Page 151 of Sing with Me

“Let’s hope the leads lead somewhere,” Diehl said. “I know it’s only been two days, but a lot can happen in two days.”

“Nothing is impossible with God,” Ivan said. “Absolutely nothing.”

Chapter Forty-One

Diehl had texted or left voice messages for Skye all day Monday, and so had Matt, Ivan, and Brinley. Skye felt overwhelmed with the avalanche of information, prayer requests, updates from Malik, Helen’s PI, and the good detective. However, she was happy to be part of the prayer support team at Seaside Chapel.

Praying was the best thing she could do, being so far away in Miami Beach, where she had kept busy from morning until past dinner time. Not only had she been busy helping Sebastian at his booth, Skye somehow ended up filling in for one of the competition judges who had come down with food poisoning at lunch time on Monday.

Should she have volunteered?

“I don’t know what overcame me,” Skye told Diehl on FaceTime when he called her after dinner on Monday night.

She slumped back on the armchair in her hotel room overlooking the marina. It was dark now at ten o’clock, and she could not enjoy the much-touted view. Truth be told, she could have gotten a room facing the parking lot for a hundred dollars less per night, considering she had been gone all day the last two days, mingling at the food festival.

And now judging.

“You have a kind heart,” Diehl said.

On screen, he had taken a shower and was dressed in an old T-shirt and a pair of faded plaid pajama pants. He was sitting in bed. He seemed to be looking into his iPad camera as he held his phone in hand.

“Do I? Or was I taken advantage of?” Sky asked.

“When is the judging over?”

“Wednesday night. The winners will be announced at the evening gala, where we get to taste the winning dishes.”

“And then the next day, you’ll be in Athens to see your sister-in-law.”

Skye nodded. “Very late at night.”

“And you’ll be back here Sunday night.” Diehl drank some mineral water straight out of the green bottle.

Skye was glad it wasn’t anything stronger, but she did not ask him what else he had been ingesting. She was not his Holy Spirit. His convictions should come from God alone.

“No, I haven’t had a drop since Friday night.” Diehl seemed to have read her mind.

Three days.

“In fact, Mom asked me to go down to the terrace bar tonight. Pierre made her cocktails as she regaled me with oft-repeated tales of old about the Brooks family, how it came to be and all that. Even with the smell of booze around me, I had no desire for any of it. I am serious. The desire has evaporated from me.”

“It’s a God thing.”

Diehl agreed. “God removed the desire for alcohol from me. Mom was stone drunk when Pierre and I helped her get to her bedroom. And Pierre remarked that I only drank mineral water all evening.”

“God watches over His own.”

“I found Jesus and He protected me from that which can destroy me. Maybe to other people, alcohol isn’t a big deal. To each his own. For me, I can’t go there. I have no desire to numb myself anymore. I think God plucked me out of a spiral I couldn’t recover from. The more I drank, the more I drank.”

Quietly, Skye praised God.

“The Spirit of God is greater than the spirit in the world.” Diehl swiped his phone. “I learned this from Matt. ‘You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.’ I John 4:4.”

“I like that verse. Good reminder.”

“I don’t need alcohol anymore because Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” Diehl’s voice cracked. “God has done so much for me, Skye.”

“Just be aware that sometimes the enemy will try to find a way to knock you over in the midst of your celebration.”

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