Page 18 - Publishing Inspiration Christmas Card 2023

Called to Serve

(Halloween Help part 4)
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Mrs. Levi continued with her story that Halloween night. She had
finally put the challenges of her youth behind her when her husband was called
to fight in The Great War.
“Now-a-days they call it World War I,” she said. “But back then, we
called it The Great War.
“We had two children by then, and life seemed so good. William was a
wonderful husband and worked hard to provide for our small family. We had
moved far away from my aunt and uncle, who treated me like a servant, but that
meant we were also far away from William’s family. But we kept in touch with
them and also with my cousin Leah.
“My uncle had a poor year with his farm, and since he was too lazy to
work and rented it out, he only got half of what it made. That year he borrowed
against the farm. The next year was a bad one, too, and he ended up losing it.
After I left, they made Leah do most of the work. So, when William was called
up to serve, Leah came out to help me. She had recently turned eighteen, and it
was a good excuse for her to get away.
“Leah and I worked hard to run the farm and take care of my children.
We had good neighbors that helped plant and harvest. But the most
challenging part of all was how much I missed William.
“It seemed like the months and years went by so slowly while he was
gone. But then there was talk that the war might be coming to a close. I was
excited, thinking that William might be home for Christmas. But then
something horrible happened. The military informed me that William was
missing in action.
“I wondered how God could let that happen so close to the end. I
thought it had to be a big mistake. But when his weekly letters quit coming, I
knew it was real. I seemed to have lost my will to continue on without him. If
I was grateful for Leah before, I was even more so then. She took care of
almost everything because I just seemed to be in a constant daze.
“The armistice was signed, and the men started coming home. I
continued to pray that somehow, somewhere, William was still alive. Then,

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