Aunt Laura got a call from the pastor's secretary and said that they had scheduled me to sing on Friday night. Aunt Laura told me, "Amanda, you are going to sing on Friday night. I want you to practice until then. Why don't you come into the parlor and I will play the piano and you can practice."

"Okay, Aunt Laura." I practiced for about one hour. Then, I begged her to go play with Katie and Kenny.

"You can go play. I almost have your new dress ready. Do you want to see it?"

"Yes, ma'am."
It was the prettiest dress I had ever seen. It was blue satin with white lace trim. It has puff sleeves and a big bow sash in the back.

"Aunt Laura, thank you for making me the prettiest dress in the world." I said as I hugged her.

"You are more than welcome. I thought you could wear it this Friday night to church." Aunt Laura said like she was thinking about how cute I would look in that dress singing.

"Oh, I can't wait to wear it. Can I take it to my room and hang it up?"

"Yes, dear. Go ahead and do that, then find Katie and the two of you can help me get supper ready."

I ran up the stairs and flew open the bedroom door, almost scarring Katie's socks off.

"Katie, look at my new dress. Isn't it so pretty?" I asked overly excited.

"I guess." is all she said looking up only for a moment and then back down to her book.

"Aunt Laura, said for us to come downstairs and help with supper."

"You mean, Mama. She's my mama, not yours, Amanda." Katie said with a hateful sound in her voice.

" I never said she was my mama." I said back to her and left the room and stomped back downstairs.

Katie followed behind me, shortly. We didn't talk or look at each other all the way through supper.

Uncle Bob said, "It sure is quiet tonight." looking at Aunt Laura across the table.

After what seemed like the longest supper ever ,we went back upstairs to get ready to go to revival.
I loved going to church. This revival was going strong. People were getting saved and the Holy Spirit was moving in a mighty way.

When Katie and I were in our room together she started telling me that she wished I would go home. That she was tired of me getting all the attention.

I didn't know what to say to her. I was hurt and mad. So, I just prayed about it and asked God to change Katie's heart. I prayed about a lot of things. That God would heal my Mom. That He would keep my daddy safe on the road. That He would use my singing for His glory.

That night at church the Evangelist spoke on forgiveness and how we are to love our neighbor. The Holy Spirit moved greatly in that service too. On the way home Katie said, "Amanda, I am sorry that I said that to you earlier today. I am glad you are here at the farm and I don't want you to go home."

"It's okay. I am glad I am here at the farm with you too." I said genuinely.

Then we were home and everything was like before we had our fight.

On Friday night as we walked into the church, I felt a case of butterflies in my stomach. Aunt Laura led me to the front of the church and she put her music sheets on the piano. She was going to play for me.

When it was time for me to sing, I sang as best as I could and in my heart, I said this is for the glory of you My Lord.

The Holy Spirit anointed my voice. I saw people raising their hands and praising God as I sang. After church a hole bunch of people came up to me and shook my hand or patted me on the back commenting on what a pretty voice I had. I thanked everyone that said that to me.

That summer the course of my life changed forever. My mother did not get better, she got worse. They could not find the right medication to help her. We stayed on the farm and lived there from that summer on. The lessons I learned about trusting God and spending time alone in His presence grew me spiritually to have strong roots in my faith. Then college happened. I left the farm and went to Duke University and then took law there. I became a lawyer and moved to Atlanta. There I met my husband, Ethan.