“Oh, congratulations on your new marriage. I was very sorry to hear about Pastor Milner’s passing.”
There was still that hint of sadness that is carried for our loved ones who have gone before us trying to bring her down, but the joy of new love blocked the sadness and enabled her to smile again. “Thank you, hon. Now, let me speak to this daughter of mine.”
“I need to purchase my book for the Bible study anyway, so I’ll get out of your way.” Gina headed towards the back of the church where the bookstore was.
Yvonne sat down next to Toya and gave her daughter a big ol, I’m-so-glad-to-see-you-in-the-house-of-the-Lord hug. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise.”
“It wouldn’t be if you had picked up the phone and told me about the Bible study. I mean, really, Mom. I had to hear about this whole big elaborately planned event from Gina. And she hasn’t even been back in town but a month and already she knows more about what’s going on at my church than I do.”
Yvonne looked at her oldest daughter, she hesitated, but only for a moment. “Honestly Toya, I didn’t realize you still considered Christ-Life your church because you haven’t stepped foot in here in about six months.”
That was harsh. She hadn’t been attending church, but only because she didn’t like being out of the house and vulnerable. But her mother was acting like she had lost her religion and was now some Buddhist or something.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. I was just explaining why I didn’t tell you about this event.”
Toya stood when Gina came back into the sanctuary. “Well, just so you know, I enjoyed the Bible study, and I will be here for the entire study.”
As Toya walked away from Yvonne, Thomas sat down and put an arm around his wife’s shoulder.
“Did you hear that?” Yvonne asked.
“Yep, and I’m just thankful that prayer works. We stepped back and allowed God to move Toya forward, and we will soon rejoice as He finishes the work. I can promise you that.”
“I must admit it was so hard for me to step back. You don’t know how many times I wanted to pick up the phone and beg Toya to come back to church.”
“She would have just made some excuse. God knew what she needed, and one day, I hope she will tell us all about it.”
“Amen to that.”
9
The second Bible study lesson dealt with the belt of truth. Priscilla Shirer's message was taken from Ephesians 6:13-14.
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth.
Toya and Gina sat mesmerized by the word they were hearing. They were absolutely captivated because they had been attending church most of their life and had never had this thing broken down the way it was being broken down to them.
After the lesson, Toya and Gina grabbed a cup of coffee and a pastry that the church had laid out for the women attending the Bible study. They then sat down in the fellowship hall to digest all that they had taken in that morning. “What a word, what a word, what a word,” was all Toya kept saying as she shook her head in disbelief.
“Who you telling. This building should be on fire because it was hot in there.” Gina was just as amazed as Toya.
“I’ve been in church all my life, heard ministers preach on the belt of truth, but I’ve never heard anything explained the way Priscilla broke it down. But I’ll tell you what, from this day on I’m going to stand firm in the truth of God.”
When Toya finished speaking, Mother Thornton walked over to her table. She was the kindest woman Toya had ever known, and she loved the anointing that was on this woman. Toya stood and hugged her. “I didn’t know you were here today. It is so good to see you.”
“I saw you. This week and last week. You seem to truly be getting something from the Lord Himself, so I didn’t want to disturb you. But I came over to let you know that God hasn’t released me from my assignment yet so I’m still praying for you, Chile.”
“Thank you, Mother Thornton.” She hugged the woman again then pointed toward Gina. “Do you remember Gina? She used to attend this church years ago.”
Mother Thornton turned toward Gina, and her eyes lit up. “Oh my God in heaven. I feel like Simeon when he saw the baby, Jesus. The Lord has allowed me to live long enough to see an answer to my prayers.”
“Excuse me,” Gina had a look of confusion on her face.
“Chile, your mama came to me years ago and asked me to pray you back home. She missed you so.”
With tears in her eyes, Gina stood and hugged the kind old woman as well. “Thank you so much for praying for me. You’ll never know how much that means to me.”
The woman stepped back, looked Gina indirectly in the eye. “I know... the Lord has shown me the kind of trouble you and Toya are in. But I’m here to tell you that He is yet delivering. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.” She pointed from Toya to Gina and back again. “Do you hear what I’m telling you?”
“Yes ma’am, I hear you,” Toya said, and Gina co-signed.
When they sat back down, Gina appeared to be mulling something over. She wiped the tears from her face, then leaned a little closer to Toya. “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course, girl. You know you can tell me anything.”
Gina nodded. “The reason I moved out of the country was to hide from this crazy man I used to date. I feared that if I ever came home, I could possibly lead him to my parents, and he might just kill them to get back at me.”
Toya was totally caught off guard by that comment. She and her best friend had been apart for so many years, but it seems as if they had been living parallel lives. “Is that why you moved into our gated community, you still don’t feel safe, do you?”
Gina lowered her eyes and shook her head. “He took that away from me. But my father got sick a few months back.”
“Oh wow, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Gina lifted a hand. “He’s doing better now. But that’s what finally convinced me to come back home. Finding our gated community was heaven sent for me. I didn’t have to live with my parents and worry about my ex, the maniac coming to the house, but I’m still able to spend time with them.”
“Family is important. We should never let anyone pull us away from the people who love and care for us the most.” Toya was saying that to herself, just as much as she was saying it to Gina. She had almost allowed Marvel to do the same thing to her. Who knows, if Jarrod hadn’t been in her life, bringing Princess when he did, she might have moved out of the country to escape the torment of constantly looking over her shoulder.
“Friends are important too,” Gina said as if she had been reading Toya’s thoughts.
Toya was in total agreement, she was just about to tell Gina about the man who almost drove her away from her friends and family when the door to the fellowship hall opened, and Jarrod walked in. As if she had been caught doing something wrong, Toya jumped out of her seat.
“There you are,” Jarrod said, as he walked toward her.
“What are you doing here?” Toya asked.
“I’m meeting up with dad. He told me that you were here.” Jarrod’s eyes drifted to the right, and that’s when he saw her. “Gina? Is that you?”
“Why do you sound so surprised? Didn’t Toya tell you that I live in her community now?”
Pointing towards Gina, Jarrod turned back to Toya. “Is she the neighbor you bumped into while walking Princess a few weeks ago?”
“That would be me,” Gina stood up and gave Jarrod a hug. “It’s good to see you after all these years.”
Toya still hadn’t said a word. She was too busy trying to figure a way of explaining how she conveniently forgot to mention that Gina was back in town and living the next street over from her. Would he believe that it just totally slipped her mind? Should she be concerned that she was standing in the fellowship hall of her
church trying to think of a lie? ‘Jesus, help me,’ she silently prayed.
Gina and Jarrod both sat down at the table. Toya joined them, right away, she started feeling like a third wheel as Jarrod suddenly became interested in Gina’s life and what she had been doing for the past ten years.
When she couldn’t take no more of Jarrod’s obvious drooling over beautiful Gina, Toya put her purse on her shoulder and stood back up. “I’m going to let you two catch up. I’m sure Princess is missing me, so I’m heading home.” Toya wanted to clamp her mouth shut, who admits out loud that they have no one in their life but a dog? As soon as those words were out of her mouth, she felt like she was back to being that teenage girl, sitting at home waiting on Jarrod to show up and take her to the prom.
“What was that about?” Jarrod asked as he followed Toya to her car.
Taking her keys out of her purse, she turned off the alarm and unlocked the door. “What are you talking about? And why did you follow me out here, I thought you were so interested in what Gina had to say?”
“Of course, I’m interested in what Gina has to say, I haven’t seen her in ten years.”
“Okay, so I got out of the way so you could talk to your ex-girlfriend. No big deal.” She got in her car, but before she could close it, Jarrod wedges his body between her and the door.
“You're right, it’s no big deal because Gina and I aren’t a thing. But I am glad that I saw her today because I owe her an apology. I’m going to go back in church and give it to her.”
“Go then, ain’t nobody stopping you. But you are stopping me from driving off. I really do need to get home to Princess.”
“I just want to make sure you understand that I don’t want to date Gina. I know what I did in college changed the friendship that you and I had, and I don’t ever want to experience that again.” He walked away from her car, leaving her looking confused and conflicted.
He didn’t have time to explain anything further to Toya. He meant what he said about apologizing to Gina. It was long past due, and he wasn’t going to let Toya stop him from handling his business.
As Jarrod re-entered the church, Gina was at the trash can throwing away her coffee cup. She smiled at him as he approached. “I thought you left with Toya. I was about to get going myself.”
“No, I didn’t want to leave before talking with you.” He pointed towards the table they had been sitting at before Toya left. “Would you mind sitting back down with me for a minute?”
“For an old friend like you, how can I say no.” Gina sat back down.
“I’m glad you still consider me a friend because that’s what I want to talk to you about.”
Putting her elbow on the table, she then put her hand under her chin. “I’m all ears,” she told him, with a hint of mischievousness in her voice.
He pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. “Before we begin, I want you to know I was so happy to see you today because for years I’ve wanted to apologize to you.”
“Wait... what are you apologizing for? You didn’t do anything to me.”
“I let you down. My pride got in the way, and I couldn’t face you after I came back from Christmas break that year. I stopped speaking to you for something that wasn’t your fault, and even when you started dating that dude that I knew was all wrong for you, I never said a word.”
“Larry Williams,” Gina said as she strolled back down memory lane. “He was a player, but so were you back then.”
“Yeah, but I knew you deserved better.”
“To be honest with you, Larry was much better than the guy I started dating after college. The man after Larry was mean and violent. I ended up in the hospital with a broken arm after one of his abusive episodes.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you. That just makes me feel even worse, because if you and I had stayed friends, maybe I would have been able to steer you away from a man like that.”
“It was not your fault, Jarrod. You were probably the best guy I ever went out with. It was just too bad that you were hung up on Toya. But also, it seems like the kind of luck I have with men, which is why I’ve given up dating altogether.”
“I hate hearing that, as beautiful as you are, inside and out, you deserve to have a man who adores you.”
“God knows what’s best for me, so if I am to remain single, then that’s the way it will be. I guarantee you, God Himself will have to tell me that the next man I allow in my life is from Him or I’m not falling for it.”
Jarrod laughed at that. “Well, that’s why the Bible says that the man who finds a wife, finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. So, believe me, he will find you.”
“That sounds scary to me.”
“Not scary at all if it’s the right person.”
“Speaking of that.” Gina scooted a little closer to Jarrod. She looked around to make sure there was no one within earshot. “What happened with you and Toya? Why didn’t you ever tell her how you felt back then?”
“This is the reason I stopped speaking to you because I didn’t want to answer this exact question. Now, do you want me to walk away again?” He said it playfully, but his eyes still held a tinge of pain from what could have been.
Gina nudged his shoulder. “You want me to accept your apology, then fess up.”
He took his arm and acted like he was twisting it behind his back. “Okay, stop twisting. Let’s just say Toya was unavailable that year. So, I felt like I missed my moment and came back to college without saying anything to her.”
“Well, she sure is available now.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Jarrod said as he and Gina stood up. He hugged her and watched her leave, then he tried to pull himself together before he met up with his father. But seeing Gina had brought all those teenage feelings back in full force. But it wasn’t the friendship kind of love he had for Gina that was bothering him. It was the man-finds-a-wife kind of love he had for Toya that grabbed hold of him his junior year of college and hadn’t loosened its grip. What he was supposed to do with that, Jarrod just didn’t know.
10
After Toya walked Princess, she wasn’t feeling much like staying at home. Her mother was always busy with church activities, so she hesitated to call her. But then she realized that Tia couldn’t hang out like she used to, not now that she had the baby and she certainly wasn’t calling Gina. So, she picked up the phone and called her mother. To her surprise, her mother was available, so they met at one of their favorite soul food restaurants for a late lunch.
“Thanks for hanging out with me, Mom. I really didn’t feel like sitting around the house doing nothing today.”
“I’m so glad to hear that, because to tell you the truth, Thomas and I have been a bit worried that you were becoming too reclusive.”
Toya hadn’t thought that anyone was paying attention to her struggles. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“We’ve been praying for you.”
“Thank you for that.” The waitress brought their food to the table. Her mother said grace and then Toya admitted, “I didn’t want to worry you. I felt bad enough about not listening to you when you told me not to date Marvel.”
Yvonne put a hand over Toya’s. “You can come to me with anything, you know that, don’t you?”
Toya nodded. “I just didn’t understand what was happening to me when I first started having panic attacks every time I left work. But now I know that I was subconsciously reliving the day Marvel kidnapped me from work.”
“You never even told me you were having panic attacks. That’s not something I should just now be hearing. But I am glad that you were able to figure out what was triggering them?”
“This Armor of God Bible study has really been helping me deal with things that have been troubling me and figure out who the true enemy is. Now I know I’m in a battle and I’m fighting it with God’s help.”
“I’m so glad that this Bible study is ministering to you.”
&nb
sp; “It is. I just wish you had done this study a few months ago, maybe I wouldn’t have quit my job.”
“You’ll find another job. My strong, vibrant daughter is beginning to emerge again, and nothing is going to stop you. I’m proud of who you are becoming.”
“Me too. But in truth, Jarrod had a lot to do with that as well.”
“I heard that you’ve fallen in love.”
Toya’s cheeks reddened as her eyes widened. “Mom, Jarrod, and I are not in love. We are friends... always have been. I mean, Jarrod isn’t interested in me like that anyway.”
Yvonne leaned back in her chair and studied her daughter. “I wasn’t talking about you and Jarrod. I was talking about Princess.”
“Oh, yes, of course, you were talking about Princess. That dog has helped me more than you know. I’m out here having lunch with you and haven’t had a panic attack in weeks. All that dog walking broke me of those panic attacks.”
Yvonne smiled. “You think it was the dog walking... I think it was all the praying Thomas and I have been doing.”
They took a break from talking as they dug into the mac and cheese, yams, fried chicken, and delicious cornbread. Even though they were enjoying the meal, Toya admitted, “I’ve got to start back eating right, I have put on ten more pounds in the last few months.”
“This is definitely not an everyday thing for me. So, I’m going to enjoy every bit of this fried chicken,” Yvonne told her as she picked up a napkin and wiped the grease from her fingers.
“You can eat whatever you want because you never gain weight anyway. Thomas is a blessed man to have a wife like you.”
“That’s what he tells me.” Now it was Yvonne’s turn to blush. “But what about you, sweetheart? Are you ready to give love another try?”
Toya didn’t even know how to answer that. There had only been one man that she had wanted to spend forever with. But he didn’t feel the same way, so she just had to make the best of the loveless life she had.
For Your Love Page 6
