LOST, BUT FOUND (EXCERPT)

Jessica turned to look at Anna. “What happened?”

“Excuse me?” Anna said startled. She had been staring at the other woman’s clothes and she had missed the question or something.

“I asked what happened. How come you’re in a wheel chair?”

Anna thought about it for a few moments. “Are you asking because you really want to know or you’re just trying to make polite conversation?”

Jessica’s mouth turned up at one side in a hint of a smile. “I’m sure a lot of people won’t think it’s polite actually. They would think I was being intrusive.”

Anna stared at her in silence for so long that Jessica wondered whether she was going to answer the question.

“I’m very sorry,” Anna said. “Please sit down.” She waited for the other woman to settle into the chair. “I was in my first year of college. I went out for drinks with some friends. It seems that we all had a few too many drinks. No one was sober enough to drive or to tell the person who drove not to drive. We all should have taken a taxi or something. On the way back to school, we had an accident. We hit another vehicle. There were five of us in the car that night. I was the only one who survived although I later found out that I was paralysed from the waist down.”

Jessica shivered. “I’m sorry.”

Anna shrugged. “I really don’t think about it that much anymore. I’ve accepted what happened. I don’t beat myself asking if the story would have been different if we hadn’t gone drinking that night. Or if only we had taken a taxi. You just hurt yourself more that way.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t offer you anything. What will you have? I’m sorry I don’t have any alcohol but there’s soda.”

Jessica shook her head. “I don’t want anything.”

Folding her hands in her lap to stop them from trembling, Anna looked at her. “Why are you here? I’m sure that you didn’t come just to ask about why I’m in a wheel chair.”

Jessica looked at her, her eyes narrowing. “If I remember correctly, you’re the one who came to me. You also didn’t object when I asked us to exchange numbers and addresses so that we could keep in touch.”

Anna was silent. The other woman was right.

“I came to ask you why you decided to come and introduce yourself,” Jessica said. “And I also came to find out if you were actually miserable and unhappy.”

Anna was taken aback. “Why?”

Jessica smiled but there was no mirth in her eyes. “Let’s just say that since I met you again a few weeks ago, I’ve been wondering what would have happened if I had done some things differently.”

“Meaning you’re comparing your life to mine and you think yours falls short somehow so you’ve come to see if I am, as you put it “actually miserable and unhappy”.”

The smile on Jessica’s face grew wider. “I see that you’re smart.”

“So, what conclusion have you come to?” Anna asked stiffly. So she had come here to compare their lives. Anna was sure that she held failed whatever test had been applied.

Jessica didn’t answer the question but instead turned her head to look around the room. There were a few pictures of Anna and her husband around the room. They were smiling and looked extremely happy in the pictures. There was also a couple of a baby.

“Where’s your child?” Jessica asked. “It it a boy or a girl?”

“A boy,” Anna answered. “He’s with Ben’s parents for the day. Ben and I wanted to catch up on some work.”

“How old is he?”

“He’s 2.”

“So why did you come to me?” Jessica asked again, turning her attention back to Anna. “You said quite a few nasty things to me the last time we spoke.”

“Let’s just say that we were friends once and when I saw you some part of me thought that maybe we could be friends again. Or something like that,” Anna added as she rubbed her eyes. “Let’s just say that I didn’t really think it through.”

Jessica considered the answer. “So you thought that once you came over and introduced yourself, I would fall on your neck in happiness and gratitude that you wanted to be my friend again?”

“I didn’t say that,” Anna said through gritted teeth. “Look, I’m sorry that I came over to you. I really don’t appreciate you coming here and making fun of me. I think maybe it’s time that you left.”

Jessica looked at her for a few moments. “I didn’t steal him from you,” she said softly.

“Excuse me?” Anna seemed to have trouble understanding things at the moment.

“I said that I didn’t steal him from you,” Jessica said, her voice stronger. “He didn’t want to go out with you.”

“You don’t have to explain anything to me,” Anna said quickly. Even though it was all in the past, she was surprised to feel a twinge of hurt that someone she had liked had not like her back. If it was that way, she didn’t want Jessica dredging up old memories.

But Jessica couldn’t stop. The words she had wanted to say all those years ago were building up inside her and she needed to let them out.

“I didn’t even know that I liked him but we met that weekend when you went to your grandparents and we got talking.” The words were falling over themselves, seemingly in a hurry to leave her mouth before she forgot them. “That was when I knew that I liked him. He asked me to go out with him and I wanted to say no because I knew you liked him. But I also desperately wanted to say yes.”

Anna felt like pressing her fists to her ears so that she wouldn’t hear the words but she didn’t. Her hands stayed in her laps.

“I always wanted to tell you but I didn’t have the courage. I knew you would be angry. Peter wanted to tell you but I told him not to. I wanted to be the one to tell you but I just couldn’t summon enough courage to do it. Peter said that if I didn’t tell you, you would find out and that it would be worse. He was right.”

Anna wheeled herself toward the other woman and held one of her hands as she cut into the flow. “I understand Jessica. The thing was that it was Peter’s choice to make who he wanted to go out with but I didn’t want to understand. I was hurt. My pride was injured and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

Her words seemed to take the wind out of Jessica’s sails. She looked blankly at Anna as if she didn’t understand what she had said.

Anna continued. “I’m sorry that I was so mean to you. You gave me your friendship and I tossed it back into your face. It was terrible of me. Forgive me?”

Jessica pulled her hand out from Anna’s own and stood up. She went to the window of the apartment, staring out sightlessly at the scenery.

The silence in the room stretched out till Anna wished she would say something, anything to fill the silence.

“I think that’s why I came to you at the antique center. I was hoping that maybe we could start afresh, be friends again. To know that you had forgiven me. I know that God has forgiven me and that Jesus has taken all my sins away. But I would love to know that you too had forgiven me.”

Jessica turned from her position by the window. “What’s this? God has forgiven you? Jesus has taken away your sins? You’re beginning to sound like my parents with all their religious babble. Don’t tell me that you’re one of them now?” she asked as she gave a mirthless laugh.

Anna straightened her body as much as she could and held herself up with dignity. I don’t know what you mean by “one of them”, but if you’re asking if I’m a Christian, yes I am. I believe in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible. Everything.”

Jessica was shocked. For the first time she looked at Anna. It was then she noticed some of the things that were different about her. The extra piercings in her were not in use and the few tattoos she had were gone. Anna, a Christian?

It wasn’t as if she considered Anna the greatest sinner in the world or anything like that because she didn’t believe in those things. But if there was someone from her high school days who she would have said would be the last person to become a Christian, it would be Anna.

“So you believe in Jesus and all that nonsense now? And you probably want me to say that I’ve forgiven you so that you can feel better.”

Anna shrugged. “It’s not about me feeling better Jessica. I’m just sorry that I hurt you.”

“Why did you become a Christian? Was it after the accident?” Jessica asked. “Did you convert because you thought that a non-existent God was going to suddenly forgive your drunken mistake and miraculously “heal” your legs? Even when you know that you’re never going to walk again?”

Even as the words came out, Jessica knew that she had said too much. She watched as Anna’s face lost its color and became ashen. She wanted to apologise as soon as the words came out.

“That’s enough. I think you’ve said more than enough and I think you should leave.”

Jessica turned to see Ben Palmer who had walked into the room unnoticed. There were bags of groceries on the floor where he had evidently dropped them. Fruit rolled on the floor and a few found their way under the settee.

“I ...”

“I said that enough Mrs. Carver,” Ben Palmer said his face flushed and his voice high and angry. “I don’t know who you think you are coming here to insult and upset my wife but I think you should leave. Now.”

Jessica looked from Ben Palmer to his wife. Anna was crying, the tears rolling down her cheeks. Her chest was beginning to heave with the sobs wracking her body.

“I just ...”

“I don’t want to hear anything from you. I suggest you leave now before I physically throw you out.”

Jessica looked at his hands and saw that they were clenching and unclenching by his side. He looked angry enough to carry out his threat. It seemed that it might be wise to do as he said. She walked back to the chair she had sat on and picked up her bag from the table beside it. She walked past Ben Palmer on her way to the door and she could have sworn she felt the anger emanating from him. She opened the door and turned to look at Anna one last time. The other woman was sobbing openly now. She felt something painful in her chest. Then she walked through the door and closed it behind her.

Ben Palmer waited till he heard the door close behind the intruder, then he hurried to kneel beside his wife’s wheel chair and hold her as she cried.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/.

LOST, BUT FOUND (EXCERPT)

Ruth dove to the center of town and stopped in front of the grocery store. Getting out of the car she walked inside. The bell above the door chimed as she opened it, announcing her presence. She joined the small queue at the counter and waited her turn to be served.

“Good afternoon,” she said, smiling when it got to her turn.

The woman behind the counter smiled back at Ruth. She was in her fifties and her brown hair was almost completely gray. She was small in stature but there was a sparkle in her eyes. “And good afternoon to you too. And what would you be ordering  today?”

“I was thinking of doing some baking for my husband and my daughter,” Ruth answered. “I would like some flour, eggs and some other stuff.” She handed over a list of the things she wanted with the required quantities.

The other woman went about gathering the things that were on Ruth’s list. “You’re new around here aren't you?” she asked, turning her head to look at Ruth.

“Yes,” Ruth said, smiling back.

“Let me guess, you’re not from around these parts,” the woman said as she continued searching for the required items.

“No I’m not. My husband, Greg and Jessie our daughter and I came from Boston, although we are originally from Vermont. My name is Ruth. Ruth Myskill.”

“Pauline. Pauline Foster. So what are city people like you looking for around these parts?”

“My husband Greg got a job here, so we all followed. Hopefully we will be here for a long time.”

“Really?” the woman said turning to look at Ruth with a quizzical frown on her face. “What job is that? I didn't know there was an opening at the high school.”

“It’s not at the high school,” Ruth answered smiling. “My husband is the new pastor at the New Earth Evangelical Church. That is, he is going to be the pastor when Bill Wilkinson retires.”

Suddenly the other woman’s back seemed to stiffen and her movements slower. “The new pastor? I thought Bill was going to continue?”

“Well, you know he’s going to be 75 soon and he has to retire,” Ruth said slowly. She watched as the other woman turned around and moved to the computer to ring up the purchases. The smile had disappeared from the other woman’s face and she had a not-too-pleased look on her face.

“So the church board are still thinking of kicking him out from his church,” Pauline said bitterly punching the computer keys in anger. “We thought they had forgotten about all that nonsense.”

“No one is kicking him out,” Ruth replied mesmerized by the woman’s hands and the anger that moved them.

“And I say that it’s not fair for them to be kicking him out just like that,” the other woman replied in anger. “After all that he has done for the church and the town.”

This time Ruth was silent, not knowing what to say. The other woman was definitely aggrieved with the church board and she didn't want her to find another target in Greg or herself.

“It’s just disgraceful,” Pauline said as she began to pack the items in paper bags. “Disgraceful I say. What do they want him to do when they chase him out? Where is he supposed to go? That will be twenty five dollars fifty cents.”

Ruth brought out her wallet to get money to pay for the groceries now wishing she hadn't come to the shop or introduced herself. It seemed her simple plan of getting to know the people hadn't been so simple after all. She collected her change from Pauline, mumbled a quick thank you and made a quick exit out of the door.

Ruth walked back outside, feeling slightly relieved that she had made it safely out of the grocery store. She walked with the bags to the car and put them in the back. She got into the car but she didn't start the engine, thinking about the little episode in the grocery store. If she’d had slight misgivings before, now she was very worried. If Pauline’s view was representative of the people who attended New Earth Evangelical Church, it seemed that they didn't want Bill Wilkinson to leave.  So where did that leave Greg?

Driving slowly through the center of town, she noticed a coffee shop. She parked in front and got out. She wanted to think and she didn't think she would be able to that at home. Jessie would soon be back and she would get caught up house work again. She needed time alone to herself to think about the situation her family had found themselves in. She walked into the coffee shop and sat at one of the tables, looking round as she waited for someone to come and take her order.

There were few customers there at that hour. Quite a few of the people seated there were in military uniforms. Some were with female companions, some were alone. Ruth remembered that Greg had told her that Fort Rucker the home of Army Aviation was close by and that one of the entrances to the army base was just on the outskirts of the town. Apart from the military types, there were a few other men in the room, taking their time over their coffee. They didn’t look like there was anything they were in a hurry to get to. They didn't seem to have a care in the world.

“May I take your order?”

Ruth jumped, startled by the voice. She turned in the direction it had come from and the sight of a protruding stomach covered by a red check apron filled her vision. She looked up at the owner of the protruding stomach. The woman looked to be in her late twenties with a mass of brown hair that hung limply from her face. Beads of sweat ran down her face. Whether it was from the hot kitchen or from the strain of carrying the weight in her tummy, Ruth didn't know.  It was probably a combination of both, she guessed.

Smiling to win the trust of a stranger for the second time that day, Ruth said, “Good afternoon. Do you have coffee? Preferably decaf.”

“Sure we do.”

“Then can I get a cup of coffee?”

“Sure you can,” the other woman replied, smiling back as she scribbled with her pencil in the notepad she held in her hand. “One cup of decaf coffee coming up. Will that be all or will you be having anything with it? We have pecan pie and muffins if you want.”

“I’ll take the pecan pie,” Ruth replied.

“Okay,” the other woman said as she walked away.

As soon as the waitress went away to fulfill her order, Ruth became lost in her thoughts and they were not pleasant ones. It seemed Greg was already facing an uphill battle winning over his parishioners without them getting to know him or his doctrine first. And it was all because they seemed to be attached to their current pastor who was supposed to retire but who himself seemed too attached to the position. All of which didn't bode well for Greg.

She was deep in thought about how everything was going to work out when the waitress arrived with her coffee. She however didn't notice the other woman until she placed the cup of coffee and the plate with the pie in front of her. Snapping out of her somber thoughts, she looked at the food set before. Now, it seemed she didn't have the appetite for the pie. “Thank you,” she said.

The waitress nodded in response. “You seemed pretty much lost in thought.”

Ruth sighed. “I have a lot of things on my mind. There’s a situation and I don’t see how it can be resolved without someone getting hurt.”

“That’s bad. You wanna talk about it?”

“I really don’t know,” Ruth said undecided. She didn't think it was right to unload all her troubles on a total stranger. Besides, for all she knew, the woman was one of the people in support of Bill Wilkinson.

“If what you’re worried about is that I’m going to blab about it, all I can say is that you don’t know me. I know quite a lot of people who talk about me behind my back. I don’t like it so I don’t do it to others,” the waitress said firmly as she settled in the seat opposite to Ruth.

Ruth felt reassured. “The thing is that it has to do with Bill Wilkinson.”

“Bill Wilkinson,” the other woman repeated woodenly, stiffening perceptibly. Her hands clenched and unclenched themselves involuntarily on the table. Ruth however noticed none of this. She was lost in her thoughts.

“The thing is that Bill Wilkinson is supposed to retire as the pastor of the New Earth Evangelical Church in like six months time. The church board has chosen my husband to replace him and the thing is .....”

“I see,” the other woman said as she stood up abruptly from the chair. Her movements were awkward because of the size of her stomach but she managed it. “I see. So your husband is replacing Bill Wilkinson. So, is he going to come here himself to do his dirty work himself unlike Bill or is that why you’re here? To do it for him?” By now her voice had risen and several other people in the room had risen as well. Everyone was staring at them.

To say that Ruth was embarrassed was an understatement. She stood up as well, reaching out to the other woman, trying to pacify her. “I really don’t know what you mean. I was just trying to say ...”

“You don’t have to say anything,” the other woman said bitterly. “Bill and Ida have said everything that could be said. I don’t go where I’m not wanted and Bill and Ida have made it crystal clear I’m not wanted at their church. Unless you've come to repeat what they've already said. Don’t worry, neither I nor my “bastard” will ever darken the door of your church,” she said with feeling. Her hands were clasped in front of her belly as if to protect her unborn child from Ruth.

Ruth recoiled as if she had been slapped. The word shocked her and made her stomach roll. She couldn't understand what the other woman had just said. Had Bill and his wife really used that word about her unborn child? While she had assumed that the other woman was married, she wasn't one to condemn some other person like that.

“Wait, you don’t understand. It’s not like that,” she said trying to explain. “It’s not what you think.”

“Lady, I think it’s time you left.”

Ruth turned to see one of the military types coming towards them. He stopped for a moment to put his arms around the waitress. “Are you alright Bee?” he asked. She couldn't get the words out to answer him because she seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilating. He turned to look at Ruth with menace in his eyes. “I thought I told you to get out?”

Ruth wanted to stand her ground but she could see there was no use attempting to speak reasonably with anyone. Everyone in the coffee shop was looking at her with venom in their eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” she said as she began to pack her things from the table. “I’m really very sorry. I didn't mean .....”

“Get out,” the man snarled as he held the waitress he had referred to as Bee in his arms, offering her comfort. “Get out and don’t come back.

With one last apologetic look in the woman’s direction, Ruth walked out of the coffee shop.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal

Who Is He, This Jesus?

As the year runs to a close, we are presently just a week away from the 25th of December. This is the day when most Christians the world over celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the originator of their faith. As Reinhard Bonnke said, those who complain that the 25th of December is originally the date of a pagan festival miss the point. The birth of Jesus can be celebrated on any day and if we decide to celebrate his birth on the 25th which is a pagan festival, it doesn't matter as long as we know what and who we are celebrating. So my question to you is, do you know whose birth you are celebrating?

Let me help you a little here. Even though we commemorate the birth of God in the form of a child, he is no longer a child. He is the Lion of the tribe of the tribe of Judah. Referencing the uproar that accompanied Fox anchor Megyn Kelly saying Jesus was white, might I point out to you that he is not some tribal or ethnic warlord. He is the King of Israel and indeed the whole earth. He is the Prince of Peace who told us he has left us peace in this turbulent, ever changing world. He is not some ordinary man who said nice things that sounded good. He is the Word of God. He is the Truth. He is not one of the ways that lead to God. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is not a person who would see another hurt or in pain and not do anything. He is the Healer and the Comforter. He is not some man who gave his opinion about how we were to live our lives. He is the Righteous Judge. He is not some man whose words change with any change in Western culture or whose opinion changes with the changes in other men's opinion. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. In fact, he doesn't change. He is constant, unfailing. His love is forevermore. His love for us does not depend on our love for him. He loved us even before we were men. In this sad and dreary world, he is our Joy. He is not some man whose words we take with a pinch of salt. He cannot lie, will not lie. His promises are Yes and Amen.

I could go on and on about the person whose birth we will celebrate in a week's time. But I could go on and on and still not be able to fully exhaust or describe all His attributes or do Him justice. But as we prepare for Christmas, I would like us to remember that the essence of Christmas is not about eating, drinking, shopping or giving gifts but about a God who loved us so much that he didn't want us to continue to wallow in sin. He looked for messengers to send to us but none was worthy or capable. So he came Himself and took on the form of man and was born as a baby. He gave us the best gift anyone could give. He lived amongst us for thirty three and a half years, telling us about the Kingdom of God and giving us an example to follow. When he was going, he told us he would come back for us one day.  All he asks is that we have faith in Him and trust Him. Will we all do that?

Why Did You Get Married?

The Bible tells us in Genesis that after God had created, he Adam then went on to give a name to everything that God had created. However, after he had named everything, he couldn’t find anything out of all that God had created that was like him. He couldn’t find anything that he could establish relationship with. God saw this and said that it was not good for man to be alone. God realised that he needed something or someone like him for him to have relationship with. Even God realised that apart from himself, man need someone else to establish a connection with. He therefore proceeded to cause man to fall into a deep sleep and from the rib he removed from the man, he formed the woman.

I recently came across an opinion piece on CNN where someone opined that there was something wrong with monogamy and that a man did not have it in his nature to be monogamous. It was funny that he didn’t say men and women but just men. It seems he hasn’t learnt anything about political correctness. I must confess that I did not read the reasons he gave for his opinion because I did not consider them worth my time.

There are those who think that there is something wrong with the institution of marriage just as there are those who think that there is something wrong with faith, believing in God. In fact, there are those who think that there is something wrong with everything and everybody else but that there is nothing wrong with them. In their eyes, there are perfect. Or as close to perfect as human beings can come.

I have meditated on these things for a while and I honestly and totally believe that there is nothing wrong with marriage regardless of the empirical, scientific or statistical data that might suggest otherwise. I believe that a man was created to enjoy communion, not only with God, but also with a woman and not many women. I have come to the conclusion that the problem is not with these institutions. The problem is with us. And our nasty, terrible desires. And egos. And the feeling of being trapped. Marriage is all about expecting the best from imperfect and selfish men and women. The problem is not with the institution, the problem is with those who use it. Nothing God instituted is wrong or has a problem.

Like Myles Munroe said, the only way to know the purpose of a thing is to either ask the manufacturer or read the manual that came along with it. A lot of people think marriage is all about free sex. Other think marriage is all about having children. Others think that marriage is about making themselves happy. Others think marriage is a necessary evil, bondage, something to be endured. That’s because nowadays we have lost the essence of marriage. One of the most truthful things about marriage I have heard is that marriage is always about service. Marriage is not something you go into looking to be served. You go into marriage to serve your partner. To see that their needs are met because you love them. If you meet their needs, they will respond in love. And you'll find joy and happiness. It’s as simple as that.