LAND, LITTLE ONE AND FAREWELL..

 

THE STORY OF CANUTE AND SARAH CONTINUES...

When Peter was only a month old, Canute was called with 5 other men to go settle land south of the city. There were over three thousand acres and water that they could claim for irrigation up in the canyon. (This later became the town of Lehi. The city's history book has Canute's name in it as a Founding Father, and there's a Monument with this information standing in the older part of the city now.)

He was allotted twenty acres of plow land and five acres of pasture land. He set to work plowing and sowing, making irrigation ditches and fencing in the land. During the winter months he built a little log house so he could bring his little family from the city in the spring. The walls were log and the roof was of overlapping slabs to make it waterproof. There was a large fireplace in on one end and a double bed built in one corner. 

Finally the day for moving arrived and they loaded up their meager belongings in the wagon, said their goodbye's and headed toward another new beginning. Sarah was surprised and delighted when they drove up to the gate and she saw the home Canute had built. Her words were that she never beheld anything so lovely and welcoming. A Queen's palace couldn't be anymore appreciated than this. Canute beamed with pride at how happy they were this day. But the essence of this moment was to linger in their minds as something to help them through the trials ahead. To help erase the past hardships and future heartaches.....

Sarah busied herself putting things in place, making curtains and placing doilies on the table. The next morning she took the little can that held the twigs from the willow tree. They were the special memories of her home in Illinois that she'd carried with her across the plains. She took them now and transplanted them in the corner where someday she knew would be a lawn. Then she built a little fence of sticks around them for protection. Here was the beginning of her first little shade tree! As she sat back daydreaming, Canute sat down and said "Sack, what are you doing?" To which she showed him their first tree. Teasingly he said he thought she'd planted sticks..where was the tree? She looked at him with a hurt expression until she saw the twinkle in his eyes, then she burst out laughing. They both agreed the tree had the power to tower over any sticks.

The were very busy that spring working every waking hour in the dirt. Plowing, planting. irrigating, weeding and then preparing for the harvest. Other family's  settled around them and they all became friendly and helped each other. Two young women around Sarah's age would come and chat for a few moments or come to borrow some little thing. The absence of stores made borrowing, lending and repaying a common practice and grew lasting friendships. This would be a need for all the women in days to come.

As harvest time neared, Canute and Sarah would look upon the fields and feel God was good in His blessings to them. One day they sat resting when a rider came to their house on horseback. After being invited in, he gave Canute a letter from the presiding leader of the church. They waited until the man had gone, then opened it to see what it said. Canute was to prepare for immediate departure to go open a mission in Norway. He was to be gone for five years....

After the initial shock left both their faces, Sarah said she didn't know how she could let him go, and clung to him sobbing. They stood that way in silence until Canute finally gained his composure enough to comfort his sweet Sack. He said he knew this would be an awful blow for both of them, even worse for her. But if it's God's will they would manage.

Sarah agreed but still didn't know how she could endure for that long. Little Peter was just 14 months old now and would be over six years old when he saw him again. Then she told him of another child that would be born in January.....

And I'll be back real soon with more.

See ya yesterday...