Page 144 of Sing with Me

“Diehl got saved!”

“Oh, and here I thought you missed your own brother.” He made a face. “No, seriously. That’s amazing news. I’m happy for him. Finally. How long have we prayed?”

“I know, right. Ivan prayed with him after church.”

“Why now?”

“Brinley said Pastor Gonzalez preached a convicting sermon.”

“He always does.” Sebastian sat down and stretched his legs. He was wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, like he was going to bed.

“You look casual.”

“Well, you look like you just came out of church.” Sebastian pointed to her stretch pants and cotton blouse.

“Yes, actually. About two hours ago. No time to change.” Skye glanced at her phone. Still no reply from Diehl.

The flight from Atlanta to Miami Beach was smooth and uneventful. By the time they checked into their hotel near the outdoors food festival, Skye was bushed.

She brushed her teeth and washed her face. She didn’t bother to unpack her suitcase.

She was in bed when the text came from Diehl. She asked him if he was still awake, and next thing she knew, he called her on the phone. Audio only because she did not want him to see her in her pajamas.

“How was your flight?” Diehl asked.

“Which one?”

“Both legs.”

“Not bad. Short and sweet.” Skye tapped on the speakerphone icon and placed the phone on the side table. Her head was on the pillow, her eyes closed. “I heard the good news.”

“My sister told you?” Diehl asked.

“Praise the Lord,” Skye said. “Tell me how it happened.”

Diehl did. His voice was calm, and he sounded at peace. Skye couldn’t wait to get home to St. Simon’s next week. She wanted to look at his face to see if there was any visible change.

“Best decision I ever made was to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior,” Skye said. “The rest of my life fell in place.”

“I don’t know what I believed in college. This is a do-over for me. A reboot.”

“Better saved than sorry.”

“Yep. When it comes to life and death, it’s no joke.”

Skye couldn’t see Diehl’s face when he said that. “Being a Christian doesn’t mean that life is going to be perfect here on out.”

“God is with me no matter what happens.” He seemed genuine about the statement.

“Even if things don’t turn out the way you want,” Skye said softly.

“I know what you mean.”

“Good.”

“Thank you for the reality check.” Diehl cleared his throat. “I think we’re on the same page now.”

“Oh?” Skye prayed that Diehl hadn’t accepted Jesus on account of her at all. Diehl’s salvation was between him and God.

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