Raw Deal (Beauty for Ashes: Book One) (24 page)

Everyone clapped. I wanted to hide. Tanya was tripping. Of course everyone was looking over at us, guessing that we must be the newbies, since we were sitting with Jace and Michelle.

“Could I just ask them to stand up for everyone to see? Monica, Lexi, Sandy?”

“She did not just say that,” I whispered to Sandy in disbelief. Sandy and Monica stood up. I stayed seated. How come Tanya hadn’t picked on Carl and Liam, too? Weren’t they her friends, too?

“Where’s Lexi?” Tanya asked.

I stared down at the floor, thinking about how I was going to kill her later. Sandy pulled me to my feet, and there was more clapping. Tanya was so getting my Jimmy Choos up her backside later.

Tanya left the stage, and Mike came back. He asked whose group was giving tonight’s presentation. It was Tanya’s group.

“What is it? Tanya Washington night?” I grumbled. First the song, then the little speech about the outbreak of Christianity among her friends, and now she was doing a presentation?

Tanya took the microphone again. “I’ve been volunteering at a blind people’s home for the past year and a half, and today, I brought one of my friends. Her name is Lisa, and she’s been blind since birth.” Tanya paused while a young blond girl was led to the stage and given a seat and a microphone.

“So I’m going to hand over to Michelle,” Tanya said.

“Oh, I forgot I was doing this,” Michelle gasped. She got up and hurried to the stage. Me and Sandy chuckled as she took the microphone from Tanya.

“Hi, Lisa, how’re you doing?” Michelle asked the blind girl, launching straight into the presentation.

“I’m doing great, by God’s grace.”

Everyone clapped, and Michelle waited for the clapping to die down before she continued. “Have you ever been able to see?”

“Well, Tanya said I’ve been blind from birth,” Lisa answered. “So I guess that would be a no.”

“Right.” Michelle looked confused.

Sandy snorted. “She’s forgotten her lines.”

There was a moment of silence, while we all waited for Michelle to say something. Michelle looked over at Tanya who was standing at the back of the stage. Tanya walked over and handed her a piece of paper, and everyone laughed.

“Tanya said she has a new friend that’s blond. Could that be you?” Lisa asked.

Michelle laughed along with everyone else. “I’m afraid so. I’m fulfilling the stereotype, aren’t I?”

“Don’t be giving us a bad name now,” Lisa said tossing her hair over her shoulder. “We’re not all dumb.”

People were laughing like it was hilarious. It really wasn’t.

“Do you believe that there’s a sun in the sky?” Michelle asked.

“Yes,” Lisa replied.

“What does the sun look like?”

“It’s like a ball of fire. It’s so bright that you can’t look at it.”

“How do you know if you’ve never seen it?”

“I can’t refuse to believe that the sun is there just because I can’t see it. I just have to believe what people who have sight tell me.”

Michelle faced the audience and read: “Every human being is born in sin, which means that they are blind from birth in a spiritual sense. Your spiritual eyes are opened when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

“Those who are saved can see. If you’re here today, and you’re refusing to believe that God exists and that He is real, why not accept the testimony of those who know Him and have seen Him, those who walk with Him every day? Just because you can’t see Him with your physical eyes, doesn’t mean that He is not there. Step out in faith and let Jesus open your blind eyes.”

Everyone clapped, and Michelle handed the microphone over to Tanya who had stepped forward.

“Sorry, this isn’t planned, but it just came to my mind,” Tanya said. “Can someone read 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7? If you find it, please stand up and read.”

I took my Bible out of my purse, and Sandy raised an eyebrow. “You have one of those?”

“Tanya gave it to Jace, and Jace gave it to me,” I said so that Jace could hear. He didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to do with the Bible, so I just opened it at a random page.

Jace was reading the Bible on his cell phone. Snazzy. He helped me find the right place in my Bible. I showed it to Sandy, and she decided that she wanted to stand up and read. About half a dozen other people had stood up too. Tanya chose Sandy to read.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight,” Sandy read. She sat down feeling pleased with herself for reading the Bible.

“Not loud enough,” Tanya’s voice boomed around the hall. “Read it again.”

I giggled. “Is she for real?”

Sandy stood up again. “For we walk by faith, not by sight,” she shouted.

Everyone cheered and clapped, but Tanya didn’t look too pleased. “Can we settle down, please?” She looked at Lisa. “What does this verse mean to you, Lisa?”

Lisa smiled happily, like she hadn’t a care in the world. “It describes my whole life. I’ve had to walk by faith, because obviously, I can’t walk by sight. But it applies spiritually, as well, because there are people who say that if God is really there, then how come we’ve never seen Him? Well, it’s by faith. You can’t have faith if you’re still walking by sight.

“And I’d just like to appeal to anyone out there listening who doesn’t want to believe. I could decide not to believe in the things I’ve been told about plants, about animals, and even about myself, because I’ve never seen any of those things and I’ve never seen myself. If I did that, everyone would think I was crazy. They’d find it hard to see why I won’t just have faith in the testimony of those that can see. I’m pleading with you today. Have faith in the testimony of those that can see, those that have a relationship with God, and have faith in what the Bible says. Dare to walk by faith, and God will reveal Himself to you.”

Okay, can we stop laboring this point!
Of course, everyone was clapping again. The singing had been good, but now, I just wanted to go home.

Tanya handed the microphone back to Michelle who ran a hand through her hair a couple times before she read from her paper. Michelle was still an airhead, even if she was saved.

“Lisa, how would you feel if people who can see refused to describe things like the sun, colors, and animals, to you? How would you feel if people refused to tell you what things look like?”

“I would feel cheated. I would feel like they’re selfish or that they think I’m just a waste of time. Sometimes, I hear someone’s voice, and I ask someone close by to describe the person for me. Or I go outside, and it’s warm, and I get someone to tell me how it is, if the sky is blue, if there are flowers around, if everything looks nice. If someone ignores me or tells me reluctantly, I feel like they are not a nice person.”

Michelle faced the audience. “For those of you who are Christians, when you fail to share your faith, you are being selfish. You owe it to the people around you to tell them about the abundant life available in Christ.”

Carl and Liam who were sitting in front of us decided to leave. Sandy and I smothered giggles as they made their way out.

Carl turned and waved to Michelle before he exited. “Good job, Michelle, but the Lakers are playing in about half an hour,” he called. “See you tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Michelle said into the microphone.

There was a ripple of restrained laughter all over the hall. “Carl is too funny,” Sandy giggled.

Jace leaned forward in his seat, and I was able to look over at Monica. She smiled at me when I gave an elaborate fake yawn.

“I think it’s interesting,” she said.

I resumed my cell phone game as Lisa and Michelle continued. I could see where they were coming from, but I wasn’t interested in accepting Jesus or any other such leap of faith. When the presentation was over, the whole of Tanya’s group came forward, and everyone clapped for them.

Michelle returned to her seat beside us. “How did we do?” she asked Jace.

“It’s been the best presentation so far,” Jace told her.

“Really?” Michelle looked pleased. “I like being in Tanya’s group. She always has the best ideas.”

“Well, wait till my group. Ours is gonna be really good.”

“What’s your topic?”

“Dating and pre-marital sex.”

Sandy laughed. “Yeah, right, Jace. You’re not really one to be talking about that now are you?” She gave me a sharp jab in the ribs.

I decided to go to the bathroom. I’d seen it in the hallway on our way in.

“Are you leaving?” Jace asked. He’d just totally ignored Sandy’s comment.

I didn’t answer. I pushed past him and Monica, and walked off. When I got back, Jace was holding my Bible. He held it out to me, thinking that was what I had come back for. I pushed to my seat, sat down, and snatched it from him.

He took my hand and squeezed it. “Thanks for staying, Lexi.”

I returned his smile uncomfortably. I didn’t want Jace being nice to me. It confused me. Besides, I was staying because I’d brought Monica, not because he wanted me to stay.

Mike was back on the stage talking about why we all needed a relationship with God. I watched Monica. She looked like she was hanging on to his every word. When he offered to pray for anyone who wanted to start their relationship with God, Monica went forward.

“Okay, what is she doing?” Sandy whispered.

Jace looked at me, and I avoided his gaze. I was
not
going to the stage. Monica repeated a prayer after Mike along with the rest of the people who’d gone forward. After it, the band played, but Monica didn’t come back to her seat. “Can you see Monica?”

“She’s talking to Mike,” Sandy said pointing.

If religion would help Monica, that’d be great, but I just hoped she wasn’t going to get too carried away with it.

Monica got on the stage when the band finished. Everyone sat down, and a girl from the front row walked up to the stage and passed her a tissue.

I sat up straight in my chair and squinted. “Is she crying?”

“Yeah,” Sandy said.

“I should have come up before when Mike asked if anyone had something to thank God for,” Monica said in a shaky voice. “Everything that you guys have said tonight is so true. I know that God is real, and He seems so real right now. While Michelle and Lisa were doing the presentation, I decided to give my life to Jesus.”

Monica paused while everyone clapped. There seemed to be genuine joy at her little revelation.

“Well, I just want to thank God that I’m alive.” Monica paused and looked down at her feet. “Last week, I attempted suicide.”

The hall went dead quiet.

“Why is she telling everybody this?” I mumbled to Sandy. Sandy looked at her hands and started fiddling with one of her bangles uncomfortably. She’d thought Monica was just sick when she was off school. She hadn’t known the truth.

“I took all the pills I had, and then I started getting serious pains,” Monica continued. “At first, I didn’t realize that it was because of the pills. When I did, I was so scared. I tried to get outside to my car, but I collapsed on the floor at my front door. Honestly, no matter how bad life gets in the future, suicide is one thing I’m never going to attempt again. It was horrible. Honestly, don’t ever try it.”

Monica sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Anyway, I was lying on the floor, scared out of my mind. I couldn’t breathe, and I was so weak. I just started praying and crying out to God for help. I’ve heard Tanya pray before, so I used a line from one of her prayers that has always stuck with me. It was ‘let Your angels take charge over me,’ so I said that about three times. Right then, my front door opened, and the next thing I knew, Tanya, the angel God sent, was asking me if I was okay. Obviously, I couldn’t speak, but I heard her call for an ambulance. And just before I passed out, all the fear and terror went away. I knew it would be okay.” Monica drew in a ragged breath. “I thank God for this second chance He’s given me.”

There was yet more clapping. My eyes were filling up, and I blinked rapidly to stop the tears falling. Why was Monica doing this? It was just breaking my heart. We hadn’t talked about her attempted suicide because it was uncomfortable, and I didn’t know if I could handle listening to her story. I really didn’t want to hear it. I just wanted her to book weekly appointments with Dr. Paula, take her medication, and shop as usual.

Mike stepped forward and made Monica look at him. “You’re a beautiful child of God, and you are very special to Him. Right now, there is great rejoicing in heaven because another soul has been added to the Kingdom. If you don’t have a church, you’re very welcome to join this one. We look forward to having you as part of our family.”

Monica hopped off the stage smiling, and everyone clapped as she came back to her seat. Jace hugged her when she sat down.

Mike gave a few announcements about the other church activities and encouraged us all to come, and then the meeting was over.

Monica was surrounded immediately. I waited for her at a reasonable distance. Some people tried to talk to me too, but I cut them off. I even lied to one overly persistent guy that I was already saved so that he would leave me alone.