PATIENCE OBTAINS ALL

        It was during the Great Depression when Anna Stefanik, a devout Christian woman, was left as a widow with two small children, Thomas Jr and Margita. Anna's husband, Tom, had succumbed to pneumonia, and Anna and her children were forced to move in with Anna's in-laws who lived in an old, dilapidated farmhouse in Exeter, a coal mining town in upstate Pennsylvania. Anna worked feverishly sewing, and taking in ironing, as well as working as a maid in the home of the Parini family who owned the nearby coal mine.

        It soon became apparent to Anna that living with her in-laws was not the best place for her or her children. Her mother-in-law was quite domineering, and arguments often erupted between Anna and her mother-in-law. Once Anna had saved up enough money, she and her children moved into a one-bedroom apartment in town. Town was quite noisy, homes in need of repairs, and where the coal miners lived with their families quite poorly. Anna was determined to make her ends meet and raise and provide tor her children in a loving Christian home.

        Anna also cared for the Parini grandmother, Angelina, also a widow. Angelina had three children; Anthony, Joseph, and Francina. Anthony was quite a sophisticated gentleman who operated the coal mine quite effectively. A labor union was often in the minds of the men, but the fear of no work kept the mine open during those Depression years. Joseph and Francina cared very little about the family business and were selfishly spoiled. Joseph drank heavily, Francina eloped with a man she had briefly known, and both squandered their inheritance foolishly.

        Angelina and Anna grew to love each other as mother and daughter. Anna's presence compensated for the absence and loss of love from Angelina's husband, Joseph and

Francina; however, Anthony always remained devoted to his Grandmama. Anna and

Anthony also fell deeply in love but neither would act upon their feelings as they both came from different backgrounds and ethnicity, and it would be deemed unacceptable by society standards of that era. Anthony had also been forced into a previously arranged marriage which Angelina forbade but was incapable of stopping.

        As the years passed and the economy once again flourished, Anna, with her saved earnings, opened her own dress shop. Christmas often had only a few apples on the table wrapped in lace, a doll made of fabric with button eyes for Margita, and new mittens for Tom Jr sewn with saved threads of yarn as Christmas gifts. Anna continued on in faith and hope, her children viewing their mother as an example of how to handle life's trials and tribulations. Tom Jr became an accountant, and he worked for Anthony in his office. Margita married the town's pharmacist.

        Failing in health, Grandmother Angelina passed. She had missed Anna terribly after Anthony's wife furloughed her from the household with her jealousy of Anna's beauty and grace. Angelina had also experienced Joseph and Francina's passing. Joseph had drunk himself to death, and Francina never returned home. The marriage between Anthony and his wife was crumbling as she became more and more demanding of his wealth, and she recognized that he was still in love with Anna, the maid. She wanted a divorce and custody of their one son but Anthony refused both of these requests. She continued to torment Anthony with cruel words and by turning their son against him. She was often making public displays of affection toward Tom Jr.

        During those years, the coal mine shafts had collapsed injuring men and killing others, and the workers were crying for a labor union and raises once again. Anthony tried to halt the massive protests; however, just prior to a meeting with union leaders, shots rang out. Tom Jr was hit as he tried to cover Anthony. Anthony's wife had been seeking Tom Jr's attention for some time though unsuccessfully and ran to him; however, she was also hit in the rain of bullets. The miners halted the protest. Anna ran to see what had happened, but it was too late. She had lost her son, and Anthony lost his wife. Following this violent incident, Anthony sold the coal mine to the workers, and a labor union was approved.

        Although it took a while, Anthony was able to re-establish a good and loving relationship with his son. Anna grieved for her son but continued to work in her dress shop. Margita encouraged Anna to speak to Anthony and suggested she once again decorate the Parini home for Christmas as she did for many years in the past, but Anna hesitated feeling guilty and responsible for what had occurred that horrible day at the mine. Prayer after prayer, and with much contemplation, she relied on God to give her an answer. She wondered what Grandmother Angelina would want her to do. She decorated her Christmas tree and knelt at the Nativity asking God for comfort and healing. She trembled begging God for guidance, and tears ran down her face.

        On that snowy Christmas Eve night as Anna knelt crying, asking God for help and healing, the doorbell rang at the dress shop. Anna opened the door, and Anthony was standing in the doorway. He pressed his face against hers and very softly kissed each of Anna's cheeks and wiped away her tears. Her prayers had been answered. She had been patient in prayer, patient in life, patient in love, and finally, joy and inner peace came to her by the grace of God. Patience, she thought to herself, obtains all.