Seasons

by Bonnie Hopkins

  As soon as he heard the garage door open, Jason almost collapsed on the bed. What in the world had gotten into him? His wife was trying to offer him an olive branch and here he was acting like a fool. She might have been getting ready to tell him she had changed her mind. Now that possibility was gone.

  If ever he needed to hear a word from the Lord, it was now. He closed the half-filled bag, set it on the floor, grabbed his keys, and followed his wife’s path out the door and to the church. He got there just as the pastor began the lesson.

  “Brothers and Sisters, tonight we’re going to talk about vision,” Pastor Robinson said, looking around the room. “I don’t mean physical vision and what we see out of our eyes. No, no. I mean our spiritual vision—what we see and understand in our spirit. The question I’m asking tonight is: Have you lost your vision? your sight? your way? your faith? Have you willfully taken your spiritual eyes off the One who is your guide, your source, your deliverer? I contend that many of us have done just that, and are now groping around in the dark wondering which way to go. The Word of God says in Proverbs 29:18 that where there is no vision, people perish. I further contend that many of us are literally perishing. Perishing in our souls, our spiritual walk with the Lord, our marriages, our relationships, our finances, our bodies . . . because we have lost our vision.

  Jason had taken a seat in the back as soon as he walked in, not even bothering to seek Jaci out. When he heard the pastor’s opening remarks, he started searching the audience intently, finally finding her sitting near her usual place. He quickly made his way to her side.

  Jaci

  The pastor’s words had such an impact on Jaci that tears began streaming down her face before she realized it. Her first impulse was to get out of there before she made a real spectacle of herself. But before she could move, she felt someone slip into the seat beside her and a strong arm pulling her close. She looked up to see Jason, his face also wet, looking down at her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered to him. “I don’t know what got into me.”

  His arm around her tightened. “Shhhhh! . . . we’ll talk about it later.”

  The pastor continued. “This is not going to be a long lesson tonight. I just want to give you some food for thought and prayer, then I want you to go home and deal with your loss of vision by repenting for choosing your own will over God’s. Everyone in here knows how you have gone wrong, and that’s between you and the Lord. It’s up to you to find your way back to the right path. God loves us enough to let us make the decision. He’s not going to force you back into the light.”

  Jaci didn’t have to hear anymore. She had already admitted to the Lord that she had lost her way as a wife. She did exactly what Jason had asked her not to do when he agreed to her staying on her job. She still subconsciously thought unilaterally instead of as a wife. Every serious disagreement between them had been about her job. Did she in fact put her job first? Did she hold so tightly to her job because she was afraid to trust her husband—her marriage? Did she value her marriage enough to put the job in its rightful place? Did she love her husband enough to change?

  Oh Lord! Please show me the way that You would have me to take. Then she cringed. That’s a dumb prayer, Lord. I already know what I should do.

  She drove into the garage, got out of the truck, and, without waiting for Jason, who had pulled in right behind her, made her way into the house and up the stairs to the bedroom. She went into the closet and began selecting clothes suitable for the D.C. trip. Jason walked into the room, and, realizing what she was doing, went to her and pulled her tightly into his arms.

  “Sweetheart, I’ll understand if you can’t go. I was wrong to expect you to take off on such short notice. I should have told you last week that I needed you to go with me, rather than springing it on you at the last minute. Maybe if I had, it wouldn’t have come to us fighting about it.” He led her to the bed where they sat down.

  “I don’t want our marriage to perish because we mess around and lose sight of God and what He would have us to do. But we also need to stay close and communicate with each other. That’s the only way we’ll know what we need from each other.”

  Jaci began to cry. “I know,” she agreed tearfully.

  Jaci arrived at work at her usual time the next morning. She waited anxiously for her boss Ed Shannon to get in so she could talk to him about taking off the next couple of days. She had packed last night and with the exception of clearing things with Ed, was ready to go. Not going with her husband was no longer a consideration, whatever the outcome. She smiled as she considered the dramatic change in her attitude since yesterday. Her job was still important, but not to the point of jeopardizing her marriage. She silently thanked God for His guidance and prayed for favor and understanding from her boss.

  “Jaci, what do you expect me to do? Fire you on the spot?” Ed Shannon asked, noticing Jaci’s nervousness as she explained her need for time off. “You have a lot of surplus built up in your time bank, lady. It’s understandable that you’ll be using it now that you have a demanding husband.” He paused. “And you tell J.P. to lighten up a little!” he added, laughing. “Jaci, its not a big deal, and I don’t have a problem with it. I know you’re going to take care of your job responsibilities, and do them well. And I don’t want to upset the boat in any way and make that husband of yours insist on you leaving just yet. I like what you’re doing with the division so far. So I’ll see you when you get back.”

  Jaci thanked Ed profusely for his understanding, then held a hurried meeting with her staff to assure that things would go well while she was away. She called to let Jason know she was headed home and wondered why she had made such an issue of going with him. Ooh Lord! I’ve got a lot of adjusting to do.

  Jason

  Jason smiled as Jaci squirmed around in her seat by the window until she found a comfortable position. Her head rested against his arm while her hand sought for and found his. He remembered their first plane ride together and smiled at the differences. That time, Jaci had been careful, even in sleep, to stay as far from him as possible. Now, she couldn’t seem to get close enough. He was happy. Now that he had easily won the patent case, he wondered why he had been so worried. Then he caught himself.

  “Thank You, Father,”he whispered. “All Glory to Your Name for the victory today.”

  He was surprised when Jaci whispered, “Amen.” He thought she had dropped off to sleep. “Sweetheart, you don’t know how much I appreciate having you with me today. I know it was a big sacrifice for you to leave your job and come on this trip. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

  Jaci raised her head and looked into his eyes. “I love you. I know I have some things to learn about being the right kind of wife, but if you’ll bear with me, I’ll keep trying. By the way, Ed said to tell you to lighten up.” She smiled at his obstinate look. “He also said there was no way he was going to upset you because he doesn’t want you demanding my departure from the job. He’s a nice boss.”

  Jason snorted with disdain. “He can forget it. I think one of the things we’ve learned is that your departure is inevitable. That job has to go!” He felt her stiffen. “I’m sorry, honey, but that’s the way it is. I don’t want to fight every time I need you to go out of town with me. And I don’t plan on going too many places without you.” Jaci looked up with combat blazing in her emerald eyes. Before she could relay anything, he quickly said, “I guess we’d better pray about it huh?” She laid her head back down on his shoulder, smiling and choosing to say nothing.

  Jaci

  A week later on Friday evening, Jaci was glad to see the weekend. She hadn’t rested up from the trip to D.C. and her extremely heavy workload this past week. She rushed home from work with nothing more on her mind than a relaxing bubble bath and a quiet evening with her husband.

  She slipped into the large Jacuzzi tub with a satisfied sigh. She just wanted to sit and let the hot water and fragrant lavender aroma ease the tension from
her body.

  She let her mind drift and reflect on all the blessings from God. Life was good and there was nowhere else she’d rather be than here in this house with her husband. She chuckled. “Oh yeah! This is definitely a moment! Thank you, Father.” The only thing that could have possibly made it any better was her husband’s presence in the tub with her. The ringing telephone interrupted her praise-filled reflections. She groaned in irritation. “That was bound to happen,” she said, thinking it was probably Jason and rushing to get out of the tub to answer it.

  “Hello!” she said hurriedly, hoping she had caught it in time. There was a brief pause before she heard a familiar female voice and felt the bottom fall out of her world.

  “Ha! You thought I was gone, didn’t you? Well, I’ve got news for you. I’m not going anywhere, and my sister isn’t either until we see you dead. You’ve taken things from both of us—things that should have been ours. Well, heifer, just know this: You better be looking over your shoulder because we’re going to get you. And nothing and nobody’s going to stop us this time!”

  Jaci dropped the phone and backed away from it as if it were a snake. “Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!” she repeated over and over, her mind filled with horror and fear.

  An hour later Jason found her curled into a tight ball on the bed. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she looked as if all the life had been knocked out of her. His heart pounded as he realized that something traumatic had happened to his wife. Why hadn’t she called him!

  “Baby, what’s wrong? What happened? Tell me!” he said, pulling her into his arms.

  Jaci hugged him tightly. “Linda . . . called . . . and . . . and said she and Wynola were going . . . to get me. Oh God! Jason, she’s back . . . I thought that was all over, but now both of them are after me. I’m scared, Jason.” She cried uncontrollably.

  Jason

  Jason was shaken! He too had believed that Linda and her attacks on Jaci were behind them. But it sounded like Linda, and Wynola, were as determined as ever to do harm to Jaci. He lay down beside her and started talking to her softly.

  “Sweetheart, I know you’re upset and scared. This is another satanic attempt to destroy our joy and peace. But you’ve got to remember that God is with us. He’s brought us this far, and I don’t believe He’s going to leave us at this point. We’ll get through this. And this time, we have to trust Him to end it once and for all. We can’t let Satan defeat us. We’ve got to trust God.” He was encouraging himself as he spoke to his wife. He felt like crying too, but his wife needed him to be strong.

  “Come on, honey, we’ve got to pray.” He got up and pulled her to her knees beside the bed and started talking to the Lord.

  “Gracious Master, You already know why we are seeking You tonight. And Father, we really need a breakthrough in this situation. We thought it was over, but these women are again threatening our lives. Lord, You are God Almighty, all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, all everywhere, and all in control of this world and everything and everyone in this world. Father, we need Your power, Your strength, and deliverance in this situation. Father, we need You to stop the way against those who persecute and seek to destroy us. Father, we need the manifestation of Your promise that no weapon formed against us will prosper in this situation. Father, we need You to fix it so that any ditch these enemies dig for us will end up being for them.

  “Father, we admit that we’re weary and overwhelmed, but we know that Your strength is made perfect in our weakness. We ask that You will answer us speedily because we have no other help or source to call upon but You. We praise You right now that this trouble will be sent back to the pits of hell, triumphing over Satan and all his army. Father, we thank You and praise You for the victory. We ask all of this in the precious name of Jesus our Savior. Amen. Hallelujah! Praise be to God.”

  Both Jaci and Jason jumped up and embraced each other tightly. They both felt relief in their spirits as faith took over where fear and defeat had been.

  “Oh sweetheart, thank you! And thank God for you,” Jaci hugged him close. “I believe that God has heard our prayer and that the victory is already on the way.” In her spirit she spoke to the Lord. Thank you, Father, for leading my husband to remind me that this battle is Yours. I stand still and wait to see the salvation of the Lord. Thank You, Father.

  “Baby, we know that God is with us, but we still have to do some things for ourselves,” Jason said. “We have to be watchful because this adversary is out there waiting to attack. And we have to garner help in both the spirit and earthly realms. We’ll report this to the police, ask all our family, friends, and coworkers to pray with us and help us. And we’ll get this situation on the church’s twenty-four-hour prayer chain. This thing is going to end. Soon!”

  Jaci

  Three weeks later, although the phone calls and threats continued, Jaci’s faith remained strong. They alerted the police, and their family and friends had formed a strong support system around them. Jaci went nowhere alone. Her coworkers made sure she wasn’t in the office or leaving the building alone. Someone even accompanied her to the grocery store. The consistent prayers of the church encased her and enabled her to endure the situation with peace. Jaci’s constant prayer was, Thank you, Heavenly Father, that by Your power, we have the victory over Satan in this situation. I send forth praise and glory to Your name right now.

  Saturday afternoon, Jaci was upstairs in the game room watching a movie, when she heard a loud commotion coming from downstairs. She got up to investigate. Usually when Jason and his friends were together they got loud, but this was ridiculous.

  As she descended the last step, she heard Walt saying, “I told you! Didn’t I tell you that one day you would step in something that would make you stink? I knew it had to happen. But this! I never woulda dreamed it would be something like this!”

  He fell back in the recliner and laughed uncontrollably. Jason, T.C., and Charlie sat on the floor laughing their heads off, while Ron slumped somberly in his chair, watching them. He finally said, “I don’t see what the heck is so darn funny! I’ve got a real problem here! That dude won’t leave me alone.”

  His words caused another round of loud laughter. Jaci walked into the room with a puzzled look. “What in the world is going on?”

  The men tried unsuccessfully to collect themselves when they realized she was in the room. Jason got up, straightened his face, and walked over to her. “Sorry, sweetheart. Did we disturb you? I know we’re pretty loud. We’ll try to keep it down.”

  Jaci looked around the room, which was littered with soda cans and plates that held the crumbs of chips, chicken salad sandwiches, and the chocolate cake Jason had asked Jaci to make that morning. Something worth knowing was going on, but it was apparent they would not be sharing it with her. The men looked anywhere but at her. She turned slowly and went back up stairs, where she flopped down on the sofa and rewound the movie.

  As soon as the men determined she was gone, loud laughter erupted again. Jaci knew this had to be a doosie! And she couldn’t wait until the others left so she could worm it out of Jason. Her mind kept mulling over Ron’s words, “That dude won’t leave me alone.” What in the world was he talking about? Jaci wanted to know!

  As soon as everyone left, Jaci flew down the stairs. “Okay! Tell me what’s going on. This must be good the way you guys were carrying on.”

  Ignoring her request, Jason said, “Baby, will you help me clean up? We really made a mess in here. And there’s not a crumb of food left. Those guys ate up everything.”

  She stood there with her arms crossed and looked at him in exasperation. “I’ll help you clean up if you’ll tell me what’s going on,” she told him.

  He shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t. Ron asked me not to. You wouldn’t want me to break my promise, would you?” Mischief danced in his eyes.

  “Yes! I want to know. Tell me!”

  “Can’t do it, babe. Come on, let’s get this place cleaned up.”

 
Jaci began to tidy up. She knew if she kept after him, he would eventually tell her. They worked together to get the family room and kitchen in order, then went upstairs.

  “You’re not getting any rest until you tell me what’s going on with Ron. So you might as well come clean.”

  Jason laughed, “Okay, okay! But you better not let on to Ron that I told you.” He began, but before he got very far, she interrupted him.

  “What!” Jaci’s jaw dropped almost to the floor. “Some dude is in love with Ron? How in the world did Ron get mixed up with this person?”

  Jason laid across the bed on his back, laughing. “Baby, some of these female impersonators, or whatever they call themselves, can fix up to look like beautiful women, and . . . well . . . they can fool the best of men.” He chuckled some more. “That’s what happened. Ron met this beautiful woman, went home with her, and discovered at a crucial point that he and the ‘lady’ had the same equipment. He punched the guy out and left, but the guy has other ideas. He’s in love and refuses to give up on Ron. But Ron is about to have a conniption fit.”

  Jaci’s hands went to cover her mouth. “Some dude is in love with Ron!” Her giggle started out slowly, then evolved into uncontrollable laughter. She and Jason rolled on the bed and laughed until they cried.

  When they sobered, Jason said, “We need to be in prayer for Ron. Not just about this, but about his relationship with the Lord. Have you noticed how much time he’s spending here? And how he’s in church almost every Sunday now? I think the Lord is working in Ron’s heart and circumstances to draw him into the kingdom. Something about our life—our home—is attractive to him. And you know what else? Ron was asking about your cousins, wanting to know if all of them are married.”