Brody groaned and carried the box over to his sister. “It’s from all of us.”
Tess turned to Josh, who shrugged.
“No idea, Tornado. Open it.”
Tess tore into the paper and held out the box to Josh who lifted the lid followed by a framed picture. It was Josh when he was about fifteen years old and Tess when she was ten. He towered over her in his jean cut-offs and dirty T-shirt, a baseball bat slung over one shoulder. Tess, in overalls and pig tails—and wearing her baseball mitt—gazed up at him in adoration.
Tess laughed at the image, remembering the days they’d played ball behind the Carson home. Those were great memories. “Man, was I a loser,” Tess muttered. “Nice pig tails…”
“I think it’s sweet!” Stell protested.
“You have always been adorable,” Josh said, putting his arm around her. “Even when you were annoying Brody and me.”
Tess looked up at her husband and kissed him. “I was a dumb kid, what can I say?” She glanced at Stell. “It is sweet. I just don’t want him getting a big head over it.”
“Why would I do that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling broadly.
Tess elbowed him and he groaned. She reached into the box and pulled out two baseball gloves, along with a smaller one for the baby, and three matching shirts that said ‘Thorne’ on the back. “Aww!” Tess’s eyes filled with tears.
Stu cleared his throat as Marlene gently held to his arm. It was clear he was about to cry. “We realize how hard it was when you lost softball,” he said. “But if you hadn’t lost that, we wondered if you would be here now—with Josh and David.” He blinked several times.
Her uncle was amazing.
“God’s been so good to us,” he said. “We love you, kid.”
Tess went to her uncle and hugged him and then did the same to each member of her family. “I love you all, so, so much,” she said thickly, not fighting the tears as they fell. “And I know that God has me just where He wants me.” She sat beside Josh and kissed him as her mother set David in her arms again.
Tess wasn’t just forgiven. She was fully, totally blessed.
Acknowledgements
Jim Hart – Thank you for your guidance and direction. I so appreciate all you do.
Susan Baganz – As always, this novel wouldn’t be what it is without you. Thank you for continuing to make my writing better than I can imagine it can be.
Nicola Martinez and everyone at Pelican Book Group – Thank you, once again, for believing in my writing. It’s a pleasure to work with you.
A Devotional Moment
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. ~ Ephesians 4:32
In the Bible, Jesus and the apostles talk about forgiveness many times. They speak and write about how forgiveness of others releases the forgiver from the chains of negative emotions—hate, anger, bitterness, and fear. In addition to forgiving others their transgressions, it’s important to forgive ourselves when we do something horribly wrong. With our acceptance of faith in Jesus, we are cleansed of our sins. As we work through our own salvation, at some point we have to accept that while we have sinned, our sincere regret and the undertaking to amend our future behaviour is where God wants us to focus. When we ask for forgiveness, He washes away our sins and makes us new. We must be ready to accept new thoughts, new emotions, and all grace from God.
In Forgiving Tess, the protagonist has turned over a new leaf. She has accepted Jesus as her Saviour, and is working to pay off debt and seek forgiveness from those she’s harmed. But circumstances have created distrust and she has to strain to show she’s changed. Despite that, she never lets her faith waver, but soldiers on to clear her debts.
Do you have a difficult time forgiving others or yourself? Remember that we are instructed to forgive others—not for our transgressor’s sake, but for our own, so we can be a burden-free, joyful beacon of Christ’s love. We also need to forgive ourselves when we’ve chosen the wrong thing, and in forgiving ourselves to ask for forgiveness—from those we’ve wronged and from God. When we do this, when we extend mercy and open ourselves up to mercy from others, we’ll find a peace that cannot be experienced otherwise.
LORD, GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TO RIGHT OLD WRONGS, TO FORGIVE AND BE FORGIVEN AS I WALK THIS PATH WITH YOU. IN JESUS’ NAME I PRAY, AMEN.
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May God’s glory shine through
this inspirational work of fiction.
AMDG
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