Naturally, Chase understood right away. He moved in slightly, visibly ignoring their surroundings, the church, the flowers, the stained glass. He wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered. “Look at me, Pyp. Just look at me.”
When she did, the rest of the world melted away. Tears poured, but the words, her love, sprang free into a beautiful rainbow—a rainbow vibrant enough to compete with the patterns of sunlight bursting through the multi-colored glass of the windows all around them.
“A long time ago, when we first started dating, you posed a question. You wondered where God was taking me. Where He’d lead me—my dad, my mom, Mark. You. Us. Without your heart, without its beauty, its scars, its healing, I never would have found my way to the biggest blessing I’ve ever been given…and have ever received. Forgiveness. You forgave me for being shortsighted, bitter, and mean about my past. You allowed me to shatter and rebuild as a Christian, a daughter, a woman. I could have never, ever done that without you and all that you are, Chase. He led me to you…and I’m so grateful.”
He swallowed hard, but kept focused on her eyes, nodding. Their pre-rehearsed vows had flown to the winds of spontaneity, erased by the power of their hearts joining together as God intended.
“Pyper, you’ve given me the gift of hope. You’ve believed in me enough to make me believe in myself again. You see the good parts, and you see and accept the bad parts. You see me the way God sees me, and you love me. That’s something I promise to never take for granted. You’re in my soul—and my heart.”
From there, as family candles were lit, and a unity candle was born from its fire, a sequence from the song “Broken Road” filled the church along with a subtle breeze slipping in through half-opened stained glass windows. Pyper absorbed the brush of air, knowing for sure it was nothing less than a kiss from God, gifted from heaven, to her and her husband—His silken touch moving straight through their hearts and binding them together forevermore.
My dear reader friends ~
First of all, I want to thank you for sharing in the journey of Forgiveness.
When I first ‘met’ Pyper Brock, she was a downtrodden five-year-old, battling trust issues and the scars of emotional and physical abuse brought about by her father’s addiction to alcohol. In the pages of my book Hearts Key we see her mother fall in love with a wonderful man named Tyler Brock. As a family unit they bring their own lives forward to a place of joy and grace and give Pyper a renewed foundation of loving trust, and faith.
In creating Hearts Key, then Forgiveness, I’ve learned the circumstances surrounding alcohol addiction are complex. Recovery can happen – just look at Chase Bradington’s battle, and the way he won and maintained a victory over addiction. He does so hand-in-hand with God, and relies on his savior completely. Also, look what Mark Samuels created anew with his life once he faced God, warts and all, and was given the mercy of forgiveness and a calling to rebuild his shattered past by confronting his daughter and working tirelessly as a rehabilitation counselor. I loved showing the way authentic reform can be so transformative and hopeful—brimming with joy.
But as the story shows, the process is far from easy. The process begins with first steps—sometimes faltering, sometimes met with heavy resistance, doubt and intense pain. But the payoff of recovery is huge.
If alcoholism and its aftermath have touched your life, if you know of a person needing help with the issue of recovery, please pass along the following website, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. The site is full of resources: https://www.ncadd.org/
In researching Forgiveness, I also gained a great deal of insight on faith-based recovery by visiting Faith Home, Inc.: http://www.faithhomegwd.net/
Regardless of how a pathway to recovery begins, no matter how twisty and frightening the road may seem, my prayer is that people who are touched by this disease and come upon the pages of my story might feel compelled to make that first step, to move forward in hope and faith.
Christ will lead the way when He is invited, and welcomed. Trust that truth. Cling to it relentlessly. Recovery can happen. Recovery can work. Recovery can be won.
Blessings to you always, with Christ’s love ~
Marianne
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for purchasing this Harbourlight title. For other inspirational stories, please visit our on-line bookstore at www.pelicanbookgroup.com.
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May God’s glory shine through
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AMDG
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Forgiveness Page 24