Page 137 of Sing with Me

Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,

Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,

Till an arrow struck his liver.

As a bird hastens to the snare,

He did not know it would cost his life.

How could Proverbs 7:21-23 not be about Isobel? The description fitted her perfectly.

Since then, Diehl had stopped attending church because he did not want to lose the company of his then girlfriend. In fact, he had married Isobel and invited no one from his old church to attend. From then on, it was all about the pursuit of Isobel’s happiness over his own and everyone else’s. If anyone had asked him back then, he would say that yes, he worshipped her.

Was it possible for a Christian to sin this much?

Maybe he wasn’t a real Christian, after all?

Could a Christian keep on sinning without remorse?

Many years later, after one heated night of quarreling after another, Diehl had moved downstairs to sleep in their basement while Isobel stayed alone in her bedroom upstairs. One night, with his brain tired from overwork, and nothing else to do, and somewhat regretting his relationship with Isobel, he googled Reverend Cole, only to find that he had passed away, leaving behind his sermons online and a warning for him in Proverbs 7:25-27 inside that one sermon that had bothered him for years.

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,

Do not stray into her paths;

For she has cast down many wounded,

And all who were slain by her were strong men.

Her house is the way to hell,

Descending to the chambers of death.

That had been Isobel’s legacy with him. Wrapped up in his life with her was everything he needed to know about how to mix strong drinks, how to get intoxicated, how to forget the world and all their woes.

Then again, no. He had chosen to be with her. He had chosen that legacy.

Besides, Isobel was gone now. Who made him get drunk at his own pity party? No one but himself. He knew he had to own the decisions he made.

And the consequences thereof.

He waited for Skye to reply. When she didn’t, he repeated his question. “Are you disappointed?”

“In how you handled the paternity news, specifically. How you drank your sorrow away for two days was totally unnecessary.”

“I could have done better.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, to be sure, if you and God were close, you’d pray for those two poor kids. God would give you wisdom. People adopt kids all the time, right? If God wanted you to have those two children, does it matter how He brought them to you?”

“I want to have my own kids too, from my own seed…” There, he said it. “Sorry. Too much information.”

“If the Lord wills it, you may someday have kids of your own. However, if God chooses to give you kids another way, would you not thank Him for it, regardless?”

“My kids made me feel better of my marriage to Isobel, but when I found out she had cheated on me for my entire marriage to her, for both children…” Diehl resisted running back to the house. The cellar was on the other side of the terrace.

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