Summer of 1858
Jacob rode day and night like a man possessed. Past cities and towns, past farms and families, through highways and by-ways, he rode with the singleness of purpose that had grown to consume his life and all of his thoughts, words, and deeds. Indeed, he was a man possessed; possessed of a dream. Boston was so far away that Jacob hardly thought of it at all at all anymore. He had been gone for barely a month now, but all of the events of Boston seemed as if they had happened a lifetime ago. His father’s house loomed so small in his consciousness that Jacob felt quite disconnected from the memory of it. It was like remembering something that happened to another person.
True to his word, Jacob had no father now. He was a child only of the crossing. The crossing had shaped him into a new man, a man of steel forged in hardship and isolation. Jacob spoke to others only when it was absolutely and essentially necessary. The vast majority of his time was spent in quiet contemplation; in the meditation of travel. He hardly ever slept anymore. He slept so little that Jacob wondered if the new him even required the respite of slumber. He hoped not, and Jacob prayed that he would hold fast to this tireless quality once he reached journey’s end.
Jacob loved to travel by night, and found it was the noonday sun which now brought him weariness. He loved how the coolness of night contrasted with the hot summer days. He loved the song of the creatures of the night. But most of all, 22 CHAPTER 7. HERE I AM LORD
Jacob loved the stars. Here in the heights of the Allegheny peaks, Jacob had never felt closer to the stars. He knew that these mountains were the midpoint of his trek. They stood as the dividing line between East and West, between the cities of the eastern seaboard with their teaming masses and nature red in tooth and claw. Here the air was crisp and clear, so very unlike Boston choked with the smoke of a thousand fires. At this altitude, with the air this pure, Jacob had never seen so many stars so clearly all his life. Not even through a telescope.
The moon was bright and full. Its light was shining down on Jacob’s path so brilliantly that he had no need of a lamp to light his way. Although the terrain was mountainous and rugged, Jacob kept his eyes fixed on the vault of the heavens. He swung his gaze wide across the panoramic night sky, remembering back to his Astronomy class at Harvard. Beyond the brilliant orb of the moon lay Mars and just beyond that was Jupiter. A little further was, but wait, how could that be? The planets were in perfect alignment!
Jacob was no scientist, but he knew that planetary alignment was a very rare event indeed. That it should occur right here in the middle of his journey when he was situated in a perfect position to observe it seemed highly improbable. One might even describe it as miraculous. Unable to look at anything else, Jacob stared straight ahead at the celestial event. It looked to him very much like a highway, much like the one he now rode upon but of a heavenly rather than an earthly nature. That was it! It was the Path of Heaven. Jacob now knew why God had chosen to show him such a thing. He could not describe exactly how he knew, but he knew. Of this much Jacob was quite certain. His path was a Heavenly one, and he should always rely on the Heavens to guide him rather than the passing pleasures of wishy-washy men. Humbled that one as unworthy as he should be chosen, Jacob spoke briefly with his Creator.
“Here I am Lord, send me.”His eyes remain fixed upon the vision his Heavenly Father had sent him as a sign of the face of the shape of things to come.