Season 1 Episode 13 “The Lord is My Shepard- Part II”- Little House on the Prairie

Laura is still upset about thinking bad thoughts about her baby brother that died. She writes a letter to her father explaining that she must do something to make up for the bad thoughts. She leaves the letter on the fireplace mantel and sneaks out of the house in the middle of the night. When everyone wakes up, they think Laura is already dressed and outside doing her chores. Soon, Caroline finds the note on the mantel and they realize that Laura is gone. Charles asks Mary if she knows what made Laura feel like she needed to go away. Mary tells her father and mother about how Laura didn’t want to pray for their little brother to get well and that Laura felt like her father loved the baby more than anyone else. Charles goes to town looking for Laura and borrows a horse.

Laura has been walking all night and comes to a large mountain. She recalls the words of the Reverend at the Sunday service when he said that one must be close to God in order for Him to answer ones’ prayers. Laura believes if she is on the mountain top, she will be closer to God. So she begins climbing the mountain.

Back at home, Charles has packed some supplies and asked Mr. Edwards to help him look for Laura. They ride all over the usual places that Laura would go. They can not find any sign of her and begin to become discouraged as the day draws to an end. The two men prepare to spend the night out in the woods looking for Laura.

Meanwhile, Laura has climbed the steep mountain side and reached the top. She is tired and begins to pray to God on the rock. She believes that God can do all sorts of miracles and asks him to take her and bring back her brother to her family because her father loved him so much. She says she will wait on the mountain until God answers her prayer. She is so tired, that she falls asleep on the rock.

The next morning, Laura realizes that someone has covered her with a coat. She meets a man named Jonathon who tells her she is on his mountain. He convinces her that she should eat some of his porridge. She tells him she has come to the top of the mountain to talk to God. He tells her it is a good place to talk with God that he talks to Him all the time. Laura is amazed that he knows God and talks to him. She wonders if God will answer her prayer. Jonathon explains that God has a lot to do and that he must be “behind” in getting to everyone’s prayers.

That same morning, Charles and Mr. Edwards are packing up their camp. Charles is very worried that Laura didn’t survive the cold night because she didn’t have her coat with her. Mr. Edwards tries to bring some hope to Charles. They go back home to get more supplies and to see if Laura might have come back home.

Jonathon tries to get Laura to tell him why she ran away from home. He makes her a wooden cross with her name on it. He convinces her to come down to the river and wash herself up. As she is washing, her cross necklace comes off and floats away on the river. She is disappointed, but Jonathon promises he will make her a new one. Jonathon talks about being sad and happy and that life is about experiencing both feelings. They find a wounded dove in the bushes and Laura decides to take care of it until it’s better. Jonathon tells her she is a good child for wanting to care for the bird.

Back at home, Caroline is desperately worried about Laura. She can’t bare the thought of loosing another child. Charles and Mr. Edwards continue looking for Laura, but are loosing hope that she is still alive.

Laura decides to tell Jonathon about why she is on the mountain talking to God. She asks if he thinks that God will answer her prayer. Jonathon explains that when one does something bad, the important thing to do is try and do good things to make up for the bad things. Laura decides to continue praying for her wish to have her brother come back to life and for God to take her instead.

On the third day of the search, Charles is extremely distraught that they have not found Laura and believes that she must be dead by now. He goes to the river to fill his canteen. As he is filling it, the wooden cross that Laura lost floats up to him. His hope is renewed that they begin following the river up-stream to find Laura.

Laura is getting impatient with God. She wonders why he hasn’t answered her prayer yet. She decides that she must go to higher mountains in order for Him to talk to her. Jonathon convinces her that they should build a huge fire to get God to notice her. As the fire is burning, Charles and Mr. Edwards see the smoke on the hill and climb towards it.

Laura waits patiently for God to talk to her again. Soon, she hears her name, but realizes it’s her father calling for her. She tries to run and hide because she doesn’t want her father to find her until God has talked to her. Jonathon explains to her that God has answered her prayer by allowing her to still be there. God wants her to stay and be with her father because he loves her very much. Soon, Charles sees Laura and they rush to embrace. It is a joyous reunion. Laura tells her father that Jonathon has been taking care of her. She turns to find him and introduce him to her father, but he is gone. Mr. Edwards and Charles wonder who Jonathon was and are both very thankful for his help with Laura.