Before they reached the double doors of the church, someone opened them. Talise followed Sandra inside.
“Wow, Sister Nicholson. Don’t you look beautiful today! You’re going to give the deacons around here a fit.” Someone with a deep voice complimented Sandra before Talise could see his face.
When the tall, dark and handsome face materialized, Talise had to look the other way to keep from drooling. However, it wasn’t fast enough and he caught her staring.
“Minister Thomas, I’m going to tell Pastor about your flirting,” Sandra teased and they both laughed. She turned to Talise.
“Minister Richard Thomas, this is Talise Rogers, my …” Sandra’s words faded, as a frown appeared to replace her smile.
Right then, it dawned on Talise that the two of them had never been in a situation where they had to define their relationship to someone.
“My good friend, almost like the daughter I never had,” she quickly recovered, giving Talise a warm glance.
“Oh, very nice to meet you.” He bowed his head slightly. “Talise, is it?”
“Lovely,” Minister Thomas acknowledged. “My apologies. I stand corrected. Please forgive my unprofessional manner in which I teased Sister Nicholson. We have this routine exchange on Sunday mornings.”
Before he could say more, Sandra reached for Talise’s hand and tugged her toward a staircase. “The music has started. Come on, so we can find good seats.”
Smiling, Minister Thomas nodded and hurried off in another direction. Talise whispered, “Sandra, you’re a cougar.” They both laughed.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to dating younger men, but eight years is my max. Richard is young enough to be one of my sons. He’s a sweetheart and a dynamic youth minister,” she rambled on, as they reached the second floor.
The sanctuary was filling quickly. Somehow, Sandra spied out two empty seats among the thick of the crowd. Without waiting for an usher, she made a beeline for them. Talise humbly followed, wondering if she stood out as a sinner among saints. Was it obvious that she was an unwed mother dumped by her baby’s father?
As they entered the pew, no one gave her scolding stares, only warm smiles. Sandra knelt, whispered a prayer, and then took her seat. Talise sat and watched while the high energy of worship began to draw her in. Within minutes, Sandra was on her feet, engulfed in the praise.
Talise couldn’t remember the last time she had attended church. For the past ten years or so, it had been a hit-and-miss occurrence—mostly missing. She also stood and put her hands together in sync with the music.
As the pastor walked to the pulpit with his Bible in hand, the music gradually ceased. “Praise the Lord, church!” After he thanked the praise team, Pastor Lane welcomed the visitors and made a few announcements. Talise was glad he didn’t waste any time opening his Bible. The congregation joined him in a short prayer before he began preaching the Word.
“Amen, Amen, and Amen. I’m excited about Jesus today and the mission He accomplished. In the Old Testament, God guided the Israelites with a cloud by day and fire by night, leading them to the Promised Land. In your private study time, read about their journey throughout the book of Exodus, and especially Exodus 13:21 and 22. Now fast forward thousands of years. You may not know what road you’re on, or how long your journey will be, but trust God to put a light in your path.
“Don’t take lightly the people you meet or the situations you encounter along the way. Get in a good Bible study and apply God’s Word so you can stay on the right path. Dress for the storm with the wardrobe God gave you in Ephesians 6:10 to 18. Watch and pray like the rapture is coming tomorrow. As Jesus stated in Revelation 22:12, He is coming back to take us to His Promised Land.”
Talise leaned over and whispered, “Will you help me write down those Scriptures? I forgot my Bible and I can’t keep up.”
Sandra nodded and whispered back, “Sure. Pastor Lane purposely does that to make us read our Bibles.”
They both turned their attention back to the sermon. “Some people make the mistake of believing Jesus’ sole purpose for coming here was to save us from our sins by dying on the cross. And, thank God, He did do that.” He paused, as if he was waiting for his statement to sink in. “But I’m talking about His main purpose. If you think I’m wrong then you need to spend more time studying your Bible. Jesus came to get us out of here! That’s where all paths will end on the Day of Judgment …”
Talise’s mind began to rebel and wander, as she battled to stay focused. When the baby moved, that served as a reminder for her. She rubbed her stomach and smiled, knowing it was time to get her life together. If for no other reason, Talise wanted her child to do right before God—unlike his or her parents.
The pastor continued to preach with a warning message until he seemed to run out of steam. “Will the congregation please stand,” his booming voice broke into her reverie. Talise blinked when she watched him close his Bible.
“If you’re a visitor today, you may have thought your presence here is because someone invited you. But it’s the Lord who sent out the invitations. Your salvation is His priority alone,” Pastor Lane explained.
“Take a quick assessment of your life. If you’re completely satisfied, then I’ll come back to you. However, for those of you who will admit you’re lacking in one or more areas of your life, I’m advising you to repent. You can’t go any further without taking that first step. Tell God you’re sorry for what you know you’ve done against His commandments. He’ll forgive you for that and even the stuff you can’t remember.”
He began to pace the pulpit. “Now back to those persons who have no complaints, wants, needs, or desires. The bottom line is—you still need to repent.”
I’ve done that, Talise thought to herself.
“We’ve all sinned. As a matter of fact, we were wrapped in it like a diaper when we were born. Again, I say repent from where you are standing. I have no words for you to recite as you talk to God. That’s a personal conversation. If you want to take another step, then we have ministers ready to talk to you.”
Talise’s feet would not budge, although some did take heed to the invitation. As they walked down the aisle to the altar, she noticed that several received prayer only and returned to their seats. She watched as others followed a minister through a doorway.
Talise had seen, heard, and felt enough for one Sunday. This type of intense praise was foreign to her. Ready to go, she gathered her purse, quickly waved to Sandra, and left the pew. The most important thing was she kept her word and had come.
Just before she reached the sanctuary’s exit, Sandra caught up with her. The hat was gone and she sniffed while dabbing at her tears. Reaching out, she engulfed Talise in a hug. “I’m so glad you came. I hope the Word gave you some comfort.”
“Yes.”
“Good, I’ll talk to you later.” Sandra kissed her cheek and returned to her seat.
Talise stopped before exiting the sanctuary door and reached into her purse for an offering. She pulled out a ten dollar bill and placed it in the usher’s gloved hand, who tossed it in the offering plate.
After a polite nod to a few people scattered throughout the hallway, she held the banister and walked down to the lower level. As she made her way through the foyer, Talise wondered if something was wrong with her because she didn’t go down to the altar with the others. But in all honesty, she didn’t feel ready.
Stopping and digging in the bottom of her purse for her keys, she couldn’t find them. Talise sighed and prayed that she hadn’t left them on the pew. She didn’t want to go back into the sanctuary. One by one, Talise pulled out her wallet, checkbook, cell phone; and finally, she tangled with her car keys that were caught on an inside zipper.
With a sigh of relief, she stuffed her things back inside and turned to leave. Before she could make it to the door, Minister Thomas spotted her and headed her way.
“Talise, you’re leaving already?” he stopped her and asked.
Already? Two hours was her limit and service had already gone over by fifteen minutes. She nodded.
“Did you enjoy the message?”
“I did,” she replied. It was hard not to stare. He was a good looking man.
“Will you come back?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say she doubted it. But one look into his eyes changed her tune. “I might give it another try.”
“Whew. That’s good.” He grinned and wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. “I’ll escort you to your car.”
“Oh, there’s no need. I’ll be fine.”
“That wasn’t an invitation, sister. The brothers in this church see after the sisters.”
“Hi, Minister Ricky!” Two small children chimed, as they ran ahead of their parents. He acknowledged them and promptly opened the door for her to go first.
Chivalry. It no longer impressed her. Ace had mastered the technique and look where that landed her.
Once they were outside, Talise slipped on her sunglasses. As the wind fussed with her hair, she squinted to see her car in the distance. Relieved that it wasn’t too far, she wanted to limit her interaction with Minister Thomas.
Walking alongside Talise, he commented, “Sister Nicholson is a sweetheart. How long have you known her?”
Talise began counting the weeks since their first meeting at the restaurant. “Several months,” she responded.
“She was the first person who reached out to me when the Lord saved me a few years ago. When I became an ordained minister, she encouraged me to keep walking with Jesus. I couldn’t ask for a better cheerleader. She kinda adopted me as her son.”
Nodding, Talise smiled in agreement. She felt the same way. “Sandra has a way of doing that.”
He continued, “I remember when she told me about her two sons and how they gave her the blues when they were younger. But she kept praying and I think her oldest repented and Jesus saved him.”
Minister Thomas frowned. “The other son …” he started then exhaled. “Unfortunately, he’s lost in the wilderness, but Sister Nicholson and I are still praying.”
At that moment, they approached her car. Talise deactivated the alarm and he opened her door. “Have a good day, Minister Thomas,” she said, tossing her purse in the back seat.
“And I wish you the same. By the way, how do you know Sister Nicholson?”
“As you can see, I’m pregnant—and it’s by her other son.” If she stunned him, he didn’t show it. She slid behind the wheel and turned the ignition. As soon as he closed the door, Talise drove off without a backward glance.