Two

At home that night, Yvonne found herself reviewing Scriptures on faith. She desperately needed to trust that God had a plan that would get her out of the jam she was in. In times of wavering doubt, Yvonne always opened her Bible and relied on the Word of God to boost her faith. She turned to the eighth chapter of Luke and began to read one of her favorite Scriptures, starting with the eighth verse.

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”

Right now, Yvonne not only needed the Lord to calm the wind and water; she needed Him to calm the deacons, elders, church board members, and congregation so that they didn’t hastily decide to throw her out. How had things gotten so out of control since David’s death? Yvonne simply didn’t understand. She had been co-pastor of Christ-Life for two decades and had always been treated kindly and respectfully by the leadership and the members.

Yvonne was turning the pages of her Bible to another favorite passage when her phone rang. She did not like to answer her phone when she was studying her Bible or praying, but when she glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Tia, she had to pick up. Her younger daughter had daily drama in her life, and Yvonne was afraid not to answer the phone, because if someone was holding her baby girl hostage, and Tia had managed to break away and call for help, Yvonne would never forgive herself for not taking the call. Tia’s drama seemed that extreme at times.

“Hey, honey! How are you doing?” Yvonne tried to sound upbeat, hoping that her drama queen would follow suit.

“Oh, Mama, I’m so sorry,” Tia said with a shaking voice.

It was obvious to Yvonne that Tia was crying. She moved her Bible off her lap and sat up. “What’s wrong, baby?”

Sniffling, Tia said, “I just wanted you to know how sorry I am about all of this.”

If Yvonne had known that Tia would take tomorrow’s board meeting to heart like this, she never would have told her about it. She never wanted her daughters to think poorly of Christ-Life Sanctuary or of any of its members or leadership. “Honey, don’t worry about me. Your uncle Thomas is in town, and he will be at the meeting. So, I know that I’ll have at least one vote on my side.”

“That’s awesome, Mama. I’m so glad that Uncle Thomas is going to help you with those crabby board members.” Tia sniffled again. “But that’s not what I’m sorry about.”

Drama, drama, drama. Bracing herself, Yvonne said, “I’m listening.”

“Before I go any further, I need for you to understand that I never meant for anything like this to happen. And I’m so, so sorry.”

“I get that, Tia. You’ve already told me how sorry you are. So, can you please just tell me what’s going on?”

With a burst of fresh tears, Tia blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”

Yvonne moved the phone away from her head, looked at it, and then pressed the receiver against her ear again. “Is this your idea of a joke, Tia? Because, if it is, I am not in the mood for this right now.”

“I wish I were joking, Mama, but...but it’s true,” Tia sobbed.

Nothing that Tia had ever done could have prepared Yvonne for this phone call. Not the time she’d had to pick up her teenage daughter at the police station for mouthing off to a police officer after he’d cited her friend for driving without a license. Not the time when Tia had informed her and David that she was dropping out of college to attend art school. And not even the time when Tia had met a guy on the Internet, only to find out that he was an online predator looking for teenage girls to do ungodly things with. No, as shocking as those incidents had been, none of them had prepared Yvonne for this moment.

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