Page 73 of Echoes of Eternity
“I don’t know anymore. Part of me is scared he’s only willing because I left him and moved here.”
“What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what you wanted, for him to have a wake-up call?”
“What if he moves back to California and ends up resenting me?” Emily touched her forehead as she let out a sigh. “I just don’t know much of anything anymore.”
“You just have to take steps of faith, Emily.”
“I don’t know how to do that when the path ahead is dark and full of uncertainty.”
“God doesn’t give us the full plan, just the next step. Courage isn’t the absence of fear or worry. It’s taking action despite it. Ask God what He wants you to do, then take the step with full faith.”
“What if I don’t know what He wants?”
“PUSH.”
“Huh?” Emily shook her head. “What’s that?”
“Pray Until Something Happens.”
After getting off the phone with Sarah, Emily watched as Elizabeth played Marco Polo in the pool with her brothers. Her heart warmed with joy at seeing her children play together, thankful that in the midst of the chaos, she was able to catch a glimmer of good, and it brought a confidence that everything would work out.
That evening, back in their room, Elizabeth asked to talk to her out in the hallway of the hotel, out of earshot of the boys.
“What’s going on with you and Dad? Are you getting back together?”
Emily shook her head. “We never really broke up, but this isn’t anything for you to be concerned about.”
“Right, but I’m sixteen years old. I see things, I hear things, I pay attention. You left Dad in Cedarwood Creek and came back to California. Now we’re living in a hotel room.”
Sighing, she touched her forehead as she fought tears back.
“To be entirely honest with you, I don’t know what’s going on. Your father and I are together, but I don’t know what we’re going to do.” At her words, she saw the fear in her daughter’s eyes. “God will lead us.”
“Like He led us to living in a hotel?” Elizabeth shook her head as she started to cry. “I don’t like life without Dad, Mom.”
“Better than your grandparents, right?”
“Not funny . . .”
“Your dad isn’t out of the picture, dear. He’s going to move back here, possibly.”
Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. “What? Why? He can’t do that!”
“Why are you getting so upset? Isn’t that what you want? To be with Dad again?”
“Yeah, but not that way. To run away and he chases after us . . .” She wiped the tears from her cheeks and let out a sigh. “I love California, but it hasn’t been the same. Not at all. Why can’t life just go back to the way things were before Grandpa died?”
Pulling her daughter in close to her, Emily kissed her forehead and then wrapped her arms around her in a loving embrace. “We can never go back, but we can move forward. One of the perks of being a Christian is knowing that God is sovereign and He’s already in the future. He knows it, sees it, and holds it.”
“Then why do you seem so scared, Mom?”
Swallowing the lump of guilt in her throat, Emily shook her head. “Sometimes we lose focus on what’s most important. Thankfully, God always brings us back to His path.”
CHAPTER 20
Being phoned by Steven to swing by the grill the next day to take a look at the fryer, Ryan was surprised to see the parking lot packed. Walking in through the front doors, he was greeted by clapping and cheering by the townspeople of Cedarwood Creek. Confusion swirled in his mind as the people continued clapping as they parted to let him through the crowd. Martha came close to him and gave him a hug, asking him not to leave town. And Vern as well begged him not to return to California, saying one of the best parts of Cedarwood Creek has always been the Fitzgerald family.
Pastor Chris stood at the counter with arms wide open, and he promptly hugged Ryan.