“Okay, let’s get clean,” she said with a smile as she approached.
As they walked, Karen acted as if nothing had happened the night before.
“Looks like it’s going to be yet another beautiful day. That’s good, huh?”
“Yeah.”
A moment of silence, then Karen said, “How are you?”
Not missing a beat, Marta replied, “Oh, I’m just peachy. How are you?” Her comment dripped with sarcasm.
“Well, mostly confused, I guess. Tara has been a hard girl to read.”
“I read her just fine.”
“Hate doesn’t become you, Marta.”
Marta stopped and turned to face Karen. “The word is loathe. Hate is too mild a word.”
Marta watched as Karen pursed her lips for a moment, briefly look down at their feet, then brought her eyes back up to meet her own.
“You know, there is more going on in Tara than you realize. There is a lot of loathing going on in her, too.”
“No kidding? Wow. I’m sorry. I guess I hadn’t noticed that.” She clenched her jaw.
Karen continued. “Okay, I know you’re really not wanting to talk about this. We need to, though. And here’s why… For the past month you’ve been telling me to pray for Tara. You said that she had some difficulties in her past that she was dealing with and that you felt that if she’d allow God into her life things would start working out for her.”
Marta raised her eyebrows with an implied “And…?”
“Now you’re not allowing a sinner to be a sinner.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that the job of sinners is to sin. Their job is to make life difficult for themselves and for us. They don’t understand what we have. It makes absolutely no sense to them. It sure didn’t make sense to me before I became a Christian. Did it to you?”
Marta relaxed her jaw and shifted it to the left before responding. “No. Not really.” She thought a moment, then said, “But I didn’t do to others what she’s doing to us.”
“Fair enough. But then, the two of you come from different backgrounds.”
“What background?! I doubt that she’s told the truth about anything regarding her background! She’s weaving a web of lies!”
“Yes! She is! I agree with you, Marta. She’s full of spite and malice. She has it in for all of us.”
“All of us?” Marta frowned. “All of us? Really now. Seems to me that she’s just been targeting Brent and me.”
“Appearances can be deceiving. The point is that we’ve got to be better than that. We’ve got Jesus in us. We’ve got his love in us. That’s what we’ve got to show to Tara.”
“Ha! That’s rich! What I want to do…”
“It doesn’t matter what you want to do! Don’t you understand? It’s not about us! It’s about Jesus’ love for Tara! Marta, snap out of it! We’ve got an enemy who hates us. That enemy is not Tara. She is just the manifestation of that enemy. She is being used to hurt your relationship with God.”
Marta wasn’t convinced.
“Marta, how much praying have you done last night or this morning?”
Marta pursed her lips again, not answering.
“Can you find it in your heart to pray that the love of God makes itself known to Tara? Or has your heart already started to get hard against her?”
Karen sighed. “The week leading up to this trip you and I prayed twice over the phone and once face to face for her. Your heart was to see her saved.”
Marta’s eyes began to slowly lower. She couldn’t look into Karen’s eyes anymore. She saw her neck, then her stomach, her legs, then gravel. She couldn’t fight Karen’s words.
For a moment she tried to regain her anger, but the resolve was no longer there. Karen was right. Tara was worth something to God. Okay, she’s worth a lot to God, she relented.
Marta closed her eyes and lifted her head back up. She opened her eyes to see a soft smile on Karen’s face.
“Let’s choose to love her. Okay? Let’s choose to have the heart of Jesus toward her.”
Marta’s eyes misted over. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “You’re right, Karen.” She was quiet for a moment, then, “And right now I choose to forgive her.”
“Ata girl. Now let’s get our showers so that we can start lovin’.”
Marta giggled at a new thought.
“What?” Karen asked.
“I almost said, let’s love her to death.”
“Marrtaa…”
“It was just a passing thought! Okay … I’ll love her. No death involved.”
They laughed as they headed to the shower.
THE MOOD AMONG the backpackers was noticeably different from the night before. Where there had been so much anger and mistrust, there was now an air of companionship and cooperation. The three men, who had already finished breaking down and packing their part of the site, stood and watched in awe as all three of the women worked together. No words of anger. No claws bared.
“Okay, something weird is going on,” said Eric.
“Uhh, yeah,” agreed Terry.
Brent took it all in with befuddlement. “Obviously, Tara isn’t happy. Karen, well … she could just be displaying her negotiator side. But Marta…”
The three of them watched in anticipation for several minutes as if at any moment fireworks would launch. When they didn’t, Eric said, “God got her.”
In unison Brent and Terry looked at him and said, “Huh?”
“God got her. Marta, I mean. It’s the only explanation. God’s at work.”
They turned back.
God got her. All three watched … nodding.
HAVING LEFT THE campsite and standing now on the trail, Brent asked for everyone’s attention. He was about to reestablish himself as a man and hopefully leave the naïveté and goof status behind.
“Everyone take a hand and form a circle.”
Five of their six did just that. Karen held out her hand to Tara, who gave a slight shake of her head and took a step backward out of their circle, arms folded tight around her. Brent watched as she turned and walked several feet away. She stopped and continued looking up the trail that they would soon be taking.
Brent continued. “This has been quite the adventure, hasn’t it?”
Nods and smiles of agreement.
“We’ve probably learned quite a bit about ourselves during this trip. Some of it good. Some of it … not so much.”
Brent saw Marta look up into the sky.
“I know that I’ve seen more wrong with me than I wanted to. It’s been a wakeup call. Please, forgive me for any shortfalls that leapt off the page. I resolve to be better today than I was yesterday and the day before that.”
“Same here,” vowed Marta.
“Ditto that,” said Karen.
Eric and Terry both lent their agreement, as well.
“Let’s start today off right,” proposed Brent.
Still holding Terry’s and Eric’s hands, Brent dropped to his knees. After a quick look around the others did the same.
“Father, thank you for this incredible adventure that you’ve given us. While we’ve still got today, we ask that you take the lead. You are the Good Shepherd and we are your … umm … periodically dumb sheep.” The group chortled. “Help us to be strong today as we make our final push back to the trailhead. Our aching bodies could use it. Help us to see who you are in our lives today and help us to love one another as you first loved us. God, you chose to love us before we even wanted to know who you were. Help us, on this final day … and every day after … to realize that you are a good God. Your heart toward us is good. Help us to radiate that goodness—that love— outward to a lost world. Help us to grow together as brothers and sisters in Christ. We love you! Bless our fellowship, we ask, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
“Amen!” came the resounding chorus.
Tara walked back over, obviously uncomfortable and agitated. “Can w
e go now?”
TARA’S MINDSET WAS soured, to say the least. They were two- and-a-half hours into the hike, about an hour from the trail- head office, and Brent was steadfastly steering clear of her. The untamed shrew, however, was not. Tara shook her head. Marta was untamed early this morning, anyway. Now she was turning into Miss Goodie-Goodie again.
When she had returned from the shower with Karen, Marta actually walked up and asked if there was anything she could do to help with the packing of the tent. Several times during the course of this last leg of backpacking Marta actually tried to engage her in conversation.
Really? What is going on?
Tara just wanted to walk alone and in silence, and she made that very clear. To all of them.
Oh! And what about last night’s spellcasting?!
What was up with that? Nothing! No affect whatsoever on this group!
Then there was Brent. How had she failed with him? Just a few days ago he had been putty in her hands. Today…
Today she wanted to scream! This trip was supposed to be her redemption! This was supposed to fix things; get her back on track, maybe even—somehow—restore her into Stephanie’s good graces.
She watched Brent and Marta as they trekked ahead of her. Their periodic laughter was really getting on her nerves.
There’s got to be a way to get things back on course, she thought. How? Maybe Brent was closer to giving in than he was letting on. Maybe…
“You okay?”
Tara startled and turned to see that Karen had come up beside her.
“Oh. Umm… yeah. Just thinking.”
“I could tell. You look frustrated.”
Tara tried to play it off. “Oh, it’s nothing big.”
“Oh, it’s big all right,” Karen said with a slight giggle, trying to lift the mood.
“What is?” Tara kicked into suspicion mode.
“How about we drift back from the group a little bit? There’s something I’d like to talk with you about.”
A lecture? Really? She felt heat rise up into her neck and face.
“We should really try to keep pace,” countered Tara. “We don’t want to delay getting to the trailhead office.”
“Tara, we’ll keep pace after we drop back. I just want to have a conversation with you.”
Tara sighed in defeat. “Okay.”
They slowed down and Terry and Eric passed them.
“You two okay?” asked Eric.
“Yeah,” said Karen. “We’re fine. Just gonna indulge in some girl talk. We don’t need you guys sneaking up on us and listening in.”
“Oh, yeah… exactly how we wanted to spend the remainder of the hike, listening to two girls ramble about… What exactly do girls ramble about during hikes?”
Karen waved at the guys. “Bye bye, boys.”
With a snicker Eric and Terry moved on. Karen slowed up until they were a good thirty feet behind them then rejoined the pace.
Karen turned her attention to Tara. “It looks like you’re having a tough day. What’s on your mind?”
“Karen, listen, really, nothing’s…”
“How long have you been a witch?”
Tara stopped. Her mind began to whirl. Her heart kicked it up a notch, and she started to feel tingling in her fingertips. She kept her focus forward, eyes darting left and right, as if searching for a quick escape route.
“What?”
“A witch, Tara. You heard me.”
Tara tried to compose herself. She put a fake smile on her face and turned to face Karen. “A witch?” She faked a laugh. “You cannot be serious.”
Karen faced her and looked her straight in the eyes. “You know the saying, ‘You can’t con a con?’ Well, you can’t con a former witch either.”
Tara’s fake smile died. She stood shocked, staring at Karen’s face, unable to completely look her in the eyes. Then she knew she needed to. She adjusted her eyes to look straight into Karen’s and asked, “What do you mean by witch? Are you saying that you used to practice witchcraft?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Now, how long have you been practicing the craft?”
“Karen, I’m not…”
“Tara, stop it. I know that you are. You’re not going to succeed in convincing me otherwise.”
Tara felt trapped. She had to evade this. She looked down the road to see the distance that was growing between them and the other four. She forced another laugh. “This is crazy. Look, we’re falling behind. We need…”
“We need to discuss this. Tara, listen, I’m not condemning you. I’m just letting you know that I know. You and I hit it off on the trip down here from Millsville. I knew that there was some common ground between us; I just couldn’t put my finger on it right away. We have similar personalities, but I knew there was more. I prayed about it our first…”
“Oh brother.”
“…our first day on the trail. Yes, Tara, I prayed. I felt the Lord speak to my spirit that you and I had witchcraft in common. Then you confirmed it.”
“I confirmed it. Really. And God talked to you.” It wasn’t a question as much as a statement backed with derision.
“Yes, he talked to me.”
“Come on, Karen. Give me a break. All you Jesus freaks talk a good…”
“Do you have a spirit guide?”
Tara stopped mid-sentence. She was being kept completely off balance. “I’m not admitting to anything. But if I did?”
“Then I would ask why you think it’s absurd for a Christian to hear from the Holy Spirit when you are able to hear from a spirit that isn’t from God.”
“How do you know that my spirit guide isn’t…” She stopped.
Caught.
Silence.
Karen placed her right hand on Tara’s left shoulder.
Tara shrugged it off.
Movement caught Karen’s eye. She turned to see that Marta was coming back down the trail toward them. Tara turned, too.
“Great,” said Tara under her breath.
Karen held up her hand to halt Marta’s advance. Marta came to a stop.
“Marta,” shouted Karen, “Can you give us a few minutes? Let the guys know that we’ll be lagging behind, but we’ll catch up.”
“Sure. Okay.” With that Marta took a last concerned look and turned away. Karen waited until Marta disappeared around a slight bend in the trail ahead.
Karen looked back at Tara. “Tara…”
“Are you going to tell them?”
“Tell who what?”
“Tell the others. Tell them that I’m a witch.”
“Yes.”
“Just like that, huh?” said Tara shaking her head, eyes narrowing in anger.
“They deserve to know, Tara. You’ve been living a lie in our midst.”
“I am not! I’m just not…” Tara searched for the right words to use. “… ready to become a Christian yet.”
“Are you really still trying to con me?”
“I’m not conning you!”
“I saw you last night.”
“What?”
“When you left the tent. When you got up, you woke me. I lay there for a minute, but then I felt that I should follow you. You said you went to the latrines. But that’s not where you went, is it?”
Tara clenched her jaw; her anger growing more apparent.
“You spied on me?”
“You’re going to try to say that I, spying on you, as you preformed a spellcast, was worse than what you were trying to accomplish with that spellcast? Tara, if anyone needs to be called out onto the carpet, it’s you. And you know that. Why do you hate us so much? Why, especially, Brent and Marta?”
“Karen, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Tara began turning away.
Karen grabbed her arm.
“Let me go, Karen, or so help me…”
“You’ll what, attempt to cast a spell on me, too? Let me ask you something, Tara. Have you ever experienced what I call a castback?”
>
“A what?” Tara asked with contempt.
“I really don’t know if there is an official name for it, but an instance where a demon that you cast…”
“I don’t cast demons!”
“I’m sorry. Let me rephrase. Have you ever sent forth a spirit to do your bidding, only to have it come back and attack you?”
Fear threaded its way through Tara as she relived the dorm-room experience in her mind.
“And if I have?”
“Then you found that these spirits are not friendly. They are not on your side. They’d just as soon attack you as anyone else.”
Tara just stared, dumbfounded.
“Do you know why?”
“I know you’re going to tell me anyway, so why?”
“Because they hate you, Tara. Because there is no real love in that area of the realm in which you’re involved.”
“What do you mean by ‘that area’?”
Karen smiled. “I wondered if you’d catch that. You’re smarter than I was when that statement was spoken to me. The realm is the spirit realm, obviously. There are two areas of that realm: God’s and that of God’s Enemy.”
“Enemy… You mean Satan, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t practice black—”
“Careful, Tara. Reevaluate what you’re about to say. If only God is light or white, then everything else can only be, at best, shades of gray. But if you know who the Enemy is, and how this Enemy is determined to deceive us, then you’ll ultimately concede that all forms of the craft are black magic.”
“I don’t believe in your God.”
“Okay, let me ask you something? Have you ever tried to directly put a curse on a practicing Christian?”
Now Karen was wanting her to admit to actual attacks. Should she? She sighed. She’d already been called out, and if Karen really had been involved in the craft in the same way that she was currently, then lying was pointless.
“If you’re asking the question, you already know the answer. Yes. I have.”
“Well, I didn’t know for sure. But, anyway, what was the result?”
“First, we consider Christians…”
Deliver Us From Darkness Page 23