Cheryl Wolverton Home to You [LI 332] (epub)

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.”“So God killed Mom?” Sarah asked, aghast.Cheryl Wolverton135“No!” Carolyne squeezed Sarah tightly.“Sin came into the world.With that, sickness and death came into the world.God doesn’t give us diseases, but sometimes He will allow us to go through a disease because He knows it’s going to save someone else or help someone else to love Him.We were born to love Him and our life here is very short.You know the Bible from church, honey.Paul tells us that to live is Christ but to die is gain.In other words, he lives every day for God, but if he dies, that’s even better because he will be with God.“So, though your mom’s death was horrible and is sad to us, God knows why He had to bring her home and we just have to love Him and know that we’ll see her again one day.”Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes.“I don’t want her gone though!” She jumped up and ran from the room.The sound of the bathroom door slamming echoed in the silence.Carolyne stood, hesitated and then sat back down.“Oh dear.”“Do you think she understands?” Meghan asked.Carolyne shook her head.“No.None of us understands.We just have to accept and go on and trust God.I’d better go to her.”She stood again.Meghan stood.“Let me.”Carolyne was surprised by Meghan’s offer.But she didn’t argue.She nodded and sat back down.Meghan walked slowly down the hall to the bathroom.When she got to the door, she knocked.Sarah didn’t answer.Poor little girl.136Home to YouMeghan pushed open the door and found Sarah sitting on the floor, toilet paper in her hand as she wiped her eyes.Meghan ignored the glare the little girl gave her and walked in, closing the door behind her.Suddenly, she wondered why she was there.What had possessed her to get involved?But she knew.Deep down inside her, she knew.Going over, she sat down next to the young girl, allowing her body to slide down the wall until she was resting next to the girl.She didn’t say anything for a long time.Neither did Sarah.Eventually, she whispered, “Life’s the pits sometimes, isn’t it?”The little girl shuddered and nodded.“I want my mama back.”Meghan nodded.“I wanted my daddy back too.”Sarah looked up at her.Meghan saw it from the corner of her eye.“He left and I never saw him again and it hurt really bad.”Sarah sniffled and wiped a sleeve-covered arm across her nose.Meghan slipped an arm around her.“I feel all alone sometimes even now.”Sarah leaned up against Meghan, and Meghan wilted when she felt tears against her side.Meghan realized she had started crying too, silent tears, running down her cheeks.“You have your daddy.”“Sometimes,” the girl muttered, stiffening.Meghan wasn’t going to touch that comment, as she didn’t know what was going on.“I guess we’ll have to Cheryl Wolverton137share Ms.Carolyne.She’s really worried about you.She has a special love, I think.She takes in people who need loving and loves them.”Sarah, obviously getting over her tears, pushed away.“I don’t need love because I have my dad’s love.”Meghan smiled.“Everyone needs love.”As she said that, she thought about what Carolyne had told her about God.God loved her.He had given people an entire Bible showing His plan for humans and, if Carolyne was to be believed, it was because God loved her, loved Carolyne, loved Sarah and even had loved Meghan’s grandmother.Everyone needed love.That meant her as well.But could God really love her?He hadn’t done this to her.But she felt in some ways she deserved it for hating her grandmother so much.The material she’d read over said the disease wasn’t really passed through families.So why did she end up with this if it wasn’t genetic?Could she even love God?Could God keep her from ending up a bitter old woman like her grandmother?So many questions.“I have to go finish my homework.”Meghan glanced at the now-composed Sarah and frowned.“It’s okay to cry.”“I don’t need to cry.”“Well, I’m here and so is Ms.Carolyne, if you want to talk.”Her young eyes averted and she stood.“Don’t tell anyone the stuff I said.”138Home to YouMeghan nodded.Had she helped the young girl any? Meghan wondered as she worked to get up off the floor.She saw Sarah glance back at her, hesitate and then scamper off.The look in her eye of longing to come back in told Meghan she had made contact on some level.More than that, talking with the girl had helped her.It felt good to help someone else and not think about her disease.Glancing up toward the ceiling, she asked, “God, can You really help me?”There was no answer.She hadn’t expected one.She was going to go back and reread those scriptures with the information Carolyne had given her and then read up on her disease.Maybe there was hope in her future after all.Chapter ElevenMeghan rushed into the living room, patting her hair as she hurried along.She didn’t have her cane today as she was walking pretty well.It had been nearly a week since she’d talked with Carolyne and each day they had discussed more about the Bible.The rest of the time, Meghan had secluded herself in the apartment, studying and researching information about MS and reading in the Bible about hope.She hadn’t gone to church with them on Sunday—she was still a bit too afraid to do that.She remembered the looks of some of the people in town when she’d gone shopping that day with Mary and Margaret.It wasn’t that they were bad looks.But some had stared.She thought others had probably decided she was inebriated by the way she’d walked, and then when Mary and Margaret had bought her the cane and made such a big production of showing her how to use it, she’d seen looks of pity in some people’s eyes.140Home to YouShe was just Meghan.Plain old Meghan.But to them she was a drunk or a sick person or someone to be pitied.The emotions she felt confused her and she wasn’t sure how to react.Did she feel guilty that they were right? She was a drunk, or at least she had been right after her diagnosis.Was she despondent over the MS?She was angry that people pitied her, but hadn’t she been pitying herself when she’d gotten drunk? Hadn’t she only focused on the disease and refused to hear the hope?She wanted to explain to them that she was sick but she was still the same person.So she had called and made an appointment with a neurologist.She couldn’t believe she’d done it, but she had.She hadn’t gone to church, and hadn’t left the house, for that matter, since that day, but it had been time well spent.And then Carolyne had convinced her perhaps a smaller group, like the women’s Bible study, would be best to start out in.It had less than thirty women and was a very friendly, low-key affair.They were studying the tabernacle right now and after all of the verses Carolyne had given her regarding that building, Meghan was convinced she should go.She couldn’t believe that every single thing in that building had meanings of Christ shadowing it.That had blown her away, but she still had so many questions.If she weren’t going for that reason alone, she would admit that she felt she owed Carolyne for all she had done.Carolyne hadn’t once looked down on her.Instead, Cheryl Wolverton141she’d quietly encouraged Meghan to talk, and talk Meghan had.She had made Meghan feel as if she were at home, part of the family, and accepted.She had made Meghan feel loved—a feeling she hadn’t felt in years [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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