Wednesday, September 12, 2012

"Stepping Heavenward" Diary Entry #9

September 12, 2012

Dear Diary:
In Chapter Twenty-Five of Elizabeth Prentiss's Stepping Heavenward, Katherine and Helen are visited by a lively and eagerly growing Miss Clifford, who shares with them a Christian thinker's thoughts on what it means to really be a child of God. Katy is especially stunned and delighted by the notion that it is the little things, the daily acts of life done with the right heart, which glorify God so greatly. When she shares this with Ernest, he agrees wholeheartedly that Christian living should be a holistic experience, apparent in all areas of life (from work to church), rather than a categorical one. Katherine also goes to visit Mrs. Campbell in this chapter, for what she thinks will be the last (or one of the last) time, as Mrs. Campbell is getting ready to go home to her Lord and family. Una gets very sick again, and Katherine is torn up about giving her up to God; and she does, but as soon as she decides it in her heart, He allows her to get better.

Chapter Twenty-Six begins with a farewell to Mrs. Campbell, but the people around her are at peace with her homeward departure and Katherine especially is thankful for the time she has been able to spend with her. In her very last conversation with Katy, Mrs. Campbell gave her parting words of wisdom in the importance of a surrendered, joyfully humble countenance that relies completely on Him. After her death, Katherine and Helen are discussing Mrs. Campbell's last conversations when Helen reveals the anguished struggle she has been having with believing in Christ and following after Him, and her doubts about being His child at all. Katy then replies, "suppose, for argument's sake, you are not a Christian. You can become one now (Prentiss 304)." This relieves Helen's burden so greatly, and I don't know if I was ever so proud of Katherine than in that moment; for although she is a marvelous character and I truly admire her, her simple and yet deeply profound words to Helen were so encouraging to read. Martha becomes sick with rheumatism, and so Helen goes to stay with her for a while, while Katherine and her four children decide to get some fresh air in the countryside with a lovely and opinionated Mrs. Brown. As the months go by, we also learn that Katy is expecting another baby.

We have now approached the final chapter, Chapter Twenty-Seven; oh, how sad I was/am to see the story end! Katy has her baby, and all is well; she gets very sick, and my heart was very heavy in thinking she would die, but I was also glad that she would get to go home. But she is blessed with seven more years, and possibly more to come; as she continues to step westward, toward home.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

"Stepping Heavenward" Diary Entry #8

September 11, 2012

Dear Diary:
Chapter Twenty-Two of Stepping Heavenward begins by describing Katy's struggle to find a good person to help her in caring for her family, and how she deals with each situation of disappointment. Her visit to Mrs. Campbell refreshes her spirit and soothes her frustration, though, and we learn that a new addition is about to arrive in Katherine's household. Her baby daughter Ethel arrives around the same time she and her loving husband celebrate their tenth anniversary. Miss Clifford has gotten saved and is under the guidance of Katherine's mother, and Ernest's sweet sister Helen is a joy to Katy, both to learn from and to teach by her everyday reactions. Katherine and Helen discuss the differences of the treatment of women in their respective childhood homes, and Katy explains how she learned to expect gentleness and chivalry from men because of how beautifully her father treated her mother. She also talks about how God's love is the foundation of her (and any good) marriage, because human love is so unstable but His is steadfast and pure. At the end of this chapter, we learn that Helen believes she has found the kind of love Katherine and Ernest share....and that she has found it in James. Katy and the people around her are so delighted by this news that they can even overlook the age difference between Lucy and her recent fiance.

Chapter Twenty-Three brings about the bitter dregs of a pleasant time of life, as James is taken home to heaven suddenly and Katherine's mother leaves soon afterward. At this point of Katy's life, I know that it is only by faith and the endless grace of God she could bear to part with her child, brother, and mother, and still say "God is good and they are His to take" and believe it. When Katherine described how brightly her mother's crown, gained by so much patience and love, must be shining in heaven, I admit that I did get slightly misty-eyed. Helen comes to live at Katherine and Ernest's home permanently, and amidst the sorry we learn that Katy is now the mother of four lovely little ones. Six years go by, and Helen is still struggling with the sorrow of James' death; but Katherine gives her Dr. Cabot's letter from years ago to read, and encourages her to see Mrs. Campbell for a glimpse of God's comfort through others.

Chapter Twenty-Four delves into the hustle and bustle of Katherine's life as a doctor's wife and mother of four, and explains her trials of trying to balance daily tasks with a healthy spiritual life. But while she finds some of the more mediocre things of life, like socializing and feeding callers, Ernest encourages her that she is demonstrating His graciousness even through little things. Dr. Cabot dies in this chapter, and his wife follows soon after, but Katherine is at peace over how they are both now rejoicing eternally.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

"Stepping Heavenward" Diary Entry #6

September 6, 2012

Dear Diary:
Chapter Sixteen of Stepping Heavenward starts off at a good place for our Katherine; she is with her little ones and husband, and they are all back together in their own home. Her baby daughter is still weak, but more healthy than before; and I thought that Katy's perceptions on being able to give up your child to God when the time comes were very faith-filled but also achingly sad. Then guess who comes to town? A certain ex-best friend Amelia and an ex-beau, Charley Underhill. They are wealthy, with three daughters; but Charley is negligent of his family and Amelia is quite unwell. Katherine is reluctant to see the two people who injured her so when she was younger, but with the support of her wonderful (and far superior to Charley, might I add) husband, she decides to visit Amelia and her family. While Amelia is still semi-ridiculous, Katherine is filled with compassion for her old friend, and tries to convince her to bring her weary burdens of life to Christ. Katy's baby begins to be more unwell again, and while she prays for her daughter's health she also makes observations in the difference between the characters of her two children (little Ernest is vivaciously alive and well, and the baby is gentle and delicate). James, Katherine's cherished elder brother, has been pondering things (which are not revealed to Katy, but she suspects may be due in part to Lucy's company), and we finally learn the baby girl's name as she reaches her first birthday: it is Una.

Chapter Seventeen opens with an audience with the sagely Mrs. Campbell, who proffers some world-weathered, Savior-trusting advice for our heroine and for us, the readers. It was really great to see that Katy is no longer the same girl who once shuddered at helping sick/bedridden people, as being sick herself caused her to gain a new perspective. Katherine throws herself into the work of caring for her family, and little Una becomes sick---almost to the point of death. It really did hurt my heart to read of any parents having to surrender their child to a place where they cannot yet follow, but gladly the little fighter made a blessed recovery. We learn that James is to become a missionary instead of a wealthy city doctor, and his family (especially Katy) are so proud that their hearts are nearly bursting; plus he gets to stay with them for a few more years, as he prepares to go out into the field. Amelia reemerges in Katherine's life, and is filled with the cocky glow of those who believe they have defeated ill health all on their own. This causes Katy to stumble by becoming very proud and arrogant that she is not like Amelia and her worldly pettiness, and exposing her vanity to Dr. and Mrs. Cabot when they call on her home. She does realize the error in her thinking almost before it has passed, and she immediately becomes deeply ashamed; but she does the right thing in going to the Lord about it and taking comfort in knowing that although Christians stumble, they eventually get home.

In Chapter Eighteen, we find out that Amelia is about to die; and that all her wealth and all her pretty things can't save or comfort her in the end. Katy, being heavily burdened for her, prays for her; and in the midst of all this heartsickness, Ernest forgets their wedding anniversary again (although it is slightly more understandable this time). Martha spends a lot of time doctoring the dying Amelia, and Katherine sees her one last time and sincerely encourages her to seek God in her final days. Then Amelia dies, little Una turns three years old, and Katherine gives birth to another little boy, who she considers another treasured blessing from her heavenly Father. Martha becomes engaged to Charley Underhill's wealthy uncle, and preparations are made for her and him to be wed soon and take care of Amelia's three motherless daughters; however, when Katy's father-in-law is asked to go with them, he reveals how much he truly loves and loves being with Ernest and Katherine and their children. It honestly squeezed my heart when he became sad that he would have to wait till winter to be with Katy's family again.

Katherine really has turned into a dear, wonderful thing, hasn't she?

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

"Stepping Heavenward" Diary Entry #5

September 5, 2012

Dear Diary:
Chapter Thirteen of Stepping Heavenward brings about the arrival of many presences; starting with Katy's cherished mother. I feel that her arrival is a refreshment for our heroine, and gives her an insight of patience regarding her trying in-laws. Exeunt her mother, and cue in the sage Mrs. Campbell and her Four Steps to Peace (which I found to be quite accurate). Of course, our protagonist is slightly discouraged at the prospect of so much self-sacrifice, but she very quickly realizes that Christ is worth it all. Dr. Cabot makes an appearance and reminds us (as readers) of the good ol' days when Katherine's biggest worry was finding a balance between her present self and the person she wanted to be. And then....three letters, from three different perspectives, describe the arrival of a beautiful baby boy. Katherine is delighted to have him in her life, but of course her happiness is not perfect; Martha is still sassy, the baby isn't named after her dead father (although I do suppose that marriage is made up of compromises), and her father-in-law (while probably having good-intentions) has the audacity to misjudge Katherine's love for her son as idolatry. But Ernest does remember their anniversary this time, and Martha's hardened composure softens just a wee bit.

Chapter Fourteen kicks off with a bittersweet scenario; Katherine has inherited the money from Susan Greer (remember, our Katy prayed for her in her last hours), and she now has over a hundred dollars a year to give away to the poor for the rest of her life; however, she finds out that Dr. Cabot knows about Ernest's struggle to pay for his father's debts, which Katherine thought was a secret between her and her husband. With this weighing on her heart, she also feels like Ernest is becoming more and more distant from her and the baby isn't doing as well as she would like. Then her dear aunt comes to visit her household, and the sweet-tempered woman becomes angry with how heavy Katy's burden of life has become (which I loved her all the more for). The tension between Martha and Katherine is alleviated a little when Martha convinces her brother that Katy has been dealing with a lot, and Katy is graced with further relief when she goes to visit her lovely mother with her baby. It is being away, however, that causes both Katherine and Ernest to realize how much they love one another and want to be in each other's company, so Ernest does a perfectly lovely thing and takes some time off from work to spend with his family (his wife and baby, which should be his priority right after God). They sincerely make amends, and things are looking up.

Chapter Fifteen seems to be a sort of "calm after the raging storm," where things aren't perfect (are they ever?) but they are much, much better. I liked the conversation Katherine and her father-in-law have about recreation and its purposes, because I don't think there would be very much pleasure in serving a God who did not allow you to enjoy His magnificent creation and things He has enabled us to do. And although I highly doubted that Katy would actually die when she was "faced by death" in her illness, I really did appreciate her readiness to go home. To me, that seems like a sincere blessing of God's peace and love than someone who has a wailing panic attack before their life ends. But no, anything involving a lack of suffering in Katherine's life surely must be wicked to the extreme, so of course her father-in-law decides to comment that it makes her seem less sincere in her faith. Thankfully, Ernest steps in and, rather heatedly, defends his wife from his father's attack, and after Katy goes on a (righteous) rant, her father-in-law is given the grace to see the wisdom in her words. A baby girl arrives in the family, and though she is feeble her family has high hopes for her health; and little Ernest has inherited his mother's stubbornness and sweet strength of character.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

"Stepping Heavenward" Diary Entry #4

September 4, 2012

Dear Diary:
Chapter Ten of Stepping Heavenward felt like the slightly cliched (but endearing and heartwarming) "beginning of the rest of their lives" kind of chapter, in which Ernest and Katherine finally declare their affection for one another and get married. I thought it was lovely that her mother approved so heartily (but really, Ernest is a very decent fellow), and it was nice to see Katherine so happy about something as worthwhile as marriage. I also liked seeing the conflict arise for the happy couple in spending time with each other and whatnot (because conflict is the soul of plot), and the observations Katy is able to pull from it when deeply pondering marriage and its operation ("...is it the sacred union of the twain who walk together side by side, knowing each other's joys and sorrows, and going Heavenward hand in hand [Prentiss 108]?"). Ah yes, and then guess who sweeps into the story? The In-Laws *cue dramatically dark music*. I think that when Ms. Prentiss selected the name Martha, she did so with great care and purpose for the following events.

In Chapter Eleven, the tension within Katy and Ernest's household is palpable from the very first line. Honestly, I sympathize with Katherine (perhaps because she is the narrator?) over her angered thoughts and overall frustration with her in-laws (I found myself thinking "You go, girl!" when "...all the vials of my wrath exploded and went off [Prentiss 116]."). This leads to an honest and open conversation with her husband (which I believe is always vital in a good relationship), but she still finds herself dissatisfied and guilty for exploding by the end of it. Martha really does not try to help or encourage Katherine and Ernest's relationship in this chapter (honestly, I don't know if I would be able to control my tongue from saying something very cold and scathingly blatant if I were in Katy's place). But her actions do trigger the couple to having an honest and open conversation yet again, with much better results this time around.

At the outset Chapter Twelve, Martha sorely degrades her own sex (by very nearly worshiping men) and has really crossed a couple of boundaries in Katherine's eyes. But James, Katy's lovely and cheerful older brother, arrives at their household and helps to somewhat alleviate her sense of intense frustration with her in-laws. I think that her father-in-law is lonely and afraid, which is why he comes up with so many scenarios of his own death; but I also think it was pretentiously judgmental and quite Pharisaical for him to assume things about Katy's relationship with God. Katherine and Ernest's first anniversary rolls around, and Ernest seriously drops the ball by not even remembering it (yeah, terrible move, husband!); but I think that he maybe sort of slightly atones for it by introducing his wife to Mrs. Campbell, who is a very wise and spiritually mature woman who gives very good counsel to Katy. And then the chapter ends on a rather rancid note (literally), as Martha decides to buy disgusting butter.