The Wisdom of Wood Smoke — Ken Lord

Pay the Mortgage! Horace (Hank) Henderson and his wife Leona work to keep a homestead farm intact. The economy is bad; outgo exceeds income, and there's that large hospital bill. He mortgages his southern New Hampshire farm and cannot make even the regular payments. The mortgage holder threatens foreclosure and has a buyer waiting for Hank's default. When Hank takes his product to market, he sees two men talking beside the road. Later, when making a delivery to one of the men, Darrell Savage, he asks about the woodstove and expresses fondness for the odor of dry wood burning. Aware of Hank's need, Savage provides scriptural leadership that helps the farmer to find a solution. Each meeting, it seems, is saturated with the odor of wood smoke. Hank's children, Emily and Ritchie, each has the interest to pursue, and as Hank wrestles with his future, the buyer appears and the problem is resolved. But is it? Savage must soon depart and a major change is imminent.