by DiAnn Mills
“Doesn’t matter what you say, Brother Travis,” Jake Weathers said. “We wouldn’t trade you for all the preachers in Texas. Without your help, a lot of wicked things would still be going on.”
“I appreciate that, Jake. I hope you still have a high opinion of me once I’m finished.”
“Just tell us whatcha got to say,” Eli said.
Travis cleared his throat, rubbed his clammy hands together, and prayed for the proper words.
“I led a church back home in Tennessee. It was my parents’ church, and my brothers were deacons. I preached there for ten years. Not a single soul found the Lord during that time. I became desperate. Didn’t know what I was doing wrong. That’s when I started calling on people who wouldn’t darken the church’s door—not for them to be saved, but for me to look good. I was sure I’d be blessed for all my work.” Travis took a deep breath. His mouth tasted like dirt. Women and children were listening. How much dared he say?
“One of the places I visited . . .” He paused. “Well, women of questionable reputations lived there. I started visiting regularly. One of them was interested in knowing more about Jesus. In my enthusiasm to bring a new convert to church, I spent too much time with her. She made a profession of faith, and I thought I’d fallen in love with her. I wanted to marry her, so I told my family. They were very upset, especially my brothers. They said this woman would not be a good preacher’s wife. They told me to choose between this woman and my church. When I refused, my brothers went to see her and informed her that she wasn’t fit to be my wife. Not only did I not have any converts in my church, but my only one went back to her previous occupation and refused ever to see me again. She disappeared from the community. My brothers said I wasn’t fit to lead their church and asked me to leave.”
Travis studied his flock, his congregation. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Bonnie. Not now. He couldn’t bear to see her disappointment. Zack sat beside her, and he alone knew the story. He smiled and nodded, giving Travis a little more courage.
“After I left my church, I spent six months in a mountain cabin. I needed to find out where I went wrong. Why hadn’t I been able to bring folks to God? What was wrong with me? God spoke to me there. He said I was full of pride—that He wasn’t my first love. I also realized I hadn’t loved that woman at all. I’d been in love with the idea of bringing a woman out of her past and makin’ myself look good in my church—not understanding it was God’s church, not mine. At the end of the six months, I learned about your church needing a preacher. I felt God wanted me to take it, giving me another chance.” He swallowed hard.
“I was afraid of allowing anything to get in the way of following God, so I let my hair and beard grow, bought spectacles, and wore those big clothes. I’m sorry to have deceived you, folks. You’ve been better to me than my own family. You’ve given me a fine house, sung in the choir, given me the privilege of baptizing some of you. Treated me like family. I’ll be forever grateful.”
He wanted to look at the reverend, Mrs. Rainer, the Andrews, and Bonnie, but his insides froze, and he couldn’t. Travis stepped away from the pulpit and set his sights on the door. A flash of the first day he’d walked into this church swept across his mind. He blinked and took another step.
“Brother Travis, I came here expectin’ a sermon this morning,” Jake said. “What about the rest of you folks?”
“Me, too,” another man said.
“Me and Jake never agree, but I do on this one,” Eli said.
Travis glanced at Miss Scott. She dabbed her eyes.
“Confession is good for the soul,” Pete Kahler said. “Now, let’s get on with worshippin’ God.”
“Weren’t you listening?” Travis said.
“Sounds to me that any problems you might have had got worked out,” Morgan said.
Travis glanced at the reverend. He smiled. His attention moved on to Mrs. Rainer. She nodded as though she knew his turmoil. His gaze ventured to others in the church. No condemnation looked back at him. Zack grinned and nodded again. With his stomach churning, Travis turned his attention to Bonnie.
He met her gaze. She placed her hands on the pew in front of her and slowly stood. “Brother Travis, I believe you have an announcement to make before you give the sermon.”
Heat flooded his face. “Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“Would you come up here with me?”
Bonnie made her way into the aisle. Her sweet blue eyes never left his face. She held out her hand. Travis hesitated. He didn’t feel worthy of this woman, these people, and they were not rejecting him. Just as God had not rejected him. Travis grasped her hand, and she took her place beside him.
“You’re completely sure about this?” he whispered. “Don’t be saying yes because you feel sorry for me.”
“If you don’t make the announcement, I’m going to be very disappointed,” she whispered. “And you already know what I can do with a rifle.”
He chuckled. “Oh, life with you will never be dull.” He turned back to the crowd. “Folks, I, or rather, we, have something to tell you. Looks like this morning is full of news. Bonnie Kahler has agreed to be my wife.”
A clap rose from somewhere in the church. A whoop and a holler came from the back. Zack and Michael Paul grinned like somebody had given them a whole bag of jelly beans. Lydia Anne clapped her little hands.
“I still came to hear some good preachin’,” Jake said when the clapping died down.
“And you will.” Bonnie squeezed Travis’s hand and walked back to the pew and joined her children—soon to be his children. With eyes filled with tears, she sat down.
Travis couldn’t believe his blessings. He had a church, a home, a God who loved him, and a future wife and family who knew his faults and still loved him.
“When’s the weddin’?” Jake said.
Travis dared a look at his future bride.
“Tomorrow?” she said. “I’m ready.”
DiAnn Mills Bio
Award-winning author DiAnn Mills is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn’s first book was published in 1998. She currently has more than fifty books published.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists and have won placements through the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Carol Awards and Inspirational Reader’s Choice awards. DiAnn won the Christy Award in 2010 and 2011.
DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is also the Craftsman mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.
She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
Website: www.diannmills.com
Copyright
Lightning and Lace
Copyright © 2007, 2012 by DiAnn Mills. All rights reserved.
Previously published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., under ISBN 978-1-59789-357-2.
First electronic printing in 2012 by eChristian, Inc.
eChristian, Inc.
2235 Enterprise Street, Suite 140
Escondido, CA 92029
http://echristian.com
ISBN EPUB: 978-1-61843-124-0
ISBN MOBI: 978-1-61843-125-7
Published in association with the Books & Such Literary Agency, 52 Mission Circle, Suite 122, PMB 170, Santa Rosa, CA 95409-5370, www.booksandsuch.com.
Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or use
d fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.
For more information about DiAnn Mills, please access the author’s website at: www.diannmills.com.
Cover design by Steven Plummer and interior design by Larry Taylor.
Produced with the assistance of Livingstone, the Publishing Services Division of eChristian, Inc. Project staff includes: Dan Balow, Afton Rorvik, Linda Taylor, Tori Newhouse, Ashley Taylor, Lois Jackson, Andy Culbertson, and Tom Shumaker.
