on with her own life?
Maybe I’ll talk with the Pastor about it after church on
Sunday, Celeste thinks. This being the wee hours of Friday
morning, she will only have two days to wait.
“I guess I can wait two days, considering I have been
dealing with it for thirteen years now. At twenty-five,
Celeste has already had more than her fair share of hurt and
disappointment in life. While going down the hallway with
Thomas close on her heels, she recalls her reasons for being
so cynical at such a young age. Her father’s adultery, which
led to the demise of the family life she had once known, is
first on the list.
To make matters even worse, the child that her father
had made out of wedlock is just three years younger than
herself. Celeste’s father had kept his indiscretion well
hidden for about 10 years before her mother happened to
stumble across some medical bills while gathering
information for the filing of that year’s taxes, which
Claudine questioned William about.
At first, dad had tried to lie. But seeing that her mother
was being persistent, he confessed to having a seven-yearold daughter by another woman. The medical bills had been
from a time when his other daughter had split her scalp
open while playing on a playground somewhere.
Devastated by her father’s transgressions, Claudine had
immediately packed what she could in Celeste’s and her
suitcases and left with a thirteen-year-old Celeste in tow.
William had maintained that nothing was going on between
himself and the other woman, and that he sought only to do
right by his child in the way of financial support. But it was
too late. The damage, having already been done, his
request to reconcile the torn shreds of his family had fallen
on Claudine’s deaf ears.
After the demise of her family, Celeste just fumbled
awkwardly through life. The only solace she had found
came through books. She engulfed herself in the written
word, seeking to learn all she could in middle school then
high school.
It was in her senior year that she had discovered she had
a talent and a flair for advertising. Celeste would joke
around with her only friend she had let get close to her,
Jenny, while dissecting television commercials when they
came on.
Celeste would comment on which she thought were
good and what made them good. The ones that she didn’t
think were good, she would transform them in her mind,
and as she developed a talent for pencil drawing, she would
sketch her ideas. Celeste was extremely meticulous about
details, which is what has gotten her so far in her career as
an advertising executive at Vines and Robert’s.
Becoming the first female executive has not been
enough for Celeste. She desires to be the first female
partner of Vines and Robert’s. If she can manage to bring
in just a few more prominent accounts, that ought to be
enough to put over the top.
She snaps on the bed table lamp to illuminate her
bedroom with a soft light as she walks in. It takes just a
few minutes to change into her favorite pajamas of navy
blue satin with white trim. The gift her mother had given
her just this past Christmas.
Christmas. Over the past year, Celeste has been slowly
discovering the true meaning of the precious immaculate
birth of her Lord and Savior. She had always thought of it
as a day for the giving and receiving of gifts. That was
before she had been watching television one Sunday
morning. Flipping slowly through the channels and not
finding anything of interest, she paused on a station where a preacher was talking about the promises of God. He went into detail about the blessings God has in store for His beloved children. The blessings of an abundant and fruitful life. The protections that He affords those who seek shelter
in Him.
The message literally had Celeste on the edge of her
seat, hanging on every word that he spoke. As the preacher
moved to the blessings that God had in store for those who
were called by His name and had accepted Jesus as their
Lord and Savior, she heard the preacher exclaim and
expound upon the beauty of Heaven. “Just think,” the
preacher said, “not only do we miss the lake of fire, but we
get to live with Jesus forever. Amen?”
As the congregation replied a hearty, “Amen,” in
response, Celeste felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips.
To quote the preacher, Celeste heard that, “You must be
born again to enter into Heaven, God’s rest.” Celeste’s
smile dropped from her face. She found herself, for the first
time in her life, wondering where she would go when she
died. She had always assumed that she would be going to
Heaven since she was a good person.
“Are you born again?” the preacher asked, looking
around the audience. “Have you accepted Jesus as your
personal Lord and Savior? Have you made the decision to
follow in His footsteps?” he paused at that moment to let
the brevity of his words sink in.
Hearing these questions posed, Celeste had to face that
fact that she could only answer, ‘No,’ would that mean that
she couldn’t go to Heaven? According to the preacher, that
is exactly what it meant.
But I don’t want to go to hell, a voice cried out from
within her. I want to go to heaven. But how, she
wondered.
“Well, if you haven’t accepted Jesus, it’s not too late.
The Bible teaches us that now is the acceptable time. Because, people, time is not promised to any man. If you would like a relationship with Jesus Christ, all you have to
do is ask Him.
He’s waiting for you to ask,” the preacher exclaimed.
“He says unto you, ‘Ask and ye shall receive, knock and
the door shall be opened.’ Will you invite Him in today?
Will you share your life with Him and allow Him make
your life sweeter? Will you allow Him to give you a new
purpose in life, His purpose? And in return, He will give
you eternal life.”
Celeste had tears streaming down her cheeks. When the
preacher invited those who wanted salvation through Jesus
Christ to pray with them, Celeste joined in the prayer. At
the end of prayer, as she said, “Amen,” Celeste felt as
though a tremendous burden that she had not even known
she was carrying had been lifted from her shoulders. The
thought of everlasting life with Christ brought a smile of
thanksgiving to her lips and put a new spring to her step. Going into the office on Monday, everyone had
remarked that there was something different about her.
Although they couldn’t quite put their finger on it, they
knew there was a change. A few people asked if she had
done something different with her hair while others asked if
she were wearing a new outfit. Celeste just replied, ‘No,’
while smiling at them with her head tilted to the side
waiting for them to
pin point the change in her life. Finally, when they weren’t able to figure it out, “I found
Jesus!” she blurted out.
Taken aback and not knowing what to say, James said
sarcastically, “Really! I didn’t know that He was missing.”
And just like that he walked away.
That comment had taken quite a bit of wind from
Celeste’s proverbial sails but had not taken her newfound
joy in the Lord. She just turned away with her head held high, from others who had been eyeing their exchange with
quite a bit of interest, and continued on into her office. After closing her office door behind her, Celeste set her
briefcase on her desk and proceeded to remove her blazer
while pushing thoughts of the exchange from her mind.
Glancing briefly through the itinerary that Jayla, her faithful
secretary, had placed on her desk every morning without
fail, she made a mental note that on her lunch break, she
would go out and buy herself a Bible. And on Sunday she
would attend church.
Since she hadn’t been to church since being a little girl
and didn’t know where to begin, she decided she would
look in the yellow pages. She would start with the closest
church to her home and go to a different one each week
until she found one she wanted to join.
That settled, she felt an excitement come over her, the
excitement of an adventure that she was very much looking
forward to embarking on. Settling in at her desk, Celeste
began to focus on her work.
That was a little over a year ago. Celeste had been
blessed in finding a church home in the second church that
she had visited. Upon walking in the doors of the old
steeple sanctuary, she was greeted by a most wonderfully
pleasant older woman who handed her a program and said
how happy she was that Celeste was visiting with them. Finding an empty seat on a pew towards the middle of
the sanctuary, Celeste had placed her newly purchased
bible on the seat next to her and surveyed her surroundings. The pews were covered in a burgundy colored fabric,
which accented the burgundy flecks in the tan carpeting.
The church sanctuary was large enough to hold three
hundred people and as Celeste looked around her, she
noticed that there must be at least two hundred people
present that morning.
The service had begun with the pastor standing behind
the pulpit and greeting the congregation. He thanked
everyone for coming out that morning and made a few
announcements from the bulletin that he was holding which
was the same that had been handed to her upon her arrival.
Celeste followed the minister along in her own bulletin and
noticed a few activities that she thought might be fun to
participate in.
A few members of the congregation went upon the
platform and began picking up instruments as the Pastor
finished the announcements. The Pastor encouraged
everyone to join in that morning’s worship to “Lift the
Name of Jesus.”
The music began at a medium tempo as a projector was
turned on, illuminating lyrics upon a wall behind the
platform. Celeste found herself clapping her hands and
rocking along to the beat of the music. She even tried her
voice out on the song that was being sung.
With each song, the tempo grew slower until the final
song was sung. It was a song that sung of Christ’s
Crucifixion and how it demonstrated how much Christ
loved us. It proclaimed that forever, we would give our
lives to Him. Celeste began to cry as the realization hit
home what a great sacrifice Jesus, The Christ, had made for
His people.
Weeping, Celeste bowed her head. She had asked Christ
to save her, but it wasn’t until that moment that she
understood what her salvation had cost Christ. She was just
coming to understand the enormous penalty that had been
paid on her behalf, and on behalf of all those who chose to
accept His free gift.
As the pastor delivered the morning message, Celeste
listened intently to what was being said. After the close of
service and the congregation was dismissed, Celeste began to collect her belongings. Making her way towards the exit she was stopped by several members of the congregation who shook her hand, hugged her in warm embraces, and
thanked her for coming.
The elderly lady who greeted her upon her arrival asked
Celeste for her name.
“I’m Celeste Brooks.”
“Nice to meet you, Celeste. My name is Elizabeth
Peters, but everyone just calls me Beth. Did you enjoy the
service today?”
“I sure did. I’m looking forward to coming back next
Sunday.”
“Well, if you’re interested,” Beth began, “We’re having
a family film tonight and a pot luck. I’d love to see you
here later if you don’t have any other plans.”
“That’s tonight? I thought I read that it was another
night. Yeah, I’d love to come.”
“That’s great. See you then,” Beth said with a smile. Before walking away, Celeste asked, “What should I
bring?”
“Nothing, Dear, just yourself.” That was the first of
many church events that Celeste attended on a regular
base. Everyone at New Life Pentecostal Church had
welcomed her with warmth and open arms; Celeste felt as
though she was among family.
Before climbing into bed, Celeste knelt by its side in thought. Thomas who has seen her do this every night since becoming saved lies on the floor next to her feet. Thinking of this evening’s event, Celeste began to pray:
Dear Lord, Thank You for the blessing of this day. I pray that as I walked through the day that I was a light for You. That I did nothing to make myself shamed. If I committed any sins against You, I pray that You will forgive me of them. Father, I thank You for the grace and mercy that You shower so freely on me each day. I thank You for blessing me abundantly with health and strength. I ask, dear Lord, that You grant me to see the events of this evening clearly. That You bring everything into focus for me so that I will take the path that You desire me to travel. I know that You are not the author of confusion, so I must confess right now that I am very confused. I also seem to have a real problem with being cynical. Lord, I don’t want my past to stand in the way of Your path for me.
Please help me. Amen
Pulling back the cover, Celeste feels at peace enough to sleep well. As she climbs in bed, Thomas jumps onto the bed to claim his sleeping spot opposite her. Celeste tucks herself under the duvet. Turning on her side, her favorite sleeping position, she falls quickly to sleep.
Chapter Six
During the night, Celeste dreams of a wedding. In the dream she sits on the side of the groom toward the front of an elaborately decorated wedding chapel. The bridesmaids wear satin gowns in Indigo. The square neckline gowns are adorned with jeweled sequence. The graceful A line skirt flows to the floor and hangs low enough that one could only see the front of the strappy black leather sandals. The matron of honor’s dress is remarkably similar, save the chiffon drape that crosses the bodice just below the neckline and ties at the back in a wistful bow.
Matching f rom earrings to sandals, the bride’s wedding party is the epitome of elegance. The gentlemen adorn bla
ck tuxes with cumber buns matching the bride’s maid gowns. Theirs shoes are polished to a mirrored shine. Each looked suave and debonair as they escort the ladies in one by one.
When the wedding march begins to play on the organ, everyone rises to his or her feet for the entrance of the bride. The crowd faces the rear of the church in anticipation; Celeste is unable to turn. Despite all her efforts, she is frozen looking toward the Pastor as he stands with an open bible in hand, ready to lead the couple in reciting their wedding vows.
As bride approaches the threshold of the altar wearing a beautiful ivory gown of satin, with princess seams that create the perfect form-fitting bodice above a full flowering skirt that sways as she walks, the air is filled with promise. The full veil, which covers the bride’s face and flows to below the neckline in front of the bodice, is decorated with pearls.
Passing Celeste ’s row, Celeste is afforded a look at the rear of the bride’s dress. Anchored just below the scoop at the back, are four rosettes, adding the perfect touch of elegance and charm.
Before proceeded to take the couple through the recitation of their wedding vows, the minister begins by thanking the witnesses for coming out this afternoon. Continuing on to what everyone has come out to witness, the bride and groom each promise to love honor and cherish until death does them part. In addition to exchanging traditional vows, the couple recites the vows that they have written from the heart.
The congregation is moved to tears as the minister proclaims, “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
The newly pronounce wife turns to face her new husband. As the veil is lifted ever so slowly from the newlywed woman’s face, the crowd stops mopping at their flow of joyous tears long enough to watch. When the man’s arm is no longer blocking the woman’s face, Celeste is afforded her first look at the woman.
Celeste’s breath catches in her throat. It is as if she is looking in a mirror. Celeste is looking at herself wearing a wedding gown. The man? After giving his wife a long intimate kiss, he lifts his head and stares down into his wife’s eyes.
“ Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my great honor to present to you,” turning simultaneously with the proclamation of the minister Celeste gets her first look at the grooms face. “Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Haule,” the minister finishes. It indeed is Stephen.
The sound of an alarm clock buzzing awakens Celeste. Setting upright in her bed she hits the alarm clock rather harshly to silence it. Had she actually just dreamed that she married Stephen? Was this a result of yesterday’s talk, or was God trying to tell her something?
A Wife for Stephen Page 5
