“This is the top end of Monterey Bay,” he said. “If you’re here long, we’ll be driving down to Monterey sometime where my parents live. Maybe Friday, if you want.”
“Do you have Fridays off?”
“Yes. We could even make it an overnight trip. Stay with them on Friday and then come back Saturday. There’s lots of things to do. Shopping and such. Annika loved to go there.”
“Have you told your mom and dad about me?”
“Yes. I called them from Iowa on Friday.”
“Before or after you knew I was coming?”
“Before, but I told them you probably were. I’ll call them this afternoon and let them know it’s official.”
The church wasn’t far from there, and walking beside Andrew to the front doors, she could see why Andrew dressed the way he did here. Most people were wearing casual attire fitting for the sunny day. Another thing she noticed were all the kids and younger people. Teens, young couples, and lots of young families.
But there were older people too. Middle-aged and up to those in advanced years. Most people called Andrew by his first name only, or Pastor Andy. And it was obvious he was very loved. No surprise.
He introduced her to several people as they stepped toward what looked like a mid-sized auditorium. Not as large as the one they had been in this week, but larger than the one at her church. It was wall-to-wall people in the foyer as the previous service was letting out and those here for the next were making their way in, and Sarah could see some expansion of the building was definitely needed. But what a great problem to have.
One of the people Andrew introduced her to was a woman who appeared to be her age. Her name was Donna, and Andrew pointed out her husband a few paces away talking to someone else. Andrew had been saying, ‘This is Sarah, a friend of mine, or something similar, but to Donna he said, “This is Sarah,” without any explanation, and Donna smiled, gave her a warm hug and said, “It’s so good to meet you. I want to have you over for coffee this week. I’ll call you.”
She said ‘okay’, and then followed Andrew through the crowd. When they had a moment alone, she asked him who Donna was and why she seemed to know she wasn’t just a friend from out of town.
“Donna is the women’s ministry leader, and she was one of Annika’s best friends. I pulled her aside earlier and told her about you, and if she said she’ll call you, she will. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, that’s fine,” she said.
She met two other people as they approached the front of the auditorium who also knew about her. Pastor Alan was the associate pastor, and his wife’s name was Elena. She knew from talking to Andrew about his staff that Alan was the most recent addition, but Alan and Elena had been longtime attenders here. Alan had left the ministry years ago because of a bad experience in another church, but Andrew had offered him the job before they searched for anyone else, and Alan agreed to give it another try. Alan did a lot of the in-home and hospital visitations and counseling Andrew didn’t have time for. And Elena was the children’s ministry leader. They both greeted her warmly, and Elena gave her a hug that said, ‘We’re glad Andrew found you.’
Sarah already knew she was happy to have been found by Andrew, but the feeling only increased as the morning went on. The worship was wonderful, like something she would experience at a conference or other special event. She didn’t hold Andrew’s hand or show him any affection for now, but not because she was worried about what others would think. She was simply connecting with God and thanking Him for bringing her here.
Andrew’s message was very good--encouraging, challenging, and deeply touching during several moments. Without a doubt she knew coming here wasn’t just about being with Andrew and meeting his family, but it was also about what God had to show and teach her. He spoke to her several times through Andrew’s words, and she was ready to listen.
Andrew talked about being at the conference, but not about meeting her specifically. Near the end he said something she knew related to her, however. “None of us know what we will encounter this week: who we will meet or what experiences lie in our path, but believe this: every moment is designed by God, and His ways are good. Not always easy, but good.
“So surrender this week to Him. Say, ‘Whatever You want me to do, help me to do it. Whatever You want to teach me, help me to learn it. Whatever You want to show me, help me to see it. However You want to heal me...help me...comfort me...bless me; help me to receive it.’ That is submission to a holy God who loves you deeply. Let Him prove that to you this week.”
***
Annika smiled as a great cheer arose around her. And her heart was bursting with pride for her beloved husband and his truthful words being spoken to a small congregation of Joshua’s followers on Earth, and to the large gathering here along the shore of the Crystal Sea. She always came here on the first morning of a new week unless she had been summoned to another part of the City at this time. Only those who had known Andrew personally on Earth, or had seen him interacting with their loved ones through the Great Window, would know who the preacher for the morning was, and she didn’t imagine that was a very big number in this crowd, so she knew the cheers were not for Andrew personally, but for the words of truth he spoke. Not every preacher was given such a privileged opportunity to speak to a Great Assembly in Paradise.
Annika knew Andrew had no idea he was doing so, and she hadn’t known if she would ever see him on the Big Screen, but she wasn’t surprised. Andrew was a simple but sincere man. A man of great integrity. A man after Joshua’s heart. A God-seeker through and through. And although he had been through some major struggles down on the Battlefield, he had overcome, and his heart had become purer than ever, like gold refined in the fire.
Annika had a big party at her cottage that afternoon, and her guests spilled onto the front and back lawn and the shoreline of the sea. Levi was there, and since he didn’t know anyone besides her, she made a special point to make him feel welcome and among those she had grown to care about here in Paradise.
“He’s a fine preacher, Annika,” Levi said. “You should be proud.”
“Oh, I am. But I know Sarah had something to do with that passion I heard in his voice this morning.”
“She was a great encouragement to me too,” he spoke tenderly. “I’m not sure I ever let her know that. I asked Joshua to make sure Andrew does.”
“No worries, Levi. He will.”
“You should take pride in your children too, Annika. The way they welcomed Sarah so easily last night--are you sure they haven’t been here before?”
She laughed. “Yes, but they’re close to Joshua, so it’s the same thing.”
Chapter Twenty-one
When Andrew came down from the stage, he felt a high like he’d never felt before. He had always enjoyed preaching, and more so in the last few years since he’d come to the realization his teaching had to come from his own life. However God was working in his life, that’s what he talked about.
Sometimes if God had been showing him something specific over several month’s time, like last year when He’d been teaching him about enjoying Him more, then he would make a series out of it to share what he had learned, but often he did what he’d done today: Taken the circumstances of the past week, what God had taught him, and explained it the best way he knew how to those who were listening.
He had preached the same message during the other two services, and he felt like it came off fine, but during this half-hour with Sarah sitting out there, an excitement had entered his soul in a unique way. Several times images flashed through his mind of being with her this week, especially last night at the house.
All week they had been in neutral territory where her presence was simply nice and did good things for his lonely heart. But having her at the house and meeting his kids had been a whole new feeling of, ‘God, I can’t believe You’re doing this! I can’t believe how special Sarah is and how much I want her in my life!’ And he felt it whil
e he was on stage too. ‘I don’t have to do this all by myself anymore. I don’t have to be that strong person who went on with his ministry after his wife died. I wasn’t asking for this, but You knew I needed her.’
Going to stand beside Sarah as Pastor Joel led them in worship to respond to the message, he didn’t hold back like he had earlier when they first arrived. He couldn’t. She was his future wife, and he wanted everyone to have some inclination of that. He wanted to make them curious and ask themselves, ‘Who is that beautiful woman with Pastor Andy? Is she the one we’ve all been hoping he would find? Has God finally brought her? Is that what his message was about? Can I believe in God’s goodness because I’m seeing it with my own eyes? He is blessing Andrew and bringing him such joy after a cloudy season; He can do it for me too!’
He put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as the first song began, and he remained like that until the third, which he knew was the last. “Come with me,” he said, taking her hand and walking with her in front of his children, who were all sitting beside them in the front row, and then turning to walk up the aisle like he always did to be at the outside doors to greet people after the service.
A lot of people were in focused worship and didn’t notice them passing by, but others saw them together walking hand in hand, and they returned the smile on his face.
“So much for anonymity,” she said once they were outside on the front steps with no one around for the moment. “But let me be the first to tell you what a wonderful message that was. And the worship. And the spirit of worship in that place. I will definitely be back next week.”
He was appreciative of her words, but his mind was elsewhere. Kissing her tenderly, he spoke softly. “Marry me, Sarah. Please don’t go. I need you.”
***
Sarah didn’t take Andrew’s words lightly or pretend she thought he was teasing. She knew he wasn’t, and she wasn’t certain she could promise him that yet, so she simply kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a silent promise she would seriously consider that.
She fully expected the interruption of their private moment as others began coming out of the church. She didn’t make any attempt to distance herself from Andrew’s side. As people filed past them on the way to their cars, Andrew introduced her to everyone he seemed to know well. Sarah could easily identify those who attended sporadically and those who were here regularly by the way they responded to her presence.
Several said something like, ‘And who’s this, Andrew? Someone you picked up in Iowa?’
Andrew didn’t deny it and usually said, ‘Yes, God had a special surprise waiting for me there.’
When most of the people were gone, they went inside and all of the introductions were to people who knew Andrew well: his staff members, ministry leaders, and those who liked to hang around after church talking and connecting with others on a more personal level on Sundays. She finally had a chance to meet Pastor Joel, the only pastor she hadn’t met yet, and she told him how much she enjoyed the worship. She also met his wife, Natalie, and she seemed sweet and happy to meet her. They were both in their early thirties, she guessed, and they had three young children who were running circles around them: Madison, Jesse, and Gabriel.
She saw Donna again, and Donna talked with her more openly about wanting to get together with her this week and when would be a good time. Andrew had stepped away to take care of a few things before they could leave, and Sarah told Donna she wasn’t certain of her schedule this week.
“I think Andrew will be here at church most days except for Friday, so I’m pretty free.”
“How about tomorrow? Would you like to have lunch?”
“Sure, that would be fine.”
“Okay, I’ll come pick you up at eleven-thirty and take you to a local favorite.”
Knowing Donna was the women’s ministry leader, Sarah felt a little reluctant about meeting with her. She seemed nice, but Sarah could already hear her saying, ‘We have this coming up on such and such date. Will you still be here then? I could really use some help putting it all together.’ She began to wonder if she was trying to run from something she could never get away from.
Andrew noticed her silence on the drive home, and when he pulled into the driveway and parked the car behind the one already in the garage, he reached over to stroke her cheek and asked if she was all right.
“I’m fine.”
“Did I mess up, Sarah? Did I make you uncomfortable by telling everyone about us?”
“No,” she said. “That was fine. I’m not comfortable with trying to disguise the truth.”
He kissed her gently. “Then where’s that smile I love?”
She explained with the words she had been thinking for the past fifteen minutes. “I’d love to be your wife, Andrew. But I’m not sure I want to be a pastor’s wife again.”
“You don’t have to be a pastor’s wife here. You can just be my wife.”
“Can I?” she challenged him.
“Yes, you can. I promise.”
“I think Donna is already trying to recruit me into something.”
“Why do you think that?”
“She invited me to have lunch with her tomorrow.”
“I think she just wants to make you feel welcome and to get to know you. She’s not that kind of person. She’s passionate about what she does, but she doesn’t force people to lead Bible studies or to do anything they’re not gifted to do.”
“But everyone always expects I’m gifted to do everything.”
“Then you need to learn to say no when you know they’re wrong.”
She didn’t know if she could do that.
“You know what Annika learned worked the best?”
“What?”
“To everything--whether it was something she initially wanted to do or not, she would say, ‘Let me pray about that.’ And then when she gave the person her answer, she could say, ‘I prayed about it, and I don’t think God wants me to.’ Make it about you and God, Sarah. That’s what Annika did, and that’s what I do too.”
Sarah wasn’t convinced she could have a different kind of life as a pastor’s wife here with Andrew than she’d had with Levi, but so far none of her other fears about coming here had come true, so she let it be for now.
They went into the house, and she went upstairs to change out of her dress, but she remained in the bedroom for a few extra minutes, feeling grateful Andrew had insisted on having her own space here. She wasn’t used to being around a lot of people she didn’t know, and she needed a break and a little cry to release her conflicting emotions.
When she felt ready to go downstairs and join the others for lunch, she stepped into the hall and saw Andrew patiently waiting for her. She hadn’t asked him to, and he appeared concerned. He pulled her close to him, and her tears returned.
“Do you want me to call Donna and tell her you’re not ready to be meeting everyone yet and for now you’re just here to get to know me?”
She didn’t know what to say. It hadn’t occurred to her to ask Andrew to do that, and she was surprised he would be willing to. But his words fit with everything she knew about him.
“It’s okay, Sarah, if that’s what you want. I know she’ll understand and won’t take it personally.”
She knew meeting with Donna right now would be too many new things for her. She had come here to have some time with Andrew and meet his family. That’s all she had agreed to and all he had asked of her--and all God had asked of her. The peace of knowing she had done the right thing by coming here returned, and Andrew’s words helped too.
“I want you to be you, Sarah. The person I met at the conference is who I want here with me too. Was that you?”
“Yes,” she said and smiled. “Unfortunately, yes. The woman who couldn’t make it through one whole day without crying. The woman who booked a hotel room five miles away. The woman who got lost walking around the city. That’s me, Andrew. That’s who I was the
re and who you brought to California with you.”
“Oh, that woman,” he said. “The one who captured my heart? I like her.”
She didn’t respond, and he continued.
“She was beautiful, and kind, and looked great in a pair of jeans.”
She laughed. “Andrew!”
“What? She did, and I’m a man. I notice these things.”
Sarah felt beautiful in that moment. Levi had always made her feel beautiful, and Andrew did too. “What else was she like?” she asked softly.
“Brave,” he sighed. “Broken. Strong. Weak. Real. Someone I wanted to take care of. Someone I wanted to kiss.” His lips found hers and kissed her with a gentle passion that took her breath away. “Someone I asked to marry me this morning. The woman I want to love for the rest of my life. Are you interested in that?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t be scared, Sarah. This can be your life, and it can be good. I promise.”
***
Grace enjoyed having the whole family together for two days. Seeing Danae and Tate had been completely unexpected in the middle of the semester like this, and having Danae here to share about her week with James was a special treat. She didn’t have any friends she could talk to on a heart-to-heart level like that, and despite some tough years between them, Grace considered Danae to be her best friend now.
Watching them drive away was difficult, but the house didn’t seem empty like it usually did after she went inside on such a day. For one thing, it wasn’t empty. James was still here, along with Tabitha, Drew, Kanani, Sarah, and Dad. Trying to decide how to spend the rest of the day, they all thought going to the Boardwalk would be fun. Sarah hadn’t been to the beach yet, and the Santa Cruz sand was especially nice for walking on.
Grace went back and forth on her emotions concerning Sarah being here. She was thrilled for her dad, and it was obvious he had made a good choice, but seeing him with someone besides her mom was difficult. She supposed that would get easier with time.
October Joy (Moments In Paradise 1) Page 17