Church on Sunday morning is my favorite part of the week. Our whole family gets together, wears our best clothing, and heads to hear the latest news from God, spoken from Reverend Edwards. He has the most special relationship with God, Mama always says. Mama hasn't always been a Puritan, but Papa's brother is Reverend Edwards, so she has to be Puritan if she wants to live with our family. She doesn't mind being a Puritan, I don't think. We sit in church, and Reverend Edwards is starting to yell. I try to listen in, but my mind wanders. Several minutes later I notice that my mother is looking nervous, and clutching her cross ever so tightly. What is going on? I listen in, for real this time. Reverend Edwards is saying things like "He is drunk with your blood" and "almighty merciless vengeance". I look over at Papa and he has a determined look on his face. I look over at Mama, and she is starting to cry now. Reverend Edwards is full of energy and not stopping with these words. I turn to Mama and ask, "What does Reverend Edwards mean when he says, 'The God that holds you over the pit of hell'?" She looks at me with wide eyes and appears to be frightened. She looks away without answering. I turn around to find that many other Mamas are crying, too. I'm so confused. What is going on?
At home on Sunday afternoon, there is nothing but silence. Being the youngest of my four siblings, they try to keep me sheltered from why Mama is crying, but I can figure it out. Do they not know I'm 7 years old now? Papa has been gone all day long with Reverend Edwards, I suppose they'll be back for dinner. Until then, I think I'll go lay with Mama and make her feel better.
At dinner that night Reverend Edwards and Papa seem full of happiness, talking about more words that make Mama cry. I hear them say "anger and the wrath of God" and another that goes like "God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth". Why is God mad? Have we done something to upset him? I know I haven't, I've kept myself clean and pure, gone to church, and said my prayers. What's so bad about that? I think Mama feels the same way, because now I am starting to feel scared. How can I be a better Puritan? I don't think I can. Am I going to die in hell? I'm not hungry anymore, so I dash off to my cot, while Mama races after me. She looks at me and knows why I left dinner. We're scared. We're scared of Reverend Edwards, of hell, and of God. She lets me get in bed and recover from the day. She knows that I'll need to some time to think, because she has been through it, too. We've both finally realized how imperfect we are, how we will never be good enough for God. We just sit in silence while we hear the laughter of Papa and Reverend Edwards roar from the kitchen.
This was very well written! I really like how you turn it into a narrative. You were very believable as a child during that time. It's actually kind of sad to think that people may have reacted this strongly to such a terrifying sermon. Many within a congregation may have wondered the exact same thing about why God would turn their back on them. It's understandable how some people would turn away from the church after things like the Salem Witch Trials, but it was common during The Great Awakening to try and bring them back to the light of God regardless.
ReplyDeleteAgain, very nicely written! 10/10