Wisdom Girls: God Provides

By Joel Smith and Claire Smith

In September of 1862, Claire and her family live in the small town of New Berlin, Wisconsin. Claire has just started the first grade and is excited for another school year after a hot summer of helping her parents on their farm. When an early freeze destroys her family's crop, will they be able to save their farm? Join Claire and her family a

• Language: English
• Publisher: Smith Family Publishing
• Release date: Nov 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9780578792156

Book preview

Introduction

In September of 1862, Claire and her family live in the small town of New Berlin, Wisconsin. The Civil War is entering its second year and many of the young men have left to fight for the Northern army. This has left her dad without the extra help he needs to manage the cornfields. Claire has just started the first grade and is excited for another school year after a hot summer of helping her parents with the chores around their farm.

Images and descriptions of Claire’s FamilyImages and descriptions of Claire’s friends

One

The Porch

Claire came running toward the house with her brother Zach and their dog Callie. She could feel her long brown hair flowing in the wind as she ran. She loved having long hair because it meant that her mom would cuddle with her every night and spend time brushing it to get rid of the tangles. Claire smiled as she ran, revealing the two empty spaces left from losing her baby teeth. An adult tooth was just starting to show, but the gap made her whistle slightly whenever she made the letter S sound. The setting sun glistened off her face as she ran highlighting a couple of light freckles on her nose.

Her favorite part of the day was the evening just before she and Zach would head off to bed. Her family would sit out on the porch swing that her dad built and watch the sun set over their cornfields. The swing was made of scrap pieces of wood her dad found around the farm. He had sanded them until they were smooth. The back of the swing formed two curves, making it look like the top of a giant heart.

Wooden porch swing

The swing hung from the roof of the porch. The chains made a slow creak each time it would move back and forth. It had been a birthday gift for her mom and got a lot of use on warm summer evenings. It was just big enough for the four of them if she sat on her dad’s lap and Zach squeezed in between her parents.

Each night she would brush that day’s dust off of her dad’s jeans before climbing on his lap to sit with him. Claire coughed as the cloud of dust reached her face. While she got dirty herself during her daily chores, each evening she loved to change into her favorite polka-dot dress once they were done. It was a dress that she tried to keep as clean as possible because it was a lot of work to wash. As she climbed onto her dad’s lap, he gave her a hug and said,

Hey, Claire Bear!

Claire looked at her dad and shivered, I’m cold, she whispered with a smile.

Well I can help you with that, he said as she made herself comfortable in his lap. Her dad then rubbed her arms with his hands to create a little warmth. She snuggled closer to him as they waited for her mom to join them on the swing. It was just the right amount of warmth for a September evening in Wisconsin. The air was starting to get cold enough to trick the leaves into changing colors. This evening felt a little bit colder than normal though as the sky began to fill with gray clouds.

As the swing rocked gently, her mom came out and joined them. Claire slid off her dad’s lap and sat in between her parents. She liked being squished between the two of them. Her mom always called it a ‘Claire sandwich.’ The orange glow of the setting