Page 158 of Share with Me

“You might like my new kitchen.” Brinley looked past Skye. Where Olivia Gonzalez was sitting, Brinley saw one of her daughters whisper in her mother’s ear. Olivia perked up.

“I hear that everyone is here. So let’s pray,” Olivia said. “For those who are just joining us, we usually do our Bible Study and then we eat dinner. That way we can chat all evening after having put God first.”

Put God first.

Brinley thought that was a sermon in itself. After praying, Olivia asked someone to read aloud Luke 10:27. A volunteer did. Brinley followed along in her Bible from Yun, which had a slightly different translation.

“‘And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.’”

Emmeline sat down after she finished reading from her Bible. Brinley thought she had a clear and pretty voice.

“Love God first,” Olivia said. “That’s not to be confused with serving God in a church or ministry or on the mission field. Those can come as a result of your loving God. But when you love someone, you think of that person almost all the time, don’t you? Loving God with all our soul, strength, and might means thinking of Him first, putting Him first above all others. In your heart, God has first place. Is He number one in your life? Better yet, is He your life?”

Putting God first above all others.

Above Ivan.

Brinley prayed for God to show her how to focus on God and not on how Ivan had treated her after all that she had done for him.

“Love God first,” Olivia said. “Then love your neighbors as yourself.”

Love God first.

Then love Ivan.

When Brinley saw that other women were taking notes, she did too. Olivia kept on making her points in a calm manner in spite of the loud thunder and rain outside the cozy little house.

By the time they ate dinner, Brinley was famished. They scattered all over the house and ate everywhere there was seating. Brinley went back to her corner of the sofa, where she had left her tote bag.

The mushroom risotto was delicious. She ate quietly as she looked around the room, wondering how people could hold a plate in one hand and a fork in another while standing up, eating and talking at the same time.

Her gaze veered to Olivia sitting in the dining room. A slither of light coming from the chandelier shone down on her. So calm. So peaceful in spite of her not being able to see. She wondered how long Olivia had been blind.

Next thing Brinley knew, she had walked into the dining room. “Is this chair taken?”

“Sit down wherever there is an empty seat,” Olivia said. “Whoever left it can sit somewhere else. It’s okay.”

Brinley sat down across from the pastor’s wife. “I’m Brinley Brooks.”

“I recognize your voice.”

“I enjoyed your Bible Study. I learned a lot this evening.”

Olivia smiled as her fingers groped her plate for a dinner roll. “God’s word is inexhaustible.”

Inexhaustible.“I’ll remember that.”

“In my life, I’ve learned to trust that God will always be an answer to any problem I face, especially when it comes to people. People are messy.”

“I agree.” Brinley polished off the risotto and wanted more. “Would you like me to get you anything? Another drink? Seconds?”

“Thanks, but this is all I can eat.”

When Olivia couldn’t find her fork which had fallen off her dinner plate onto the plastic tablecloth, Brinley recovered it for her.

“Thank you, Brinley. I usually don’t lose my fork.” Olivia smiled. “Someday when I get to heaven I can see all these.”

“How long have you… I mean…”

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