Vera's Journey (PDF)

"Our family thoroughly enjoyed your family story! We love to read and are very grateful for books with good moral and historical lessons. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." This was written on a card received from a reader living in Pennsylvania.Many have said that it reads like a storybook: "At 707 pages, Vera's Journey is extensive, but reads like a storybook, rich in description and history, with photos along the way. The book also has an area map, recipe cards, and Ralph and Vera's family trees. Vera's Journey takes a historical look at the matriarch of a Mennonite family living in the [Shenandoah] Valley [of Virginia]." This quote was taken from A Life Fulfilled, featured on the front page of the Saturday Magazine published each Saturday by the Daily News-Record, authored by Jacquelyn Walsh, August 29, 2009. You may read the story on line atdnronline.com.Vera's Journey is about relationships in family, church, and community. It is also a history of bygone years, of suffering and triumph. Some people grow grouchy and irritable as they grow older. Not so with Vera. She grew old gracefully. Complaining was not her way. She learned in some of the most difficult experiences of life to trust God. Once when asked if she fears death, she gave a typical, careful response, "The unknown is before me." Vera's life was unusual and yet very normal. What makes Vera's story so riveting is the combination of longevity and uniqueness mixed with pain and triumph. The final triumph came when God granted her request to take herhome. Her parting was a most sacred moment as gathered family members observed her passing. It seemed she moved from one would to the next without a noticeable transition. There was a complete absence of struggle, aserene calmness. Her trust in God was profoundly evident in that defining moment.