Love Comes Home by Terri Reed

Author:Terri Reed
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2004-06-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Rachel’s heart threatened to splinter into a million pieces. He didn’t understand the impact or the impossibility of his question. “Honey, I don’t need to be your mother to love you.”

“But being my mom would be better.”

But if she gave up on what she was doing, more children might lose their mothers. Rachel sighed. “Your dad and I aren’t getting married.”

“How come?”

“We have very different lives. I live in Chicago where I’m a doctor and your dad has a very important job here. It just wouldn’t work out.”

“You could be a doctor here,” he pointed out with a stubborn tilt of his chin. The gesture, so similar to his father’s, caused a pang of tenderness to shoot through her.

Even if she could make the changes that needed to be made, while working from a smaller hospital, it wasn’t possible for her at Sonora Community. Her mother had died there. She couldn’t work there. Josh would never accept the importance of her career and she couldn’t give up what God wanted her to do.

In a gesture that was becoming less awkward, she put her arms around Griff’s thin shoulders. “I’m flattered you want me to be your mom. That makes me very happy.”

He relaxed into her embrace for a moment before pulling away to stare up at her. His earnest expression was breaking her heart. “Do you love my dad?”

“I…” Rachel didn’t have the words to explain her feelings for Josh.

She supposed she’d always love him with one tiny corner of her heart. The tiny corner that housed her girlish dreams. The tiny corner where there once was a wound so big she’d thought she’d never survive the pain. Today that part of her had seemed whole and complete. But that tiny corner didn’t matter because in their situation, love wasn’t enough. It never had been and nothing had changed.

Searching for words, she settled for a simple truth, even though she knew it was a cop-out. “God teaches us to love everyone.”

Griff nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true, because God’s love and He loved us so much He sent His only Son to die for us so that we can go to heaven to be with Him.”

Rachel smiled at Griff. “Did you learn that in Sunday School?”

“Yes and no. Dad taught me about God’s love first, then I heard it in Sunday school.”

“Your dad’s a smart man.” She was glad to see Josh had imparted to his son the wonder of God’s love. She could still vividly remember the first time she’d heard the gospel message and the impact it had had on her life once she really owned the promise in the words.

Mom G. had taken her to the Red Church right after she came to live in Sonora. The pastor had talked about Jesus and His death. She’d understood it, but hadn’t really felt its connection to her.

Later, as she and Josh became close, he’d convinced her to join the youth group at church. There she began to comprehend the significance of God’s mercy and grace and His redeeming love.

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