Down On My Knees by Victor McGlothin Page B

awesome job raising him to that point, and it was reflected in the fine young man he’d become. André’s growth caused Grace to take a fair appraisal of how well she had matured as a Christian,or not. The single sheet of paper Sister Kolislaw gave her was burning a hole in her purse. She couldn’t wait to get home, settle in, and review the Scriptures that assisted other single women’s ascension to the next phase of their lives, the just-married phase.
    The next hour was torture. Grace prepared smothered steaks, mashed potatoes, and snow peas. André finished dinnerso fast that the meal she’d fussed over disappeared in one blazing woof. He stretched out on the sofa to catch the secondhalf of the Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers footballgame while Grace shuttled peas from one side of her plate to the other. So many things had changed in the past couple of weeks. Her world had been rocked off its axis after Chandelle questioned her voluntarily single status. Not that it caused her concern, but rather, it forced a self-assessment that resulted in an unfavorable evaluation. Grace wondered how one comment could transform her life, distort her self-worth,and reveal a fractured view of who she thought she was, which until then, had suited her just fine. After it was all said and done, there was no denying that the single-by-designlifestyle Grace had engineered had been motoring along at one hundred miles an hour despite a host of errors in judgment lurking just beneath the hood. The time had come to appraise the damage she’d sustained along her journey.
    Grace opened her Bible, hoping she could afford the demandfor payment when the bill was due. She made herself comfortable on the chaise longue, then covered her bare legs with a multicolored throw. With the list of Scriptures propped against her legs, and a copy of an NIV Bible settled against her lap, she took a deep breath and dove in. The first passage was found in the book of Genesis, which made perfect sense. That’s where man and woman began, after all. Genesis2:18, 21 and 22. Grace read to herself, “And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a helper comparable to him.’” She’d read that particularverse several times throughout her studies, but it didn’t carry the same weight that it did now. “It’s not so good for woman to be alone either, if she can help it,” Grace commentedto herself, thinking back on Sister Kolislaw’s words regarding that very topic. “Verses 21 and 22” she reminded herself, reading further. “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.” Grace sighed tenderly. “Now that’s a perfect love if ever there was one. ‘And He brought her to the man,’ ” she repeated for emphasis’ sake. That must have been something to see, a man who didn’t have any doubts that his woman was made just for him. Grace hadn’t considered herself a hopeless romantic before then, but she had to give God His props for hooking up Adam and Eve the way He did. So far, Sister Kolislaw’s contribution was all right with Grace, so she had no problems continuing on. The next passage was found in Proverbs 18:22. Grace thumbed through the Bible with rapid vigor. “He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the Lord,” she read, smiling at the lost art of looking lost and being found like the older woman had suggested earlier. Eagerly moving on to the following scriptural reference, Grace felt good about her decision to visit with a seasoned veteran insteadof taking her concerns to Linda and Shelia for a dose of beauty-shop psychobabble.
    Proverbs 31:10–12 was the third passage listed, with