18

“Sorry to bother you, Pastor. I don’t know who else to turn to. A lawsuit would solve so many problems. Natalie wants me to do it. Chloe wants me to do it. It just doesn’t seem right.”

Muriel took a sip from her steaming mug of coffee. It gave her something to do while Pastor Jorgensen, sitting across from her, considered his advice. It didn’t take him long.

He leaned back in his chair. “If it doesn’t seem right, don’t do it.”

“But Natalie has never been poor in her life. And I can’t help her. I’m barely scraping by on Social Security. To tell you the truth, money from the lawsuit would help me, too.”

“Our church can’t do much for Natalie. It’s all we can do to help members of our own congregation. But I’m sorry to hear you’re having money problems, Muriel. Have you considered applying for help from the Deacons’ Fund?”

“No. It seems like charity.”

“It is charity. Charity is love in action. There’s no shame. St. Paul tells us in second Corinthians that one person’s abundance should supply another person’s lack.”

“There are people in this church who need the money far more than I do.” Muriel thought of two other widows. She had seen one of them stocking up on cat food in the grocery store. On sale. Three cans for a dollar. The woman didn’t own a cat.

Pastor Jorgensen sat back up. “You know, Muriel, God does so appreciate your wanting to do the right thing. I assume you’ve prayed about this?”

“I pray all the time, Pastor. But I never get a clear answer. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like anybody’s listening.”

Pastor Jorgensen raised his eyebrows. He picked up his huge Bible from his desk. “The answers are all in here. But I’ll admit sometimes they’re not black and white. I do know the Bible says we’re not supposed to sue other believers because it makes the church look bad. But it doesn’t say anything about suing people who aren’t believers. Do you know anything about this young man’s family?”

“I met them once. In the hospital reception area. After I was carjacked. They seemed nice. We didn’t talk about religion. Pastor, do you think God-fearing people could raise a son who would carjack me?”

Pastor Jorgensen waved his Bible at her. “God raised Adam, who ate from the forbidden tree. David was a man after God’s own heart. Yet he raised Absalom, who rebelled against him. We like to think we’re in control as parents. But only God is in control. And He doesn’t always prevent us from making mistakes. Even big ones.”

“So should I sue Kevin’s family? Not sue Kevin’s family? My son-in-law, Stan, insisted that I should. He was quite adamant about it.”

“Ah, Stan. Let me ask you this. Did you respect Stan’s opinions?”

There was the answer right there. It was Stan’s sin that caused Natalie’s problems. It couldn’t be his bad advice that set her free from them.

“Thank you, Pastor. I know what’s the right thing to do. I think I’ve known it all along.”

“Just remember, Muriel, good always comes from doing the right thing. Always.” Pastor Jorgensen picked up his Bible, opened it in the middle, and then turned several pages. “Here’s another verse that’s apropos. Proverbs 28:6. ‘Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.’”

Even better would to be rich and upright, too. Not Hawaiian vacation rich. Just affluent enough to take care of the people she loved. It seemed that no matter what she did, somebody would be hurt.

If Natalie were in a burning building with Kevin and his parents, and Muriel could rush in and save only one of them, she’d save Natalie. She’d have to.

Not suing was saving Kevin and his parents instead.

How could doing the right thing feel so wrong?

If only God would work all things together for good. That was in the Bible somewhere, too.