decree and then to a fancy, worldly woman."
"I must get up ... must take care of Katie. Don’t you hear my baby crying?"
"But if there is a heaven, it will be a better place when she gets there."
"I don’t claim to share Mrs. Bennett’s beliefs, ... But if there is a heaven, it will be a better place when she gets there."
"The kind of proof Mr. Bennett could never dispute. The rotten-to-the-core man would drop his teeth. For sure and for certain."
"The bishop killed her. John Beiler did it … he’s the one to blame for my Katie leaving. He is."
"I’ll see if Ella Mae won’t come over after bit. I’ll bring her myself."
"Maybe she could help the illness run its course a little sooner."
"She cried so hard that Mr. Williams came over and offered her his own handkerchief."
"There is strong evidence to indicate that the man was … in cahoots with one of his partners, as well as the New York model-turned-actress."
"The Lord God almighty is sovereign and just."
"Please, Mother, don’t be worrying about what you did … about choosing Samuel and Rebecca to raise me."
"Because, Katherine, you and Laura Mayfield-Bennett shared each other’s hearts."
"I love you. I love you in spite of all the past."
"I come to you, carrying the memories of my past sins."
"It would be so good to be able to share the Good News as a family, to break the Bread of Life together."