Chapter 6
Seven months had passed and it was May, the end of the school year, and Misha was looking forward to taking the summer off. She was also glad she didn’t have to worry about money, as she had taken the twelvemonth pay option that divided her salary into twelve months of pay instead of nine. She didn’t want to take another job during the summer. It had been a long winter.
Thoughts of Roger would sometimes enter her mind and she had to occupy herself with other tasks to keep from thinking about him and what could have happened. Her cousin told her he was dating a girl they knew at the church. She tried to act as if she didn’t care, but she would cry all night and the pain would start all over again. With each report, the tears lessened until they were no more. That either meant she was closer to getting over Roger, or had just become numb to the fact that they may never get back together.
She was thankful that Judy had invited her to True Life Christian Fellowship. She enjoyed going there, although she had not joined. The pastor, Niles Simpson, welcomed her as a woman of God. He surprised Misha one Sunday by asking for a copy of her ministry license. When she gave it to him, he welcomed her into the pulpit and had allowed her to preach on several occasions. Because of this, people began asking her to preach on special days, like women’s day and singles conferences at other churches in the Atlanta area. She was beginning to enjoy being a Christian and a worker in the Kingdom again.
Occasionally, the sting of Bishop Moore’s words was still not far from her thoughts. When people asked her about it, she tried to change the subject or use it to minister to people about their own relationship with God. She had purposed in her heart she wasn’t going to say anything bad about him or Roger.
It was the end of a busy week. She was preparing her students for the final exams the following week. She had given the graduating seniors their exam that day and graded them before the end of the day. She thought she would go see a movie. She was trying hard to do the singles thing they had taught her in singles ministry at the church. She was learning how to enjoy spending time alone.
“Hey, Misha, what are you doing tonight?” Judy walked into her room wearing a light blue pantsuit, looking so slim no one would ever imagine she had given birth to a bunch of kids. Her hair was cut short, cropped along the sides with tight curls on the back and a long bang that swooped across her forehead.
“Nothing really.”
“Well I heard Pastor Shante Patrick is in town tonight at the Rock of Life church. You want to go with me? I know it’s short notice. But I called the church. Service is starting at seven. How ’bout it?”
“Shante Patrick? Shoot yeah. How much is it?” Excitement filled her.
“You know she won’t preach at a church that charges admission. It’s free and you can wear what you got on. It’ll be our girls’ night out. Randy is watching the kids for me. You can leave your car at my house and we can go get something to eat. I don’t live too far from here.”
“Sounds great. But, I promised my mother I would pick up something from the store on my way home. Can I meet you at the church?”
“Okay. You better be there early. You know people at the Rock don’t play. When they open the doors of the church, they’re ready to go in. Try to get there about six so we can get a good seat.”
Misha was excited to go to Rock of Life that evening. She had always wanted to go to that church. She had heard so many good things about it and their pastor. She was especially excited about hearing Shante Patrick live and in person. When she was going through her struggle with Roger and Bishop Moore, Judy had given her some CDs by Pastor Patrick. She listened to them over and over. She also went on her Web site and ordered more. She had never heard a lady preacher minister like Pastor Patrick could.
It was about six-thirty when Misha finally found a parking space near the church. She weaved in and out of the large crowd of people filing into the extremely large auditorium. Misha was taken aback by the mere size of the sanctuary. A man, who acted like he knew her and welcomed her to the church, greeted her at the door. She saw others doing the same. There was a spirit of anticipation in the air. She looked all over for Judy but could not find her. She decided to call her on her cell phone. She punched Judy’s name on her cell phone and waited for her to answer.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the bookstore, waiting in line. Go ahead and get us a seat. I want to get this book. I’m almost at the register.”
Misha looked to her right and could see the crowd of people jammed into the bookstore. She walked through the doors that led to the sanctuary. At the door, a young lady greeted her the same way the man had and offered to help her find a seat.
They walked toward the front of the sanctuary. Misha could see that the floor of the sanctuary was almost filled, with the exception of a few seats in the first and second rows that had reserved signs in them. The usher took her to a section to the right of the pulpit and showed her a seat. When she sat down, she could barely see the pulpit. She stood up to see if there was a better seat available. She could not find two seats together on the floor. She wished she had arrived earlier.
Her cell rang. It was Judy trying to locate her. Misha stood until Judy spotted her in the crowd and joined her at their seats.
“You couldn’t find better seats? I can’t see anything. Well I guess we’ll watch the screens tonight. It’s just a blessing being in the atmosphere. Here, I got you something.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a book and handed it to Misha.
Misha read the back cover and flipped through a couple of pages. “This looks good. Thank you. Pure Satisfaction: Having an Intimate Relationship with God, M. Bernard Taylor. I never heard of him,” she said.
“Me either. The title sounded good, so I got it for you.”
“How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. It’s a gift. How long before service starts?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“Excuse me, ladies, are the two of you together?” An usher dressed in a blue suit with an ID badge on the jacket leaned down and whispered to them. They both said yes at the same time. “Come with me.” They followed the usher to the center of the church, directly in front of the pulpit. Misha looked up into the balcony that was almost filled up with people. The usher walked to the second row and removed two reserved signs and told them to have a seat.
“Can you believe what just happened?” Misha was filled with excitement as she looked around the sanctuary at all the people there. She closely examined everyone sitting around them and wondered if they were VIPs of some sort. She wished she had changed her clothes before she drove to the church.
“Hey, that’s the favor of God. These are great seats,” Judy exclaimed just as a minister walked onto the pulpit and began prayer. The sound of people praying filled the auditorium. Some people walked to the altar and prayed. Misha clasped her hands in front of her, closed her eyes, and began praying. At seven on the dot, the prayer ended. Three women and a man walked onto the pulpit and began singing.
When Misha opened her eyes, she was surprised to see the first lady of the church sitting directly in front of her. Misha tried to hold her excitement—remembering she was there to worship. She made a mental note to get the video because no one would ever believe she was in the VIP seats. She nudged Judy and discreetly pointed forward. They both sat there feeling so special, and enjoyed the favor God had placed upon them.
The congregation gave Shante Patrick a standing ovation when she walked onto the pulpit. Misha scanned her from head to toe. She was dressed very classy, from her cropped hairstyle to her brown leather pumps. She was relieved to see a woman of God dressed in a way that did not make her look like the church lady on television comedy shows. After introducing her husband, Max, and sons, who were sitting in the row in front of them, she began her sermon. Misha listened intently to every word that came from her mouth. She could feel the power of her words in her spirit.
“Y’all know I used to be allergic to bees.” Pastor Patrick walked the stage as she preached. Misha was impressed she didn’t have to use notes to preach. It was like she was talking naturally from her heart.
“Yes, I used to be allergic to bees. When one stung me, I would get upset, because it felt like I couldn’t breathe. I would break out in hives and swell up. I had to be hospitalized for treatment. People who saw me would be alarmed at how I looked and it felt like I would die at any moment. I became fearful of bees and situations where I felt bees would be a threat. But one day, I went to an allergist. I was reluctant to be tested for bee sting allergy when the doctor explained how they would place bee venom right under my skin. First they would start in small amounts, and then increase the dosage to see how allergic I was and what type of bees I was allergic to. How many of you know that once you’ve had a bad experience, you just don’t purposely jump into it again?”
Misha could relate to every word. “That’s right,” she heard Judy say. Others in the sanctuary were also agreeing with her.
“Well when they put the smallest amount into my skin, immediately I had a reaction. They gave me medication and watched me for about an hour to make sure I was okay. The doctor came to the conclusion I was indeed allergic to bee stings, from multiple types of bees. Duhhhhhh! I should have charged the doctor for that diagnosis.”
The congregation was on their feet with laughter. Misha could see Reverend Patrick and their sons laughing hard in the front row. Just by the way he was so engaged in his wife’s every word, Misha just somehow knew they had a happy marriage.
“Well anyway . . .” Pastor Patrick continued trying to hold back her laugh. “Y’all stop laughing. I need to hurry. Anyway, what the doctor did was have me come to his office each week and be injected with a mixture of venom from the bees I was allergic to. They gradually increased the dosage to build my immunity to the stings. This went on for about two years until my body had developed enough antibodies that a bee sting no longer bothered me.”
Misha immediately caught on to what she was saying. She listened closely as Pastor Patrick left the pulpit and walked down the stairs of the altar and onto the sanctuary floor.
“See, some of y’all have been stung multiple times whether it was in the church, at home, at work, or in relationships. When you were first stung, you felt like your life was ending. You couldn’t breathe. Your heart was racing. Everybody around you looked at you and wondered what was going on. Some people stayed away from you and others tried to help even though they didn’t know how. When you look back, you’ll see God put you in a place of safety so you could get over your hurt and pain. But each time you ventured out, you were fearful, afraid of being stung again, so you stayed in your own safety net. Each time you tried to venture out you were stung again. What you don’t realize is God was trying to build your immunity.
“When your immunity is built up, little things don’t upset you anymore. People can talk about you and call you out of your name all day and night and it won’t have an effect on you. You can lose your job and it won’t hurt you. Your spouse can leave you, but it won’t hurt you. Children acting crazy but it still won’t hurt you. God is building you up so when you are attacked by killer bees they won’t have an effect on you.” The crowd was on their feet. “That’s why you don’t see old people getting upset about a lot of things. God has built up their immunity. God has to build your immunity. You can’t be a leader crying all the time over little things. You can’t be a leader scared of what people will say about you. You can’t be a leader in hiding. You can’t let fear confine you. You’ve got to move beyond your place of comfort and tell the devil that it’s okay. I’ve been stung before. God is just building your immunity.”
She looked directly at Misha. She was staring so hard at her that her husband turned around to see who she was looking at. Misha knew that word was directed straight to her. It felt like lightning had hit her body and she couldn’t stand like the other people in the sanctuary who were already on their feet screaming. Being drawn back into her sermon Pastor Patrick continued, “You can’t be a leader wanting to fight anyone who makes you mad. God has to build your immunity. Touch two or three people and tell them, God is building your immunity.” People jumped to their feet and began touching people around them. Misha could not stand. This word was meant for her and its power held her to her seat.
After service, Misha and Judy waited in the long line at the bookstore to purchase the CD. Misha purchased the DVD and CD. Afterward, Judy drove Misha to her car that was parked in the shopping center across the street from the church. They met at the Waffle House to get something to eat.
“Pastor Patrick preached tonight. I’m so glad I came. Thanks for inviting me. I needed to hear that word,” Misha said, lifting her menu from the table.
“You’re not the only one. I needed it myself. When she talked about those bees . . . Lord have mercy.”
“I know. She was preaching to me.”
“I saw how she stared at you. I think she knew she was preaching to you, too. I thought she was going to call you out.”
Misha looked up and saw Roger and a woman entering the restaurant. They were holding hands. Misha could feel her heart beginning to beat fast.
“Misha, you don’t look so good. Is anything wrong?”
“Roger. He’s here . . . with a woman.”
Judy turned around to see Roger and the woman walking toward them. “We can leave if you want to.”
“No, Judy. I’ve got to stay. I’m not running away from him.” She set her menu down and flattened her blouse. She sat straight up and greeted Roger and the young lady, who she recognized from church. “Hey, Roger . . . Tracy.” Misha waved to them to come over. Roger quickly let go of the woman’s hand. She laughed to herself. But it still hurt to see him there with another woman.
“Mimi, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“We’re coming from the Rock. This is my friend, Judy.” She turned her attention to the young lady. “Hi, Tracy.”
“Hi, Misha. You guys were at the Rock? We were there in the balcony. Didn’t Pastor Patrick preach? I got my praise on,” she said, waving her hands in the air.
“We were sitting in the VIP seats behind the first lady.” Judy invited herself into the conversation.
“Really? How did you get those seats?” Tracy continued her conversation with Judy. Roger was staring at Misha, but she’d had enough of the whole conversation and she picked up her menu just to have something other than Roger to look at.
“Tracy, there’s a table opening up over there. We better hurry and get it,” Roger said, pointing at a table on the other side of the restaurant where a man was tossing a dollar on the table.
“Okay. Well, it was good seeing you again, Misha, and nice meeting you, Judy,” Tracy said as she quickly followed Roger toward the table.
He’s using her for sex. It won’t last long, Misha heard in her spirit. She thought it was jealousy and repented in her heart.
“Misha, you took that well. I don’t think I could have done that.”
“I’m building my immunity.”
Driving home, Misha began to cry. She thought she could take seeing Roger with another woman but it still hurt. Tracy Applewood, of all people. She always thought something was going on between them. Tracy was always so touchy with him and constantly flirting. Roger denied he was involved with her. That night, she couldn’t take seeing him with her and all the hurt began to pain her again. As the tears flowed, she noticed she was breaking out in hives and it felt like she couldn’t breathe. She remembered what she heard that night. She began to pray. “God, it really hurts to be stung. I know you’re building my immunity.” She started to play the sermon CD and it gave her comfort as she took the freeway home.