Three voices rang as one, reaching the end of the first verse and launching into the chorus: “Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness …”
The defeated and desperate around them lifted their eyes and listened until a worn-out woman in the corner stood on shaky legs and joined in. Hannah smiled at her and watched as a white-haired man farther down the bench rose to his feet and added his voice.
Another and another stood until there were ten people standing amidst fifty. Ten hapless, harried souls who, in that moment, found hope in the message. Finally even the hardest eyes around them grew noticeably softer.
“Morning by morning new mercies I see …” Hannah continued to sing, studying the strangers whose voices joined hers. She saw pain there, suffering … and something deep within her told her they knew what it was to walk away from a loving God when life didn’t turn out like it was supposed to. They knew what it was to struggle with pain and anger, waiting for morning.
If she could, she would take each one and tell them they didn’t have to give up, that in Christ there really was hope. It might take months or even years but one day, as sure as every one of God’s promises was true, morning would come.
She held tighter to Matt and Jenny, warmth filling her heart. She was going to survive. God’s love had filled her future with bright possibilities.
Her voice grew stronger.
This was her song. It would always be her song. And some far-off day she would sing it in the presence of her mighty and loving Lord, with Tom and Alicia at her side.
She closed her eyes and with a full heart lifted her hands toward heaven, singing to an audience of One.
“All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”
Author’s Note
I hope you have gained much by traveling with Hannah Ryan through the truths of Lamentations. There were times—in the early stages of writing this book—when I thought about scrapping the idea, writing something simpler and easier to produce than a story about a family devastated by a drunk driver. Especially a faith-filled family like the Ryans. But I believe God has allowed me this time and place to produce fiction for a reason. People of faith have struggles, too. They hurt and die and are tempted. The characters in my books will likely always be dealing with more than a jilted love. They will be real people, dealing with real issues. And I hope, because of that, they will help you, the reader, grow in your faith.
I pray that the underlying message in Waiting for Morning was clear: bad things do happen to good people. And not all Christians respond to tragedy by falling on their knees and reaching for their Bibles. Sometimes we travel a long, dark night waiting for morning.
It’s like Jesus said when he assured his disciples, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
What assurance! What perfect peace! What a glorious morning awaits those who, like Hannah, learn to take their burdens to the foot of the cross.
If you have ever faced such a journey, it is my prayer that after reading Waiting for Morning you know you are not alone. Whatever you are facing today, God sees you, he loves you, and he has already won the battle for those whose faith is in him.
I’ve heard it said that all of us are either coming out of a trial, heading into a trial, or living through a trial. Drunk driving, car accidents, illness, financial struggles, relational breaks, marital unfaithfulness … these are things that happen to everyone. The difference is how we choose to respond, where we find our strength.
Many of you reading this book already have that sweet fellowship with our Lord. For you I offer encouragement and ask you to pass this book on to someone who feels alone in his or her trial.
But for you who have not made a commitment to Jesus Christ, there is no better time than now. Accept his free gift of grace, buy a Bible, find a Bible-believing church. Otherwise when the trials come, you will have no morning to wait for.
May God bless you and keep you in his care and may his face shine like the dawn even in the darkest of days. Until next time …
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Was there a time in your life when you felt you were “waiting for morning”? Describe that time?
2. What did you do to survive? What would you do differently based on what you know today?
3. In what ways did you see God’s hand at work during that time? What good has come from it?
4. Which character in Waiting for Morning could you most identify with? Which character could you least identify with? Why or why not?
5. List as many ways as you can remember where God showed His mercy to Hannah in her darkest days. How has God shown His mercy to you in yours?
6. Read Lamentations 3:22–23. What are the promises these verses deliver? Which one is most precious to you at this point in your life? Describe a time in your life when these promises could have helped or did help you.
7. Jenny thought the answer to her problems was to end her life. What led her to believe that? When has the enemy of your soul whispered wrong solutions to you? What were the consequences?
8. Which character(s) represented for Hannah God’s promise that He will never leave nor forsake us? How did those character(s) deal with Hannah’s anger toward God? How do you deal with the anger of hurting people?
9. Ultimately the lesson in Waiting for Morning is one of forgiveness. Describe a time when you had trouble forgiving someone. How did you act toward that person, inwardly and outwardly? How did that make you feel? At what point did you, like Hannah, find peace in this situation?
10. Oftentimes God uses outward situations or other people to help us get unstuck from a bad place, whether we need to forgive or obey or draw closer to Him. For Hannah, God used the police officer’s delayed message from Tom. What has it been for you? What was/is God trying to tell you about your life? Are you listening?
THE
FOREVER FAITHFUL SERIES
WAITING FOR MORNING—Book One
A drunk driver … a deadly accident … a dream destroyed. When Hannah Ryan loses her husband and oldest daughter to a drunk driver, she is consumed with hate and revenge. Ultimately, it is a kind prosecutor, a wise widow, and her husband’s dying words that bring her the peace that will set her free and let her live again. ISBN 1-59052-020-3
A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS—Book Two
When childhood friends Jade and Tanner reunite as adults, they share their hearts, souls, and dreams of forever—until a fateful decision tears them apart. Now, nearly a decade later, Jade’s unfaithful husband wants to destroy her in a custody battle that is about to send shock waves across the United States. Only one man can help Jade in her darkest hour. And only one old woman knows the truth that can set them all free. ISBN 1-57673-616-4
HALFWAY TO FOREVER—Book Three
Matt and Hannah … Jade and Tanner—after already surviving much, these couples now face the greatest struggles of their lives: Parental losses and life-threatening illness threaten to derail their faith and sideline their futures. Can Hannah survive the loss of an adopted daughter? Will Tanner come through decades of loneliness only to face losing Jade one final time? ISBN 1-57673-899-X
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Karen Kingsbury is an award-winning author and former reporter for the Los Angeles Times and Los Angeles Daily News. She is also a recognized author with the Women of Faith Fiction Club. Kingsbury lives with her husband and six children in Washington.
Excerpt from A Moment of Weakness
May 1977
The children rode their bicycles into Tanner’s driveway, laid them on the pavement and flopped down on a grassy spot in the center of his neatly manicured front lawn. The discussion had been going on for several minutes.
“I still don’t get it. Where’d she go?” Tanner plucked a blade of grass and meticulously tore it into ti
ny sections.
Jade shrugged and gazed across the street toward the two-story house where she had lived for the past three years. “Daddy says she’s gonna meet us in Washington. That’s all I know.”
Tanner chewed on that for a moment. The whole thing sounded fishy to him. Mamas didn’t leave for no reason. And people didn’t move without making plans first. “Do you think she’s mad at you?”
“Of course she’s not mad. She loves me. I know it.” Jade tossed her dark head, and her eyes flashed light green. Tanner had never seen eyes like Jade’s. Green like the water of Chesapeake Bay.
“Why doesn’t she just come back? Then you wouldn’t have to move.”
“I told you, they already decided. We’re moving to Washington. Mama went on ahead of us, and Daddy says she’ll meet us there.”
“In Washington?”
“Yes, Tanner. I told you she didn’t leave me. She just needed some time alone.”
Tanner plucked another piece of grass and twisted it between his thumb and forefinger. “But she didn’t say good-bye, right?”
Jade sighed, and Tanner saw tears form in her eyes. “I told you, Tanner. She left early in the morning. Daddy said she probably knew I would be sad so she left before I woke up. ’Cause she loves me.”
“Did she leave a note or anything?”
“Daddy said he didn’t need a note.” Jade swiped at a tear, and her voice was angrier than before. “He knows where she’s going, and that’s why we have to move. We need to get there so we can be with Mama again. She would never wanna be alone that long.”
Tanner still didn’t understand, but he saw that his questions were bothering Jade. He sat up and crossed his legs, studying her curiously. The only time he’d ever seen her cry was two years ago when she jumped a curb on her bike and flew over the handlebars. But that was different. Now Tanner wasn’t sure what to do. He decided to change the subject. “How far away is Washington?”
“Daddy says”—she leaned back on her elbows and stared at the cloudless sky—“it’s about as far away as heaven is from hell.”
Tanner thought about that for a moment. “But you’re coming back, right?”
Jade nodded. “Of course. We’ll meet up with Mama, and then Daddy’s gotta do a job there. He said it could take all summer. After that we’ll come home.”
Tanner relaxed. That sounded all right. Even if the whole thing still seemed kind of weird.
“I gotta go.” Jade rose and climbed back on her bike. “Daddy needs help packing.”
Tanner stood and pushed his hands deep into the worn pockets of his jeans. “You leavin’ tomorrow?”
She nodded and worked her toe in tiny circles on the pavement. For a moment Tanner thought she was going to hug him, then at the last second she pushed him in the arm like she always did when she didn’t know what to say.
Tanner pushed her back, but not hard enough to move her. “Hey, I’m still going to marry you.”
Jade huffed. “Shut up, Tanner. You’re a smelly old boy and I’m not going to marry anyone.”
“One day you’ll think I’m Prince Charming,” Tanner teased.
Jade couldn’t keep a straight face, and she began giggling. “Oh, okay. Right. Sure … whatever you say.” She shook her head dramatically. “I would never marry you, Tanner. Sometimes I think you’re crazy.”
“Got you smiling, though, didn’t I?”
They grinned at each other for a beat and then Jade’s smile faded. “I’ll see ya later.”
Tanner kicked at a patch of grass and sighed. “You better come back when summer’s over.”
Jade’s eyes got watery again. “I said I’ll be back.” She began pedaling down his driveway. Halfway home she turned once and waved.
Tanner raised one of his palms toward her. He’d heard his parents whispering about Jade and her daddy the other day. Tanner didn’t catch all the details, but it was obvious his mother didn’t think the Conner family was ever coming back.
It was good to know she was wrong.
As Jade disappeared into her house, Tanner felt a subtle reassurance that somehow, someday soon, the two of them would be together again.
OTHER NOVELS BY
KAREN KINGSBURY
WHERE YESTERDAY LIVES
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In the wake of her father’s sudden death, Ellen Barrett must journey back to the small town where she grew up and spend a week with antagonistic siblings. In the process, she must reckon with a man who once meant everything to her.
WHEN JOY CAME TO STAY
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Maggie Stovall is trapped inside a person she’s spent years carefully crafting. Now the truth about who she is—and what she’s done—is revealed, sending Maggie into a spiral of despair. Will Maggie walk away from her marriage and her foster child in her desperation to escape the mantle of depression cloaking her? Or will she allow God to take her to a place of ultimate honesty before it’s too late?
ON EVERY SIDE
1-57673-850-7
Jordan Riley, an embittered lawyer, sues his hometown to have a public statue of Jesus removed. The conflict causes him to cross paths with a spirited young newscaster named Faith, who opposes Jordan’s suit in surprising ways. Perhaps most amazing of all is how Faith begins to disassemble the walls around Jordan’s heart. Will love be enough when the battle rages on every side?
KAREN KINGSBURY
AND PRISM COFOUNDER TONI VOGT
THE PRISM WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM
The PRISM® Weight Loss Program, founded in 1990, has helped more than 60,000 people transform their eating behaviors with a sensible, lifestyle-change approach. Now available in The Prism Weight Loss Program by bestselling author Karen Kingsbury and PRISM cofounder Toni Vogt, the book shows readers how to not just “tame the monster” of food addiction, but destroy it through simple eating strategies and biblical principles. It includes testimonials, descriptions of the authors’ personal struggles with food addiction, details of the program, and a fabulous recipe section that will help readers become the fit people God created them to be.
ISBN 1-57673-578-8 HD
What People Are Saying about
KAREN KINGSBURY Fiction …
“Karen Kingsbury has been such a godsend. Her books have brought me to God and have motivated my husband and me to remarry after a bad divorce. After not being able to have kids, we now have an adopted boy and are trying to adopt another. Your books show faith, love, and tenderness, and I love them.”
—KATHY, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
“Karen Kingsbury’s fiction has changed my life by reminding me that there is hope amid seemingly hopeless circumstances and that faith in God’s redemptive plan is the anchor I can hold on to when life’s compasses fail.”
—AMY, Lawrenceville, GA
“Karen Kingsbury is our book club’s favorite author. We often discuss how each of her books not only entertains us, but inspires us to live out our faith in a real, everyday, every-moment way. Thanks for your stories, which challenge us to be better disciples of our precious Lord Jesus.”
—LYNDA, Covington, WA
“Karen Kingsbury’s books have touched my life in many different ways, but Where Yesterday Lives really helped me in the death of my father-in-law … Thank you for the great stories.”
—CHRIS, Zeeland, MI
“I have read every book Karen Kingsbury has written. Each book has brought me to a place of repentance and helped me to forgive myself for things I’ve confessed to no one but God. Her books have given me hope for the future, the assurance of forgiveness, and the strength to look forward to what the Lord would have me do and that I can accomplish it in His strength! Thank you.”
—KAREN, Campbell, CA
“The Lord prompted me to find a Christian author I enjoyed, and I found Karen Kingsbury. I have struggled with depression to a certain degree all my life, but when I read her book, I was at the bottom. This was the beginning of a wonderful journey to
recovery for me.”
—DANNELL, Brawley, CA
“A dear friend handed me A Time to Dance, and it was the beginning of some much needed deep healing in my marriage. Just knowing that others could walk through muddy waters and make it through to the other side gave me hope and a sense of relief that maybe, just maybe, I too could be okay again. Thank you, Karen Kingsbury!”
—JO ANN, Dickinson, ND
“Karen Kingsbury’s work always reminds me of God’s grace in my own life, especially the times I really didn’t deserve it! After each book, my faith is stronger, and I can’t wait for the next book to come out!”
—NANCY, Salem, IL
“I just love all of Karen Kingsbury’s books. Every one has touched me in a very deep way, relating to one or another ‘storm’ I have gone through and yet giving me hope that God is always there, carrying us when we don’t care anymore whether we live or die. I have been to that place, and God did lift me up from the depths of sorrow and pain! Thank you so much!”
—HENRIETTA, British Columbia, Canada
“Karen Kingsbury’s books never cease to amaze me. When I finish reading one, I not only feel connected to the characters and the events; I feel that I have walked in the presence of Christ and that He has spoken mightily to me. I always cry when I finish one of her books … tears to say good-bye to the friends I’ve come to know and love and tears of thankfulness to my heavenly Father. I can’t wait to read the next one!”
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