Miz Ida sighed. “She may not ever tell you, but you know it was a blessing that the two of you were there to be some comfort to her.”
“Miz Ida, my heart just broke for Mrs. Judson. I never thought that I would be saying that. I have been in her granddaughter’s place. I know how that feels. I know how it feels to live that way, in that kind of pain, day after day. I’ve been the child that got sacrificed so that people could pretend that everything was normal. I’ve been there.
“But when Mrs. Judson began to tell her story, I knew there were no easy choices for her, either. It made me so sad. And I kept thinking, how could anybody face something like that without God?”
Miz Ida shook her head. “She’s relying on her self. It can be hard to make a change, to trust something other than yourself. I bet that woman is just doing what she’s been doing all her life. It makes us feel better to think it’s as easy as do or don’t do, but there are no easy choices for a mother or a grandmother in that situation. There’s no choice she can make that won’t bring pain.”
“That’s exactly what Mrs. Judson said.” She was quiet for a moment. “The room just got quiet, Miz Ida. Nobody knew what to say. What do you say when you hear something like that? I didn’t know if I could or should talk. I didn’t know which part of my heart or mind would talk. I guess that Tonya was thinking the same thing, because she was quiet, too.”
“Michelle, bless your heart, it had to be hard for you.”
“It was, Miz Ida. But when I was listening to Mrs. Judson and watching her, I guess I just didn’t have time to think about me. She needed someone to help her—and as someone once said, you can be pitiful or powerful, but you can’t be both. When she started talking, what I felt in my heart made the choice for me.”
Mrs. Judson smiled harshly. “So there you have it ladies. Sickness comes to suburbia. Or as you said at lunch, pain’s not prejudiced. I would say my family and I are candidates for prayer if ever there were any.”
Tonya’s voice was still and small. “We’ll pray for you and your family, Mrs. Judson. But you can pray for yourself, too.” Her expression was so compassionate. “Why don’t you come to church with me on Sunday?”
Mrs. Judson shook her head. “I would feel uncomfortable. I would feel out of place.”
“Mrs. Judson, God doesn’t care about color or class. He just wants to save you and mend your broken heart.”
The gray-haired woman looked at Tonya. “I’m still not sure that I believe in God. I’ve been taking care of myself all my life. I don’t know if I can trust anyone or anything else.”
Tonya shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense, Mrs. Judson. You want us to pray for you, but you’re not sure that you believe?”
Mrs. Judson smiled as though she were trying to make a joke. “I haven’t called on God before, so why should He hear me now? You pray for me. If there is a God, your prayers for me can’t hurt. If there isn’t a God, then . . . then at least all of us haven’t wasted our time.” She dropped her head. “My life is falling apart. I don’t want to grab hold of something out of desperation.”
Michelle slid forward on her chair and placed her hands on her knees. “Mrs. Judson, my life was falling apart too. It had been falling apart for years. I was in your granddaughter Claudia’s place, only there was no one—no grandfather or grandmother to rescue me. I spent most of my life being hurt and angry. But I’ve found Someone Who is putting my life back together. I’ve found Someone Who loves me even though I felt like I was dirty and no good. I’ve found Someone Who can love the abused as well as the abuser. I have found Someone Who turned my life around. Mrs. Judson, I know that it’s hard and maybe even frightening to believe in Him. But the Lord is only a prayer away.”
Miz Ida’s heart almost burst with pride. “Glory to God, girl, you spoke truth to that woman!”
She could hear the smile in Michelle’s voice. “We spent time talking to her, Miz Ida and praying for her. It just seemed that Mrs. Judson had a wall or a guard up that she would never let down.”
“Give her time, Michelle. She needs time to explore, and she needs time to make her own choice. The Lord gives us all that freedom. We get freedom to make a choice.”
“Well, by the time we got out of there, it was so late. I thought I had missed Todd and that it was over, Miz Ida. I kept thinking that he was never going to trust or forgive me again. But you know what?”
Miz Ida smiled now. “What?”
“When we came out of Mrs. Judson’s office, there he was. With all that me, Tonya, and Mrs. Judson had just been through, Todd still made me feel safe, he made me smile. Todd and me were supposed to meet downstairs outside the building. When I didn’t show, he said he thought I was standing him up. He thought about leaving, but instead he found someone who directed him upstairs. When we left Mrs. Judson, I found Todd sitting right there at my desk.”
“Bless his sweet heart.”
“Miz Ida, I don’t think I was ever happier to see him. He put his arms around me, and I just felt like I was home. All the worries, cares, and heartaches just seemed to float away. We had a good talk on the way home—not as long as we would have liked, but I’m still grateful that he was there.”
“God is good, child. God is good.”
They went on for a few more minutes talking about the goodness of the Lord. They talked about His mercy and His compassion and His willingness to heal. They talked about how good it was to abide in the arms of the Lord. Miz Ida and Michelle talked until their eyelids got heavy and then they said goodnight.
Just before she closed her eyes, Miz Ida whispered to her old friend. “Lord, You are a miracle worker. Look what You have done for Michelle. Not only is she able to stand on her own, but now You’ve given her a heart to reach out and help somebody else. Nobody could do that but You, Lord.”
Miz Ida switched off the lamp.
“Nobody but You.”