Sew on and Snow Forth

On a snowy winter morning, John Avery Whittaker and his old friend Pastor Wilson Knox arrive at the Riley Clemens farm to set up a leadership retreat for kids. Wilson, who bullied Whit with snowball ambushes when they were boys, greets him with a surprise snowball and begs for a rematch, but Whit has work to do. Inside, three members of a sewing club called the Bobbins - Eleanor Wise, Edie Nernst, and Delores Vineropoli - have come early to make clothes for children in need. Whit and Wilson find them already squabbling: Edie insists on decorating everything with beads, while Delores wants plain, practical clothes. Whit reminds them the kids arrive in five hours and leaves them to work it out, but Wilson is doubtful, warning him, "You underestimate the ability of adults to act like children."

Out in the storage barn, where an old sleigh Whit and Tom once hitched to horses sits waiting, Wilson proposes a wager. If the ladies are still bickering when the kids arrive, Whit must join him in a snowball fight. But if they manage to work together peacefully, Wilson must share his testimony with the kids about how he once bullied Whit, repented, and asked forgiveness. Whit accepts.

Whit visits each of the Bobbins in turn. Edie defends her beads as beauty that brightens a poor child's day. Delores, between requests for salt, pepper, ketchup, Tabasco, and donuts, argues that the club could make twenty sweaters in the time it takes Edie to finish one frilly beaded dress. Eleanor is stuck in the middle. She explains that the club works as an assembly line - Delores cuts fabric, Edie stitches by hand, and Eleanor runs the sewing machine - so one final decision has to be made, but she refuses to be the tiebreaker and upset a fellow club member. Instead she announces that Whit will decide. Since Edie and Delores each believe Whit already agreed with her, tempers flare again, and Whit asks for an hour to think.

Meanwhile Wilson, scheming to win the bet, quietly stirs the pot. He tells the ladies that letting Whit choose is like holding a gourmet chefs' convention and "letting the busboy make the meal" - surely the most talented of them should decide. The argument explodes all over again, and Wilson cheerfully invites them to the coming snowball fight.

When the hour is up, Whit delivers his decision: he is scrapping everyone's ideas and making his own project, book bags, all by himself. He sits down at Eleanor's sewing machine with the wrong fabric and the wrong scissors, and the horrified experts can't help themselves. Edie insists he needs sturdy denim, Eleanor says the job calls for shears and an experienced hand at the machine, and Delores grabs the big shears herself. Soon all three are happily building book bags together, agreeing on a little color and lace - but not too much. As Whit slips out, he confides to Wilson, "Nothing gets people to work together like a common enemy," and teases him about the testimony he now owes.

The peace nearly collapses when the ladies realize the "busboy" has tricked them and accuse Whit of manipulation. Whit admits - sort of - but says plainly that he needs their help, and if they refuse to give it, they are free to go home. Insulted, all three decide to leave. But when they open the door, a howling blizzard has swallowed the farm. The radio warns of over a foot of snow, zero visibility, and icy roads, so everyone is snowed in and the retreat must be canceled. As they phone the attendees, they discover one person cannot be reached: Wooton, who left Odyssey Community Church at three o'clock driving a minibus with four kids aboard and should have arrived long ago. Whit and Wilson try to dig out the car, but it is hopelessly stuck, and any rescue by road is impossible.

Back inside, the Bobbins have been praying - and, working together at last like a well-oiled machine, they have prepared a warm welcome of their own, complete with a few frills for the girls and hot cocoa and snacks. Humbled, Wilson confesses that he was the one who stirred up trouble between them just to beat Whit, and he asks their forgiveness, admitting that old habits die hard even after a lifetime. Whit suggests he add that to his testimony, then tells everyone he needs their help first and leads Wilson out into the storm. When Eleanor asks what the rest of them can do, Whit's answer hangs in the air as the story ends: "Keep praying."