Tough Old Bird

The story I'm am about to share with you is from "Short Stories of Pioneer Days" by Lavinia Gates Chapman, but it can also be found in "Pioneer Women" by Joanna L. Stratton.

Power of Prayer

The first Presbyterian Church was built at Lindsey, and they received as many contributions from the Methodists as from the Presbyterians. They got the church enclosed and the Methodists were to have every alternate sabbath. They needed more money to furnish the building so they nailed boards to the windows and decided to raise what was needed by giving a dance and had all in readiness when I told them I would pray to the Lord to blow the building down rather than to dedicate it with a dance. Oh, the burden that was in me that day and it was as beautiful a day as I ever saw but just before night there came up a storm and laid the building down to the ground. So they wanted us to give more money. Well they got the building up again and of course would still have their dances now in spite of the elements. Another beautiful day and the cooking and preparations were all done. Of course a few do not amount to much but we could talk to God and he had said "Whatsoever you ask it shall be, do we ask in faith, believing," and I asked that the building might be blown to the four winds.
Oh, such a beautiful day it had been. All was in readiness and I said, "Lord, will you let them dedicate it with a dance?" Just before dark a storm came and some of the church went east, some north, some west and some south, the ground where the church had stood was swept as clean as if it had been swept and they never got the pieces together again. Houses were moved off their foundations and the next morning it was a sad little town. The pieces that were found were collected together and sold to the highest bidder. Brother Cooper who lives on Pipe Creek has some of the boards in his house now. A piece of one of those boards would be a relic to me. This was the first church built in Ottawa County.