Permanent Resident at the Purse Table by Keisha Bass

Author:Keisha Bass [Bass, Keisha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Urban Books
Published: 2013-12-13T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Toni sat silent in Pastor Monroe’s office at the House of the Lord church.

“I know I messed up.” Eric’s eyes focused on the patched floor rug under the coffee table. “I want Toni to know I’m aware I hurt her, and if I could go back and do things differently, I would. I’m asking for a chance.”

Pastor Sandra, Pastor Monroe’s wife, turned toward Toni. “What do you think about that?”

Toni tapped her fingers on the bright-colored throw pillow that kept their legs from touching. She agreed to come to a counseling session, but wasn’t sure why. Opening up wounds wasn’t anywhere near the top of her list of fun things to do. “I’m not sure what to think. I want to believe that’s true, but when he chose to step outside of our marriage, our home, our life together, I was devastated. What’s to say that a few years from now—shoot, a few months from now—it won’t happen again?”

Clearing his throat, Pastor Monroe scooted to the edge of his seat. “Nothing in life is certain but God. Eric and I have been meeting for some time now, and I believe for certain God has changed his heart. Now, I can only speak from my perspective. Eric will have to earn your trust back.”

Eric placed his hand over Toni’s fingers and she stopped tapping. “And, Toni, I’m ready to do that.”

“That’s a good starting block. Take things slow and move forward only if you both are at peace. Also, pray separately and together. My wife and I wrote a couples prayer, and in it we talk about God’s grace. So, Toni, I urge you to exercise the same grace toward Eric that God has shown you.” Pastor Monroe picked up his Bible from the table. “According to God’s Word, divorce is not in His plan. I encourage you to give the Lord a chance and see if He can restore this relationship.”

Toni didn’t want to make any promises she couldn’t keep. “I can pray about it. In fact, I’d like to hear more about the couples prayer.”

Pastor Sandra walked over to the silver, thick-edged frame hanging on the wall. She unhooked the frame and handed it to Toni. “Here it is. We usually wait until our last counseling session for our couples who are in premarital counseling. But you can look over it and anytime you guys are ready, you two can recite the prayer together.”

Eric leaned over Toni’s shoulder. They both read the prayer together. Certain words seemed to leap off the page: love, respect, forgiveness, purpose, and grace. God could do all things. So if it was His plan to heal their marriage, they would be open at least to the possibility.

Toni and Eric cruised out the church doors that morning wearing smiles. Had this been a few months ago, Toni wouldn’t have been able to even imagine them walking anywhere together. Some hurtful and helpful issues were discussed in their counseling session, yet when she left, hope crept into her heart—hope of what could be, and could be healed in their relationship.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.