“You.”
“I heard you. But why?”
“Because you don’t seem to have one anymore.”
Tessa’s hands remain firmly clasped in her lap. “What made you think I want one?” Her voice is barely above a whisper. Shoulders slumped, she doesn’t look like a thirty-six-year-old woman.
Instead, all I can see right now is that terrified teenage girl I’d first met.
Has she truly regressed that far? How can I make her see what I do when I look at her?
“If you don’t want to read it, then don’t. But no matter what happened to you, Tessa, the Lord never left you.”
She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “You don’t understand. The things I did.”
“I’ve been there, too. And I found my way back.”
Tessa’s gorgeous dark eyes open, and she stares back at me. “There’s no way you would have done anything close to what I did.”
“Sin is sin, Tessa. But I’m starting to think you are holding onto the view you had of me when we were teenagers.”
“What view is that?”
“You once called me the Golden Boy of Stormwatch Landing.”
She smirks, but it fades. “Sin may be sin, but I’ve—” She trails off.
“You don’t owe me an explanation, Tessa.”
“You need to know who you’re protecting, though. Who you’re risking your life for.”
“I already know.”
She shakes her head.
“You’re Tessa Lane, an imperfect daughter of the King. You love Brussels sprouts, pineapple on pizza, and cheesy rom coms, but dislike scary movies, when people put marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes, and small spaces.”
A tear slips down her cheek. “It’s not that simple anymore.”
“It is that simple, Tessa. Jesus died for every sin you committed and every sin you will commit. All you have to do is repent and believe in Him.”
“I don’t know what I believe in anymore.”
“Then start here.” I gently push the Bible toward her. “And find your way home.”
She closes her eyes, and more tears fall. Even though I’m not sure she wants me to, I get up and slide into the booth beside her. She’s all the way near the wall, so we’re not quite touching, but when she doesn’t pull away or shove me off the side, I move a little closer.
I’d prayed this morning. Harder than I’ve ever prayed, that He would use me to bring her back to Him. Even if that’s all my purpose is in this life, I can die a happy man knowing that Tessa realized just how much she’s worth.
That she found her way back to Him.
Because I know she won’t do it herself, I open the Bible and turn to Psalm 139.
“O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.”
Tessa swallows hard, her eyes still closed, but tears continue to stream freely down her cheeks.
I keep reading, “You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand. I can never escape from Your Spirit. I can never get away from Your presence.”
