She stood at the top of the mountain pass, breathing in the pine-scented air, as memories crashed around her, clamoring to be heard.

The memories were almost more than she could bear, and yet she knew that it was finally time to face her demons; and to watch, as the angels of heaven conquered her fears ~ laying them to rest.

It seemed like only yesterday; and yet it was a lifetime ago. Jenna Swanson had been just a few months from turning eighteen years old when she finally broke the bonds that held her to the way of life she had grown up in, a life that had been thrust upon her at birth. Now, she was glad she had been strong enough to find her own way.

Hers had been a hard life those first years; and yet they had been, in many ways, some of the best of years. Growing up in the tall Appalachian Mountains, life was never what it seemed to the rest of the world. It was magical, that was for sure, but there was also much darkness.

Her daddy had been a drunkard for as long as she could remember. He had beaten her mama and had abused his children in more ways that she was willing to remember. It had taken her years to get beyond the pain inflicted upon her in her youth. However, the good memories of growing up on the mountain had never left her heart. Picking berries in the hot summer sun, playing hide and go seek with her sisters, running through the spring thunderstorms with only her shift to hide her slender form; yes, there were wonderful memories that flitted in amongst the darker ones.

The night her Granny had taken her to the little church down the mountainside had been the night her life had changed forever. She had resisted going because she still had a bruise on her lower jaw where her daddy had hit her with his fist nearly a week before. She had fought him off when he was in one of his drunken, foul moods, and he had retaliated by knocking her nearly senseless. It was nearly a week til she could show her face. Regardless, Granny insisted and there was nothing doing but that she would go with her to revival that particular night.

As she walked into the broken down little building, the wood stove giving off more smoke than heat, she felt something that she had never felt before. It took her some time to learn that this feeling was the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit. She soon learned to trust her Heavenly Father, and in turn the Lord turned her life upside down.

It wasn’t long before Jenna was going to every church service possible. She was baptized in a rushing mountain stream. She knew that God had placed a special calling on her life. What it was exactly she was yet to find out.

Of course, her daddy tried every way he could to keep her from going to church and becoming involved, once he realized that she was committed to a new way of life. He ever lived in fear of losing control of his wife and daughters. When he finally realized that Jenna was not going to comply with his unreasonable demands, he forbade her to return home and told her she was no daughter of his.

And so, she had gone to live with her Granny in her tiny cabin a few miles away, under the tall fir trees. She would ever remember the sound of the wind sawing through the tops of the pines, calling her to worlds far, far away.

Soon, she and the young minister, Darren Wallace, who led the congregation, had fallen in love and planned to marry. She’d had to wait patiently until her eighteenth birthday. Knowing that her father would never give his permission, they kept everything quiet about their love for each other until she was of an age to decide for herself.

On the day that she turned eighteen, Darren’s uncle who was also a minister had married them in the quaint little church with only her Granny and her older sister, Katy, as the witnesses.

The years passed as she and Darren answered the call to be missionaries. Their work had taken them to the far side of the world and back again. Jenna knew that she would always treasure the memories of her time with Darren. They were married over fifty years and it was a full, rich marriage. He had died going on two years ago now and she missed him with every fiber of her being. Theirs had been a love that spanned the decades. Their four children and seventeen grandchildren were the testimony of a wonderful life together.

Today, however, was a turning point in her life. Today she turned seventy. It was time she laid her daddy’s ghost to rest. She had carried it to South Africa, and on to Asia and Russia, and now back to this place on the mountain, the bitterness a cancer in her soul. She had never even told her soul mate, Darren, of the depth of her father’s abuse. Instead, she stuffed it deep in the crevices of her heart and pretended it didn’t matter once she was gone from home.

It wasn’t until she realized that she needed to, nay must, let go of those dark memories of what had taken place in her childhood that Jenna decided to make another journey back to these mountains. Her birthday gift to herself on this auspicious year was to release the anger and bitterness and let it go. If life had taught her nothing else, it was that peace was worth everything.

Peace was what she craved.

Standing on the top of the mountain pass, where her family’s land stretched as far as the eye could see, Jenna lifted her face to catch the warm spring breeze. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and let the stresses of life flow from her body.

Mutely, she offered up forgiveness of her own free will. Today she would start over. Today she would begin to live anew and afresh, for however long the good Lord might let that be.

She could have sworn she felt the brush of angels’ wings as she stood a moment longer in the hush of the evening. A turtledove cooed to its mate, and the dew slowly settled on the grass.

Hearing a slight noise, Jenna turned and looked to her left. Her grandson, Toby, stood watching her, stubbing at the gravel with his worn shoe.

“Are you alright Grams?”  Toby inquired.

“Oh, my darlin, I am so much better than alright. I am the best I have been in years. I am finally free.”

Looking at his grandmother quizzically, it was clear the young man wondered what she had to be free of.  However, he’d been taught well not to disrespect his elders, and decided that wisdom truly was the greater part of valor.

“Well,” he drawled, “Mama says it almost supper time and we have the candles already on the cake. She sent me to walk with you on back to the house.”

“Well let’s go then, we don’t want to keep the celebration awaitin!”

Taking the arm of her grandson, Jenna walked with him as he matched his longer strides to her slower pace, and she felt love well up within her heart. Joy unspeakable filled her soul.

She was finally home and it was good.