Better Late Than Never

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  As Charlotte took her seat, everyone stood and applauded, and she felt better than she had in the twenty years since she and Curtis had founded Deliverance Outreach. Not because she was first lady, but because she finally felt free to be all God had created her to be. For so many years, she’d been focusing on the wrong things and worried about what everyone else thought she should be doing, but now she was focused on the purpose God had for her life—the life he had spared that afternoon she’d crashed into the brick wall surrounding a cemetery. To this day, she still believed that He’d used that cemetery as a way to warn her. He’d made her see the road of destruction she’d been quickly tumbling down. So even though she would continue to serve as first lady of the church, she would also help other women who were working hard to stay sober in any way she could. Then, once she built a strong community of alcoholic women in recovery, they could begin helping women who had never entered a treatment facility or gone to an AA meeting. There was so much Charlotte could do to support them, and her vision was great. And with God she knew she could see that vision come to pass. She knew this, because with Him, anything was possible, and she would forever believe that. She would trust Him and depend on Him until she took her last breath.

  As the choir sang, Curtis looked down the front row at all his family members, including Jason, Eric, and Amber, and he thanked God for all that He’d blessed him with. He thought about not just the last year or the last twenty years of his life, but all sixty of them. Yes, he’d actually turned sixty years old this past January, and it was sort of hard for him to believe. Not to mention, he and Charlotte sometimes still laughed about the fact that even though she was fifteen years younger than him, their age difference had served them well. They’d gone through a lot during their twenty years of marriage—well, quite a bit more than a lot—but they were true soul mates who were meant to be together. This was one of the reasons Curtis couldn’t understand why he hadn’t noticed how unhappy Charlotte had been. What he’d learned was that she’d never fully been happy in her role as first lady, and that she’d basically only gone along with it because she hadn’t thought anyone would understand. She hadn’t felt comfortable enough to tell him—her own husband—and this was the part that bothered him most. She’d certainly wanted to tell him, but at the same time, she hadn’t wanted to ruin things for him. Not when she’d known that ministry was his calling from God, and that being pastor of the most well-known church in the region came with a lot of responsibilities. Hence her decision to keep quiet and just accept being in a role that many women coveted and saw as a blessing.

  But this was also the reason Curtis had begun having conversations with all of his pastor friends nationwide, asking them if their wives were happy. Were they being treated with the utmost respect by all members of their congregations? Were they being asked to do more than they could mentally or emotionally handle? Were they afraid to say no to unreasonable requests? Were they afraid to make their true feelings and opinions known because they feared awful backlash? Were they spending so much time in church, focusing on their husbands’ calling, that they’d lost themselves in the process? Did they even know what their own callings were? Was anyone, including their pastor husbands, even asking them about it? Were they walking around with huge smiles on their faces, dressed in the best clothing that money could buy—as Charlotte had pointed out—even though they couldn’t be more miserable?

  Curtis had asked question after question, and sadly, many of the pastors he’d spoken to—those who led megachurches and those who had less than a hundred members—hadn’t even considered any of the above. Some of them had even decided that once God called a man into ministry, and even more so when that man became a pastor, his wife had an obligation to make his calling her priority. Curtis did think a pastor’s wife needed to support his ministry the same as she would support her husband with any calling He might have on his life, but he didn’t believe that a wife should give up everything she might want to do herself. His feeling was that even when a man and woman married and became one, each person still had their own individual callings from God to fulfill. He also had to admit that, until now, he hadn’t known what Charlotte’s was exactly, either. She hadn’t talked about any passions she had, but today he knew her calling was to help women who were finally sober as well as those who weren’t. Her purpose was to share her own testimony with them, letting them know what a mistake it was to walk around unhappy year after year, and then use alcohol as a way to mask their pain.

  But then, thanks to his dear sister, Trina, God rest her soul, he’d learned the same thing about himself. He hadn’t known just how much his childhood had still been affecting him or how deeply he’d buried every violent memory, but Trina had helped him realize it. In only five short weeks, she’d forced him to relive his past and deal with it. She’d advised him to forgive his parents so he could move beyond all of it. Still, no matter what she’d said, he’d been hesitant—even on the day she’d died and had made this her one last request of him. But then, as he’d stood at her home with the rest of his family, watching her slowly slipping away, he’d known he couldn’t continue on the way he had been—and that it was time to visit his parents’ grave sites.

  He hadn’t known when exactly he would do it, but when they’d left Trina’s homegoing service and ridden in the processional over to the cemetery, he’d learned that Jason and Trina had purchased their burial plot right next to Curtis’s mom and dad; which reminded him that until the very end, his mom hadn’t fully hated her evil husband. She’d still chosen to take her final rest side by side with him. Curtis still couldn’t say he’d understood that back then, but today he understood it well. Today he knew exactly how powerful forgiveness truly was, because once everyone had left the graveside part of Trina’s service and gone back to their cars, he’d forgiven both of his parents. He’d spoken his words out loud to them in tears, and for the first time in his life, he’d felt free—just as Trina had told him he would. He’d also learned something else in the process: For everything bad, something good always comes out of it. A year ago, Curtis couldn’t have imagined how any good could evolve from his sister’s illness, but it had been that very illness that had brought them back together—and brought about his willingness to forgive the parents he should have forgiven a long time ago.

  But he didn’t just have his own example, because there was Charlotte’s accident and DUI arrest, too. It would be easy to believe that absolutely no good could possibly come from that, too, yet those scenarios were the very reason Charlotte’s eyes were now wide open about her alcoholism. It was the reason she now knew her God-given purpose and was helping other women just like her.

  So yes, for everything bad, something good always came out of it. For every bad choice that any human being might make, there was always an opportunity for them to correct it. There was always a chance for anyone to change for the better. It was something Curtis knew all too well because his entire family was proof of it. And yes, in most cases, they had taken a very long time to turn things around, but what mattered was the fact that they had. What mattered was that they were finally living their lives according to God’s Word. The Black family wasn’t perfect, and never would be, but they now genuinely tried to do the right thing, and they treated others the way they wanted to be treated. They lived by the golden rule. This certainly hadn’t always been the case—But better late than never, Curtis thought, and smiled. By all means, being late was better than losing your eternal soul, and this made Curtis smile even more.

  Also by Kimberla Lawson Roby

  The Reverend Curtis Black Series

  Sin of a Woman

  A Sinful Calling

  The Ultimate Betrayal

  The Prodigal Son

  A House Divided

  The Reverend’s Wife

  Love, Honor, and Betray

  Be Careful What You Pray For

  The Best of Everything

  Sin No More

  Love
& Lies

  The Best-Kept Secret

  Too Much of a Good Thing

  Casting the First Stone

  Standalone Titles

  Copycat

  Best Friends Forever

  A Christmas Prayer

  The Perfect Marriage

  Secret Obsession

  A Deep Dark Secret

  One in a Million

  Changing Faces

  A Taste of Reality

  It’s a Thin Line

  Here and Now

  Behind Closed Doors

  Acknowledgments

  What a journey this has been, writing twenty-seven books, including fifteen titles in my Reverend Curtis Black Series. There are certainly many people I need to thank, but first and foremost, I humbly thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the unconditional love, mercy, grace, and favor You have bestowed on my life since the day I was born. Without You, absolutely nothing would be possible, and I am eternally grateful to You.

  Then, to my dear husband, Will. Words simply cannot express how much I love you and how grateful I am to have you as the love of my life. More than anything, before I met you, what I longed for and prayed for was to find a man who loved me as much as I love him, and you have certainly been that man since the very beginning. You have also supported my writing career in countless ways, and you have stood by me and encouraged me on every level…even when there were times when I didn’t always believe in myself. These last twenty-seven years—and how interesting that I finished writing my twenty-seventh book during the same year we celebrated our twenty-seventh anniversary—but these last twenty-seven years of being married to you have made such an amazing difference in my life, and I thank God for you and our marriage. I love you with all my heart and soul, now and always.

  To the best mom ever, Arletha Tennin Stapleton, and to the best grandparents ever, Clifton Tennin, Sr., and Mary Tennin—after all these years, I still miss all three of you so tremendously. There are days when I still shed many tears because of that. But, nonetheless, I am forever grateful to each of you for loving me, supporting me, and teaching me to love and honor God, no matter what. You made such a significant and heartwarming difference in my life, and I will love you always.

  To my dear brothers: Willie Stapleton, Jr., (and dear sister-in-law, April) and Michael Stapleton (and dear sister-in-law, Marilyn). To my stepson, daughter-in-law, and grandsons: Trenod Vines-Roby, LaTasha Vines, Alex Lamont Knight, and Trenod Vines, Jr. To my brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law: Gloria Roby, Ronald Roby, Terry and Karen Roby, Robert and Tammy Roby, and James Roby (who is gone but will never be forgotten). To all my nieces and nephews: Michael Jamaal Young, Malik Stapleton, My’Shyle Young, My’Kyle Young, Shelia Farris, William Stapleton, Nakya Arletha Stapleton, Kiera Holliman, Nyketa Roby, Lamontrose Love, Krissalyn Love, Bianca Roby, Shamica Newkirk, Greg Newkirk, Brittany Roby, Demario Sorrells, Talia Brown, Amaya Love, Kristen Love, Malachi Love, Kasondra McConnell, Kaprisha Ballard, Kiara Bullard, and Ronald Roby, Jr. (who is also gone but will never be forgotten). To my aunts and uncles: Ben Tennin, Fannie Haley, Ada Tennin, Mary Lou Beasley, Charlie Beasley, Vernell Tennin, Ollie Tennin, Marie Tennin, Shirley Jean Gary, Ed Gary, Ruby Gary, Lehman Gary, Thressia Gary, Rosie Norman, and Isaac Gary. To all my cousins and other family members (all of you!): Tennins, Ballards, Lawsons, Stapletons, Beasleys, Haleys, Greens, Robys, Garys, Shannons, and Normans—family is everything, and I am so beyond blessed to have each of you in my life. I love you all so very much.

  To my dear cousin, sister, and fellow author, Patricia Haley-Glass (and Jeffrey and Taj); my two dear best friends, who are like sisters, Kelli Tunson Bullard (and Brian) and Lori Whitaker Thurman (and Ulysses); my dear cousin and friend, Janell Green; my dear friends and fellow authors, Trisha R. Thomas, Trice Hickman, Marissa Monteilh, and Cheryl Polote-Williamson; to my dear friends and book club members, Lori Whitaker Thurman, Regina Taylor, Cathrine Watkins, Valerie Hanserd, Cookie Givens, Mattie Holden, Emily Sanders—I love you all so very much, and I thank God for you.

  To Pastor K. Edward Copeland, Mrs. Starla Copeland, and our entire New Zion Missionary Baptist Church family; to my wonderful spiritual mom and family: Dr. Betty Price, Apostle Frederick K.C. Price, Angela Evans, Cheryl Price, Stephanie Buchanan, Pastor Fred Price, Jr., Angel Price, and the entire Crenshaw Christian Center family—thank you all for everything, and I love you dearly.

  To my awesome publishing attorney, Ken Norwick. To everyone at my amazing publishing house, Hachette Book Group (Grand Central Publishing): Beth de Guzman, Linda Duggins, Genevieve Kim, Elizabeth Connor, Stephanie Sirabian, Kallie Shimek, the entire sales, publicity, marketing, and production teams, and everyone else at Grand Central Publishing. To my freelance team: Pam Walker-Williams, Ella Curry, and Sharvette Mitchell. To every independent bookseller, major bookseller, and other retailers who sell my work; to every newspaper, radio station, TV station, magazine, online web site, and blog that promotes my work; and to every book club that continually chooses my work as your monthly selection. Thanks a million to each and every one of you for all that you’ve done for me for so many years. Your support of me and my work has made a huge difference in my life, and I so very much appreciate it. xoxo

  With all my love and many blessings to you always,

  Kimberla Lawson Roby

  Email: kim@kimroby.com

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