Maidens of Virtue: Chapter 12

In Chapter 12, readers are treated to a moralistic story about trusting God's Plans - which means believing wholeheartedly in Dad's latest idea for the family. 

This story feels sinister to me and I couldn't figure out why at first.  Later, I realized that this is a cleaned-up version of the time Mike Pearl moved his family to rural Tennessee to avoid CPS.   That worked out really well for the family; he had no source of income after the move so the family was living on raw milk, cabbage, wheat and either canned tuna or cat food.

Hannah had always wanted to live in the country, yet when her father quit his job and announced to the family that they were moving to Tennessee, and they were going to live on the family farm they had inherited, she hardly knew what to think. At first she thought her prayers have been answered. Finally she was going to taste fresh milk and raise chickens. No more neighborhood living for her! She was finally going to be free to breathe the fresh air and gather bouquets of wildflowers in the spring. She wondered if people who live in the country really walk barefoot through clear running streams like they do in the book she had read.(pg. 111)

The first paragraph of the story is filled with red flags.  Successful farms generally have transition planning.  That's the term to describe how one owner/operator of a farm retires from operating the farm and passes the farm off to the next owner/operator.  There are millions of good options for transition planning - but this family missed them all!  Hannah's Dad is working off the farm far enough away that he will have to move his family to take over the farm.  He's not running any of the farm operations.   Essentially, he's making a mid-life career change when the person who previously ran the farm died.  Is the farm operational?  Is it profitable?  Can it support Hannah's family?  We have no idea - and that's scary.

Equally bizarre is the fact that Hannah's family has never visited this farm since Hannah is old enough to remember.  If they had, she would have had ample opportunities to taste fresh milk, be around chickens and gather wildflowers in any season but winter.   Farmers love to show off their animals; it's a compulsion.  Every time we had visitors at my in-laws' house on the main farm they would be offered a tour of the milking operation and to see my chickens.   Pride is a strong motivator - plus there are always chores to be done.  If I could combine socializing with feeding and watering the chickens, I'd do that.

Hannah's books have not prepared her well for country life.  Streams near farms tend to be silty from the natural substrate of soil.  Fresh country air generally smells like some combination of manure, rotting vegetation, and diesel fumes.  Fresh milk tastes pretty close to pasteurized milk but causes more incidences of food poisoning.  On the other hand, fresh eggs are awesome!  Picking wildflowers is fun - but she missed the hours of weeding and harvesting in the garden.

So if this was a dream come true, why did she feel so restless? She snuggled deep under her warm covers and try to ignore the fleeting feelings of fear and discontent that disturbed her. What about her friend, Rose? Would she ever see their family again? She looked around at the walls of her room - - this was the only home she had ever known. What would it be like living somewhere else? What if she never had another friend as long as she lived? Were there spiders and snakes in the country? (pg. 111)

These are normal concerns for a kid to have before moving.  The concerns are never addressed again in the story - so who knows?  Maybe she'll be friends with Rose or maybe her family is excited about more fully isolating their kids.  Maybe their new home will be a rambling farmhouse with modern amenities or maybe the farmhouse is falling apart and unfit for habitation.

And yes, Hannah, there are both spiders and snakes in Tennessee.  Depending on where she's moving from there could be more of each types.  Some parts of Tennessee even have venomous snakes - but not highly dangerous one.  The bites are more like the Massasauga rattlers we have here in Michigan - painful but generally non-lethal.

She had noticed the concerned expression on her mother's face as he made the announcement to the family. Hannah wondered if her father was making a mistake. Surely her mother would never have said she thought so in front of the children. Maybe her father had made a rash decision and was stepping outside of God's will. Was that possible? What if Papa was leading the whole family into a desperate situation? The cold hand of fear and doubt gripped her heart. Her peace melted along with her trust in her contentment. (pgs. 111-112)

My curiosity has been piqued.  Did Hannah's Dad discuss his life-changing series of choices with his wife before he quit his job and decided to move the family to a farm?  I know that CP/QF families pride themselves on instant complete submission to the whims of the male head - but that's no excuse for basic respect between spouses!  Hannah's Mom at least deserved a chance to battle her emotions in private before letting the kids know about the plan.

I don't remember ever worrying that my parents were making a rash decision - let alone a decision that could lead us all into crushing poverty - during my childhood or teenage years.  My parents are both sane adults who thought out the ramifications of various options before acting on them.  Hannah's family sounds less stable.  Has the family been through bad times because of rash decision making before?  Is this an example of acquired fear from seeing other CP/QF families made financially ruinous decisions?

I skipped the next paragraph and a half that can be summarized as "Hannah got out of bed and went downstairs".  She finds her parents praying in the living room which is a bit foreign to my life experience.....

Quietly she looked around the corner and found her parents praying and thanking God. Hannah heard her mother's broken voice asking for forgiveness for doubting God sovereignty and trusting the riches of a secular job more than the riches of God's provision.

Hannah watched as her father raised his hands to Heaven, thanking God for his family. She listened as he ask God to forgive his sins and as he prayed fervently for God's direction. Hannah's father beseeched God for his beloved bride and for each of their children. (pg. 112)

See, God's sovereignty only counts when manly men become self-employed in a field that combines crushing physical labor with volatile price fluctuations.   When God provides a man with a steady income through a job that allows him to support his family, God is no longer sovereign!  In fact, when a person is offered a good job, the only moral option is to scream "No!  I will not allow God's sovereignty to be impugned!" and flee like the wind.  *rolls eyes*

So....I don't think Mrs. McDonald understands what divine sovereignty means because I'm quite certain the Christian concept of divine sovereignty cannot be overtopped because a woman is worried that her husband is making a dumb choice.

Mostly off-topic: the Catholic Church requires that theological books be inspected by a bishop and approved prior to publication.  I always thought that was overkill - and still do mostly -but I'm starting to understand the rationale.

I hope Hannah's Dad was beseeching God for guidance and direction before he quit his job.....

Hannah knew those earlier doubts didn't matter now. God had called Hannah's family to live elsewhere; and she would trust Him, trust her father, and be content with His choice. She knew from Scripture that God orchestrates our lives and his plans are good - -and that Daddy was praying. Hannah hurried back to bed and snuggle deep under the handmade quilt she loved. Then she closed her eyes and tried to imagine the taste of fresh milk. (pg. 112)

And that's the end of the chapter.  Hannah's completely convinced and comforted because she saw a few minutes of her parents praying.  The fact that her mother had gone from worried to crushed at her lack of faith in a few hours isn't worrisome to Hannah; her family is apparently always emotionally labile.  Has Hannah worked through her worries about moving away from her one friend Rose or the fact that there are snakes?  Nope, Hannah's already perfecting the CP/QF womanly art of stuffing unpleasant or inconvenient emotions deep down inside her.