My Father's Gift (3 page)

“Well,” she thought glancing at her watch, “I guess now is as good a time as any.” 

She had to search for the piece of paper where she had written his phone number. When she found it, she picked up the phone and called him.  His voice mail picked up after several rings and she left him a message. 

“Brother Recinoire, this is Sister Everett.  It’s approximately eight-ten p.m.  I just thought I would call you to finish our conversation.  You can call me back any time this evening or after ten p.m. tomorrow.  God Bless!”

She hung up the phone and lay back on the mound of pillows on her bed and pondered what she should do next.  She didn’t want to go to sleep again because she knew if she did, she would have trouble falling asleep later.  She turned on the television, hoping to find something worth watching and settled on the Greek folklore series—
Hercules and Xena, the Warrior Princess
. 

Although many of the people she knew thought the programs were a waste of time, she watched them to analyze how they used biblical principles throughout the show.  She also enjoyed the comedic antics of the characters.  When she first started watching the shows, she had discovered that both had very defined biblical overtones, even though they were based on Greek mythology.  There was never a time when she couldn’t relate some part of the plot to the bible and tonight was no exception.  She picked up a pen and legal pad lying on the nightstand next to her bed and started making notes about the theme and how it related to Christian living.  The difficulty in two people successfully accomplishing anything together without agreement appeared to be the overall theme of the show.  She decided that this would make a great sermon title.  After completing her notes, she laid back and enjoyed the rest of the programs on that channel, but before long, the programs were watching her.

The insistent ring of the telephone startled D’Cerner so badly she almost knocked it off the nightstand onto the floor.

“Hello,” she mumbled.

“Sister Everett, this is Brother Recinoire, returning your call.”

“Oh. Hi.”  For a moment she was lost, trying to remember why she had called him.   Then she sat, squinting, trying to focus on the clock across the room.  She was surprised and a bit irritated to see that it was after midnight. 

“I didn’t really want anything.  I was returning your call from yesterday.  I was in such a hurry, I thought I’d cut you short and I didn’t want to appear rude.”

“Well, I think I had said everything.  I just wanted you to know that I thought it was great that a woman of God had so much to say that would help others.  I know many people who left churches, because they felt they didn’t fit in and didn’t know how to determine what they were supposed to be doing.  Eventually they would give up and go back to doing what they were doing before they surrendered to Christ.  We need people to tell God’s people the truth and to see to it that everyone knows about the salvation message.  By the way, what church do you attend?”

D’Cerner sat up smiling as she thought about the fact that he
said
he had said everything.  She shook her head in disbelief.  “Word Everlasting,” she replied, staring at the ceiling wondering where the conversation was headed.

“Who is your pastor?”

“Bernard Gibson,” she replied, wondering if this was going to be an inquisition.  “Brother Recinoire, before we go any further, may I call you Cal?  Brother Recinoire and Calord sound so formal and rigid.”  Her face twisted into a grimace as she thought about just how rigid and pompous they sounded. 

“Sure, that’s not a problem.  Anyway, I go to Eternal Joy and Covey Thomas is my pastor.  She’s the greatest pastor in the city.  There’s no one who can compare to her.  It’s good to know that your pastor recognizes women in ministry because not everyone does.  How long has he been pastoring?”

“We just celebrated his thirtieth pastoral anniversary.”  She turned over on her side, trying to get into a comfortable position.

“I’ve actually been in ministry for over twenty years myself and the Lord has truly brought me a long way.  What about you—how long have you been in ministry that is?”

She stifled a yawn before trying to answer, holding the phone away from her mouth.  “Well, the Lord brought me back on track twenty-four years ago.  After reconciling my relationship with Him, I responded to His call to teach His Word a few years later.  From that point on, I’ve never looked back.  I’ve enjoyed every minute of ministering the Word because I never know what God is going to do next.  He has used me in every facet of the ministry and I’m still amazed at what He is able to accomplish.”

“All He wants is a willing vessel.  He will get the job done as long as we are available to be used.  Look, Sister Everett, I know it’s late and I’ve got to get up early, but it’s been a pleasure talking to you.”

“Same here.  Thanks for calling.  Anytime you have a word of encouragement, don’t hesitate to call.  By the way, please call me D’Cerner.  Good-night.”

“Good-night.”

D’Cerner cradled the phone in her arm for a moment before hanging it up and after hanging up, she stared at the ceiling for a while trying to make some sense of the conversation she had just had. 

“Well,” she thought aloud, “perhaps he was just being nice.  Anyway, it was a treat talking to someone who was not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Who knows, maybe we’ll get a chance to talk again.”  With that thought, she turned over and went back to sleep. 

Chapter Four

Calord Recinoire sat at his desk, staring at the phone, reflecting upon the conversation he just had with D’Cerner.  “I wonder,” he mused, “if she looks as good as she sounds.”  He smiled as he hung up the phone, picked a notebook and pen.  “I may never know,” he mused aloud.

He repositioned his bible to finish preparing notes for the lesson he was teaching the following morning.  He focused on creating a message that would reveal God’s truths, giving it his full attention.  He understood the importance of being prepared.

For years now he had the full the responsibility of preparing meals, keeping his limousine service viable, taking care of his two children, working in ministry and volunteering at a boys’ youth home.  His full life took strategic planning and organization to stay on track and his military background had certainly taught him about organization and precision, but had failed to prepare him for losing his wife. 

He married Janice after serving four years in the Marines.  Three years later, they had two children—Don and Kathy.  Four years after Kathy was born, Janice was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia and a few years later, having no success with treatments, she succumbed to the disease and died. 

He was so bitter about her death that for a long time, he had given up on everything.  He had felt abandoned by God and that nothing mattered any more.  While he was dwelling in his well of pity, his family helped with the children.  They prayed constantly and finally their prayers were answered.  Two years after Janice’s death Calord was ready to move forward in ministry, with his business, and was finally able to give his children the attention they needed. 

Calord lived an extremely regimented life, with his time carefully organized to allow him the time to spend at his office, with his children, at the youth home, and function in ministry.  Finding the time for everything had not been easy, but it was fulfilling.  He knew exactly where he was headed and how long it was going to take him to accomplish everything he wanted to do. 

Chapter Five

“Hello,” D’Cerner whispered when she answered the phone.

“Sister Everett, this is Brother Recinoire.  Did I wake you?”

“Yes.”  She half-turned in the bed to focus on the clock.  It was twelve forty-five in the morning.  She choked back the groan that almost escaped and braced herself for further inquisition.  “I’m awake now.  How are you?”

“I’m fine, blessed of the Lord.”

“Is there something I can do for you?”  She didn’t try to cover the yawn this time or apologize for it.

“No, I was sitting here thinking about you and decided to call.  Is that a problem?”

“No.”  She thought to herself that it was too bad that he couldn’t have thought about her earlier in the day. “I’m used to late night calls.  Some people have a tendency to call whenever they want to talk, but it’s usually in
tense
or
emergency
situations.”  She hoped he caught the emphasis.

“So, have you written more books—other than
What Do I Do Now
?”  He ignored the insinuation.

Yes, I have written other books. 
After the Resurrection
was published with
What Do I Do Now,
and I just completed one about homosexuality and the role of the church.  I thought an appropriate title that expresses the biblical perspective is,
It’s Not Normal.”

“It is certainly not normal behavior and I’m tired of people trying to imply that it is.  In the end, God will judge and punish those who practice or condone the behavior because He said it is a sin,” he spewed vehemently. 

“That’s true and basically what I said.  However, I’m not promoting hatred of people, just the hatred of sin and zero tolerance of sinful behavior, not the people who commit sin,” she responded passionately.

“That will certainly win you some friends.”

“You think?”

“I was being facetious.”

“I gathered that.”  What a jerk, she thought.

“Once people realize why we were created and when we are to engage in sexual behavior, they will understand.  I don’t know if these gay folks will ever realize it though.”

“I understand your position.  I’m doing my part by trying to inform people, not condemn them.  What people do with the information is on them.  They will be judged for whether or not they accept it.  I’ll be judged based on whether or not I tell them.” She created folds in the sheets to keep her hands busy and to keep from getting angry.

“True, true.  May I presume that since you take calls this late that you’re not married?” he asked, directing the conversation down another path.

“You presume correctly.  My husband died fourteen years ago in a car accident.”

“Really!  My wife died some time ago from myeloid leukemia.  It became quite debilitating at the end.”

“I’m sorry that you had to watch her suffer.  I was more fortunate. Garrett died almost instantly.  He felt no real pain. The pain was left for me to bear, knowing I’d have to live without him.”

“Do you have children?”

“Two. Chantelle and Carlos are daily reminders of the life we once shared.”

“I can relate to that.  It was quite difficult for me when Janice died and I was left to raise our two children, Don and Kathy.  But life goes on and time is a healer.  Do you have any plans to marry again?”

“I don’t think so.  I’ve had a number of proposals.  I’ve been engaged eight times, but something always went wrong in the relationship before I made it to the altar.  So, I’ve decided that unless the Lord says specifically, ‘this is your husband,’ I’ll give up on the idea of getting married.” 

“
This is he,” a small still voice announced.

D’Cerner looked around the room, hearing the voice, but ignoring it.

“Eight engagements!” Cal exclaimed.  He thought, “That’s a lot of proposing.”

“Yes, for some reason, some men love to ask people to marry them.  I think in my case, they think I’m either extremely helpless or vulnerable, or lonely.”

“Don’t you think there’s someone out there for you?”

“I tried playing the dating game and recently broke off engagement number eight.  It takes too much to put into a relationship to make it work.  I’ve decided I’m not interested anymore.  After all, with eight broken engagements to my credit, why would I want to risk another?”

“I can understand that.  I’ve been in similar predicaments trying to date.  Not eight times, though,” he added quickly.

D’Cerner laughed to herself about his reaction.  She relaxed in bed, while she continued to listen to him.  For the next two hours, they compared their respective lives and discovered a number of parallels, but neither said anything.  While they were discussing the book of Esther and how she had to spend a year preparing to become a bride for King Ahasuerus, she heard that voice again.

“
This is the mate for whom you have been preparing.”

“I don’t believe I heard that.”  Not realizing she had spoken aloud, she was surprised at Cal’s response.”

“But will you obey?”

She was really puzzled now.  “Eventually, but I need to get some understanding about that one.”

“When God speaks and we know it is Him, we should be ready to obey.  But it’s your choice.  You have the right to choose,” he admonished her.

“True,” she agreed, wondering what he was talking about because she knew he couldn’t have heard what she heard. 
 

“You know, earlier this evening—pardon me, yesterday, I was praying at the church when I heard the Lord ask me, ‘do you trust me?”  I said, ‘Lord, you know I trust you’.  But He asked me two more times and each time I said yes.  What do you think He meant?”

Even though he seemed quite sincere, D’Cerner couldn’t help feeling that there was more to his conversation than he was telling.  “I haven’t the faintest idea.  Just recently, I told the Lord that I’m no longer satisfied being in His permissive will and that I wanted to be in His perfect will.  He told me that being in His perfect will would not mean that my life would be perfect.  Not that I expect to have a perfect life, but I’m beginning to have second thoughts about what I said to Him.  Do you think I can take it back?”  Now she was smiling to herself, knowing what his response would be.

“No.  You know better than that. Once a vow is made, it is better kept than broken.”

They continued talking for another hour about the benefits of keeping one’s word and promises and just before she had decided to call it a night, she sensed that Cal’s call was not coincidental.