World affairs were deteriorating as the autumn courtship letters of Walter and Margaret came to a close. In this winter sequel, which begins shortly after their Christmas engagement, the cattle and potato markets flounder. Walter’s fledgling farming operation is jeopardized, and his wedding plans are tabled as he searches for meaning in God’s perplexing will. Troubling concerns naturally arise. Margaret struggles to know her soulmate’s feelings when her own are astir leading her to question Walter’s desire for her and God’s will for her life. Both are children of the horrors of the Great War and the following Great Depression. When the Nazis drive into Austria, Walter and Margaret find themselves pondering scriptures for insights on which to ground their faith in God and in each other. As they share their insights, they witness to a faith that carries them through each struggle as it arises. Although Walter and Margaret are two individuals going about two very ordinary lives, both are caught up in a desire to understand and find meaning in their lives as well as in the news. It is not surprising that they point out and comment on many issues and events with which we can all identify. Hopefully, my reflections on how their understandings later played out in their lives and mine will aid readers in gaining a deeper insight into their own. That may be the sole benefit of this book for some. Other readers will also be caught up in the three pivotal issues raised in the letters: our fundamental sources of truth, the coming world order, and the early understandings surrounding the resurrection of Jesus. These issues cut across national boundaries. Their significance touches many. Our views on these issues shape our institutions and occasionally create deep divides. For that reason, we usually avoid discussing them in polite conversation. Yet, as these letters document, they lurk and easily surface.
