Page 107 of Bailey

Bailey only moved over far enough for him to take a seat on the end, though another couple could have sat with them. He didn’t think the meeting would be that crowded, and he supposed they could scoot to make room for people if the chapel did fill up.

He sat down and continued to look around, taking in the amazing craftsmanship of the wood on the walls and ceiling. A big pipe organ took up a huge part of the raised area where the pulpit stood. Chandeliers dripped down from the ceiling every fifteen feet or so, haloing the congregation with muted yellow light.

Plenty of sunlight came in from the east side, where the Garden of Eden had been depicted in stained glass along the top eight feet of the chapel. Reeves spotted Luke with his family in one of the middle rows, closer to the front. One of the twins sat with him, while the other took up the row behind them. Gabe and Hilde had the four little boys, and Reeves smiled at them sitting beside Luke’s two sons, the six little boys all in a neat row.

He ducked his head toward Bailey. “Look at those Young boys up there,” he whispered.

She found them and smiled. “They’re cute.”

“Do you want boys or girls, wildflower?”

She snuggled into his chest, and Reeves lifted his arm around her. “I don’t dare wish for one more than the other,” she said.

Reeves figured he’d love any child the good Lord blessed him with. He didn’t have time to say so before the music changed and doors opened on either side of the pipe organ. Choir members started to flow out, wearing deep, dark red robes. They made three rows behind the pulpit and in front of the pipes, singing Amazing Grace in a four-part harmony.

All the confusion and darkness in Reeves’s soul fled. The music, the words of the song, the stained glass, but most of all, the spirit here, had just flooded him with light, reminding him that he was a son of God, and that the Lord had been keenly aware of him every day of his life.

His emotions surged, but Reeves managed to keep the tears burning in his eyes until he could control them, and they dried up.

The choir finished, and the pastor moved to stand behind the pulpit. He stood at least six feet tall, the tie around his neck seemingly a little bit too snug. Perhaps that was simply the thickness of the man’s body, as he could play for a professional football team with shoulders that wide and a chest that big.

He put a folder on the pulpit in front of him and looked out at his congregation. Pure light emanated from him, and when he said, “My brothers and sisters, good Sabbath day morning,” he didn’t really need the microphone.

He broadcasted power and joy, and Reeves wanted that feeling in his life every Sunday for the rest of his days.

“It’s been an amazing summer so far, hasn’t it?” Pastor Michaels asked. “I sure think so, and I’ve got two teenagers who will be heading back to school very soon.”

He grinned as if this were great news. “It’s been fun to have them home during the summer, but I find I’m better with the routine of them going to school every day. The older they get, though, the more I’m reminded of how much Satan desires to have us, and none of us are immune from his charms, his tricks, and his deception.”

Though he’d turned a touch more somber, he still spoke with an undercurrent of love in his voice Reeves felt way down in his heart. “None of us are perfect, my friends, and we all need the redeeming power of the Lord.

“Today, I’d like to remind you that no matter what you think you have done, or how far you think you have strayed, God’s desire to have you, to save you, and to walk beside you still exists.

“In the Bible, we read of great kings Saul and David. Some of you may know the stories of David and the terrible things he did, despite God’s influence over him. When Solomon had just finished the new temple and was dedicating it, he pleads with the Lord to remember those who will return unto Him.

“That’s us, my friends, and I want to testify that God stands ready to receive you. In his prayer, Solomon said: ‘if they will repent and make supplication to Thee’—meaning prayer—and plead with Thee for help, and return unto Thee with all their hearts and all their souls.”

He looked around at everyone again, and Reeves swore the man made direct eye contact with him personally. “If we can do these things, Solomon then begs God to hear us, to forgive us, to have compassion upon us, and to maintain us in the land.”

He hadn’t touched his folder, and Reeves knew, because he hadn’t looked away from the man once.

“Brothers and sisters, what does that mean? To have God on your side, to be maintaining you, to hear you, love you, forgive you, and pour His blessed compassion out upon you? Who among us does not want these blessings?”

Pastor Michaels grinned, and Reeves found himself in desperate need of the things the man had spoken of. “It may seem hard,” he said. “You may not have troubles like David, as he committed sins with another woman and then sent a man to his death to cover them up. But if you’re off the path at all, you can start small to begin making your come-back.

“If you haven’t been praying, make a commitment right now to pray tonight before you go to bed. If you haven’t been reading your scriptures, make a goal to read at least one verse every day for a week. Then, increase it to two, and then three, and before you know it, you’ll be pages deep into the Bible, and loving every second of it.”

Reeves wasn’t entirely sure that was true, but he did like the advice to start small. He prayed silently already, but hadn’t uttered his prayers out loud in a while. He certainly didn’t take time to kneel down at his bedside to talk to the Lord.

He also didn’t have big sins to repent of the way David did, but Reeves definitely had some work to do to return unto the Lord. The spirit of God burned through him, testifying to Reeves that he’d never shied away from doing hard work. He could do this too—and more than that, he wanted to do this.

He ducked his chin toward Bailey and whispered, “Do you pray out loud?”

She looked at him, her eyes wide. “Usually only in dire circumstances,” she whispered back.

Reeves nodded a couple of times. “That’s going to be my goal.”

He thought about committing to morning and evening prayers, with him kneeling down at his bed, but he decided to go a step even smaller.