Chapter 1
It had been raining since 2:00 the previous afternoon. The wind was howling so bad. My cat Donnie had scrambled under the covers cause he was scared of the wind. I couldn't sleep. I heard a noise down the hall. Uncle David couldn't sleep either. He came down the hallway to my room. Annabelle are you awake? Yes Uncle Dave I am awake. Is something wrong? I rose up from the bed. I could see that Uncle Dave had his bible with him. He always had it with him these days.
Can I come in? Sure you can. Your chair is ready for you. Uncle Dave had moved in with me about six months ago after we got the word that he had cancer. Uncle Dave had lived alone for most of his life and I knew that he could not go through this alone ever though he had a special lady in his life. When Uncle Dave move in he insisted that we put an easy chair in my room so he could sleep in it if he ever needed to.
I got up from the bed and helped Uncle Dave settle into the chair. I covered him up with a quilt that a friend had made him. I crawled back into bed with Donnie. Uncle Dave was looking out the window. Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do, Uncle Dave said. Philippians 4:13 has always been a verse that has given me strength.
You know God can do most anything. We just have to have faith in what he can do. Yes, Uncle Dave you are so right. We had been going through a lot of things lately. I had to admire Uncle Dave's faith despite everything that was going on. I could not understand how he could have so much faith despite everything that was happening at church.
My family had been members of Calvary Presbyterian Church for generations. The people there had been family to me. My father Wade Jones had been the pastor their for years until he died unexpectedly. Then the church found Pastor Roy Masters. Pastor Roy gave me an uneasy feeling from the beginning. I could not put my finger on just what it was.
There was this family in the church, the Culverts, Sue and Daren who for years had wanted to take over the church. They had tried hard to get rid of my family and anyone that sided with us on things. Cricket Morris had become Uncle Dave's close friend and was the subject of the Culverts brutal attacks.
Most recently they were able to talk the Voting Elders or the Session into voting to kick Cricket out of church. They removed Cricket as Treasurer of the church as well. Then Pastor Roy said that Cricket needed to get some counseling to deal with issues that she had. Never once did they say what Cricket did wrong to deserve this nor did they give her a chance to tell her side of things.
Uncle Dave was mad, but he had a strong faith. God was going to carry us through this. I layed in bed looking over at Uncle Dave. I wish I had his faith in God. Then all of a sudden I heard Uncle Dave begin to sing one of my favorite Jason Crabb songs, Please Forgive Me.
Please forgive me,
I need your grace to make it through,
All I have is you,
I'm at your mercy,
Lord I'll serve you,
Until my dying day,
And help others find the way,
At your mercy,
Please forgive me.
I love that song. Uncle Dave, I think I will sing that song in church on Sunday. He looked at me and smiled. I would love to hear you sing it. You do it so well. I smiled at him. We both fell asleep. We were so tired.
I woke up and Uncle Dave was still sleeping. I got up and fixed breakfast. We had a full day of things that had to be done. Saturdays were busy for me. I worked 5 days a week as Preschool Aide on top of studying to get my teaching degree in Preschool and a Christian Ministry degree. Not to mention all the things at church that I did. Saturdays were the only time that I could take a break and get things done.
Uncle Dave woke up to the smell of breakfast. Sis, you better had fixed grits for me. Yes sir I did. Breakfast is ready. You better come get it while it is hot. After breakfast it was time to head down to church. Uncle Dave and I cleaned the church each week after the Culverts fired the cleaning staff. We cleaned the church and set things up for church the next morning.
Don't forget that we need to pick up the bibles I ordered. Uncle Dave had ordered bibles for his students in the Young Adult Sunday School Class. As part of the class Uncle Dave had been doing a confirmation study. This was so that some of the young adults could join the church. Tomorrow was the day. Uncle Dave wanted to give each of them a special bible to remember that day by.
I had a list of things that needed to be picked up for the reception after the service. I volunteered to organize it. Once we finished at the church we headed off to town. We did our shopping and then grabbed a bite to eat at the Purple Cow Restaurant. I loved that place. The owners were Josh and Mary Moore. The restaurant had been in Josh's family. It had the best food of anywhere around.
The day concluded with house cleaning, laundry, and fix food for church. That was not to forget reading my bible and prayer time. We always made time to study the bible and pray. Plus we always had some good Christian Music playing all the time.
I felt a peace that day. It was like nothing bad was going to get me. God was in control. I was thankful for that. I dreaded going to church on Sunday. You never know what to expect at church. Something always happened. Sometimes it was good and sometimes it was bad.
I had a bad feeling about the Culverts and Pastor Roy. They were up to something. I just could not put my finger on it yet. I am seeking God in this. I am going to have to keep my eye on them. They might want me out of church, but I am not going to back down. I am going to keep the faith and stand my ground. God is on my side.
Coming Next week: Chapter 2
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