When Sarah got home she flopped on her couch. Her house was nearly empty. Over time she had hocked nearly everything to help her daughter. Much had gone to treatment centers that apparently didn’t work for Michelle. If Sarah was to be honest, though, most of the money went directly to Michelle in some fashion. Her husband was gone; he just couldn’t take it anymore. He had told her to quit giving Michelle money, but how could she watch her baby starve? Much of what she heard tonight could have come from his mouth. “I chose Michelle over him. Why did I do that? He is a good man.” Sarah also thought about her church. She always got there at the last minute and left usually before the service was over. Each day she was terrified that someone would find out about her daughter or ask questions about her husband. Kicking off her shoes she looked at these expensive shoes. “I wonder what people would think if they knew that I am nearly broke?” Sarah realized how much fear had controlled her over the years and now she was getting angry. How long would she let this fear destroy her life? “No more!” she said out loud to the empty room.
Sarah opened her notebook and looked at the notes: Do not let fear control you. Fear cannot be destroyed it is natural. But it can be used to focus you toward making new choices. Sarah ripped out a piece of paper and started a list.
- Change my phone number.
- Start exercising tomorrow
- Share my story with someone this week
- Pick up a book on addiction and read it before the next meeting
- Go to bed no later than 10:00 pm
- Attend Sunday School next Sunday
- Be at the next Freedom Club meeting early
With all of that written, Sarah felt an excitement that she had not felt in years. In some strange way she felt as if she was going on vacation. While chewing on her pen she decided there was one more thing that she needed to do. She bowed her head, “Jesus I know things need to change. This change must begin with me so here I am. Help me to become a woman who can take on these challenges. In fact, thank you for believing that I can handle all of this. But I confess that I really can’t, at least not without You. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and empower me to live a life that honors you.”
With that Sarah fell asleep with a smile on her face.
***
After the last person left the Freedom Club meeting Mike locked up everything at the church and took a deep breath as he started up his motorcycle and kicked it into action. Slowly, Mike scanned the neighborhood around the church. He was not really certain what he was looking for, he just felt slightly unsettled for some reason. After shrugging it off he took off on one of his favorite night time rides to unwind for awhile before going home.
***
As he
checked in at the front desk of the Gospel Rescue Mission, Roger loosened his
red tie and smiled at the guy in the office.
“How was work?” asked the man without looking up. “
“Pretty much the same as always,” replied Roger as he looked around to see if
anyone else was awake. “Did they save me
any dinner? They don’t give me much time
to eat during the work day.”
“I believe they did. Go ahead and get ready for bed. I’ll have your dinner ready for you in about 20 minutes.”
Roger walked slowly back to the dorm so he could get out of that suit.
***
Rosie pulled into her driveway and stopped. Instead of getting right out of her car she waited and listened. She hated that her husband’s car was in the shop. Now she wouldn’t know if he was home until she walked through the door. Cautiously, she opened the front door and scanned the living room. No sign of anything out of place. He wasn’t home yet. Rosie was filled first with anger, then dread then absolute fear as she thought about all of the possibilities. Finally, she locked the door and sat down to watch television while she waited for him to come home.
