Sandra couldn’t believe her eyes. Her heart rejoiced when she drove into the parking lot and saw Talise at the entrance to the church. Although Sandra spoke to Talise during the week, Talise never mentioned she was coming back.
Praise God. Sandra didn’t need to know everything God had in store for the young woman. She was just excited to see that Minister Thomas was welcoming Talise back.
Discovering that he asked Talise out, only after the second time he’d seen her, gave Sandra a sinking feeling. The young man of God was like a son to Sandra. But Ace was her son, who she might add, wasn’t interested in Talise.
God, I signed up to be a witness for You, but not to witness this. Sandra wanted nothing but happiness for Talise, but Richard didn’t know that she was pregnant. While inhaling and blinking several times, Talise seemed to wait for her to recover. Sandra added a swallow and then stuttered, “W … w … wow.”
Talise chuckled. “That’s what I said. I wasn’t expecting it, especially after I told him I was pregnant.”
Sandra’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe Talise had told him but then realized that she was starting to show. It was only a matter of weeks before it would be obvious to everyone that she was pregnant. “Wow,” was all she could say again.
Talise had to know what was going through her mind as Ace’s mother, but Sandra dared not to voice it. As they continued on their way through the foyer and up to the second level, neither of them said another word. If only Sandra had telepathy with her son, she would shout, Ace, get up here and fix this mess!
This time, an usher met them at the entrance, and Sandra allowed her to find them two seats. As she knelt at her seat to pray, Sandra’s heart was heavy.
“Lord, I have led her to You and this is Your plan, but is this Your will?” When Sandra realized she was scolding God for what she considered “getting a wrong end of the stick” deal, she repented.
“Lord, I only ask that You save my son,” she whispered, as she stood and stretched out her hands.
The praise team seemed to know just the right song to sing when they began an old spiritual hymn, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” The words brought comfort to replace the agony in her soul. She wanted to do the right thing for Talise, and for Ace. That meant she could only focus on doing God’s will and then step aside.
Sandra didn’t know how long the praise team repeated the words, but she found renewed strength by the time the music stopped and the hand claps ceased. Then she took her seat.
“I am not slow in keeping My promises, but everyone must come to repentance.” Jesus spoke from 2 Peter 3:9.
“Hallelujah!” Sandra shouted when she heard the voice of the Lord. Talise covered her mouth and smiled.
As Pastor Lane took his time stepping up to the pulpit, the Spirit continued to stir throughout the sanctuary. More “Hallelujahs!” echoed, followed by a series of “Thank You, Jesus!” praises.
The wave of praises swept through the auditorium with such magnitude that the noise was like a hurricane. The pastor stepped back from the podium and instructed the musicians to cease, and then he led the congregation in thunderous hand praises to God.
Minutes later, while the praises quieted down, he made a second attempt to approach the podium. This time he opened his Bible. “Praise is the key. Praise is your strength. Praise will get you out of bad situations. It delivered Paul and Silas. Praise will get God’s attention.”
A few more “Hallelujahs!” vibrated through the church. Pastor Lane chuckled and said, “It’s all right.” He turned a few pages. “If you will open your Bibles, I will read one Scripture, Matthew 18:20: ‘For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them’. In case you didn’t know it, Jesus is here. He never misses a praise party.”