My Son's Ex-Wife: The Aftermath
Page 22
Detria smiled back at him as they stood at the entrance of her front door. “I’d like to do be there to help you, Pastor—”
“Ah, ah, ah,” he said
Detria giggled and corrected herself, “Stiles.”
Stiles encircled his arms around Detria’s upper body and kissed her lips lightly. “Thank you for all you’ve done, Detria. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” he asked rather than assumed.
“Yes, tomorrow,” she answered, and then unlocked the door and went inside.
Stiles turned, placed both hands in each one of his pant pockets and walked toward his car. He replayed the scene between him and Rena. Everything she said had been true. He was so busy passing judgment on her and Francesca that he didn’t see his own imperfections. He needed to repent and ask for forgiveness so he could let go of the past, his hurt, and his shame. Shame because he didn’t fully comprehend until now that God’s love is so vast and so deep that it hides a multitude of sins. He had been blessed with a woman who loved him, a woman he could and would easily love. His mother was right. He needed a wife, and hopefully, one day that wife would be Detria—His First Lady.
Stiles looked up toward heaven, “Mother, I know you’re watching. I’m going to do right by Detria,” he said out loud. “I miss you already,” he said and then finished the walk to his car, got in, and drove off.
Chapter Twenty -two
“Forgiveness is giving up the possibility of a better past.”
~Author Unknown~
Francesca was glad to be back in her apartment. The past two days had been long and she was glad everything was over. Francesca undressed, and Jabez jumped up on her lap when she sat down. “Hey there, pretty boy,” she said soothingly to the cat and stroked him around his neck. She started to openly talk to God. “God,” she said out loud. “I know I messed up again. I don’t know what it is, but every time I try to do right, I do wrong, and every time I want to speak the right words, the wrong words come out. I know over the past few days that I haven’t exactly radiated the love that you have placed in my heart, and for that I ask your forgiveness. I have a long way to go, Father. I want to forgive Fonda; I want to forgive Audrey. I didn’t mean to say and do the things that I did toward Rena, someone who has been nothing but good to me, but I did. Lord, forgive me. Keep working on me.”
Francesca leaned her head back against the neck of the chair and continued to stroke Jabez. Tears cascaded from her eyes. She had gone to Stiles and confessed what she’d done and how she tried to set him and Rena up to fail again. But she felt convicted for trying to do to someone else what had been done to her so many times in her life. She didn’t want to hurt people; she wanted to learn how to truly forgive. She wanted to make her life worthy.
Stiles listened to his sister with an open and forgiving spirit. Pastor stood next to him. Afterward, she and Stiles were in each other’s arms hugging and crying. It was an answered prayer for Pastor. In the midst of sorrow, God had brought renewal, repentance, and restoration.
Francesca was glad she listened to the conviction of the Holy Spirit almost as soon as she’d done the terrible thing to Robert, Rena, and Stiles. She caught them just before the next shuttle bus was scheduled to come. Rena told Mr. and Mrs. Jackson what she’d done earlier toward Rena, and pleaded for their forgiveness. After she finished confessing, the Jacksons prayed with Francesca and forgave her.
Mrs. Jackson felt the spirit leading her to give Rena’s cell phone number to Francesca. “Do what God tells you, my child,” she said to Francesca and hugged her tightly before they left the repast.
Francesca arrived home that night hours after everything was over. She was totally wiped out, but she was determined to be obedient to what God had placed in her spirit. She sat in her favorite chair and picked up her cordless phone sitting on the charge next to her. She then searched in her pocket for Rena’s phone number and without hesitation, dialed it.
The phone went straight to voice mail. Francesca didn’t hang up. She had to do what God told her to do, so she began to speak. “Rena, it’s Frank . . . Francesca,” she corrected herself. “I know you probably won’t ever speak to me again, and that’s because of my own doing. But it’s time to stop the hurt. And the only way I can stop hurting is if I stop hurting other people. I’m sorry for telling Robert about your past; I’m sorry for trying to destroy your relationship; I’m sorry for all I’ve ever done to hurt you. I love you, Rena. You’re my best friend. And I’m asking you one more time, to forgive me. Have a wonderful life. Good-bye,” Francesca said and hung up the phone.
On the way back to Andover, Rena felt like a totally new person. She finally felt free from the weight of her past. God had revitalized her life. She had a man who loved her and whom she loved, and he had children who loved her and that she loved. God had stripped away the stench of her past.
Once in Andover, Robert and Rena stopped by his house first. He was glad that Rena wanted to see the kids just as much as he did. The kids rushed out of the front door and into Robert’s waiting arms.
He picked them up one at a time, twirled them around, and hugged and kissed them. Rena watched the love shared between Robert and his kids. Isabelle ran over to Rena next and hugged her around the neck while Robbie toddled right behind his sister. Rena picked him up and kissed his chubby cheeks.
“Come on, you guys. Let’s go take Rena home.” They jumped for joy and waved good-bye to their aunt who was standing in Robert’s doorway.
Finally home, Rena saw her BlackBerry message light blinking as they walked up the steps to her house. “Robert, here’s the key. Let me listen to this message. I can’t imagine who it’s from, unless Mom and Dad forgot something,” she told Robert as he removed her luggage from his car.
“They probably did leave something. Go on and listen to it. Come on, kids,” Robert told them, still chuckling and happy to be with them.
Rena tapped the key to her voice mail as she slowly made her way toward her house. When she heard Francesca’s voice, her first inclination was to hang up and delete it, but the Holy Spirit outweighed her own fleshly decision. She listened to Francesca’s message. Just as she finished listening to it a second time, Robert came back outside with Isabelle and Robbie happily trailing behind him.
He walked around Rena and grabbed her from behind in a loving hug. “Is everything all right?” he asked.
“Everything is perfect. Absolutely perfect,” she said and turned around to kiss him.
Words from the Author
Rena was ruled by the mistakes of her past. She couldn’t move forward because she was far too busy looking backward. Have you ever been ashamed of mistakes you’ve made in your past? Have you ever been afraid that your past mistakes will reveal themselves and destroy your future? Have you done something to someone; wronged someone; acted in an ungodly way, or intentionally done something wrong in your past? I can speak for no one but myself when I say that I, too, am guilty. I have been guilty because I’ve done wrong; I’ve been guilty by association; I’ve been guilty because of my thoughts; I’ve been guilty of intentionally inflicting hurt on someone else for my own revenge. But those things are in the past. I am so grateful that we have the kind of God that forgives the mistakes of the past, the mistakes we make right now, and the mistakes of tomorrow. I am a new creation because of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. I still fall short, and I still make mistakes, but God never leaves me or forsakes me. He stands ready to forgive me and because He is no respecter of persons, He will do the same thing for you. All you have to do is repent, turn away from that which you have done that was wrong, and ask God to forgive you. I know from experience that He will. He’s proven over and over again in my life, that though my sins be as scarlet, He will make them as white as snow because He loves Himself some Shelia!
Discussion Questions
My Son’s Ex-Wife: The Aftermath
1. Do you think Audrey learned a lesson about forgiveness in My Son’sex Wife? What does she learn or fai
l to learn?
2. Did Stiles truly still love Rena?
3. Did Rena still love Stiles?
4. What are your thoughts about Pastor’s role in this story?
5. Do you think Robert and Detria will get a fair chance in the relationships they have formed with Stiles and Rena? Why or why not?
6. Do you believe Rena was prepared to tell Robert everything about her past?
7. Why did Francesca tell Robert about Rena’s past?
8. Did Francesca truly change in this story?
9. What is the most important positive thing you got from this story?
10. Was the relationship between Rena and her mother realistic?
11. Why or why not?
A Personal Invitation from the Author
If you have not made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, God Himself extends this invitation to you.
If you have not trusted Him and believed Him to be the giver of eternal life, you can do so right now. We do not know the second, the minute, the hour, the moment, or day that God will come to claim us. Will you be ready?
The Word of God says,
“If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are SAVED.” (Romans 10:9-10 NIV)
Author Contact Information
To send your comments, feedback, remarks, and questions to the author please contact the following:
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“Fear of Death”
written and granted permission for author’s use by Author and Spoken Word Artist, Rita “Siren Coleman. Copyright © June 2008.
Permission granted from Loretta McNary to use name
The Loretta McNary Show®
Urban Books, LLC
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My Son’s Ex-Wife: The Aftermath Copyright © 2010 Shelia E. Lipsey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
ISBN: 978-1-6016-2854-1
This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living, or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.
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