“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18–19 (NIV)
The Cross Residence
Heaventon Hope, Texas
Friday, December 30, 2016
Standing with her kids on Chris and Cristine’s front porch, Freedom knocked on their front door. Immediately, the front door opened, and she found herself facing Christopher Cross, an enormous dark-skinned man with a charming smile and laughing light-brown eyes.
After leaving the military, both Christopher and Cristine moved to Heaventon Hope, Texas, and took on civilian jobs, Christopher Cross as a successful dean of students at Heaventon Hope University and Cristine as a savvy businesswoman—the owner of The Cross Place—a Christian book and gift store.
“Freedom?” Christopher asked. “You’re here, in Heaventon Hope?”
She nodded. “The kids and I were in the neighborhood and thought we’d drop by for a visit.” Of course, that was only part of the story. The whole story was that she was trying to put some thinking distance and personal space between herself and Justice Shield. Since their Christmas reunion and kiss, she had been wading through her feelings for the man. He wasn’t making it easier either, trying to swoop in all of a sudden and insinuate himself into her life after all this time.
Now, here she was: with her seven kids on her adoptive parents’ doorstep, unannounced and uninvited.
“Come inside.” Christopher stepped aside, and she and the kids stepped into the foyer.
“Is Cristine home?” Freedom asked.
He pointed. “She’s in her office, two doors to the right.”
Freedom hugged him, then stepped back and unbuttoned her black coat. “Do you mind watching the kids while we talk?”
He laughed. “Of course not! It’s been a while since I’ve seen these sweethearts. I can’t wait to spend time with them.” He looked at the kids, then stretched out both arms. “How about giving your grampcee a group hug?”
Soon, the kids, in their seven coats of color, rushed toward him, throwing their arms around him. He smothered all of them with kisses: Everson in his red coat, Eston in his orange, Essam in his yellow, Everly in her green, Echo in her blue, Given in his indigo, and Gift in her violet.
“Hello, Grampcee!” Everson said. “Can we see your military medals?”
“Can we play games?” Eston asked.
“Is there any food?” Essam asked.
“Are there any toys?” Everly asked.
“Do you have any good books to read?” Echo asked.
“Do you have any musical instruments?” Given asked.
“Can you read us some Bible stories?” Gift asked.
Smiling, Freedom walked briskly toward Cristine’s home office and knocked on the door. “May I come in?” she asked.
Soon, the door opened, and Cristine stood there in a gold sequined dress, with tears in her dark-brown eyes and the biggest smile on her dark-brown face. “Of course, you can come in,” she said. “Give me a hug too.” She wrapped her arms around Freedom and rubbed her hand over her head. “I was just thinking about you, and here you are.”
Freedom stepped back, wiping tears from her own eyes. “I’m not interrupting, am I?”
“Of course not! If you’re here, there’s a good reason.” She ushered Freedom into her home office, then a seat on a leather sofa, and she sat next to her, holding her hand. “Now, tell me, what’s on your mind?”
“Justice Shield.”
“J.U.’s son?”
Freedom bobbed her head. “He’s the one—the guy from my past—the kids’ birth dad.”
Cristine gently squeezed her hand, her warm brown eyes perceptive. “He found you, and you’re scared. That’s why you’re here, right? You’re running from him.”
“He’s an intense and very determined man.” Freedom leaned toward her like she was sharing a secret. “We haven’t seen each other in seven years, but during the Christmasquerade, he kissed me thoroughly too.”
Cristine smiled, a twinkle in her eyes. “Did you like it—the kiss?”
“His kisses are quite simply divine,” Freedom said. “How else would I have ended up with seven kids?”
Cristine folded Freedom’s hand in hers. “Do you love him?”
Freedom nodded. “I still do, and that’s the problem.”
Cristine frowned. “How?”
Freedom sighed. “When I’m around him, I lose control, all sense of myself, and I’m a completely different person—someone who’s more carefree, emotional, adventurous, and daring.”
“That person doesn’t sound so different from the young woman you used to be when you first arrived on our doorstep,” Cristine said. “She especially resembles the young lady who enlisted in the Air Force, the one who traveled the world with a passport, lived out of her backpack, and traipsed off on her own through wooded trails, played her guitar on the streets and in restaurants for the love of music more than the love of money, or who rode her motorbike through the military base and even through the streets of Japan.
“Maybe Justice Shield has reawakened you to be the person you used to be before you returned to the States and let fear from two criminals keep you in hiding and prevent you from enjoying your life to the fullest.”
Maybe Cristine was right. Freedom had been running and hiding for so many years; now, it was hard for her to stop, even with one of her pursuers in prison. “Although D’Santos Fears is incarcerated, not just for what he’s done in the past but for his retaliation against Justice, Davelle Spight is still free, and I’m afraid if I let my guard down and go public, especially with Justice, he’ll come after me again, and this time, I have more to lose than my mom. I have an entire family, including my kids.”
Cristine rubbed her hand. “Honey, my mom always told me this: Fear is nothing more than false evidence appearing real, and we can’t let that fear hold us captive, keep us bound, or determine our future. Instead, we’ve got to trust God and put our faith in Him, especially when the adversary comes against us.
“One of my favorite verses in the Bible comes from 2 Corinthians 4:7–9 (NIV), which says, ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.’
“This means that as long as we hold fast to God, to Jesus, too, God is our shield and our salvation, and God’s got us covered, and no weapon the enemy brings against us will prosper. So, you’ve got to put aside the fear and doubt, and you’ve got to act in faith and believe. Only you can do that; nobody else can.”
Tears welled in Freedom’s eyes. “I’m tired of running and hiding, but that’s what I’ve been doing most of my life. I’ve been running from D’Santos Fears and Davelle Spight. I’ve been running from Justice. I’ve been running from Jesus, from God.” She cried. “I’m weary, and I’m worn, and I just want to stop, relax, and rest—to live my life in peace.”
“Do you know if Justice is a believer, whether or not he attends church, or whether or not he has a good, strong relationship with Jesus, with God?”
Freedom sniffled, then shook her head. “I just found out his full name a few days ago. I barely know anything about him, including the state of his faith.”
Cristine raised her hand and dried Freedom’s tears. “I love you, not like a daughter but as my daughter, and what I want most for you is a life of joy and happiness, love and peace, a life well-pleasing to God. I know how hard you’ve had it, losing your mom, losing your brothers and sisters, and losing the love of your life, but I also know this: God has not forsaken you, and God has not abandoned you. He is with you every day, every second, every minute, every hour, and His desire—His good pleasure—is to give you His kingdom.
“But before you can find that perfect peace, that perfect place, and that perfect life, even with Justice Shield, you’ve got to find your purpose, your place, and your identity in Jesus Christ, and you’ve got to be reconciled to God.”
Freedom nodded. “I know, and I’m ready to do that too. Sincerely and honestly.”
Cristine’s dark-brown eyes pierced hers. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
Cristine pulled her into a hug and then kissed her head. “Then, let’s walk out loud through the prayer of salvation found in Romans 10:9–10 (NIV) in the Bible, which says, ‘If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.’”
Together, they recited the prayer of salvation, and afterward, Cristine pulled Freedom to her feet and hugged her again.
“Now, here’s the best advice I can give to you about Justice,” Cristine said. “Before you receive any more kisses from him or make any more commitments to him, you need to pray for him, invite him to church, and to meet your family, and you need to sit down and earnestly talk to him about his relationship with Jesus and his intentions toward you and the kids. Naturally, that conversation may be awkward, but you need to have it anyway, so you’re both on the same page, especially in terms of co-parenting.” She cocked her dark-brown head to one side. “Can you do that?”
Freedom nodded. “Yes, I can.”
Cristine clapped her hands. “That’s my girl!”
Freedom hugged her. “Thank you! For everything.”
“You’re welcome.” She looped her arm through Freedom’s. “Now let’s go find Chris and the kids so we can have some good old-fashioned family fun. I’m in the mood for some Bible Bingo.” She led Freedom to the door, and she opened it, and they crossed the threshold together—mother and daughter.