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As the afternoon sun poured light and warmth into the
church, there sat Constance. She had been there for some time, reading her Bible
and praying for Tom; the two had barely spoken since their heated argument a
couple of weeks ago. While the pair managed to be civil in the presence of their
children and their congregation, apologies remained unsaid. Meals were often
shared in silence, as even the children had grown timid and stunned by their
parents’ uncharacteristic behavior. But neither Tom nor Constance was holding
out, waiting for the other to admit their wrong. Instead, it was as though a
rift had occurred in their relationship, and no one knew how to mend it.
Having become weary of the tension and the lack of
harmony in her home, Constance had decided to spend much of the day at church,
alone. She was seeking direction and wisdom from God. She didn’t want to go
on, feeling like she was a thorn in her husband’s side; she wanted to help him
grow spiritually and watch him become the pastor that God had called him to be.
While she sat praying in the spirit, with her Bible
opened in her lap, she didn’t notice that Tom had entered. Though he felt a
bit uncomfortable disturbing her quiet time, Tom gingerly slid into the pew next
to her. Constance suddenly opened her eyes and found Tom sitting next to her
with a beautiful bouquet of fresh wildflowers in his hand.
“The kids told me I’d find you here,” he said.
“Just needed some time to myself. I think the Lord
can hear me better without all the children in the background,” Constance
teased. Though she felt grateful for Tom’s unexpected presence, she didn’t
want to jump to any conclusions.
“I know what you mean. These are for you,” Tom
said lovingly as he presented his wife with the flowers. “Constance, I’ve
been a fool lately, and I’m sorry.”
Constance accepted the flowers with tears in her eyes
and embraced her husband tightly.
“I’ve been spendin’ a lot of time in prayer
these past few days, and the Lord’s showed me what a spoiled brat I’ve been.
At first, I was prayin’ about the church, and askin’ God to draw the town
in, to give me a big audience, so I could preach for Him. But my motives were
wrong. You were right; sometimes when I’m up at that pulpit lookin’ out, I
think, ‘All these people are here because of me! I’m so righteous and know
so much more than them.’ I’ve been wantin’ the church to grow so I could
feed my big fat ego, and show off what a great man I am. I wanted to make it all
about me. I was a down right idiot to think that could go on. But I prayed for
forgiveness, and for deliverance from myself.” Tom laughed, knowing he had
been absurd.
“The Word says we need to prove ourselves faithful
with little before He can trust us with much. And the truth is, I haven’t even
been faithful when it comes to takin’ care of my own family. Before I came out
here, I spoke with the children. I told them I was wrong to get angry with you
that night, and that I haven’t been a good priest in my own home. We prayed
together, and I repented, right then and there. Then we whooped and hollered
together like a bunch of crazies.”
They laughed at such an image.
“Tom Gaines, I’m so proud of you,” Constance
beamed.
“Thank you, for bein’ patient with me, for prayin’
for me, and for makin’ me take a good look in the mirror. I understand all
you’ve been tryin’ to tell me. I’ll bet there’s nothin’ worse than
livin’ with a mule who’s ridin’ a high horse!”
“Oh, Tom. You’ve had you’re moments, but it’s
been worth it. After bein’ a pastor’s wife all these years, there’s a few
things you tend to understand, one bein’ that even though you’re called to
be a pastor, that doesn’t mean you’re not a man, and that you won’t make
mistakes from time to time. What makes me so proud is that you’re willin’ to
learn from them.”
“That brings up another issue,” Tom said as he
rubbed his legs. “You know I kept readin’ the Gospels over and over, and I
couldn’t deny the love and compassion Jesus had for sinners. It didn’t
matter who they were or what they’d done; He said He’d love everybody that
came to Him. That made me think of Stone Hawkins, and how wrong I was to turn
him away. But even more importantly, I think I realized that he’s no worse
than me. I was a sinner, just like him, until I came to the cross.”
Constance nearly felt dizzy from her husband’s revelations and was in awe of the power of prayer and the gentle love of God.
“So are you goin’ to speak with Mr. Hawkins, make
things right?”
“Yep. You know, if we’re ever gonna change this
town, we’ve got to do it from the inside out. And I think we should start by
makin’ this church more presentable like, clean the place up a bit. It may not
be real fancy and big, but we need to take good care of what we’ve got. After
all, this is the Lord’s house!”
“You
know you’re right,” Constance said as she practically jumped up, dropping
the flowers in his lap. “We need to dust these pews and clean the windows, and
I could make some nice new curtains…” She was inspired and ready to change
the world.
“But first
things first,” Tom said as he joined her and took her hand, “Let’s go back
home and take our young ones out on a picnic. It’s a glorious day to be a
family.”
Constance smiled brightly, and the two left the
church, arm in arm.
©2004 StoriesByEmail.com
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