A Home for the Redeemed

by Sue Behnke

  Carl was not satisfied with only Bob’s input on the subject. He brought in other seasoned leaders, men and women who had studied this particular facet of a walk with God, and asked them to commit to help those who were willing. A one-month program was set up following the ceremony.

  For the ceremony, the church was beautifully decorated. Calla lilies adorned every row, and white veils and lilies of the valley were intricately designed and pinned to the ceiling over the aisle and the altar. The most impressive bouquet of roses of Sharon and lilies of the valley covered the entire altar. The ladies had taken over the decoration and made it a most romantic setting.

  Some men were tense about the whole affair, shifting uncomfortably in their suits and frequently adjusting their ties or cravats. The ladies giggled and some kept fixing their hair nervously, anxious about their looks and the weight they had gained over the years.

  A song started playing, but it was not a traditional wedding song. The song was an invitation to dance with the Lord. They listened with tears in their eyes, agreeing with the beautiful lyrics. Carl went to the pulpit and addressed his friends.

  “Dearly beloved, wow! Isn’t it exciting to be here today? We believe ourselves to be on the verge of something new! Maria and I along with the leadership of the church have prayed hard and long over the significance of this move. We don’t take it lightly. I know you don’t either.

  “I want to thank those who came today to be our witnesses. Thank you for sharing this day with us. We so appreciate you. What beautiful people! All you guys and girls look fabulous!

  “We have distributed a document containing a list to everyone. We are going to read the items together and then stand before the Lord and sign the paper, acknowledging it as a vow before the Lord. Please know and realize that we’re not expecting perfection from ourselves or anyone else here. We are setting goals we want to settle our hearts on and work to achieve to the best of our human abilities.

  “Let the couples come forward and stand together. Let us face the congregation that is to become our witnesses.

  “We have put together ten items, five for the men and five for the women. I will read ours, and Maria will read the one for the ladies. Please read along.

  “First, I will seek the Lord daily for myself, for my family, and for my home. I will seek his will and not my own. Like King David, who was given leadership over Israel, enthroned God over himself and the country, I will see leadership as a privilege to enthrone God over my home. I will make sure his Holy Spirit leads us and not my flesh, no matter how good my intentions are toward my loved ones.

  “Second, I will love my wife and make a covenant with my eyes as Job did, refusing to lust and defile other women. I will treat them as mothers, sisters, or daughters. God has given me one wife and one covenant. All other women in the world are just people. They are not at my disposal to defile or rape in my mind, which is what lust is. I will walk pure before the Lord.

  “Third, I will seek intimacy with my wife and welcome her closer to my heart. I will endeavor to find ways to love her as Jesus keeps forgiving and loving his church. I will seek to understand her and her needs and be open to her about mine.

  “Fourth, I will endeavor to protect her and cover her from the lust of other men as I keep other women covered and unexposed to my lust. I will pray and ensure that my wife and children be covered from lust.

  “Fifth, I will pray for the vision that God has deposited in her and in my children and release them to run with God and achieve the plans that the Lord has for their lives.”

  Maria took the microphone and recited the five points for the women standing in the front alongside their husbands.

  “First, I will seek the Lord daily for myself, for my family, and for my home. I will seek his will and not my own. Unlike Saphira in the books of Acts, I will commit my heart to God first and foremost and follow him and his ways. I will cover my husband in prayer and ensure he and the children are in the hands of God and under his grace.

  “Second, I will love my husband and make a covenant with my eyes as Job did, refusing to lust and defile other men. I will treat them as fathers, brothers, or sons. God has given me one husband and one covenant. All other men in the world are just people. They are not at my disposal to defile or rape in my mind, which is what lust is. I will walk pure before the Lord.

  “Third, I will seek intimacy with my husband and welcome him closer to my heart. I will endeavor to trust him and forgive him. I will seek to understand him and his needs and be open to him about mine.

  “Fourth, I will be watchful over my husband and my home. I will stand in prayer and keep a covering of blessing over them. I will be a watchman over my house, listening to the heavenlies for them and keeping spiritually attentive for their safety.

  “Fifth, I will pray for the vision that God has deposited in my husband and children and release them to run with God and achieve the plans that the Lord has for their lives.”

  They each signed their documents. Carl turned from Maria on an impulse and briefly looked at the door. He saw Brendan standing there, looking haggard. Their eyes locked briefly. He could not discern the expression on the man’s face from that distance, but he could have sworn he was deeply touched.

  Brendan lifted his hand to his eyebrow in an unconventional salute and turned his back. Hunched over, looking much older, he left the room.

  Chapter 83

  Life as it Happens

  Amber held her little girl a bit too tightly. She followed Carl nervously into the waiting hall. She had been hiding for three months, but today she chose to trust the pastor.

  “Munchkin, is that you?”

  Amber jumped and turned around, alarm etched on her face. She scanned Brendan’s eyes. The wild look that haunted them was gone. She took a deep breath, watching her little girl squeal and run into her daddy’s arms.

  Brendan lifted her high and swung her around to her delight. “My princess! My princess!” Tears were running down his cheek. “Did you miss me, munchkin? You didn’t forget me, did you?”

  She kept hugging him and shouting, “Daddy! Daddy!”

  He kneeled on the floor, holding her tight. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for little while. Brendan seemed to struggle to keep it together. He looked up to Amber through the tears and said, “Thank you.” Amber nodded, her throat tight with emotion.

  The floor supervisor joined them, all smiles, and he greeted Carl warmly.

  “Well! How’s our friend Brendan doing?” Carl asked. He patted Brendan’s shoulder, looking like a proud parent bragging about his son’s achievements.

  “Brendan is an amazing fellow! He’s whizzing through the rehab program. We’ve seen his faith and his reliance on God deepen. Now we meet the little lady who’s inspiring the transformation!”

  Amber felt Carl’s eyes on her. She sensed he wanted to know if there was hope. She felt an invisible cold grip on her heart. She expected Carl to ask her in private if she would consider a reconciliation.

  It wasn’t as if she hadn’t forgiven him. She had. Looking at Brendan, though, she could no longer recognize him as the love of her life. She would have followed him to the ends of the earth once. That was a lifetime ago. Her childlike trust in him and in the power of love was shattered.

  As she was lost in her pain, Brendan turned his eyes from his daughter, stood up, and looked at her. “Amber, I’m so glad you came too. I wanted to ask for your forgiveness. I wanted you to know how sorry I am for the hell I put you through.”

  Amber had no words. She wiped a tear and nodded. She tried to look away. She couldn’t see his eyes without reliving the heartbreak. She wondered if he knew how much she missed him. If he could sense the emptiness in her.

  He came even closer. She was getting uncomfortable.

  “Despite all my efforts, I turned out just like my father. I messed up our marriage and traumatized my family. I guess addiction was all that was modeled for me as a coping
mechanism. I am not blaming my dad anymore though. I made bad decisions all my life, and I am paying for them.

  “I am learning now to discern the patterns of my addictions and recognize the signs of my distress at their onset before they get complete hold of me. I am also learning to find healthy ways to deal with my anger and my fears. I want you to know I am really sorry. I only wish at this stage to know you are no longer afraid of me. I pray for you daily, Amber.”

  Amber smiled.

  “I have forgiven you, Brendan. You needn’t worry about that. As I’m watching your progress, I’ll be able to trust you more. It’s all I can promise now.”

  Brendan’s face lit up, and Amber’s heart just melted at the sight of his joy. She turned to Carl. She could see from the sparkle in his eyes that he was already drawing reconciliation plans in his mind.

  Chapter 84

  Benjamin’s Call

  It was night. Benjamin was preparing for sleep. As soon as he sat in bed, the air around him started vibrating. He assumed it was an earthquake, but the bed was not shaking. He suddenly felt a presence, and immediately, he was transported out of his body—or at least he thought so.

  A vision opened before his eyes. He saw a closed door. He knew Jane was somehow behind it and that she needed help. He went on his knees and prayed. Then he saw himself put some oil on the door, anointing it. The air started vibrating again with such force that it provoked an explosion. The door shattered into tiny pieces as if it was made of glass. He looked, and there was a dark alley. That darkness was unnerving.

  Benjamin started shouting for Jane. A sense of panic was overwhelming his heart. Jane was in this darkness, alone. He kept calling her name, but there was no answer.

  Suddenly, a huge angel came out of the darkness, holding Jane, lifeless, in his arms. Benjamin did not even look at the face of the angel. He knew the angel was male and extremely powerful, a warrior. He was at least nine feet tall. Jane looked so small and so vulnerable in his arms. Benjamin was screaming her name now, fearing the worst.

  It took the angel a minute or two as if he was listening to orders from another realm. He then seemed to move in a flash. Benjamin saw him standing under a huge cross that extended to the heavens. He put his arm up, palm open toward Benjamin. Then the angel spoke. The authority emanating from the heavenly being was frightening. He spoke solemnly without any emotion.

  “She is fine now. Her heart was broken, and she has been restored. You are to remember to honor her because she prayed you into the kingdom. You are to remember to forgive and love her because she loves the Lord and she is precious to him.”

  Benjamin was standing, unable to move. He was at peace now, just puzzled as to what to do next. So he stood and stared at the angel, waiting respectfully.

  “Look at the darkness out there. Many people need comforting and help. Would you and Jane go and comfort those who are crying out?”

  Benjamin looked at the hallway. He could see eyes glowing in the darkness. He felt no fear now, just a resolve to obey the pull of his heart. He started stepping into the hallway. As soon as he set foot in the dark, the vision ended. He was returned to his bed.

  Benjamin stared at the ceiling for a long time, feeling an understanding, a calling.

  He finally whispered to the courts of heaven, knowing this was a defining moment in his life and that of Jane. He was confident that Jane had resolved this call in her heart a long time ago, but he needed to come on board so that the life path could be drawn for them.

  “Yes, Lord, let your will come to pass in my life. Show me the way, and I will obey you. I know Jane will follow you to the ends of the earth too … at any cost. Just show us the way. We are yours.”

  He had a sense that a doorway was opening above them. He saw an angel blow a golden trumpet. A new path was being outlined in the kingdom.

  About the Author

  I was born in Lebanon. Like so many lives I have had the privilege of ministering to over the years, mine started in a very dysfunctional home. My father exerted extreme control over us. At the age of ten, I saw him put a gun to his head and shoot himself. I remember falling on my knees that day and asking God to bring him back. When his death was confirmed, I vowed never to pray again.

  War erupted two years later, and I started my military training, joining the Christian army at eighteen. I was assigned to the media department. Four years of witnessing carnage and the deaths of friends and family broke my spirit. An abortion I was pressured into tipped me over the edge. I left the country and adopted Canada as my home.

  I quickly met a Canadian young man and eventually married. Finding life a bit tame, I engaged wholeheartedly in martial arts.

  Ten years into an uneventful marriage and after the birth of my second son, I spiraled down into depression. I had ruined both my knees from the intense exercise regimen I had followed all these years, and three doctors had confirmed that the damage was irreparable. I was in constant agony.

  In the midst of my tornado of darkness, Jesus met me. It was a miraculous whirlwind of signs and wonders. I fell in love with him overnight and started pursuing him with zeal. The Holy Spirit had mercy on my despair, and only four days after my conversion, I was already experiencing visions and dreams. A few months later, my knees were completely healed. That was just the beginning of my walk.

  In those early days, my church was not ready for the strong, rebellious woman I used to be. Although they genuinely cared about me, they were at a loss as how to disciple me. I was desperately hungry for the love of a father, and I had no patience. I devoured my Bible. I read every book the church library displayed and every other book or video anyone would suggest. I was craving more, begging God daily with tears to manifest himself in my life, I learned to lean on the Holy Spirit for my spiritual needs and obey his guidance. I continuously yearned for him with the desperation of an orphan, and he walked with me, a little like Mary Magdalene in front of the empty tomb.

  I am afraid that did not mean my life was idyllic. I was not able to persuade my then husband to embrace a most amazing God that I adored. After twenty-five years of marriage, he filed for divorce, citing my Christianity as the main problem.

  Today, I am gratefully watching my two sons forge their own paths with their heavenly Father.