acknowledged with a frown. She’d been so busy with her master’s thesis and student teaching, it hadn’t occurred to her that none of them had bothered to contact her. No emails, texts, Tweets, nothing. Apparently, her choice to forge a satisfying career of her own rather than walk herself down the aisle to become Mrs. Someone was something they simply couldn’t understand.
She’d once read a quote that said following your own drummer would show you who your friends were. Now she knew exactly how true those words were.
Wading in emotions she’d rather not examine too closely, she suddenly realized she’d stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and was in danger of being late. She picked up her pace and was climbing the church steps just as the organist began playing the opening chords of their first hymn.
Lily recognized the tune for “How Great Thou Art” and smiled while she slid into a rear pew. As she opened her hymnal, she noticed the small church was nearly full, the way it had been the other two times she’d attended services here. People were beginning to recognize her, and several greeted her with nods and smiles. One in particular caught her eye this morning, and she wiggled her fingers back at a grinning Abby Kinley.
To her surprise, Abby waved her up to their row, pointing to an open spot beside her on the end. Figuring there was no harm in moving during the singing, Lily sneaked forward and settled in beside Abby.
“I saved it for you,” the girl whispered, eyes glowing with pride at her foresight.
Lily whispered her thanks and glanced down the row to find the rest of the Kinleys singing along in a family chorus that blended nicely together. All except one.
Mike.
Abby must have noticed her frown, because she motioned for Lily to lean closer. “Daddy doesn’t come to church with us. Grammy says he’s mad at God for taking Grampa away.”
The matter-of-fact explanation sounded odd coming from such a young child, but Lily reasoned that Abby had grown up with her father’s bitterness and had chosen to admire his good qualities rather than dwell on his faults. Still, it struck her as strange that he’d allow her to attend services when he’d turned his back on religion. Did that mean he still saw value in his faith? she wondered. Almost as quickly as the idea had popped into her mind, she recognized the futility of even asking the question.
Mike didn’t seem to be the confiding type, so the chances of her getting an answer were remote, at best. At least he wasn’t preventing Abby from embracing the faith that his family so obviously valued. While the situation wasn’t ideal, Lily had to give the man credit for not sitting in church just to make a good impression on the neighbors. She knew far too many hypocrites who attended church every Sunday and then did things during the rest of the week that would have made Jesus weep.
When the hymn was finished, everyone got comfortable in their seats and looked expectantly toward the raised platform at the front of the sanctuary. There was no elegant statuary or stained glass, just an oak altar that had darkened over the years to show the detail of a grove of hand-carved oak trees that echoed the town’s picturesque name.
A slender man dressed in a plain gray suit strolled over from his place in the choir section and stood at a small lectern off to the side. With no notes, he folded his hands and leaned forward on his elbows as he smiled out into the congregation. To Lily, he looked more like a grandfather about to impart some sage advice than he did a preacher.
“Good morning.” The room rang with voices wishing him the same, and he continued in a folksy tone. “Y’know, I had a nice, neat sermon all prepared for today. Practiced it, had it down pat for y’all to hear. Then I looked out at this remarkable day and decided that what I had planned was all wrong.” Winging a fatherly look around the crowd, he said, “That happens to the best
She’d once read a quote that said following your own drummer would show you who your friends were. Now she knew exactly how true those words were.
Wading in emotions she’d rather not examine too closely, she suddenly realized she’d stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and was in danger of being late. She picked up her pace and was climbing the church steps just as the organist began playing the opening chords of their first hymn.
Lily recognized the tune for “How Great Thou Art” and smiled while she slid into a rear pew. As she opened her hymnal, she noticed the small church was nearly full, the way it had been the other two times she’d attended services here. People were beginning to recognize her, and several greeted her with nods and smiles. One in particular caught her eye this morning, and she wiggled her fingers back at a grinning Abby Kinley.
To her surprise, Abby waved her up to their row, pointing to an open spot beside her on the end. Figuring there was no harm in moving during the singing, Lily sneaked forward and settled in beside Abby.
“I saved it for you,” the girl whispered, eyes glowing with pride at her foresight.
Lily whispered her thanks and glanced down the row to find the rest of the Kinleys singing along in a family chorus that blended nicely together. All except one.
Mike.
Abby must have noticed her frown, because she motioned for Lily to lean closer. “Daddy doesn’t come to church with us. Grammy says he’s mad at God for taking Grampa away.”
The matter-of-fact explanation sounded odd coming from such a young child, but Lily reasoned that Abby had grown up with her father’s bitterness and had chosen to admire his good qualities rather than dwell on his faults. Still, it struck her as strange that he’d allow her to attend services when he’d turned his back on religion. Did that mean he still saw value in his faith? she wondered. Almost as quickly as the idea had popped into her mind, she recognized the futility of even asking the question.
Mike didn’t seem to be the confiding type, so the chances of her getting an answer were remote, at best. At least he wasn’t preventing Abby from embracing the faith that his family so obviously valued. While the situation wasn’t ideal, Lily had to give the man credit for not sitting in church just to make a good impression on the neighbors. She knew far too many hypocrites who attended church every Sunday and then did things during the rest of the week that would have made Jesus weep.
When the hymn was finished, everyone got comfortable in their seats and looked expectantly toward the raised platform at the front of the sanctuary. There was no elegant statuary or stained glass, just an oak altar that had darkened over the years to show the detail of a grove of hand-carved oak trees that echoed the town’s picturesque name.
A slender man dressed in a plain gray suit strolled over from his place in the choir section and stood at a small lectern off to the side. With no notes, he folded his hands and leaned forward on his elbows as he smiled out into the congregation. To Lily, he looked more like a grandfather about to impart some sage advice than he did a preacher.
“Good morning.” The room rang with voices wishing him the same, and he continued in a folksy tone. “Y’know, I had a nice, neat sermon all prepared for today. Practiced it, had it down pat for y’all to hear. Then I looked out at this remarkable day and decided that what I had planned was all wrong.” Winging a fatherly look around the crowd, he said, “That happens to the best
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