The Secret

By Debi Towns

Life is good. For most of us in America, life is very good. Many of us spend our years following our career dreams, enjoying those we love, trying to give back to our communities, and even being involved in our church. It is all great stuff.

The good life becomes the goal. It gives a confident but false feeling of security by letting us think God must be okay with us because things are smooth. We rarely, if ever, seek to know our Creator in a personal way. Often justifying that our decisions are His will, we glide along through the good life.

But He wants more. When there is an awakening of the soul, it is God calling us. Sometimes life takes us to a place we don't know--but a place where God can get our attention. And if we are fortunate enough to listen and choose to follow His call, He will respond and come in and dwell with us. We finally belong. We belong to the one who transcends this life. Our desire to be with Him begins to absorb us.

For some, this can be a traumatic or dramatic experience. But many may not have such an eventful conversion. The good, decent life that many live in today's America may actually make it more difficult to realize that the plan of salvation is meant for each individually. God does not want to just coexist somewhere out there; He is the reason for our existence. He loves us and wants a relationship with each of us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887512846

Book preview

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The Secret

Debi Towns

ISBN 979-8-88751-283-9 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88751-284-6 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Debi Towns

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

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Notes

About the Author

1

The day seemed stifling. The humidity on Long Island was oppressive. The air seemed to cling to Jane's arms and legs. The only relief was the salty breeze that wafted in from the ocean. Her cotton blouse was stuck to her back with sweat, and her feet felt hot and swollen.

She was almost relieved that she had to go to work at the Patchogue Village Library later that afternoon. The library was located downtown in a massive brick building built before 1900. Inside, the library had tall windows, but the lever blinds were always pulled so it cast a dimness over the interior. There were massive but plain light fixtures that hung from the high ceiling. Jane had pondered that it would take an extension ladder to change the light bulbs. Even though there was no air conditioning in the building, it stayed very tolerable in the hot part of the summer because of the brick exterior and shaded windows.

Jane had looked forward to summer and the break from her studies at Western College for Women in Oxford, Ohio. Despite the oppressive stretch of heat, the summer had turned out better than Jane had anticipated, but she was getting anxious to get back to campus and classes.

Three years earlier, she was disappointed that it did not work out for her to enroll in Yale or even Carnegie Mellon University. Two of her best friends from public high school were attending these campuses, and she had hoped to go to college with a friend. But things had gone well at Western. The summer job at the library didn't pay that great, but it would provide her with some extra spending money when she returned in the fall. One of Jane's best friends from high school, Melody, had gotten a summer job in Newport, Rhode Island. She had wanted Jane to come to Newport to try to find a job and summer with her there, but Jane's parents were not keen on the idea, and when the local library job opened up, they advised heavily that Jane take it.

The library work was interesting although some of the daily routine was a bit boring, like putting books back on the shelves and changing out the periodicals. There was a local author, Irene Pratt, who occasionally came into the library researching for her latest book. In one of her visits, she had asked Jane to assist her in researching the history of Long Island. That assignment had intrigued Jane and sparked an interest in the history of the island, entreating her to read more about the sleepy shipping village of Patchogue.

Patchogue was located about halfway between Manhattan and Montauk Point. It was established near where Swan Creek and Tuthill Creek meet up with the Patchogue River and flow into the Atlantic Ocean. The name Patchogue came from the local Indian tribe that inhabited Long Island prior to John Winthrop purchasing the island in 1664.

The main industry of Patchogue was fishing and oyster harvesting. For as long as she could remember, her uncles had worked as contract fishermen as had her grandfather. Jane's dad, however, did not follow in that family employ. He had attended college in New York City and became a high school math teacher. He met Jane's mother in college, but they had come back to settle on Long Island after graduation. He taught in a couple different secondary schools on the island but had secured a position at the newly opened Medford-Patchogue public high school five years earlier. Jane's mother worked part-time for a local accounting firm, which afforded her some flexibility while Jane was growing up.

Sometimes Jane thought her life was pretty vanilla—nothing too extraordinary. She had a happy childhood and grew up in a good home. She benefited from a loving family. But she certainly didn't see herself as exciting or even interesting. She couldn't see herself in a fascinating life role and suspected she would finish college and probably move back to Patchogue to work in the village library. But her dream was to do something no one in her family had ever done—maybe even something that no one in Patchogue had ever done.

The Edgertons were definitely a middle-class family, although both of Jane's parents had always worked. Most of Jane's friends were of similar economic situations, except Lillian. Lillian was also an only child like Jane, which was probably one of the reasons they seemed to have a common bond. Jane first met Lillian when they were twelve at the public ice-skating rink near Hampton Bay. Lillian actually lived in Manhattan, but her grandparents owned a home in South Hampton. Lillian often stayed with her grandparents because both her mom and dad traveled for their work. Both girls enjoyed ice-skating and had kept in touch and met up frequently to skate even through their high school years. As their friendship grew, Jane had become very comfortable around Lillian and at times felt like no one understood her as well as Lillian. Lillian was kind of quiet and enjoyed many of the same activities Jane did. In addition to skating, Lillian was an avid reader and a good swimmer. Jane had cherished memories of her and Lillian reading through their summers while soaking in the sunshine on the pristine Long Island beaches. They had laughed together a lot.

Lillian had attended a private high school in Manhattan, which provided tutored learning when she was at her grandparents'. Upon completing her high school studies, she had gone to London to study for a year. When she returned, she enrolled at Yale in New Haven. Lillian was a good student and was hoping to finish her undergraduate work in a pre-law major and then work toward a Juris Doctor.

Lillian's curly auburn hair made a soft frame around her pretty face, and her green eyes sparkled when she laughed. She was much shorter than Jane. Jane's long blonde hair was very straight, and her deep-set gray eyes could disappear when she laughed hard. Nevertheless, the two girls grew as friends, and even though they were separated for periods of time with travel and college, when they would see each other again, it was as if they had never parted. Even though their lives were very different, Jane felt like Lillian was probably the closest friend she had ever had.

When Jane got to the library, there were only a few cars in the parking lot. Inside, however, there seemed to be a lot of young people milling about. She had forgotten that today was a special Meet the Author presentation, which had been advertised to school-age children. Sitting there in the middle of the fiction section was Mrs. Pratt. She had several of her books spread on a table alongside her.

The library board had invited Mrs. Pratt to present a session or two for younger aspiring writers on how to get started writing. Jane put her things in the closet behind the desk and began sorting returned books to put back on the shelves. When Mrs. Pratt saw Jane, she hurried over to speak to her. I need to talk with you before I leave today. Mrs. Pratt seemed excited and maybe even a bit breathless. Jane didn't have any idea what the older lady might want to tell her.

By the time you finish putting the books away, I should be back from lunch break, the head librarian called to Jane as she went out the back door. The library was cool and dark and seemed like high relief after being outside all morning. This really was a pretty good job but probably not as exciting as Newport would have been. Jane hadn't talked with Melody all summer. Weekends in Newport were busy, so it wasn't like Mel could come home on the weekend. Working in Newport over the summer was kind of a rite of passage for college girls on Long Island. Years ago, Newport was considered the summer retreat for young men from families of position. Young men would arrive in their sporty convertible cars to live for three months in the apartments on the island. They would enjoy the beauty of the ocean, hone their sailing skills, dine on the delectable, fresh seafood, and participate in bocce and tennis tournaments before heading back to their Ivy League campuses in the fall. Girls from the eastern coastline came to Newport, some to work at service jobs like Mel had, but many just to spend their vacation lying on the beaches and watching the young men. For many young ladies, finding a husband of means was the underlying motivation. Jane had heard some of the romantic stories of couples from previous generations who met one summer in Newport and ended up spending their lives together.

It was not so much that way anymore. Young women of Jane's generation were becoming more interested in their own education and careers than finding a man of means who could provide for them. While Jane had thought it might be fun to spend the summer in Newport, the thought of waitressing or being a hotel maid made her job at the library look even better. It wasn't that Jane didn't want to be married someday and perhaps have a family. She had a couple good friends in high school who were guys, but she had never been on a date or even felt romantically attracted to any of them.

Jane had just finished putting the last of the returned books away when Mrs. Pratt appeared around the end of the bookshelf, startling her. I am starting a new novel! she hissed excitedly. It's going to take place in the Midwest, probably Wisconsin or Michigan, because the main character lives on a dairy farm. Underlying the storyline will be some of the differences in culture between the East Coast and the Midwest. Are you interested in helping me research it?

Instinctively, Jane nodded that she was interested in the project. What type of research do you need to do for a book like that? she asked. In the back of her mind, Jane knew she only had a few weeks left to summer in Patchogue. While Jane enjoyed the library, she wasn't sure she wanted to spend a lot of additional hours combing through volumes to uncover the lifestyle of a Midwest farmer. That certainly did not sound exciting.

I'm thinking that I will need help developing the description of the location as well as the daily routine of the characters—might even need some advice on the appropriate lexicon they speak, Mrs. Pratt replied. I'd like you to start by trying to find a historical description of why dairy farmers were originally attracted to this area. Jane was a bit overwhelmed, partly by the assignment and partly by Mrs. Pratt's almost hysterical enthusiasm.

I'll try to see what I can find when I'm in later this week, okay? Jane tried to qualify her response so as to be able to excuse herself from the assignment if it became impossible. She really had no idea how she would start researching this. Jane knew almost nothing about the Midwest, especially Wisconsin or Michigan. She had traveled to Chicago once as a child with her parents to visit family friends over the Christmas holiday. All she really remembered were the decorated windows all around the Marshall Field building downtown. The decorations were so beautiful they were almost surreal. Many of the windows had animated figures that moved—decorating a Christmas tree or riding in a sleigh. But that was her only exposure to the Midwest. She had never been to Wisconsin, although she had a high school friend who was attending the university in Madison.

The afternoon waned on quietly. Jane sat at the front desk in the massive but cool main room of the library. There were a couple folks in the periodical room reading newspapers and a young man who appeared to be a student sitting at a table with a number of books open in front of him. He appeared to be researching something and would occasionally jot down something on a legal pad. Otherwise, it was quiet; the young writers were gone, and even Mrs. Pratt had bundled up her things and departed, assuring Jane she would be in touch with her over the next week.

The head librarian allowed Jane to read at the desk if the return book bin was empty and no one needed assistance locating a book or journal. Jane had read several books already over the summer, but she had recently started a book that her friend Lillian had recommended. The author was British, and Lillian had the opportunity to meet him and hear him lecture when she was studying abroad. His name was Clive S. Lewis. The book that Lillian had recommended was entitled The Screwtape Letters.¹

Jane had read the first bit of the book but then put it down for several weeks. She thought it an odd fictional story about a demon named Screwtape living in Hell who was mentoring his nephew living on earth. The nephew, named Wormwood, was younger and inexperienced as a devil and, as such, was learning from Screwtape. Without much background context, Jane had struggled to grasp the setting of an invisible underworld that interfered with physical reality. She had admitted to herself that it was a clever approach to the topic of moral struggle. She knew it was fiction but wondered where the author might take the reader at the conclusion. As a reader and writer herself, she could appreciate unique approaches to familiar topics.

The target of the demons' activity was known only as The Patient. Jane had read far enough to learn that The Patient experienced a life-changing conversion to Christianity. As an apprentice, Wormwood's assignment became much more challenging after this event. She really wanted to finish the book in hopes that she would see Lillian before the summer was over. She knew Lillian would ask if she had read the book, and she wanted to be able to honestly answer yes.

2

A couple days had passed since Mrs. Pratt had breathlessly shared her plans for a new book with Jane. Jane had been thinking about how to approach the assignment but, so far, had not done any actual research. She knew almost nothing about Wisconsin or Michigan and even less about dairy farming. She had considered contacting the US Department of Agriculture to see if they had an informational source that might be able to give her some direction on Midwest farming. She had also thought about trying to contact the University of Wisconsin in Madison as she had read this was where the first dairy school in the United States was established prior to 1900. Surely, they must have some historical department that could provide information about the dairy industry coming to Wisconsin. In general, though, Jane was feeling unmotivated to work on the project. It was not a topic that piqued her interest, and it would likely prove harder than Mrs. Pratt anticipated.

Jane knew, however, that one of these mornings, Mrs. Pratt would be popping into the library, looking to find out what Jane had unearthed. Jane didn't want to say she hadn't started on the research, so she set in her mind that if she had time later today after putting returned books away and straightening shelves, she would start to look for background information on dairy farms in Wisconsin.

It was Saturday. Jane finished getting dressed and combed her long blonde hair up into a ponytail. It was supposed to be hot again today. She had to work at the library until closing because the head librarian was out of town. Saturdays in the summer were very slow in the library. If the weather was fair, most folks were out on the water or at the beaches. In the hottest part of the summer, New Yorkers liked to trek up to some of the beautiful