He paused and then added, “When it comes to dating relationships, my growth has been stunted. I admit it. I’m a klutz. I’ve never been in love. Until now.”
She could tell he was waiting for her to respond, but Alissa waited to see if he had anything else to add. “I love you, Alissa. I want to commit myself to a relationship with you. Only it needs to be a step at a time, not all at once. I think I’m finally beginning to understand that.”
The silence was filled by the sound of the waves rushing in and receding, right on schedule.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Brad asked.
Alissa opened her eyes a slit and looked up into the face she knew she wanted to greet every morning for the rest of her life.
“Well?” Brad asked.
With a playful grin, she closed her eyes again and calmly said, “So, what took you so long?”
To silence those lips, Brad leaned over and kissed her.
“I mean it, Alissa,” Brad murmured. “I love you.”
“And I love you,” she said, looking up into his eyes. They were so green, she almost felt she could dive right into them. “You need to know, Brad, that you are the first man God has ever granted access to my true heart. The only one.”
A confident look crossed Brad’s face. “I know that,” he said.
She stood up and took his hand. Overhead, the evening sky surrendered to the Master’s paintbrush. “Come on,” she challenged. “Let’s go down to the water.”
Slowly, silently, and with contentment, they walked together to where the sunset, alive with vivid reds, oranges, and pinks, met the edge of the Pacific.
There, hand in hand, Alissa and Brad moved toward the sunset, the way a bride goes forth to meet her beloved.
Dear Reader,
When I started writing Sunsets, I knew Alissa would meet Brad, but I didn’t know she’d meet Chet and Rosie. This charming couple didn’t appear anywhere in the outline or original summary of the book. They just “showed up” at Alissa’s desk one day, and I knew I wanted to get to know them.
About halfway through the writing of Sunsets, my husband and I went for an evening walk. He asked how the book was coming along. I told him about Chet and Rosie and all the hard times Rosie had been through. That day I had written the scene in which Rosie and Chet were finally married.
As we watched the sun take a colorful bow into the west, I told my husband there was something simple yet grand about this old couple marrying. Then all of a sudden I got choked up and started to cry.
The bigger picture had become clear to both of us. Rosie and Chet were a depiction of Christ and his Church as it is talked about in Ephesians 5. All the terrible stuff we endure in this life won’t matter in the end. We have a wonderfully patient Savior who is waiting—longing—for the day when we will be united with him.
I guess that’s what Alissa needed to learn. A relationship with God is so much more than coming to him and asking forgiveness for past sins. God desires a living, breathing relationship with his bride, a relationship that includes promises made and promises kept. When we surrender to God’s love, he receives us and forgives us. Then he adorns us in pure white. And that’s how he sees us coming down the aisle toward him. We’re no longer wearing the thin rags of our inadequacies, but we’re clothed in Christ’s righteousness.
It’s such a beautiful mystery. The ultimate love story. Us and God—united at last.
I pray for you, my dear readers, that you will come to know his forgiveness and his love. When you do, he will give you his Holy Spirit, which is his “engagement ring” or promise. (Ephesians 1:13-14) Wear it well. One day we will get to the end of this long aisle and see his face.
Always,
P.S. You are invited to come visit me online at
www.robingunn.com or write to Robin Jones Gunn,
c/o Multnomah Publishers P.O. Box 1720, Sisters,
Oregon 97759
Sunsets Recipe
Alissa’s Bongo Fest Potato Salad
(sans pickles)
Every summer, around the Fourth of July, I miss my mother-in-law something fierce. Kay used to make the best potato salad for all our summer family gatherings. My husband let me know our first summer together that the nicest gift I could ever give him would be if every summer, for the rest of his life, I made potato salad the way his mom made it.
I followed Kay around the kitchen on the afternoon of July 3rd for several years in a row, taking notes in an attempt to learn her secrets.
“No secret to my potato salad,” she told me. “Unless it’s the onions. Nice big onions. Sweet ones, if you can find them. Make sure they’re chopped up real fine. And no pickles. Of course you want to be generous with your salt and pepper. And make sure your celery is fresh. Snapping fresh. That’s all. No secrets. Oh. Maybe one secret. I only use real mayonnaise.”
In chapter eleven of Sunsets, when Alissa decided to contribute something to the picnic before the Bongo Fest, I knew right away she’d bring the potato salad. And I knew exactly how that potato salad would taste. Now you can, too!
The ingredients are listed with approximate amounts since this potato salad is like Brad and Jake’s Bongo Fest: it works best if you create as you go along. Feel free to improvise!
Boil six to eight large potatoes in their skins in a covered pot until they are tender. Chill the potatoes for several hours. Peel and cut them in small cubes.
Chop and add:
6 hard-boiled eggs
1 large onion (“sweet, if you can find them”)
1 medium stalk of fresh celery (“snapping fresh”)
Season well with salt and pepper, cover and place in the refrigerator for one hour or more
Add about 2 cups of mayonnaise mixed with about 3 tablespoons of mustard. Mix well. Sprinkle paprika on the top and keep covered in the refrigerator.
By the way, this potato salad almost always tastes better the second day. So plan to make it a day before your next summer outing.
Join Jessica, Terri, Lauren, Alissa, Shelly, Meri, Leah, and Genevieve as they encounter love, life, and a growing faith in the small town of Glenbrooke.
Read excerpts from these books and more at
WaterBrookMultnomah.com!
For every Sisterchick seeking a fresh time with God, this devotional/ponder/prayer/excuse-to-gather-together book will send you soaring. Inside, you’ll find a collection of insightful devotions, key Scripture verses, and wit ‘n whimsy wisdom for the journey, along with Sisterchickin’ suggestions for further reading, space to pen a peep or two, and more!
Sunsets Page 22