Page 148 of Sing with Me

Right now, he was holding the greatest gift ever: the Word of God. The leather-bound Bible had tabs so he could find the books of the Bible, since he hadn’t gotten their order memorized. “This is beautiful. You just have Bibles like this lying around the house?”

“Pretty much. Never know who you might need to give it to—although Brinley has saved that one for you for a few years.”

“She has?” Diehl was moved.

Ivan slapped his shoulder. “Your sister loves you and has been praying for your salvation for three years.”

Diehl wondered if Skye had prayed for his salvation too—since Brinley and Skye were close friends.

“We have all prayed for your salvation.” Matt came over with two hot mugs of coffee in stoneware mugs designed to look like enamel-coated steel camping mugs. He didn’t ask what Ivan or Diehl wanted in their coffee. It was like they were out camping in the wilderness, and there was only one type of coffee.

Take it or leave it.

The coffee was good. “Wow. What is this?”

“Costa Rica. Organic.” Matt handed a mug to Benicio, who sat up with his eyes half shut.

Even coffee tastes better with Jesus in my heart.

Diehl found his seat between Benicio and Ivan. He did not have to sit next to Ivan, but the edge of the old sofa seemed to be most comfortable. He didn’t want to sit in a folding chair today, and was glad there were options.

Boy, I am getting fussy in my old age.

Was that it? Had Skye said what she said last night because she thought he might be set in his ways and was unable to change? She didn’t know that since he accepted Jesus after evening church, his entire way of thinking had changed.

Life began at forty all over again.

His heart no longer felt heavy. His anger about Isobel’s betrayal was gone. He felt even more compassion toward his children. He had sympathy toward his mother. He started to pray for her salvation.

As for Dad, his friend Argo Perry had gotten him into Christian things, but Diehl wasn’t sure if Dad was exploring Christianity or whether he was one. Diehl was scheduled to call Dad this afternoon, so he’d try to remember to ask.

All in all, he felt that his heart had changed dramatically. It was like night and day.

Never once in the last however many hours had he thought of drinking the night away. Usually, after two nights of drinking, he’d keep doing it, particularly if Isobel goaded him on. Not this time.

Sure, his descent into a pit of despair had been interrupted by his daughter going missing. And for the sake of his other child, he could not afford to be inebriated—not when the detective might need to talk to him.

However, now it was different. He knew there was a big change inside his heart. His perspective had changed.

“In the interest of time, we’re going to start taking prayer requests by email,” Matt announced. “I’ll email you a Google document, and you update it with your name, prayer requests and praises. Be succinct. Every Monday, we’ll go over them.”

“Paperless?” Benicio asked.

“Why not?” Matt said. “Some people are not here today, but they want to get updates too. Tristan Rao is traveling in Canada with his family. Adam is also out of town—I sent him on an errand in South Georgia. Hayden Hartley might join us.”

Hayden. That dude who put his arm over Skye’s shoulder one Wednesday night at the Fire Pit Service at church.

Diehl tried not to react to the idea that Hayden might be sitting in this circle listening to his personal problems.

A runaway or abducted daughter.

Two motherless children.

A new believer navigating the Christian life.

A family business on the brink of restructuring.

Diehl thought about his own parents, how he had split their living arrangements into two cities. Maybe downsizing the family business could give more life to the family. Did they really need to invest in manufacturing and transportation? Would they be fine dealing with only properties? Or maybe they should drop real estate and focus only on transportation? Which income stream should they drop to save their sanity?

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