Seasons (43 page)

“Sweetheart, I know you’re upset and scared. This is another satanic attempt to destroy our joy and peace. But you’ve got
to remember that God is with us. He’s brought us this far, and I don’t believe He’s going to leave us at this point. We’ll
get through this. And this time, we have to trust Him to end it once and for all. We can’t let Satan defeat us. We’ve got
to trust God.” He was encouraging himself as he spoke to his wife. He felt like crying too, but his wife needed him to be
strong.

“Come on, honey, we’ve got to pray.” He got up and pulled her to her knees beside the bed and started talking to the Lord.

“Gracious Master, You already know why we are seeking You tonight. And Father, we really need a breakthrough in this situation.
We thought it was over, but these women are again threatening our lives. Lord, You are God Almighty, all powerful, all knowing,
all seeing, all everywhere, and all in control of this world and everything and everyone in this world. Father, we need Your
power, Your strength, and deliverance in this situation. Father, we need You to stop the way against those who persecute and
seek to destroy us. Father, we need the manifestation of Your promise that no weapon formed against us will prosper in this
situation. Father, we need You to fix it so that any ditch these enemies dig for us will end up being for them.

“Father, we admit that we’re weary and overwhelmed, but we know that Your strength is made perfect in our weakness. We ask
that You will answer us speedily because we have no other help or source to call upon but You. We praise You right now that
this trouble will be sent back to the pits of hell, triumphing over Satan and all his army. Father, we thank You and praise
You for the victory. We ask all of this in the precious name of Jesus our Savior. Amen. Hallelujah! Praise be to God.”

Both Jaci and Jason jumped up and embraced each other tightly. They both felt relief in their spirits as faith took over where
fear and defeat had been.

“Oh sweetheart, thank you! And thank God for you,” Jaci hugged him close. “I believe that God has heard our prayer and that
the victory is already on the way.” In her spirit she spoke to the Lord.
Thank you, Father, for leading my husband to remind me that this battle is Yours. I stand still and wait to see the salvation
of the Lord. Thank You, Father.

“Baby, we know that God is with us, but we still have to do some things for ourselves,” Jason said. “We have to be watchful
because this adversary is out there waiting to attack. And we have to garner help in both the spirit and earthly realms. We’ll
report this to the police, ask all our family, friends, and coworkers to pray with us and help us. And we’ll get this situation
on the church’s twenty-four-hour prayer chain. This thing is going to end. Soon!”

T
hree weeks later, although the phone calls and threats continued, Jaci’s faith remained strong. They alerted the police, and
their family and friends had formed a strong support system around them. Jaci went nowhere alone. Her coworkers made sure
she wasn’t in the office or leaving the building alone. Someone even accompanied her to the grocery store. The consistent
prayers of the church encased her and enabled her to endure the situation with peace. Jaci’s constant prayer was,
Thank you, Heavenly Father, that by Your power, we have the victory over Satan in this situation. I send forth praise and
glory to Your name right now.

Saturday afternoon, Jaci was upstairs in the game room watching a movie, when she heard a loud commotion coming from downstairs.
She got up to investigate. Usually when Jason and his friends were together they got loud, but this was ridiculous.

As she descended the last step, she heard Walt saying, “I told you! Didn’t I tell you that one day you would step in something
that would make you stink? I knew it had to happen. But this! I never woulda dreamed it would be something like this!”

He fell back in the recliner and laughed uncontrollably. Jason, T.C., and Charlie sat on the floor laughing their heads off,
while Ron slumped somberly in his chair, watching them. He finally said, “I don’t see what the heck is so darn funny! I’ve
got a real problem here! That dude won’t leave me alone.”

His words caused another round of loud laughter. Jaci walked into the room with a puzzled look. “What in the world is going
on?”

The men tried unsuccessfully to collect themselves when they realized she was in the room. Jason got up, straightened his
face, and walked over to her. “Sorry, sweetheart. Did we disturb you? I know we’re pretty loud. We’ll try to keep it down.”

Jaci looked around the room, which was littered with soda cans and plates that held the crumbs of chips, chicken salad sandwiches,
and the chocolate cake Jason had asked Jaci to make that morning. Something worth knowing was going on, but it was apparent
they would not be sharing it with her. The men looked anywhere but at her. She turned slowly and went back up stairs, where
she flopped down on the sofa and rewound the movie.

As soon as the men determined she was gone, loud laughter erupted again. Jaci knew this had to be a doosie! And she couldn’t
wait until the others left so she could worm it out of Jason. Her mind kept mulling over Ron’s words,
“That dude won’t leave me alone.”
What in the world was he talking about? Jaci wanted to know!

As soon as everyone left, Jaci flew down the stairs. “Okay! Tell me what’s going on. This must be good the way you guys were
carrying on.”

Ignoring her request, Jason said, “Baby, will you help me clean up? We really made a mess in here. And there’s not a crumb
of food left. Those guys ate up everything.”

She stood there with her arms crossed and looked at him in exasperation. “I’ll help you clean up if you’ll tell me what’s
going on,” she told him.

He shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t. Ron asked me not to. You wouldn’t want me to break my promise, would you?” Mischief danced
in his eyes.

“Yes! I want to know. Tell me!”

“Can’t do it, babe. Come on, let’s get this place cleaned up.”

Jaci began to tidy up. She knew if she kept after him, he would eventually tell her. They worked together to get the family
room and kitchen in order, then went upstairs.

“You’re not getting any rest until you tell me what’s going on with Ron. So you might as well come clean.”

Jason laughed, “Okay, okay! But you better not let on to Ron that I told you.” He began, but before he got very far, she interrupted
him.

“What!” Jaci’s jaw dropped almost to the floor. “Some dude is in love with Ron? How in the world did Ron get mixed up with
this person?”

Jason laid across the bed on his back, laughing. “Baby, some of these female impersonators, or whatever they call themselves,
can fix up to look like beautiful women, and . . . well . . . they can fool the best of men.” He chuckled some more. “That’s
what happened. Ron met this beautiful woman, went home with her, and discovered at a crucial point that he and the ‘lady’
had the same equipment. He punched the guy out and left, but the guy has other ideas. He’s in love and refuses to give up
on Ron. But Ron is about to have a conniption fit.”

Jaci’s hands went to cover her mouth. “Some dude is in love with Ron!” Her giggle started out slowly, then evolved into uncontrollable
laughter. She and Jason rolled on the bed and laughed until they cried.

When they sobered, Jason said, “We need to be in prayer for Ron. Not just about this, but about his relationship with the
Lord. Have you noticed how much time he’s spending here? And how he’s in church almost every Sunday now? I think the Lord
is working in Ron’s heart and circumstances to draw him into the kingdom. Something about our life—our home—is attractive
to him. And you know what else? Ron was asking about your cousins, wanting to know if all of them are married.”

Jaci smiled. “Hallelujah! But, baby, you need to start witnessing to him more, telling him what the Lord has done for you,
letting him see the peace and contentment God has given you, even in the midst of all we’re going through right now.”

“Right. I have been talking to him a little, but you know how he is. He won’t let me say much before he goes off.”

“Well, this might be the right season. Let’s pray hard that the Lord will touch his heart and make him receptive.”

The next time Ron came by their house, Jaci left the room after a while, leaving the brothers alone. Jason took the cue, and
started right in.

“Ron, I’ve been there, so I see signs that you’re getting tired of your lifestyle. You’re hanging around me and my wife more
and more. That tells me you see something in us that’s attractive to you. And you been in church the last several Sundays
without anybody having to harass you about going. That’s great, man! Take it from me, you won’t find true life in the streets
and running from woman to woman. You’ll find that only in Jesus, and in loving and being loved by a good woman. Jesus will
take you just as you are. But a good woman doesn’t want anything to do with a street hound. Jaci wouldn’t have given me the
time of day if I hadn’t already turned my life around before I met her.”

Oddly, Ron sat quietly and listened before he looked up from staring into his coffee cup. He knew a change was occurring in
him, but didn’t know how or why. It certainly wasn’t something he had sought.

“I never thought I’d say this, brother, but I’m jealous of you and the life you have with Jaci. I love coming over here just
to be around ya’ll. Yeah. I’m kind of wishing for the same thing. But I don’t know, man, I might be a hopeless case.”

Jason laughed. “Nope! With God, all things are possible. Just think. If He changed me, He can change anybody. All you have
to do is go to Him with a sincere heart. He’ll do the rest. Trust me, I know. Just continue on the road you’re now on. You’ll
see. By the way, why don’t you come to the Men of Power meeting with me next Saturday? There’ll be lots of men there at the
same place you are. I think you’ll enjoy it. And God will even work out this little problem you’ve got.” He chuckled as he
dodged the pillow Ron threw at him.

L
inda and Wynola had given up on finding Jaci alone somewhere so they could attack her. They had lurked around the office building
and garage and followed her for several days, looking for a chance at her.

“There’s always somebody around her,” Linda complained to Wynola. “I even have Leo watching for a chance. I’m anxious to see
a knife sticking out of her chest. I’m not going to rest until that witch is dead.”

“Yeah. I’m with you on that,” Wynola agreed. “That heifer caused me to lose a job I had been on for twenty-five years. And
nearly cost me my marriage. She got this coming. I think we’ve come up with a pretty good plan, though. By the time Leo gets
through with J.P., he’ll be so mad, he’ll kill her for us. He’s got her up on some kind of pedestal. But when he hears all
that Leo is going to put in his ears, he’ll hurry up and get to that house. And when he finds Jaci there with Bob, she’s coming
down real fast. But we’ll be there watching, so that if J.P. doesn’t do it, we’ll kill her ourselves. We’ll just make it look
like he did it. I hate to do this to Bob. He was pretty good between the sheets, but he should have never started sniffing
around Jaci. That was his big mistake.”

Linda picked up the phone and called the man she had already partially paid to help them. “Hey, Leo, this is Linda. We’re
all set. You make your call at ten in the morning. Just follow the script we gave you. Yeah. And Leo? Make it good, okay?
I want to send that sucker into shock and have him running to his precious wife with murder in his eyes. Me and my sister
are taking care of everything else. After you make the call, come on over to the address I gave you.” She gave a slightly
out-of-control laugh. “You might even get a bonus if things turn out the way they’re supposed to.”

J
aci hung up the phone with a puzzled frown. Jason had never communicated with her through his staff. She called his office
and when his voice mail came on, immediately hung up and dialed his cell phone. She made a disgruntled sound when she heard
his voice mail instructing her to leave a message.

“Baby, why is somebody from your office calling me to make an appointment for us to meet? Are you too busy to call your wife?
And why do you want me to look at a house? Please call me as soon as you can. Oh yeah! Where are you?”

When Linda stalked Jaci before she and Jason got married, Jason bought her a cell phone and asked her to keep it in her purse
and on at all times. Now that Linda had shown up again, he reminded her repeatedly. Jaci had a habit of simply forgetting
to turn it on.

They usually talked more than once during the day. If nothing more than a quick “I love you” or “God loves you” was spoken,
they both felt the need to communicate. They also agreed to let each other know where they were going if they had to leave
the office. This habit had started after a major argument erupted when Jaci had been out of pocket one day.

Jaci’s staff had a tradition of celebrating birthdays by going out to lunch. The day of the argument, they left the office
before eleven to beat the lunch crowd. Jaci’s cell phone was on the charger, and she forgot it when she left for lunch. Apparently,
Jason called the minute she left the office. When he didn’t reach her, he called the cell number and of course got the voice
mail on that too.

He then called the main office number and talked to the receptionist, who had no idea where Jaci was. Jason panicked, and
by the time Jaci returned from lunch two hours later, he was in her office pacing nervously with smoke steaming from his ears.
Someone finally told him she had gone to lunch with her staff, but the minute she stepped into her office, he tore into her,
pointing to the phone lying on the credenza. Jaci felt like a jerk for putting him through that and had since made it a point
to be more careful.

Now, he was the one out of pocket and sending strange messages through his staff. She looked at her watch. It was too late
to cancel lunch with C.J., who was probably already on her way to pick up Jaci. Everyone knew her routine of going to lunch
early on Tuesdays so she could get back for staff meeting at one thirty.