He spoke with a big voice, and he had big hands to match that he gestured with. He grinned a big smile, and Adam felt comfortable in his presence.
“What is your relationship with God and Jesus Christ?” the pastor asked. “I want to submit to you today that the closer relationship you have with Him, the happier you will be in your life.
“Just like you get to know another person, you can learn about God. You ask questions, and learn about them. We need to be doing the same thing with our Lord. It takes time to truly know another person, and it will take time for that relationship to develop with God and Jesus Christ as well. But brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and move into a new and glorious year, what better way do you have to spend your time?”
The question struck Adam straight to the core. Yes, he’d been busy living his life these past many years, and he often worked on Sunday. He felt a true sense of chastening move through him, and he ducked his head again, as if he couldhide from God. He couldn’t, and he knew that. But he also wanted to be able to answer the pastor’s questions.
He wanted to be able to say that he’d put in the time to learn about God and Jesus Christ—and really get to know Him. He wanted to say that he had a close relationship with Him, and that he knew Him as well as God knew him.
Right now, he couldn’t say those things. He also didn’t know what kind of relationship he had with God and Jesus Christ.
Probably an estranged one, he thought. But the good news was—Adam knew what to do to bridge the gap between him and the Lord.
The pastor talked about reading the scriptures and spending more time in the Bible, where the life of Jesus Christ revealed not only his character, but that of God as well.
Adam could admit, it had been a long time since he’d cracked the Bible and tried to understand the words inside. He’d been slowly coming back to communicating with the Lord through prayer, but he didn’t kneel down at his bedside as of yet.
As he listened, the pinpricks of guilt became action points for him.
Hewouldkneel down that evening and say his prayers. Hewoulddownload a Bible app and start reading that very day.
Change could be instant, and his, and all he had to do was try.
If there was one thing Adam was really good at, it was making a list and completing the tasks. As his shame turned to action, and then excitement, he couldn’t wait to get started on rebuilding his relationship with God and Jesus Christ.
After the sermon ended, he and Joey didn’t stay long. He hadn’t quite found the words to articulate how he felt, and Joey let him sit with his thoughts all the way back to his house in Dog Valley. When he pulled into the garage, he looked over to her, and she looked back at him with the kindest smile on her face.
Adam had asked his mother how he would know when he was in love, and she’d given him the vaguest answer of all:You’ll just know.
Gazing at Joey in that moment, Adam definitely felt like he was in love with her.
“So what did you think?” Joey asked.
“I really liked that sermon,” Adam said. “I got some really good ideas out of it—things I need to do.”
“So did I,” she said.
“Oh, yeah?” he asked. “Like what?”
Joey sighed, and she looked out the windshield toward the front wall of the garage. “Well, he said that if we develop a relationship with God, He’ll guide us on the path we need to be on. And I’ve really been feeling lost since I returned to Coral Canyon.”
“Right,” he said.
“But I don’t feel like that anymore,” Joey said. “I could do better in my relationship with God, of course, but I feellike I’ve been doing okay, and what I need to do is trust that I am on the path He wants me on.”
She turned and looked at him, that intense earnestness in her blue eyes now that lit him up as well. “And if I’m not, He’ll re-guide me to the right place. I don’t think I really believed that until today, and I’m going to work on trusting in God more, that He’s going to guide me where I should be.”
“That’s amazing, baby doll,” he said. “I’m really happy for you.”
“What about you?” she said.
“Oh, I’m going to start with the basics,” he said. “Like a little kid—I need to pray, read my scriptures, and get to know God all over again.”
He grinned at her and added, “But first, let’s go eat lunch.”
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
