Charlotte snuck into the church during the second worship song. Finding an empty seat near the back, she listened to the music and read the lyrics being projected onto the screen in front. Now, she focused on the words of the preacher. As he shared, she found herself listening eagerly.
“When we think of broken people, we think of addicts or the homeless. We think of circumstances that are horrible. But we don’t often think of CEO’s or celebrities. We forget that behind the fame and success and money, what this book,” he lifted his Bible, “says about human nature is true. That brokenness is a symptom of the human nature. And the rich and famous among us are just as broken as the heroin addicts. Although Paul was facing awful circumstances—he was imprisoned, likely sick or injured. But Paul wasn’t broken. In fact, he said ‘In all things, I have learned to be content.’ He said, ‘when I am weak, then I am strong’ because he found his strength and identity in Christ. That is a peace that is beyond understanding and beyond the things of this fallen world.”
Charlotte slipped out during the prayer after the sermon and walked a few blocks to the park. It was completely empty.
She mentally flipped through the rich and powerful people she had interviewed over the years. She never spent much time considering the presence of faith in the candidates she evaluated, but now all sorts of memories of conversations flashed through her mind.
One in particular was a candidate she had interviewed for a Chief Operations Officer. Charlotte had ended up not recommending Joe for the position, having decided he wasn’t competitive enough. When the decision was communicated to him, he reached out to her directly. That wasn’t too unusual, people often wanted feedback and to express their disappointment. Charlotte had good relationships with the people she interviewed.
It usually didn’t last beyond the rejection from their employer. Sometimes they wanted to yell at her and justify why they should have been recommended. But this man had just thanked her for her time and let her know that he appreciated the feedback she had given, and the conversations they had. All in all, the encounter had confused Charlotte, and had confirmed what she had thought. He was completely at peace with not getting the position.
Charlotte had even wondered if he had truly wanted it. Looking back though, she realized something new. It wasn’t that Joe wasn’t competitive or that he didn’t want the job. It was the faith he had mentioned once or twice that led to a sense of peace and contentment regardless of the outcome of the process. On a whim, she looked up his number and called.
“This is Joe.”
“Hi Joe, this is Charlotte Walters. I interviewed you about a year ago for the COO position at LenTech?”
“Ah, yes, of course. Nice to hear from you Charlotte. How are you?” She could hear the curiosity in his voice.
“Well, I’ve been better,” she admitted. “I’ve taken a leave of absence from Millennium.”
“Oh? What can I do for you then?” He sounded confused, but also concerned.
She bit her lip, debating how to broach the subject. “I just wanted to ask you, why weren’t you more upset about not getting the job?” Instead of ending there, Charlotte kept talking. “I mean, you should have been upset. It was everything you had been working for. You were the candidate the job was slated for, and then you didn’t get it.”
Joe took a second to reply. “I did want that position, Charlotte. I would have done an amazing job. But, I learned a long time ago that God’s plans and our plans are often very different. And I also learned that His plans are infinitely better. After my initial disappointment of not getting the job, I realized that it meant He had something even bigger and better for me. And the fact is, he could take everything away—and though it might be tougher to swallow, I know it would be the best thing for me.”
Charlotte shook her head in refusal of the idea. “But how could taking everything away be better? Why would God take everything away if you weren’t doing anything wrong?”
“I don’t know, Charlotte. Could be His way of asking me to rely on Him instead of myself. Did you know that because I didn’t get the COO job, I retired early? My wife and I started a charity, which could never have happened while I was still working, and it is exactly what I am meant to be doing. I don’t know what’s happening in your world, Charlotte, but I know God has wonderful plans for you. I’ll be praying you trust that is true.”
Charlotte didn’t know how to respond to that. She’d grown used to Ruth mentioning God openly and was even beginning to be more comfortable with prayer as a concept, but this was unexpected. “Thanks, Joe. Say hi to Noelle for me, and send me the name of your charity. I’d love to give to what I know is a worthy cause.”
“I’ll do that. Best of luck, Charlotte.”
His words rattled around in her mind. He could take everything away and it would be okay. Not just ‘okay’ but ‘the best thing’. She headed back to the church to pick up her Jeep. Luke was sitting on it; staring at the doors of the church. When he saw her out of the corner of his eye, he didn’t move.
“You came?” He was still staring at the church.
“I came,” she confirmed.
Finally, he looked at her. Her breath caught at the intensity in his eyes. “I hoped you would.” He said it so softly, she almost didn’t hear him.
Choosing to ignore the growing desire to go to him, she instead responded lamely, “Thanks for inviting me. I better get going.”
* * *
Luke nodded and stood. He watched her get in the truck and drive away. She came. Praise the Lord! God, did you see that? She came! Luke wasn’t exactly sure when it had become so important to him that Charlotte go to church and become a Christian. It just was.
Before anything else could happen with them, he needed to know she shared his faith. It was everything to him, his only anchor in a crazy world that had knocked him down too many times before he even turned twenty. Yet, Luke felt an unbelievable connection to her. Even when he practically wanted to throw her out of his precious cabin where his memories of Rachel lived.
He had immediately wanted to tousle her perfectly coiffed hair and splash some mud on those ironed jeans. Could Charlotte find happiness here, with him? Luke thought she could, but it wasn’t about his presence. It was that he thought, just maybe, she could find God here too. That she’d realize how loved she was and that her gift of reading people was exactly that—a gift! Luke wanted that for her, more than he realized until he had noticed her leaving church.
He’d been terrified Charlotte was leaving without a word because she thought it was hokey, or because it made her angry. As soon as he saw her walking back, he knew that wasn’t the case, though. Luke might not be an expert at reading micro-expressions or body-language, but Charlotte looked deep in thought and slightly confused. Remembering his own struggle with faith, he figured that was progress more than anything.