Judgment Day

“We all have fears, but we can’t let them run our lives.” – Christy Huddleston

Sometimes you have to take a chance on your dreams. Christy does that by praying and writing to her local church in Asheville by asking for donations of clothing, household items, and books. They received an abundant amount of supplies including materials for a new telephone line. There are promises within God’s word waiting for us to claim. At Christy’s request Mr. Grantland explains to the children the difference between God and Dr. Ferrand who oversees the mission. He provides a humorous take and leaves her stunned before the class. It’s a nice touch for the beginning of the episode.

Christy is delighted at the sight of all the donations. Yet David reinforces the notion of how difficult it will be to put up the long telephone line. It will be telephone pole after telephone pole. On top of it the locals tend to never assist the mission. It’s one of those old reminders “be careful for what you wish for”. It’s easy to tell from David’s conversation with Christy that he has quite the affection for her. He sees it as a challenge to complete the telephone job to impress her.

He’s two weeks into the job and out of all the locals only Jeb Spencer (Fairlight’s husband) comes to help David. Installing telephone poles is not only a hard job to do but also a dangerous one. Whenever you’re working around lumber there’s often danger to be had. Whether it be logging, building cabins, setting wood fires, or installing wooden poles. It’s an elevated risk but all worth it if everything works out. Sometimes they don’t and this time we see Miss Alice being struck by a falling telephone pole. The danger could have easily been avoided if the local men had helped out. On the other hand some people take on too much like Miss Alice and end up being hurt.

Doctor MacNeill comes to her aid as we see her awaken in bed. She had been passed out for hours and awakens with confusion. He insists she rest in bed and make sure that the wound be cleaned regularly. As she recovers, Christy continues to get donations from Asheville. It’s obvious the postal man Mr. Ben Pentland is getting a bit fed up with such large donations that he has to haul around on a sled. Who could blame him. After all this isn’t your average flat road. It isn’t the level lands, but rather steep hills in the Appalachian Mountains. Woe is us who think modern vehicles is tough getting around in these areas.

Christy turns with an elegantly worn hat and sees a stranger. It’s none other than a white bearded, fierce looking man who is head of the mission, Dr. Ferrand. He’s heated at the sight of Miss Huddleston and the donations she has with the children. He arrived unexpectedly since he was suppose to arrive next month. He walks up the stairs of the mission and surprises Miss Alice. She’s a stubborn patient in her bed trying to recover from her wound. At this point we see Dr. Ferrand a little laid back from his stubborn stance while he feeds her soup and recites a poem.

Later on, he’s seated at the mission eating Ida’s home cooked meal with Christy and David. He tests Christy’s motives and wonders if she’s even prepared for her task in Cutter Gap. David backs her up by mentioning the donations are from many of her family and friends. He inspects all the donations around as David mentions Christy prayed for them. Dr. Ferrand berates her as if God alone provided all these supplies. She did write family and friends asking for help. However if it’s God will he can perform such miracles and even greater than these through prayer alone. Dr. Ferrand says that donations are not blessed if people don’t have the inner conviction to give. To top it off Dr. Ferrand is irate towards David for not focusing a hundred percent on spiritual work.

Think of it. You’ve come to help people spiritually as well as educationally. However the living conditions around the people make it difficult to do so. Christy gives out the supplies to the children including books, clothing and shoes. Yet Little Burl can’t take them, because to him they’re charity. In a sense if you don’t work for it, it’s not yours. It would weigh a heavy burden on you if you did. It’s seen as a debt. I’ve always seen it myself in that same way. It’s a sense of guilty and undeserving. I’m unsure if it’s pride, the lost yet embedded way here or my nagging self conscious that I must give back in return. Perhaps it’s all of these and more.

Oddly enough Dr. Ferrand is working on top of a roof to make repairs and makes it clear to Christy that it’s been neglected. How strange. You tell someone not to do something and yet get blamed for not doing it. I guess we all can relate to that in some way. You can see the frustration all over Christy’s face. Before Dr. MacNeill leaves to visit Lyleton, he tries to give Christy comfort and an understanding of what she’s facing. Neil explains it’s partly their Calvinist heritage as well as pride. The people in the cove always paid even if it was just a gift they received. This sparks an idea for Christy that eventually propels Cutter Gap forward.

Christy’s idea is to have the very first store in the cove. Not just any store, but one that is for trading goods. Trade a pair of shoes for a coat. Trade a dress for a hat. You get the idea. Ruby Mae is given the job as head of the store, despite her lack of self-esteem. Unfortunately after a day not one trader shows up. David hurriedly arrives back with an injured arm because of a slipped telephone line. He loses his cool in front of Dr. Ferrand and who wouldn’t after no one has come to help him ever since Miss Alice was injured. Dr. Ferrand angrily makes it clear that it’s not what improvements Christy or David can make. To him it’s all about faith. He fails to realize that in many cases faith without works is dead.

Christy visits Miss Alice to see how she’s doing but also to find guidance because of her trouble with Dr. Ferrand. It ends up going in the wrong direction because she puts Miss Alice up on a pedestal. No matter how good someone appears or acts in the end we’re all still sinful and prone to evil deeds. Miss Alice’s thoughts of bearing a child out of wedlock at the age of fifteen is still too much for her to bear. As she says perfection belongs God, as neither her, Christy or Dr. Ferrand are. She reveals the hidden secret that her daughter died.

The county squire, Uncle Bogg becomes the first customer of the store trading his possum for a vest. Say what you will, but the perfect trade is made. It’s the first step that will bring in more traders. Miss Alice takes a turn for the worse as tetanus appears to be setting. Since Dr. MacNeill is away in Lyleton, Christy stands up to Dr. Ferrand and insists that he let her go to Neil’s cabin for medicine. Sometimes we have to face our fears head on. Christy does that by riding out on horseback amidst a terrible thunderstorm in her fear of the void of darkness. She finds Neil’s locked mysterious room and breaks in. It’s an interesting side of Dr. MacNeill that he is performing laboratory experiments. It shows us that there’s another caring side to him.

Neil arrives back to the mission in fury that Dr. Ferrand let Christy leave in such weather conditions. Thankfully she arrives back safely. The heated argument continues with Dr. Ferrand saying healing is God’s work. Neil an atheist, proclaims that he, himself, as a doctor does. The truth is Dr. Ferrand and Neil are blinded to the fact that God is our healer but in addition Jesus proclaimed only those who are sick are in need of a doctor. This episode eloquently displays how we can have a piece of truth and not see the rest. We only see our point of view and don’t take the time to consider another’s.

Neil and Christy keep the secret of his laboratory between themselves. It’s these type of secrets that can create a bond between the two. It’s his hope that he can create a cure for Trachoma. It’s an infection of the eye that leads to blindness. Back at the mission, Jeb Spencer installs the final piece of glass insulator for communication. The telephone system is complete, and for Cutter Gap it really is their moment of “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.

Christy’s dream of a barter store becomes successful, and Little Burl finally got those pair of shoes. Dr. Ferrand reflects on his ways near the pond. He comes to realize that taking action is an important job. God has promised to provide our every need. He works through individuals to complete His mission. Whether it be physically or spiritually. The real life Christy, Leonora Wood, took action. Her daughter Catherine Marshall took action by writing her experiences in the novel. By working through them it appears God did indeed lead us to where you and I are now. Maybe it’s time for us to take action.