The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (55 page)

Sunday morning
she woke with a smile. She’d
looked forward to this day since Wednesday morning when she met Jake and Julia
. The name of the church had
first
captured her attention
on the drive into town
—Grace Fellowship. If there were any two
things she needed most, these most certainly fit the bill
—grace and fellowship.

After
a tepid shower, she fixed a bowl of cereal
and spread
the Miller’s Creek newspaper
that had arrived in the mail late yesterday afternoon
out on the counter
.
I
n the upper center
on the front page
, a
picture of
Elena loomed
below
a
headline that
simply
read
:
“
Delgado Investigated.” She
gasped and dropped her spoon to the table.

Grace
scanned the article
, her mouth still open wide
. Just as she’d expected,
Scott Evans
had been
arrested for the
murder of Michael Bedford
.
No mention was made of David Simmons
, the original suspect
.
The thought that
Simmons
had
managed to frame his friend for the crime
nauseated her.

She focused
in on Elena’s picture, obviously
taken shortly after the news had broken. Instead of the confident and classy woman
she’d once admired, the person
who stared back at her exhibited no
hint of
pride
or vanity
. Her once perfect hair and makeup no longer existed, re
placed by a disheveled appearance
,
which
mirror
ed the pain in
scribed on her face
.

Grac
e moved to the couch,
unable to peel her eyes away from the picture. Something inside her broke
and gave way, and tears flooded her face
, depositing their
salty tang on her tongue
. Gone was
her previous resentment and vindictive
desire
, replaced by a love and compassion she didn’t know
was humanly possible
.
Yes,
her suspicions had
at last
been justified, but her heart ached to think of how this would affect no
t only Elena, but also Consuela,
Jessie
, and even Jason
. She offered up a
heartfelt
prayer for the situation
and the people involved,
then headed back to
the bedroom
to
get ready for
worship
.

An hour later,
both excited and a little nerv
ous,
she entered the back of the
country
church,
and gave
her eyes
time to adjust
to the low
light.
The building smelled of the same orange oil Papa used on the w
ooden tables at the restaurant, and t
he
small nave
led into a
sanctuary
lined
with
wooden pews
. The worn benches and
stained-glass windows hinted at the age of the building,
but the place
was obvi
ously tended with care
.

Jake shuffled
toward her
from the front of the church,
Julia
close
behind.
They both
greeted her with hugs
.

“
So glad you could make it, Gracie.
”
Jake spoke her schoolgirl name as though he’d used it her entire life. Surprisingly enough, she took it as a compliment, though it set off a longing
in her heart to see Matt and t
o
hear his voice.

Sh
e
moved a hand to her abdomen to still the restless butterflies and
returned the
ir
smile
s
. “Thank you
. Good to be here.
”

“
Come on in and have a seat. The rest of the congregation should be here shortly. We’re not a big group, but what we lack in quantity
,
we make up for in quality.” He finished the
comment with a
wink.

The morning went by in a blur
—a brief meeting together for
song and prayer before dismissing to different rooms
behind the main building
for
small group Bible study
.
Afterward
they all returned to the peaceful san
ctuary for more music and
a
sermon
.

Jake spoke the sermon wi
th such fervor and authenticity
Gracie could only attribute it to
moving of
the Holy Spirit.
His face glowed as he relayed
the familiar story of Jonah
, and
le
ft
her
more
enthralled
and in love
with God and H
is
grace
.
T
o the prophet
, the
Ninevites
seemed barbaric,
but
to Sovereign God and His
holy
heart of grace, they were a
people
greatly-
loved.

T
he congregation
rose to their feet and began to
si
ng
Amazing Grace
. S
he
focused her thoughts and prayers on
the message
God placed
in her heart.

“Amazing grace!
How sweet the sound . .
. ”

She
drank in the sweetness
,
though she suspected her
finite mind
c
oul
d never fully comprehend
or
plumb its depths
.

“. . .
that
saved a wretch like me!”

Gracie
closed her eyes
, lifting her palms to the heavens in praise. Matt
was right. There was nothing good enough in her
to merit such a gift.

“
’
Twas
grace that
taught
my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved . . .”

Through diffic
ulty
her heart
had
feared and turned to God, making even Mama’s
tragic
death an act of grace. That same
grace had
turned
her fears to faith.

“
. . .
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first
believed!
”

The scarlet thread of grace
wove its way through histor
y,
from the blood
on
the doors of the Hebrew people on that first Passover
,
to the blood shed by the perfect Lamb of God.

“Through many dangers, toils and snares . .
. ”

She brought one hand to her chest
and thumped to the beat, swaying with
the music.
God’s grace
surrounded
them all, even the people who’
d
tried to destroy her
.

“. . . I have already come . .
. ”

C
ircumstanc
es which once seemed impossible
brimmed
with His grace,
a grace which prodded her to gaze on her
sinfulness
and respond to Hi
s invitation to change
and become more like Christ.

“
’
Tis
grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home
.

Her ey
es fluttered open
, her gaze at rest on the rough-hewn cross on the back wall of the
baptistry
.

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’
s praise t
han when we first begun.”

Inside h
er heart ached with the fullness of what
Jesus had done for her. A
tear slipped from her cheek t
o the worn wood of the ancient pew
in front of her
.
Her sins had been washed away
by wave upon wave
of grace.
God
didn’t dispense
grace
in
dro
ps, but in torrents.
Grace
was a never-ending ocean, and Christ’s
rough-
timber
cross
the bridge that spanned the
distance
between sinful man and Holy God.

When the song ended,
Jake dismissed the service in prayer
,
and afterwards
many members of the congregation
shook her hand or even
hugged her neck and told her they hoped she’d come back again.
Julia
hurried by
, calling out over her shoulder as she passed
. “Please don’t leave yet. We’d like to have you over to our house for lunch. I have just a few thi
ngs I need to pick up
from my classroom
first
.”

The
parsonag
e
sat
directly
behind the church, and a
brief walk
landed them in
its cozy comfort
.
As they entered the front door, the fragrance of pot roast wafted to Gracie’s nose.
Mama.
The smell reminded her of Mama, a sweet memory she’d almost forgotten.

She gazed around the tiny space as Julia bustled
to the kitchen cabinets to set the table
. Worn and sagging furniture
lined the living room
, covered with crocheted love
. . . just like the home she’d shared with Papa and her brothers in Miller’s Creek.
Tears filled her eyes and slipped unbidden down her cheeks.

“Are you okay?”
Loving c
oncern
radiated
spilled from
Julia’s
face and
voice
. Jake moved
in
closer
as well
, the same tenderness
shining from his eyes
.

Grac
i
e
managed a
nod.

The elderly man
sent an understanding smile. “Why don’t we ask the blessing and eat. Then we’ll take it from there.”

After a delightful
and delicious
lunch
of roast, potatoes,
carrots
,
and homemade rolls
they moved
to the
living room.
The
conve
rsation turned to Grac
i
e’s life, and she
released the
entire story—Mama
’s death
, her
tenuous
relationship with Papa, the problems she’d had with Elena, her confused feelings for
Matt and Jason, even the
terrible mistake of breaking into Andy’s office.
An hour
later, sh
e
rest
ed
her head
against t
he cushy couch, a weight
lifted from her chest and shoulders.

Neither Jake nor
Julia
treated
her like the
sinner she was
, but continued to extend the same kin
dness and grace they’d shown
from the beginning
.
Jake patted her hand, his eyes kind and wise. “I know it doesn’t feel like it, but you’re actually in
a good place when you recognize
your
sin
fulness
.”