© 1978, 2003 by Bilquis Sheikh

Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com

Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2011

Ebook corrections 04.16.2016 (VBN), 02.11.2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-0784-5

Old Testament Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

Unless otherwise indicated, New Testament Scripture quotations are from the New Testament in Modern English, translated by J. B. Phillips. Copyright 1958, 1960, 1972 by J. B. Phillips. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.

Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

The verse by Rudyard Kipling is excerpted from Rudyard Kipling’s Verse: Definitive Edition. Reprinted by permission of Doubleday and Company, Inc.

To my grandson Mahmud
my little prayer partner
who has been a source of joy and comfort to me
through many lonely hours

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

1. A Frightening Presence

2. The Strange Book

3. The Dreams

4. The Encounter

5. The Crossroads

6. Learning to Find His Presence

7. The Baptism of Fire and Water

8. Was There Protection?

9. The Boycott

10. Learning to Live in the Glory

11. Winds of Change

12. A Time for Sowing

13. Storm Warnings

14. Flight

Epilogue:
  After the Book
  Remembering the Flower Lady
  Enriched by the East

Back Cover

1

A Frightening Presence

The strange prickly feeling grew inside me as I walked slowly along the graveled paths of my garden. It was deep twilight. The scent of early narcissus hung heavy in the air. What was it, I wondered, that made me so uneasy?

I stopped my walk and looked around. Inside my home some distance across the broad lawn the servants were beginning to flick on lights in the dining area. Outside all seemed peaceful and quiet. I reached out to snip off some of the pungent white blossoms for my bedroom. As I leaned over to grasp the tall green stems, something brushed past my head.

I straightened in alarm. What was it? A mist-like cloud— a cold, damp unholy presence—had floated by. The garden suddenly seemed darker. A chilling breeze sprang up ...