8

Noah’s phone rumbled in his pocket. He handed popsicles to the young mother of twins, who promptly unwrapped them and gave them to the excited children. They scampered off across the playground, and Noah snagged his phone before the next customers arrived. A text from Lucy. Finally. He pulled it up and frowned. Was she blowing him off? They’d connected so well last night. There was no doubt she was finding her way into his heart. What if she didn’t feel the same way? But he’d seen something in her eyes. He shook his head. This was ridiculous. He was sixty-two-years old, for crying out loud, not some love-struck teenager.

A group of pre-teens finished their soccer practice and swarmed the truck. Noah couldn’t get back to his phone. Then again, this might be for the best. He’d take time to think about what to say.

The sun sank low in the sky, painting it with streaks of reds and oranges. The kids cleared out of the park and Noah closed up the truck and sat with his phone, his mind still on Lucy. Last night had been more fun than he’d had in ages. Sure, he loved spending time with Betsy, David, and little Davy, but Lucy lit something in him he hadn’t felt for a long time. He never thought about marrying again, and true, he’d only known Lucy a short while, but he couldn’t help imagining a future with her. But if she was moving back to Pennsylvania, how would it even work out?

He rubbed a hand down his face. He was overthinking everything. If God meant for it to work out, it would. On the other hand, if it wasn’t in God’s plans for him, it didn’t matter how much he enjoyed Lucy’s company. It was time to take a step back and see how it all played out. He’d stop by tomorrow and check on the sisters. Sure. That was the neighborly thing to do.

~*~

After a morning run and shower, Noah checked his watch. Was it too early to visit next door? He glanced out the window and couldn’t help smiling at the sight of Lucy helping Isabel to the car. He’d better get out there quickly before they left. He hurried out of the house.

“Good morning, ladies,” he called.

Two heads turned in his direction. Lucy’s eyes lit up and both women smiled. Not a bad sign. “Good morning, Noah,” they replied.

“Heading to PT this morning?” he asked.

Isabel shook her head. “No, Lucy was telling me about how much fun she had at the botanical garden with you the other night. It reminded me I haven’t been there in a long time, so she offered to take me there.”

Lucy shrugged. “I wanted to see all the cacti in the daylight.”

Noah’s heart sank. He wanted to be the one to take her there. He couldn’t begrudge Lucy’s time with her sister, though. He offered a weak smile. “You’ll love it. It’s an amazing place. I bought a season pass and go there several times a year.”

Isabel studied Noah for a moment. “Why don’t you come along with us?”

Lucy’s face was impossible to read. She turned to Isabel. Noah could make out her whispering, “Are you sure?”

Isabel nodded at her sister and motioned to Noah. “Come, be a gentleman and help me in the car.”

Inspiration struck. “Are you sure you want to go in that car?” Noah asked Isabel.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Isabel asked.

“Because if you come with me, I’ll drive you to the gardens in style. Top down and everything.” He pointed toward his driveway.

Isabel beamed. “Lead the way.” She maneuvered her walker toward Noah’s house.

Noah turned to Lucy. “Is this OK with you?”

“It’s fine, but I was planning to bring Roscoe along once I got Isabel settled in the car.”

Noah snapped his fingers. “Ah, yes, it’s dog day. If Roscoe promises not to chew on my seats, he’s welcome to ride along.”

~*~

Lucy grinned. “I’ll be right back.” In less than two minutes, she was back, Roscoe in tow.

“Lucy, please bring my handbag. I set it by the front door,” Isabel said.

“No problem.” Lucy headed back to the house, grabbed Isabel’s heavy oversized bag, and settled into the back seat of Noah’s car. She buckled Roscoe in beside her as Noah navigated out of the driveway. What was she doing, spending even more time with him? Well, this certainly wasn’t a date. Not with Isabel here. Especially since Isabel was the one in the front seat.

The bag on the floor started to move, and all thoughts flew out of Lucy’s head. She screamed as a furry head poked out, then clapped her hand over her mouth and burst out into laughter. “Flick!”

Noah pulled the car to the side of the road. “What’s going on?”

Lucy lifted the kitten from the bag. “A stowaway.”

Isabel chuckled. “I guess she didn’t want to be left behind. It’s hardly fair Roscoe gets to go along and Flick doesn’t.”

Noah glanced from one laughing sister to the next. “I’m not sure it’s cat day at the park.”

Isabel waved a hand at him. “I’ll keep her hidden in my handbag on my lap. No one will even notice.”

Noah raised his eyebrows. “You’re bringing a cat into a park full of dogs?”

Lucy waved a hand at him. “It will be fine. Roscoe will protect her.”

The group of five made an entertaining package. Noah pushed Isabel in the wheelchair, Flick carefully hidden on her lap, while Lucy followed along beside with Roscoe sniffing everything he passed. The Arizona sun was warm and strong, and the diversity of plant life astounded Lucy. A bit of her started falling in love with this place.

“I didn’t realize there were so many kinds of cacti,” Lucy said, stopping to admire the succulents.

Noah stopped beside her. “Yet another example of God’s creativity. Life in the desert can be beautiful, too.”

“And I hate being cold, so this suits me fine,” Isabel said.

“I don’t like the cold either, but it doesn’t seem like Christmas to me without it,” Lucy said. “I’m used to Christmas with hot chocolate, being bundled up while caroling, and some years being blessed with snow. There’s something magical about a white Christmas.”

Isabel huffed. “No thanks. There will be no snow around here. You can keep your white Christmas, with scraping windshields and slipping on ice. I love the warmth.”

“We’re all different,” Noah said, “and that’s a blessing. Let’s check out this section. This is one of my favorite areas of the park.”

Lucy followed along after Roscoe finished greeting a furry Schnauzer. Noah always seemed to find the right words to say. He certainly seemed to be a godly man. And Arizona was growing on her. It wouldn’t be such a bad idea to spend more time here. But was it wise to keep spending time with him?

The rest of the day passed without incident. Isabel managed to keep Flick hidden, and except for a few dogs who sniffed curiously at her, no one seemed to notice their stowaway.

As they moved toward the exit, a sign caught Lucy’s attention. Now hiring. Her breath caught, and she moved closer to read the details. She grabbed a flyer while Isabel and Noah were busy chatting. There were several intriguing openings. Was this the sign she was waiting for?

Later, back at Isabel’s house, the two women settled in the living room by the Christmas tree. “Thank you for today,” Isabel said. “That was exactly what I needed. Fresh air and sunshine.” She studied Lucy’s face. “What’s on your mind? You’ve been quiet since we got back.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”

“About my handsome neighbor?”

Heat rushed to Lucy’s cheeks. “About a lot of things. God is trying to teach me something, but I’m not exactly sure what.”

“You mean you don’t have all the answers?”

Lucy’s gaze shot to Isabel’s. Isabel’s eyes were kind, not sarcastic. “No, I don’t. I pray, and God reveals things, but I don’t always get it right. Coming here was the right thing to do, and maybe I’m even supposed to stay for a while, but I’m not sure.”

“You can stay as long as you’d like. I love having you around. In fact…”

“What?”

“I’d like to go to church with you tomorrow.”

Lucy grinned. “That would be amazing.”

The next morning, Lucy and Isabel headed out early to same church Lucy attended with Noah the previous week. In an effort to put some distance between them, Lucy purposely left the house ten minutes earlier than they’d gone the previous Sunday. Sitting together in church was an intimate thing. No reason to entwine her life with his more than necessary. She guided Isabel into the large room and they took seats on the opposite side from where Lucy sat with Noah the previous week. Even so, several minutes later, Noah and his family joined them. His face stretched into an enormous grin.

“Hello, ladies. I’m so glad you’re here. Isabel, this is my family. Davy, Betsy, and David Allen. Allen family, meet Isabel Crompton, my next-door neighbor. You all remember Lucy from last week?”

Hands were shaken all around, and the group made small talk until the service started.

Lucy was swept away with the praise music. Singing praise to God with hundreds of other people touched something deep in her heart. Sure, the words and tunes were new to her, but she joined in with all her might.

The music ended and Pastor Micah returned to the stage.

“Our text for today comes from the first chapter of James. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, James became a potent force for the spreading of the gospel. After he greets the twelve tribes, he immediately greets us with the following words in James, chapter 1, verses 2 through 4.”

‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’

“Let’s take a minute to let that sink in. He’s asking us to consider trials to be joy? That makes no earthly sense. All of us want to avoid trials, avoid pain. And we think, if God loved us, He’d want to keep us from pain. Any good parent wants their children to be healthy and happy, right? But honestly, is that what’s best for us?”

Lucy studied Isabel out of the corner of her eye. Isabel’s gaze was riveted on Pastor Micah, her mouth open a fraction of an inch. Lucy prayed silently. “God, please speak to Isabel. Give Pastor Micah the words I didn’t have for her.”

Pastor Micah continued. “When I was a child, I loved watching butterflies. My parents bought me a kit with caterpillars, and I watched them crawl around, then wrap themselves up in their chrysalises, and finally emerge as butterflies. When one finally began emerging from its chrysalis, I was beyond excited. But it took forever. I wanted to help the butterfly out. My wise father warned me not to. He told me, in most instances, helping a butterfly out of the chrysalis would prevent it from ever being able to fly. The struggle is necessary for it to strengthen its wings. We’re still learning about this even today. Studies show babies born via Caesarian section suffer from higher rates of diseases than those who undergo the more natural birthing process. Struggles are necessary to shape us, to grow us into better people. As James says, the testing of our faith leads to perseverance, which leads to us being mature and complete.”

“I had the pleasure of speaking to a woman in the congregation a few months ago. Sadly, she was a single mother who suffered some serious disabilities. Her two young sons needed to help with everything around the house, as she had many limitations. Those boys grew into fine young men, who today understand what they were asked to do as children shaped them into the empathetic and caring men they became.”

“God allows trials in our lives. When trials come, the first thing we should do is ask the Lord what He’s trying to teach us. Then He’ll be able to use the trial for good in our lives.”

Pastor Micah cleared his throat. The room was utterly silent, except for a baby fussing on the far side of the room.

Lucy sneaked another peek at her sister. Isabel was still focused on Pastor Micah, who gripped the sides of the podium. “When I was in high school, I was the star quarterback. Colleges across the country recruited me. I was planning to go to a college one thousand miles from home to play for their team. Then, right before the final game of the season, I blew out my knee. My football career was over before it ever started. That was a rough time for me. But in hindsight, I see God was using that time to mold me, to teach me. He got me away from some bad influences in my life, and I learned who my true friends were. I attended Bible college close to home and cared for my ailing grandmother. And that’s where I met my future wife. Yes, perhaps I would’ve played for the NFL one day and made a lot of money, but God knew that would’ve ruined me. That trial became one of my life’s great blessings.”

Pastor Micah took a long drink of water before continuing. “God doesn’t cause all the bad things to happen, but He can use them if you let Him. James isn’t the only one who talks about this. Paul tells us in Romans 5: 3-5:

‘We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’

“Hope is a gift, my friends. And believe it or not, sometimes trials can be gifts as well. When James tells us to consider it all joy when we fall into trials, he doesn’t mean we should be happy about it. Happiness is a temporary emotion tied to your circumstances. Joy exists no matter what situation you’re in. True joy comes from being a child of God and understanding He can use even our sufferings to make us into better people. We can only experience true joy during a trial if we’re able to recognize God is using it to draw us closer to Him.” Pastor Micah gazed out over the congregation. “How many of you remember chemistry class?”

Lucy nearly groaned out loud. Chemistry had almost kept her from getting her nursing degree. But thanks to her dear lab partner (who later became her husband), she made it through with a B minus. Where was Pastor Micah going with this?

“The Bible talks about a crucible. A crucible, for those who don’t remember from high school chemistry lab, is a small container, usually made of ceramic, that can be heated to extremely high temperatures. It can be used to melt metal. Proverbs 27:21 says, ‘The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, and a man is tested by the praise accorded him.’ When metal is melted under a very high temperature, the impurities rise to the surface. These high temperatures are used to refine the metal. The same can be true in our lives. The high heat of trials can purge us of impurities as well and strengthen our faith. The next time you find yourself in a trial, I challenge you to think about what God is trying to teach you. And don’t think of it as God is against you. He allows trials because He believes in you. With His help you’ll be able to endure and come out stronger in the end. Let’s pray.”

Lucy glanced at Isabel, who had tears running down her cheeks. Lucy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her sister close. God had done it again. He gave Pastor Micah exactly the words Isabel needed to hear.

As the service drew to a close, Isabel leaned over and whispered in Lucy’s ear. “Can we stay for a bit? I’d like to talk with the preacher after service.”

Lucy nodded. After the closing song, David left to pick up little Davy, but the others lingered in their seats, waiting for the room to clear out. Once there was space, Isabel made her way down the aisle with the walker to speak to Pastor Micah, leaving Lucy alone with Noah and his family.

Lucy’s gaze followed Isabel. “Pastor Micah is a gifted man.”

“He is,” Betsy agreed.

“It’s nice Isabel came,” Noah said. “I’ve invited her before, but never got the impression she was interested in church. I guess she needed her sister.”

Lucy nodded. “She’s been going through a lot. I think this message really hit home for her.” At the front of the room, Isabel stood with Pastor Micah, head bowed, with the pastor’s hand on her shoulder. “She’s getting a special prayer.”

Davy came bounding up the aisle with his dad a few paces behind. He hugged his mother, and then bounced into Noah’s arms. Noah tossed him into the air and grabbed him tight before setting him on the chair next to him.

Davy studied Lucy. “Are you always coming to church with us now?”

Taken aback, Lucy fumbled for words. “I’m visiting my sister for a while. As long as I’m here, I’d like to keep coming to this church. Is that OK with you?”

Davy’s big brown eyes were wide. “Yep. Are you a grandma?”

Lucy blinked, surprised. “I am. I love being a grandma.”

“Would you be my grandma? Mine is far away and I never see her.”

Lucy’s heart squeezed. She moved closer to Davy. “I’m sorry your grandma is far away. What do you wish you could do with her?”

“Aiden’s grandma bakes cookies with him and reads him stories.”

“I would be happy to do both of those things with you.”

Betsy came over and wrapped her arm around Davy’s small shoulders. She shrugged at Lucy. “Sorry. I’m a terrible baker. We do read together, though.”

“I’ll be sure to bring some cookies to church next week for him. Would you like that, Davy?”

Davy nodded and climbed off the chair. He started moving toward the back of the room.

“Guess he’s ready to go. See you Christmas Eve, Dad.” Betsy and David followed Davy out of the auditorium, leaving Noah and Lucy alone.

“Sorry if that was awkward for you,” Noah said. “Kids say the darndest things.”

“I was touched. I’ve never been asked to be a grandma before. He’s a darling.”

“He is. I was surprised you two were here this morning. If I knew you were coming, we could’ve driven together.”

“I didn’t want to be a bother.”

Noah stepped closer. “You’re not a bother. Quite the opposite, in fact. I love spending time with you. Would you and Isabel like to come over for lunch today?”

Conflicting emotions warred within Lucy. “I can’t. My daughter and her husband will be here this afternoon.”

“Lovely. More family for Christmas.”

“Well, no, they’re only staying until Christmas Eve day. They’ll spend Christmas with her in-laws. But I’m still excited they’re coming.”

“Of course, you are. Well, then, I hope to see you at the Christmas Eve service. I’m sure it’s not quite what you’re used to, but…”

“No, it won’t be, but I’m sure it will be fine. Besides, it appears Isabel might be open to coming back here again.”

Isabel made her way back from her conversation with the pastor. When she came close, the tear stains on her cheeks showed.

“Are you OK?” Lucy asked.

Isabel grinned. “I’m better than OK. I re-dedicated my life to the Lord. Turns out all those trials didn’t mean God forgot about me. I think I’ll sleep well tonight.”

Lucy’s heart filled with warmth. Bringing Isabel here was the right thing to do. She waved goodbye to Noah and walked Isabel out of the church, excited that Isabel had reclaimed her relationship with God.

And Lucy would get to see her daughter again.