Hope Springs

by Kim Cash Tate

  “So what made you change your mind?” Janelle asked.

  “I prayed about it—prayed for peace about saying no, to be accurate.” He chuckled. “But it kept nagging at me, and God kept taking me to Isaiah, to the verse about Him doing a new thing, making rivers in the desert.” He sat back, folding his arms. “Let’s put it this way. I’m totally walking by faith.”

  “Wow,” Janelle said. “And you didn’t know at the time that Todd would be taking over as Calvary’s pastor a few months later.”

  “Huh. That same verse has been coming to me,” Todd said. “You know what, Trav? We should start meeting regularly for prayer. It’d be powerful to seek God together about what He wants to do here.”

  Travis sat forward, a smile coming to his face. “Oh, that gets me excited, bro. Let’s do it.”

  Becca covered another yawn.

  “I hear you, Becca,” Janelle said. “I’m sleepy myself.” She got up and pushed her chair in. “Todd and Travis, y’all can’t be hangin’ out and talking late on Saturday night like you used to. You got sermons to preach in the morning.”

  “Isn’t that something?” Travis got up and dumped his plate in the trash. “I feel like we’re actual adults with responsibilities.”

  Todd put his arm around Becca as they stood. “Wait till you have a family. That’s when it really gets scary.”

  Becca gave him the eye. “That better be scary in a good way.”

  Todd flashed his boyish smile. “What other scary is there?”

  They walked the others to the door.

  “I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately,” Travis said. “Whether I’ll have a family one day.”

  Todd put his hands in his pockets. “You have? Thinking you’d like to?”

  “Absolutely. Just need that vital missing component.”

  “The way those women in your congregation look at you,” Janelle said, “I don’t think it’ll be missing for long.”

  “Ahh . . .” Becca grinned. “Methinks I’ll have a pastor’s wife counterpart very soon.”

  “Ahh . . . ,” Travis returned. “Methinks life is never that simple. Both of you just save me a spot at your tables, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

  Becca nodded. “Spot saved and prayers going up for that counterpart.”

  “Watch out,” Todd said. “Things happen when she puts prayer on something.”

  Travis opened the door. “I’ve got no problem with Becca praying up a wife for me. Just be specific, is all I ask. She’s gotta know how to cook.”

  “That’s it?” Janelle asked.

  “Trust me, it whittles the list down real quick.” He laughed again. “All right, I’m out.”

  He and Janelle left and Becca thought about Todd’s words as she went up to bed. “Things happen when she puts prayer on something.” She’d asked God for years to do big things with her ministry, and she was watching the answer unfold before her very eyes. She needed to keep praying and believing that this was only the beginning. As bone-weary as she was, she had a great sense of anticipation.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Sunday, January 17

  Standing in the senior pastor’s office watching her husband adjust his tie, Becca suddenly felt the magnitude of the moment. Todd had been given charge over this church and these people. He was responsible for feeding them spiritually, for leading in righteousness, for setting a Christlike standard. It might be a small church, but it was still a big burden.

  She took his hand and looked deep into his eyes. “I am so proud of you. You didn’t take the position because it benefited you. You didn’t take it because it would give you a voice to thousands. You took it just because you knew in your heart that this is where God was calling you. I couldn’t be more thrilled for you today.” She smiled at him. “And you look way too handsome in that suit.”

  Todd looked focused. “I wouldn’t have done it without your support,” he said. “Still hard to believe we actually did this.” He nodded to himself. “God’s got some purpose. I’m excited to see how it plays out.”

  “Me too. I think you’ll—oh, Ethan, sweetheart, you can’t write on that.” She spotted him on the floor, pen against the wall. “Where’d you get that?”

  It took some tugging to wrest it from his hand, and then he dissolved into crocodile tears.

  Becca bent and picked him up. “Ethan, shhh, not now. Service is about to start.” She looked to Todd as Ethan did the stiff-bodied, escalating cry move. “Guessing he didn’t get the memo about perfect behavior on Dad’s first official day.”

  An elderly woman who volunteered for the church poked her head into the office. “Everything okay? Somebody’s awfully upset.”

  Becca smiled as best she could. “Everything’s fine. He’s just having a moment.”

  “Let me see him, Bec.” Todd took him as he tried to grab the pen from Becca again, crying still. He looked into Ethan’s eyes. “Not acceptable, buddy. You’re not getting the pen. Now stop the crying fit.” Todd set him in his pastor’s chair and got something out of a drawer. “You want the crayon to draw?”

  Ethan nodded big, reaching for it.

  “You have to stop crying first.”

  The sobs went to his chest as he sucked in air, finally quieting. Todd gave him the crayon and a piece of paper, then chuckled. “Ethan must’ve known I needed to focus on something besides my first sermon. Take the edge off a little.”

  Claire dashed into the office in a pretty dress. She’d been everywhere, checking out the church, helping to fold programs, watching people.

  “Mom, guess what? I saw Tiffany come in!” And she was gone again.

  Claire had asked this morning why Tiffany and Dee attended a different church, reminding Becca of last night’s conversation at the kitchen table.

  “Well, honey, that’s where their families go and Calvary is where our family goes,” Becca had said.

  “But why? If we’re all friends, why can’t we go to the same church?”

  “Well, in St. Louis you had friends who didn’t go to our church, right?”

  “Mom.” Claire sighed, as if wondering why she needed to explain. “St. Louis is, like, a thousand people. Of course we went to different churches.”

  Becca told her Tiffany would be at the service today and let her excitement be the end of it. She couldn’t bear Claire making the connection that the difference was the color of their skin.

  “We’d better head to the sanctuary,” Becca said.

  Todd had already had a prayer time with the elders and was standing by his desk, looking over his notes once more.

  He kissed her. “Okay, see you in there.”

  An usher led Becca, Claire, and Ethan to the front pew, left side of the church. It was much more crowded than it had been the Sunday before. Becca looked at the program the usher had given her. A special welcome and prayer for the pastor had been added—and A word from our pastor’s wife, Becca Dillon . . . ?

  Becca consulted Darla, an elder’s wife who was seated nearby. She pointed to the program. “No one told me about that. What am I supposed to say?”

  “You weren’t told?” Darla said. “We thought it’d be nice if people heard from you. Just say you’re glad to be here and looking forward to getting to know everybody.”

  Becca nodded. “Thanks.”

  Claire tugged at her other side. “Does Dad sit up there?” She pointed to the chair in the raised pulpit area.

  “Yes, here he comes.”

  As the organ started to play, Todd walked in from the back of the pulpit. The choir, also seated up front, stood and began to sing an opening hymn, and the congregation stood and joined in.

  The service moved at a fairly rapid clip, almost too rapid. What was she supposed to say? For the first time Becca wondered what kind of role they expected her to play. In some churches, the pastor’s wife took on the women’s ministry or some other big job. But it wasn’t her intent to do anything of the sort. Calvary Church was Tod
d’s ministry. She had her own.

  After the offering Darla moved to the podium to introduce her—just as Ethan decided he’d been sitting too long. One of the ushers had planned to watch him when Becca went up. So now, as Ethan slid from the pew, the usher tried to bring him back, which only irritated the little guy. He pulled away and walked a few more paces. Becca rose gingerly and went after him, which made it a game in which he moved faster. She caught him at the side of the pew and scooped him up—bringing an outburst of tears.

  Becca caught a look from several people, especially the older women. She hadn’t appreciated enough the children’s ministry they’d had in their other church. “Oh, Ethan,” she said under her breath, “you’re in rare form today, aren’t you, buddy?”

  “. . . and so it’s with great joy that I ask you to welcome to the Calvary Church family, Becca Dillon.”

  The congregation applauded, and Becca wondered if she should take Ethan up there and hand him off to Todd as she spoke. But somehow that didn’t seem—

  “Becca, give him to me.”

  Becca turned and heaved a sigh of relief.

  Janelle’s arms were outstretched. “Come on, little man. Daniel’s waiting for you.”

  “Danal?” Ethan calmed immediately as Janelle took him. He was enamored with “big boys” like Daniel.

  “Thanks, girl,” Becca whispered.

  She hurried forward, trying to gather her thoughts.

  “Good morning.” She smiled big and awaited their reply. “It’s such a blessing to be here with you today. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many of you already, and I’m looking forward to getting to know each and every one of you.”

  From up here Becca was struck by how small the congregation was—maybe a hundred fifty or two hundred people. Hard to believe she’d be speaking to an audience many times that size in three weeks.

  She continued, “Calvary Church has a great history that reaches back over a century, and I know Todd considers it a privilege that his family has shared much of that history.” She paused when a child cried out, but thankfully it wasn’t Ethan. “I’m honored to be part of the Calvary family now myself, and I want you to know that I’m committed to doing all I can to serve alongside my husband. Thank you so much for this wonderful welcome.”

  Becca took her seat to the sound of applause and Todd was up next.

  “I promise you my wife and I didn’t plan this.” He took his time, looking into the faces, an easy smile on his face. “But she set me up nicely when she referred to the history of this church and my family’s part in it. I’ve been thinking a lot about that. It’s because of that history that I almost didn’t take this position. I knew I couldn’t live up to my dad and granddad. They were huge men of God in my eyes. And I look awfully young to be a ‘senior’ pastor, don’t I?”

  Becca glanced at the people nearby. They were warm toward him, smiling.

  “But God let me know He wasn’t looking for me to recycle old history, but to be part of the new history He would unfold here. I don’t know what God has planned for us, but I can tell you I had my first sermon prepared a week ago, and late last night God changed it. He led me to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where we’re told to walk worthy of our calling, with humility, gentleness, patience, and love . . . ‘being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.’ ”

  He took a long pause as he looked out at them. “Today we’re going to think about ‘walking worthy’—which means walking in unity as one body.” He paused again, pensive. “Wouldn’t it be interesting if what God wants to do at Calvary in this next season is show us it’s not really about Calvary at all? That it’s about the body of Christ, of which Calvary is one part? Open your Bibles, please, to Ephesians, chapter four.”

  Becca peeked again at the expressions of the members around her. Safe to say they wanted to know where Todd was going with this.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Janelle raised her camera and caught the momentous embrace, feeling like a proud sister. Travis had just walked into Calvary Church’s basement for the reception. When he and Todd saw one another, both official-looking in their suits, they took in the moment—Hope Springs’ pastors were together in public for the first time.

  “Aw, I love it.” Janelle snapped a couple more, taking in the scene with Kory. He’d gone to New Jerusalem’s service and come over when it ended. “You can tell they’re emotional,” she said.

  “Travis mentioned in the service that this felt like a big day for him also,” Kory said. “Said he was excited about what God was doing on this street.”

  Several other cameras flashed around the room, including that of Virgil Tenley, the town’s newspaper photographer. He stopped by the Sanders family reunion every year to take a group photo of the more than two hundred of them, calling their get-togethers a piece of Hope Springs history.

  Andy Walters, a longtime reporter for the paper, accompanied Virgil. With the crowd gathered around the pastors, he called out, “What’s it feel like for childhood friends to return to Hope Springs as pastors?”

  The guys smiled at one another. “Unbelievable,” Todd said, nodding. “As you probably recall, Andy, we’re the ones who made the news for that little fire hydrant prank. Proves God has a sense of humor, I guess.”

  Janelle chuckled with the rest, leaning over to Kory. “Grandma said they got in big trouble for that. I wish she could be here to see this.”

  She thought it was sweet that Stephanie wanted to stay home with Grandma Geri. She didn’t have to. Aunt Gladys was there. And Stephanie had wanted to hear Todd’s first sermon, especially after the way his funeral sermon had spoken to her. But when she saw that Grandma Geri wasn’t well enough to go to church, she said she felt like keeping her company.

  “I was praying she’d feel better today,” Kory said.

  “Dr. Peters said we should know this week how she’s faring with the chemo.”

  Andy raised a finger, quieting the crowd. “It’s interesting that you’re both young, and both lived for several years in urban areas—St. Louis and Dallas. What do you think that will mean for this town? Do you think those experiences will affect the way you pastor here?”

  Todd and Travis looked at one another to see who would take a stab at it.

  “I think,” Travis began, “that God uses who we are and where we’ve been. He’s the One who guided us into those experiences when we left here, and He’s the One who brought us back. So I’m looking forward myself to seeing what it’ll mean.” He put an arm around Todd. “I couldn’t be more pumped to have this guy in town with me.”

  “One more question,” Andy said, pausing to jot something down. “Todd, your first sermon at Calvary was about unity in the body. You didn’t mention New Jerusalem, but I’m just wondering . . . would you say unity has been lacking between the two churches?”

  “No, I wouldn’t say that at all, Andy. My dad and Pastor Richards had a great relationship. But there’s always room for growth. Unity was on Jesus’s mind before He went to the cross when He prayed that His followers would be one. And I think we need to be ever mindful of it as well.”

  “Amen.” Travis stuck out his hand and Todd gripped it—another Kodak moment.

  As the crowd returned to the food and punch lines, Janelle walked up to Todd and Travis. “I want to get a picture with you two, like old times.”

  “When we were packing,” Todd said, “I actually found a picture we took the summer before seventh grade. You should’ve seen what we were wearing.”

  “Scan it and put it on Facebook, and make sure you tag Janelle,” Travis said.

  Her eyes widened. “You’d better not!”

  Kory took her camera. “I’ll take it.”

  Janelle stood between them and they smiled big, arms around one another’s waists.

  “Someone’s missing from this picture,” Travis said.

  “Libby.”

  “I invited her to service.”

/>   “I know.”

  Travis reached for the camera in Kory’s hand. “I’ll take a shot of you and Janelle. I know she wants one.”

  Janelle elbowed him in the side, though it was blunted by his suit jacket.

  “You would assault your pastor in broad daylight? For telling the truth?”

  Kory looked to Janelle. “It’s up to you.”

  “Sure. Let’s do it.”

  It was just a picture, but Janelle’s insides twirled a little when Kory put his arm around her shoulder. She looped an arm around his waist just as she’d done with Todd and Travis, but the feeling was different. She was hyper aware of everything about him, even the muscles her arm could feel on his back.

  “One . . . two . . . three.” Travis clicked, then checked it. “You blinked, Janelle.” He turned the camera and showed her. “Let’s do another one.”

  Janelle and Kory moved their heads closer.

  “Say cheese,” Travis said.

  “Cheeeese.”

  Travis checked again. “Perfect. Look at that.”

  Janelle dropped her arm from Kory’s waist and took her camera. “Nice.”

  Kory looked over her shoulder. “Really nice.”

  “Mom!”

  “Dad!”

  “Can we go to Claire’s?”

  The voices hit them at the same time, and Janelle and Kory laughed. “Did you two practice that?” Janelle said.

  Becca walked up with a struggling Ethan in her arms. “This little guy needs a nap badly, so I’m taking him home. I told the girls they could come if they wanted. Oh, and Daniel’s ready to go too. He said Stephanie can let him in at the house.”

  “Sounds good,” Janelle said.

  “Fine with me,” Kory said. “Okay if I eat something before I come get her?”

  “Take your time,” Becca said. “Company for Claire and naptime for Ethan means I can get some things done myself.” She marched the troops onward, stopping momentarily to talk to Todd.