Chapter 29
Jayda
“Come on you guys,” Jayda yelled up the stairs to her siblings. “Evan will be here in a few minutes.”
She walked into the living room and looked at the mirror positioned high on the wall. She used her index finger to push a stray hair back into place, and then stood back and looked down at her black pinstriped skirt set, making sure that every button on her jacket was fastened. Finally, she tightened the straps on her black T-strap pumps. She heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs and she knew that it was Cameron. Her brother and sister had only agreed to come to church with her because they’d both been excited about spending time with Evan—of course, for very different reasons. Jayda couldn’t care less about their reasons for going, though; she was just happy that they were getting out of the house.
She walked out into the foyer and gave her brother a once-over. “Cameron, where is the jacket to your suit?” she asked as if she were his mother.
“Hey, nobody said anything about a jacket. You lucky I ain’t come down here in jeans and a white tee.” Cameron pulled at his black slacks.
Jayda shook her head, knowing she wouldn’t be able to get him into the jacket. “Well, at least go take off those Reeboks and put on your dress shoes.”
He made a loud grunt as he ran back upstairs. “I don’t know why you trippin’. It’s just church,” he mumbled.
Jayda rolled her eyes. She knew she was giving her brother a hard time, but she didn’t want to go into church looking as if they were just going to hang out at the park. Evan had told her that she didn’t have to overdress, but he’d said he would be wearing a suit, so she definitely didn’t want to feel out of place.
“You guys, come on,” Jayda yelled again.
She had been ready for the last half hour and having free time on her hands was rattling her nerves. She knew she was really nervous about going to church because she hadn’t been in a while. Her family was never one to attend church religiously. They might even be what some would call a CME family: one who went to church only on Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Easter. But Jayda knew that if church had made Evan who he was, then it couldn’t be all that bad.
The doorbell rang, and just as she was about to yell for her siblings to hurry up, Cameron came downstairs with Candice right behind him.
Jayda’s eyes opened wide at her sister’s attire. “Candi! You better have a jacket.”
Candice rolled her eyes as she held up the black waist-length jacket that would cover what her ruffle halter dress left bare.
“Put it on,” Jayda whispered harshly as she went to open the door.
Evan stood before her, dressed in a typical black Sunday suit, but, to Jayda, he looked as if he were wearing a formal tuxedo. He smiled as she moved aside to let him into the house.
“Good morning,” he greeted her with a light kiss to her cheek. “You look lovely.”
Jayda blushed as he took her hand.
“So do you, Candice,” he said, to the thirteen-year-old’s delight. “And, Cameron, you look . . . almost like me.” Evan pulled at the left lapel of his suit jacket.
Cameron looked down at his jacketless suit.
“So, are you guys ready to go?” Evan asked them.
“Wait. Not yet,” Cameron said as he ran upstairs.
Jayda took the time to tell her mother that they were about to leave for service. She had tried to get her mother to come with them, but Heather wasn’t up for it just yet. Jayda understood, but hoped her mother would come around.
When she returned to the foyer where Evan and Candice waited, Cameron was rushing back downstairs, pulling on his suit jacket at the same time. Jayda shook her head and looked up at Evan. A wide smile graced his lips. Apparently, her little brother was trying to impress her boyfriend. Who could be a better role model? she thought as Evan took her hand and led her and her siblings out to his car.
Danielle
Déjà pulled her SUV into the church’s parking lot and turned off the engine. Jackson nearly jumped out of the truck so that he could rush to the driver’s side to assist her out of the vehicle.
Déjà smiled as she took his hand and stepped out onto the concrete ground. “Thank you,” she said appreciatively.
Danielle laughed at her brother’s antics as A.J. helped her out of the truck. “He’s trying so hard,” she whispered to A.J.
A.J. shrugged and gave her a serious look. “But he’s rackin’ up major points with my sister. Trust me, she likes it.”
Danielle was surprised and allowed her face to show it. She’d thought that because Déjà was slightly older than her brother she wouldn’t be interested in him, but apparently she was taking notice.
“Mommy, don’t forget me,” Kennedi said from her car seat.
“I haven’t forgotten my precious angel,” Danielle said as she unbuckled the belt that secured Kennedi in the seat and helped her out of the car.
When Danielle placed Kennedi’s feet on the ground, Danielle straightened out her daughter’s blouse and skirt. Then she brushed her hands over her own pink V-neck tunic, which she wore over a pair of black slacks. Danielle took her daughter’s hand and the group followed A.J. into the church, already full of worshippers. An usher led them to a row with enough empty seats to sit everyone.
Danielle looked around the building for Jayda. The church seemed to cater to at least a few hundred members, many of whom had already arrived. However, she was able to spot her friend sitting with her siblings, Evan, and his parents in the section to the right of where she was sitting. Catching Jayda’s eye, Danielle waved. Jayda nudged Evan and pointed toward where Danielle was sitting. The couple waved and then Danielle watched as Evan looked beyond her and nodded toward A.J. The guys exchanged silent greetings before focusing their attention on the man who’d called the church to order with an opening prayer. She would have never guessed that A.J. and Evan knew each other, but then again, with this being their home church, they had to have come across each other at least once during their time here.
After the prayer, the choir began to lead the church in a series of praise and worship songs. Danielle joined in, singing the songs she was most familiar with. She noticed the smile on A.J.’s face and knew he was enjoying the sound of her voice in his ear. The last time he’d heard her sing had been at Lauren’s birthday party. Then, she had been singing a song about friendship, now she was singing about lifting up the Lord and she knew that she sounded just as heavenly.
By the end of the worship service, Danielle was preparing herself for the Word that would come forth, hoping that it would speak to her heart. She watched as a woman, dressed in a pastel blue two-piece skirt suit, approached the pulpit. From the photo and information on her program she concluded that the lady was the pastor of the church—Pastor Tina Browne.
She opened her sermon with a worship song, “Welcome into This Place,” and then she said a word of prayer: “Father God, we come before your throne this morning, thanking you for waking us up and bringing us out to worship you. We ask that you open our ears so that we may not just listen, but take heed to the Word that will come forth today. Let it touch the hearts of those who need it. In your most magnificent name, we pray. Amen.”
Pastor Browne looked out into the faces of the congregation. “For the last several Sundays we’ve been discussing relationships with God. We are going to continue with this series, so if you will, please open your Bibles to Jeremiah, chapter nine, verses twenty-three and twenty-four. I will be reading from the New International Version.”
Danielle smiled as A.J. positioned his Bible between them so they could share.
“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the heart. For in these I delight,’ says the Lord.”
Several members could be heard mumbling in response to the scripture.
Pastor Browne smiled. “This scripture has the potential to convict the hearts of many people who claim to have a good relationship with Jesus Christ. Many of us, including myself, can find ourselves indulged in our riches or our intelligence, but what God wants is for us to indulge ourselves in Him. Because when He comes back He’s not going to go around asking each of us if we were satisfied with the money we made on our jobs, or if we were ecstatic about excelling in school, or if we were pleased with ourselves just because we were good to our friends. He’s going to judge us by our ability to be happy in our relationship with Him.”
Amens came from the members who agreed.
“It’s nice to rejoice when we get a new car, house, or just simply are able to pay our bills, but we need to do the same when it comes to having God in our lives. He’s the most important thing,” Pastor Browne continued. “Listen to this. Revelation, chapter two, verses four and five say, ‘Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lamp stand from its place—unless you repent.’
“Usually when our relationship with God is new, we’re happy and excited. I’ve heard people who’ve just given their lives to God say things like, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to spend some time alone with God. I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me.’ Well, that euphoria lasts for only a while. Soon after, I see the same people complaining about all they’ve done with God, but they still feel empty. That’s because you’re not doing what you have to do to keep your relationship with Him fresh!” she exclaimed with her hands on her hips.
“It’s just like when a couple first falls in love. They’ll put all they’ve got into their relationship to keep the passion and the love flowing, but as soon as that newness wears off and they get used to each other, they stop trying.”
Those who related to the analogy shouted out in agreement as understanding chuckles filled the sanctuary.
Pastor Browne continued, “And you’ll see ’em walking around with their heads hanging down and their feet dragging the floor because they feel like their spouse has let the fire die down, when in all honesty, they are just as much to blame. If you want to keep a hot and heavy relationship, you have to work!” she shouted again.
Agreements flooded the building once again.
“The same goes for a relationship with God. You can’t just go to church and read your Bible for a few months and expect for things to just be happily ever after because you think you’ve done what you’re supposed to do. You have to continue talking to God and worshiping Him and getting to know Him in order to keep things going. Just as you would in a marriage or when you’re dating.
“Anyone who has a relationship with Jesus right now is dating Him.” She nodded to show that she’d meant exactly what she’d said. “You’re getting to know Him. He’s getting to know you. You are spending time together. It’s a spiritual relationship. And when Jesus comes back, guess what’s going to happen?” She paused as if waiting for a response. “There’s going to be a wedding. Yes, you’re going to marry Jesus. The church is His bride. We are who He’s coming back for in the end. So we have to be ready. We have to go back to doing what we used to do when we first started dating Jesus, so that our fire for Him will be burning bright when He comes back for us.”
Danielle took in everything Pastor Browne was saying, but she felt a little lost. The pastor seemed to be speaking to those who had relationships with Jesus. Danielle had been saved at one point in time, but that had been before she’d had Kennedi. Everything that had occurred after her daughter’s birth had gradually pulled her away from her relationship with God. How was she supposed to get that back?
“In the book of Revelation, God says that He wants us to be either hot or cold for Him,” the pastor continued with her message. “Anyone who is lukewarm will be spewed out of His mouth. That means that you’re either with Him or you’re not. You’re either in the world or out of the world. You can’t go hang with your boys and get high on Saturday, and then come to church and lead devotion on Sunday, acting as if you weren’t doing anything wrong the night before. God does not like that. He’s going to throw you up. Like I said before, if you want your relationship to remain hot, then do what you have to do to keep it hot. If you wanna be cold, be cold. But the only thing that’s going to get you into heaven is being hot for Christ.
“If you were hot for Christ once and now you’re lukewarm or cold, you need to get back to where you used to be. God is a God of second chances. All you have to do is ask Him to give you that little bit of oxygen that will allow your flame for Him to burn brighter than before. Romans ten, and nine, say that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and you believe He died on the cross and God resurrected Him three days later, then you will be saved. It’s really that easy, and once you ask God to become your Lord and Savior, He’s there for a lifetime. It’s just a matter of putting the heat back into your relationship with Him.”
Danielle listened as Pastor Browne continued with her message. She felt the tug on her heart. She’d been going through so much lately and she needed someone to carry her burdens to. Of course she had A.J., Jackson, and her girlfriends, but they couldn’t solve all of her problems. She knew that God could.
Danielle didn’t think twice when Pastor Browne held an altar call. She took Kennedi’s hand and led her to the front of the church. She was a little disappointed when her brother didn’t make the same move. Her happiness returned, though, when she felt someone grab her right hand. She smiled at Jayda as she released her hand and placed her arm around Jayda’s waist.
As Pastor Browne prayed over them, Danielle and Jayda felt a spiritual connection develop between them. This had been the breakthrough that they, along with Lauren and Brenda, had needed. Now that the two of them had received it, it was only fair to share it with their girls.