Chapter 9 : Still Listening

 

Faith shouldn’t have been surprised that the North Point ministry was shocked that she had gone to Harmony Church with Harry and Sonny. Harry was guest preaching and Faith had wanted to support him and get to see Sonny in action for the first time. It was a fun experience. Sonny had grabbed her hand and ushered her on the stage to sing a song he knew she would be familiar with. Sonny and Faith had known each other a long time and when he and Trisha broke up, she didn’t feel comfortable going to his church after Compass Point outed her. Now she wished she had gotten up her gumption and started going there. It was so exactly the type of church she wanted in her life.

North Point wasn’t really family-oriented although they liked to say they were on stage. They had built a new facility ten or so years earlier and knowing the size of the congregation they had back then, she realized their kitchen and eating area was way too small for them. It was no wonder they segregated everything Women’s Breakfast, Men’s Fish Fry, Women’s night of Praise. It was during the women’s night of praise she realized that North Point was really all about favoritism and recognition. Dek had his girlfriend, Sabrina as a lead singer opposite him, Norman had Kerrigan, his ex-wife but still close friend, even Ross used his new girlfriend, Jacklyn to replace her to sing So Close a few weeks back. 

It was a bit unnerving when she realized that what she wanted was what North Point might not ever be able to provide her. She longed for the kitchen/gym area like at Compass Point where everyone could congregate and have fellowship time. She missed fellowship. Even the worship team was so big she hadn’t yet met everyone on each team. North Point was so big that they had multiple worship teams. She even missed Sunday School. Now they preferred something called Life Groups where you met at people’s homes to do a bible study or devotion. Those groups were hard for Faith since her trust muscle was fairly bruised as of late.

***

“Why are you looking so sad, son?” Franklin Fairchild asked as he saw Dek watching Faith on the monitor.

“I keep thinking one day that will be me sitting there talking with her and showing her all of this.” Dek turned the sound down. He would listen to this part later.

“She’s not leaving, you know.” he said. “She’s going to Cassie’s church and you may see her back again one day.” Franklin put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Maybe you should go see your mom for a change. Put your focus on her for awhile. Faith will always be here. She’s not going anywhere as long as Henry’s alive. She’s here for the duration.”

Dek nodded, suddenly thinking about his mom. “It’s time we tell her about Derek.

“She’ll be okay, you know. Your mom is a fighter. Take Martin with you. She’ll dote on that kid. His smile will suck her in and heal her broken heart.” Dek then walked out and Franklin turned to the monitor.

“One day Faith we can tell you the truth about why you are here. Stay safe, honey.”

***

Derek was just as stubborn as he had been in the past. Hughes de Payne observed his from a distance since Derek Fox (aka Harry Denton) had a very keen sense of when a significant person was in his presence.

Dek was there in an instant. The man didn’t miss a thing. “You watching him again?”

Hughes smiled. “Kinda of my job, kiddo.” Harry was sitting with Faith at the Railroad Cafe ministering and pouring sugar on open wounds so old and cracked they feared he’d never heal. “She’s getting through to him.”

“That was the plan, right? To make their paths cross again?” Dek said.

“A lot of her memories from that time were compromised by the enemy. So she has no idea who he is or who he was in her life.”

Chapter 8 : Praise Yourself More

 

Chapter 8 : Praise Yourself More

The Praise Night for the Ladies, at North Point they call the women’s ministry the “Dees”. You know… lay-dees (ladies) Laying it down for the ladies. It kinda went down like Faith figured it would. She wasn’t asked to sing even as a harmony singer and the writing on the wall was getting real loud — we don’t want you, Faith.

Ross Strong was thriving as the new interim and he was being molded to lead but Faith feared her journey here was nearing its end even before it barely began. Cassie and Jeremy hadn’t wanted to attend North Point once Compass Point failed. They decided to go with their friends to their neighbor Sonny Barnes’ church over in the next town called Harmony Church. It is where a lot of the younger crowd attended. The music on the radio was in their services all the time, She was currently enjoying a few of the radio songs like: God is in this Story, Same God and Honey in the Rock. She was tempted to attend a service just to see what it was like.

That thought made her fear another outing. She had been coerced out of her former church due to wanting to see her friend sing who wasn’t even attending the church any more since she had moved out of state. It was sad since Calliope was the one friend she had clung to during her transitions at the beginning of the year. This year had just been one hard struggle after another. God was really testing her faith right now and she was trying her best to be strong.

Harry Denton, North Point’s previous pastor, was as big a fan of the Railroad Cafe as she was. So when she she saw him sitting alone in a booth near the front window, she joined him.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Faith said with a smile. His eyes lifted to hers but his quick grin didn’t light up his face like it usually did. “You okay?” she asked finally.

“I will be. Sometimes life is a journey and I was shoved off at an exit I wasn’t ready to take.” He sipped his coffee and glanced outside, his expression blank.

“I get it, you know. What you’re going through,” Faith said. “And I am pretty much fearing it is about to happen again.Sometimes people aren’t ready for people like us. We connect so easily to God in a world where it seems the devil and his minions reign. We take recognition from them and to them power isn’t in the blood but in the power that blood brings. And that is sad to me. They push Jesus aside and stand ahead of hi saying — my turn, look at me now,”

Harry chuckled. “I definitely see your point. It’s both sad and freeing. In one way i know God is moving me for a reason, just like he is moving you. But my sadness is — did I make an impact for God there at all? Did they see him through me? That is my goal.”

Faith put her hand on his. “I saw him in you.”

Ross Strong came in at that moment with Jackie Townsend on his arm. They made a cute couple. And Jackie was one of the few friends she had made at North Point. She was sad they had used her friend’s success in the worship team to poke at her. That was when Faith knew everything in life had its season.

Jackie and her friend Trisha were both working at dispatch one at the sheriff’s office and one at the police department. With Ross’s focus as a detective he came into contact with both quite often. It was funny how things worked out — almost like it was meant to be, like there was a divine plan or something. Faith smiled to herself as Jackie embraced Harry saying how much she missed him and his sermons which made Ross a bit uncomfortable considering he was the one currently replacing him.

Harry was still attending North Point but mostly at the early service. He had taken up racketball at the new courts at the Rec Center not too far from the church. There was even a rock climbing wall Faith was curious to one day check out. Rock climbing had always been one of her aspirations.

She was feeling good in this moment. It was as if the heaviness of the past was like a veil that lifted letting the four of them walk through. Oh Happy Day stàrted playing in her mind and she knew everything was going to be okay.