The Long Dusty Road

Book excerpt: William Crawford was digging in the same dirt as his ancestors before him. They had spent their lives scratching a living out of this poor cotton farm in West Tennessee to provide for those of their own. He was a loving husband and father and cared deeply for his wife, Mary, and their three boys. A message came to their door one day that brought the news of a tragic loss while at the same time placing before them a decision that would change their lives forever. It was a message of life and death and one that brought both sorrow and joy to their home. The story weaves itself through times of great struggle and, with it, the despair that entered into their lives. The family is thrown into turmoil when William passes through a near-death experience that sent him into a long and deep valley of depression. In the months to follow, he would become distant from his family and walk the fields, begging God to take his life. It shows forth the grit and determination of three young boys as they take on the responsibilities normally reserved for the head of the family. In their father's absence, the farm itself was suffering along with those that depended on it for their very survival. If Crawford farm was to be saved, they alone must do it. The story is set in the south in the year 1952. It tells of the difficulties of hand-to-mouth living and of the families that endured desperate times to stay on the soil that they loved. The reader is carried to another time and place where people treated one another with respect and neighbor helped neighbor. In the end, victory comes shining through the dark clouds of discouragement and the family stands united in the light of God's love.