Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
A va pulled her rose-pink skirt and matching silk shirt out of the closet.
When she unpacked it after arriving at her mother’s, she’d had no idea when she’d wear it, nor had she felt up to putting it on until now.
But with her wounds healing, her energy on the rise, and Lucas meeting her for church, it seemed like the perfect day.
She was so glad she’d insisted on bringing the outfit with her.
She curled her long chestnut hair and then applied foundation and cream blush to her cheeks. She added mascara to her lashes, feeling feminine for the first time since the accident. She slipped on her Jimmy Choos and walked into the living room.
Her mother turned her novel over in her lap. “Wow. You look incredible.”
“Thank you.” Ava did a little spin, keeping her torso tight to avoid any lingering pain. “I feel so much more myself.”
“You always did like to dress up.”
A knock halted their conversation.
“That’s Lucas,” Ava said. “I’ll get it.”
She opened the front door to find Lucas, clean shaven, smelling divinely like spice and cinnamon, and wearing a trendy suit. While she’d always found him attractive, his appeal in that outfit stopped her in her tracks.
The way his lips parted and his eyes widened, she guessed he might feel the same way at seeing her spruced up.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You look wonderful.”
“So do you.” She called goodbye to her mom, linked her arm in Lucas’s, and went with him to his Range Rover.
He opened her door for her, and she slid into the sleek, dark leather seat. Lucas got in on his side, and they pulled off down the road toward the chapel. The sun sparkled through the trees, casting golden light on the road in snippets, and the sky was bright blue.
When they arrived, they were greeted by an energetic gathering outside the church, all of whom might have been over eighty-five years old.
Lucas’s eyes sparkled with humor as an elderly woman, who introduced herself as Dorothy, cut in and asked him to assist her up the stairs.
She grabbed his arm, her cane in one hand and Lucas in the other.
He helped the woman inside and seated her in one of the pews.
The whole way there she’d pointed out the framed cross-stitch on the wall, telling Lucas all about how she’d sewn each one with love to help bring the Holy Spirit to life inside the church.
She continued as she sat, asking him questions about his day and telling him all about her morning with her cat.
Lucas had to pull himself away the moment they had even a slight lull in conversation.
“Why do you think people our age don’t come to this church?” he whispered into Ava’s ear.
“Maybe there isn’t anyone younger in the area. The church is pretty secluded,” she said.
They followed the red runner that cut the sanctuary into two sides and took a seat together, the old wood floor and bench creaking from their movement. The crowd eyed them with whispers and smiles. Dorothy wiggled her fingers in a little wave.
A stout man in a white robe with a gold sash stepped up behind the small podium and tapped the microphone. The congregation quieted. A handful of churchgoers in robes took their places behind him.
The man cleared his throat into the microphone, the sound bouncing off the high ceiling. “Please, open to page 217, ‘Be Thou My Vision.’”
The congregation buzzed with the sound of hymnals sliding out of the back of the wooden pews and opening, people finding their pages. The preacher sat down in an ornately carved chair.
The choir behind the preacher began to sing, their elderly voices a bit off-key, but their conviction enough to keep Ava’s attention.
The women put their hands to their hearts, their eyes closed as they sang, and a couple of the men held out their arms in an external expression of their faith. The congregation rose, joining in.
Ava and Lucas also stood. Ava opened to the page, but had mentally slipped back into the moment when she was in the emptiness.
She didn’t have half the passion these people had, and they hadn’t experienced the all-absorbing love that Ava had felt that day.
Yet there they all were, lost in their moment of connection to the divine.
Was it their age that made them so convicted?
Or was it their life experiences? Yes, they’d probably seen a lot in their lifetimes—more than Ava had.
She’d been so focused on work and the day-to-day of this life that before the accident she hadn’t stopped to consider that her very salvation hung in the balance.
Was the jury still out on that? Was she in some kind of faith gray area?
She knew she didn’t go to heaven by her works, but had she done enough to really connect with her savior?
Had she built her faith to be unbreakable, like these people seemed to have done?
It was very possible she’d been in divine presence, and she’d chosen to let her job lead her thoughts.
She’d spent days going about her worldly business, and she hadn’t once asked God what the plan was.
Even today, she’d been sitting at her mother’s computer, trying to figure out what to do.
The reality smacked her in the face: God had taken away all her big plans to show her that she wasn’t the one in charge of her life. He was.
She wanted to fall to her knees right there in the church pew. Tears pricked her eyes, and she blinked to keep them from spilling down her cheeks.
I’m sorry I wasn’t more appreciative of your love . I’m sorry I didn’t let you guide me . She sent the thought up into the air, hoping it would reach God.
Lucas glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, his brows pulling together, sensing her emotion. He took her hand. The gesture was exactly what she needed.
When the choir had finished, the preacher stepped back up to the podium, and they all took their seats. Lucas released his grip on her hand.
“Let me call upon Galatians chapter five, verse thirteen,” the preacher said in his Southern drawl, his voice echoing in the small sanctuary. He began reading the verse.
A hushed rattling took over the church as everyone located the spot in their Bibles.
“This world can often seem constricting. It can make us feel as if we’re here only to serve the worldly.”
Ava stifled a gasp, giving the preacher her entire attention.
“We’re inundated with schedules and tasks. Our kids’ and grandkids’ days are filled to the brim with activities, and we have to fit ourselves into their timetables. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m old and tired. Too tired to keep a time clock. ”
The congregation chuckled, nodding their heads. Dorothy winked at Ava.
“Galatians says we were called to have freedom. We’re meant to be free.”
Ava considered how free she’d felt in New York after her divorce.
She’d been able to do anything her heart desired, and she’d chosen to work.
Was that what God had meant by “freedom”?
She doubted it. She could’ve prayed about her marriage, tried to see other points of view, consulted her mom, worked at the relationships in her life. And she’d done none of it.
As if answering her question, the preacher continued, “Only, we are not to use that freedom for the flesh, but through love to serve one another.”
There it was, plain as day. She’d been living her life in a way that most likely wasn’t what God had intended. He wanted her to be free, and not alone.
Live out the rest of your life .
Originally, she’d assumed the voice had meant her to live out the rest of her life freely, as in go back to her regular days.
But maybe the reason she was struggling was because that life no longer worked for her.
She needed to serve others instead of herself.
Her confusion about her life had been what had drawn her to the church.
She’d been hoping to get answers. Well, she got them all right.
The preacher continued, but Ava already had already received her message. She’d heard it loud and clear. So what should she do with it? That question rolled around in her mind the rest of the service.
“I enjoyed having y’all,” Dorothy said after the service. She shifted her cane from one hand to the other. “I don’t get out much, and I love to chat with people. Church gives me that once a week.”
Lucas offered a friendly nod.
“Thank y’all for comin’ today,” the preacher said, walking up to them. “I’m Pastor Jim Thomas.” He offered a hand to Lucas and then to Ava. “It’s nice to see some new blood in the congregation.”
Dorothy patted the preacher on the back and then began chatting with another couple coming down the walk.
“It was a really great service,” Ava said to the preacher.
“Y’all plannin’ on comin’ back next Sunday?”
“I’ll be flying back to New York next Sunday. I’m here visiting my mom, but I’m going to tell her what a wonderful service it was. Maybe she’ll pop in.”
“I might be back next Sunday,” Lucas said, to Ava’s utter surprise.
The preacher’s face split into a wide smile. “Well, that will be just fine.” He clapped Lucas on the back. “We’ll be glad to have ya.” He addressed Ava. “And you take care. We’re here whenever you want to visit.”
The preacher moved along to others, and Lucas and Ava walked into the sunshine.
“Want to go to lunch?” Lucas asked, taking her hand and helping her step across the natural landscape toward his Range Rover. “We’re all dressed up. We could go into Nashville.”
“Sure. I’ll text Mom and ask if she wants me to bring anything home for her.”
Lucas opened her door and helped her step up from the brush and get settled in the bucket seat. Then he got in and put the car in drive. Dorothy waved when they pulled away, and Ava returned the good bye.
As they drove toward the city, she fired off a text to her mom. Martha responded that she didn’t want anything but to have a blast. Then put the phone in her lap.