His voice boomed from the pulpit, passionate about his message. “Before I found God, I let my trials tear me down. I took them on my own shoulders, each time falling further into self-destruction. After my injury, I leaped into a dangerous spiral of drugs, women, and gambling that nearly cost me everything I cared about.”
Jared came to mind, and Janie whispered a silent prayer for him.
Darnell stepped away from the pulpit and descended the three steps to stand level with his audience. “By God’s grace alone, I found Him. With Him by my side, I can face whatever comes my way with joy and courage because I know Who is in charge, and I’ll tell you a secret, it ain’t us. When we try to replace God, all we do is make a bigger mess, am I right?”
He received laughs and amens from the crowd.
“Our sufferings don’t come as a surprise to Him. In fact, He tells us directly that we will have troubles in our life, but then He instructs us to take heart, for He has overcome the world. On this day, we celebrate Him rising from the grave and overcoming death. Folks, what better comfort and security can we have in this world than to have a personal relationship with the One Who has already won?”
The final words of the message walloped Janie. Funny how she’d thought it a shame that Jared hadn’t come becauseheneeded to hear Darnell’s words, yet she’d been convicted in her own shortcomings of faith. In all that she had faced, God had been right beside her. How could she fail to trust Him with her tomorrows when He’d been so faithful with her yesterdays? All the problems from big to small that still spiked worries—her fears of the proverbial anvil falling—she needed to give one-hundred percent of those to God. She’d come a long way, but couldn’t honestly tell herself she didn’t have one hand in God’s and the other on the controls.
Chapter Fourteen
Evan left church, inspired by Darnell’s words, but worried about Jared. His behavior of late screamed a need for help, but until Jared recognized it, there wasn’t much anyone could do except pray. He hadn’t given up on the idea of talking to him again about the crash and subsequent guilt, but Jared had made it clear he wasn’t going to open up.
Plus, he and Janie would tell Jared today about their relationship. He hadn’t mentioned his concerns to Janie and had done his best to convince her Jared would be happy for them, but in his gut, he didn’t know. The truth was, instinct told him Jared wouldn’t take the news very well, although he had no specific reasons to think that.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Janie glanced over at him from the passenger seat.
“Life.”
She gave him a small smile. “That’s a broad subject.”
“Did you enjoy the service?” He changed the subject before she could press further.
“Yes. I loved the song choices and Darnell’s message. Did you?”
“It wasn’t a typical Easter service beyond the music, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.” He tapped on the console where he’d stored his book. “And I got my signed copy ofWinning Losses.”
“And you only pushed half the congregation out of the way to get there first.” Her teasing lilt made him laugh.
“More like one person and that’s only because Adele Lotz pushed me, which caused me to run into Sam Trace.”
“Sure.” She drew out the word in four syllables, and caressed his shoulder. “Thanks for making this Easter Sunday a thousand times better than last year.”
His heart flipped. “You’re welcome. I owe you thanks, too.”
She turned her head and rested her cheek against the headrest. “Isn’t it strange how a year is a blip on our life, yet everything can change in that time?”
“Everything can change in a second. It doesn’t take a year.” When he saw the pensive expression on her face, he regretted his choice of words.
“No, but a series of events can keep the seismic changes coming like aftershocks.”
“Change can be good.” He reached to the passenger side and held her hand. “In our case, awesome.”
His apartment complex appeared in the near distance. He drove in and parked in his assigned spot. The numbered space came in handy when other tenants had parties and people driving in from outside the community. A friend who’d lived in the community had told him before management had implemented the system, tenants couldn’t find any parking on Friday and Saturday nights. Now, conspicuous signs stated clearly that all cars parked in an assigned spot not matching the permit number would be towed. Problem solved.
He removed his signed book from the console and tucked it under his arm. Meeting Janie at the front of his car, he held her hand then walked to his apartment. A group of ten kids carrying Easter baskets ran down the sidewalk, and Evan tugged Janie aside to avoid their path.
“There’s a community egg hunt this afternoon.” He nodded in their direction. “I guess it starts soon.”
“I love watching kids get excited about traditions. It’s one of the things I love most about the holidays.”
The squirrel riding on a corncob from Thanksgiving came to mind. “That runs in your blood.”
“I can’t argue with that.” She shrugged. “Even if I wanted to. There’s a lot to be said for keeping traditions.”
A loud cough interrupted them.
