And then they’d invited him to church. All three of them. Enthusiastically.
He’d felt pressured. He’d said yes. And then as he’d tried to figure out a way to get out of it, he’d realized he was bored enough to go. Thought maybe he’d even meet a nice girl there.
That didn’t happen, but he did meet Jesus.
Faith hadn’t come easily to Brent. He’d never been a bad dude, never done anything evil, so at first he didn’t understand what it was that he’d needed to be saved from. He’d actually been offended by the idea.What do you mean I need to be saved from hell? Why do I deserve to go to hell?But then, the more he’d learned about Jesus, the more he realized just how much he’d been missing the mark. And he’d understood. Even though he’d behaved himself, he’d been a selfish person since day one. He’d been living life for his own gain, for his own happiness. He’d thought very little about anyone else, with the exception of his family.
But now, now he was a new creation, and slowly, that was changing. He was starting to think about others more, about their feelings, about their needs.
He was starting to think more about Sammy.
During their marriage and throughout their ugly divorce, he had spent so much time being angry, hurt, and indignant—he hadn’t given much thought to how Sammy’s addiction was affectingher. And just when she’d needed him the most, he’d bailed.
He shook his head, trying to clear the guilt away. He couldn’t be that hard on himself. She’d been entirely unwilling to get help. She’d shown no desire to change. She wouldn’t even admit she had a problem. Instead, she’d hollered at him fornotdrinking. How preposterous was that? She’d accused him of pulling a bait and switch.
Sure, in college they’d both partied, but that wascollege.He’d never dreamed that Sammy had planned to spend the rest of her life drinking every night. He exhaled slowly and fully and glanced over at George, who was sitting up and looking out the windshield.
Brent slid a hand over the hound’s silky head. “What do you think, bud?”
George didn’t answer. In fact, he looked entirely disinterested. As long as George got fed and got to go for rides, he didn’t care about much else.
Brent returned his eyes to the road. A sign told him he was ten miles away from Hartport. Was he really going to go talk to Sammy’s pastor? Yes, yes, he thought he was. It was a logical next step, no matter how awkward and awful it would be.
He couldn’t believe it when he’d heard that Sammy had started going to church. He’d known she’d grown up in a religious family, but she’d always poked fun at it. He didn’t even think she believed in God. And then he’d heard that she’d started going to AA. He’d also heard from several people who had seen her in bars, still drinking up a storm.
He had no idea what he was getting himself into. And that’s why it made sense to talk to this Greater Life pastor first, before he got into anything, before he got in too deep to easily get back out.
Chapter 7
The Greater Life Churchbuilding was much bigger, newer, and more modern than Brent’s small, old church in Carver Harbor.
He half expected that the place would be locked up tight. Sunday service was long since over. And he figured the pastor might be hiding out recovering from it. But there were several cars in the parking lot, the front door was propped open, and he found the pastor in the sanctuary picking up coffee cups and programs.
Brent liked Darren immediately. The man’s sincere friendliness put him at ease. They shook hands, and Brent followed him into an office only slightly bigger than his own pastor’s.
Darren leaned back in his chair as if he were watching a football game at home. “So, what can I do for you?”