The Journey

Kathy West

Description

Like Hadassah, in Francine River's "The Mark of the Lion" series, the The deacon, as the main character, lives his life in a way that profoundly affects those he meets because he walks out his journey by listening to the voice of God.

Two prominent men, friends and leaders in their church—one an elder and the other a deacon—embark on a road trip. Their destination is a gathering of great Biblical leaders and teachers along with the best-known Christian musicians and singers where the elder is to deliver opening remarks. It’s a gathering to show the world where Christians stand on important issues.



Knowing the trip will take almost two full days, they get an early morning start. As the day progresses, the deacon and elder stop for lunch and gas. This is where the journey starts to take a turn. The deacon notices a sick man in need, and the deacon insists he’s going to stay in town and help while the elder continues to the revival.



The deacon spends his life in service to others, first as a true friend to the elder, then as a helping hand to the downtrodden and those tortured by grief, and finally as a mentor to a lost teenager. Without realizing it, his simple obedience to the still, quiet voice of God causes life-changing results in the people he meets. Those he helps see him as a beacon of light, or as the welcoming light the church is supposed to be to the lost and needy throughout the world.

Sujets

• Religious
• Journey
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 11 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664270404
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE JOURNEY
 
 

 
 
 
KATHY WEST
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Kathy West.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
 
Scripture marked (NKJV) taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7041-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7042-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-7040-4 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022911566
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 8/5/2022
CONTENTS
Dedications
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
DEDICATIONS
This book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, without whom there are no words.
And to the love of my life, my husband, Roger, who has supported me throughout this whole writing journey, with nothing but encouragement.
And, Finally, to my family, who are more precious to me than life.
CHAPTER 1

“…. Teach me your ways, [Lord]
So I may know you…”
EXODUS 33:13 NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

O nce, two prominent men set out on a journey. Their destination was a gathering of great Biblical leaders and teachers along with the best-known Christian musicians and singers. It was a gathering to show the world where Christians stood on important issues. These two men were good friends and leaders in their church. One was an elder and the other was a deacon.
Knowing the trip would take almost two full days, they sat out early one morning on their journey. Before they started, they paused for prayer, and the elder led them in a beautiful—if a bit long-winded—prayer, asking the Lord to keep them safe and to bless their journey so that they might get to their destination on time. They wanted to hear the great preachers and teachers and be blessed.
The morning started out well, and as they were making good time, they decided to stop at a diner-service station for an early lunch and gas. After parking the car, they went in, looked around, then took a booth beside a window facing the road. Across the road was a nice, if a bit, small house, but the yard was overgrown with weeds, the paint was badly chipped, and it had an overall unkept look.
As the deacon was looking at the scene, the elder continued to talk about the exciting event they were to attend. The deacon was in full agreement, but only half of his attention was on the conversation. As the deacon continued to watch the house, an extremely skinny man opened the door and almost fell as he slowly bent down to pick up his paper. The deacon sat still, watching as the man laboriously pulled himself back up while holding to the doorframe and stumbling back inside. Filled with compassion, the deacon mentioned the heart-breaking sight to the elder, and the elder commented, “That’s too bad; he’s probably sick, or maybe stoned, or hungover.” The deacon admitted that this was probably true, but the feeling of concern would not leave him.
After they finished eating, while the elder was glancing out the window, the deacon stuck a small dip of tobacco into his mouth hoping the elder hadn’t noticed. But the elder had noticed and made a comment about the body being “the temple of the Lord.” The deacon knew that the elder’s words were true. The deacon thought of himself as a weak man, which made him sad, so he vowed to himself to try harder to overcome his weaknesses.
As they paid for their lunch and were leaving, the deacon overheard a conversation at a nearby table. It seemed others had also noticed the debilitated man across the street, but their words chilled the deacon to the bones. One of the men at the table was laughingly betting on how long he thought it would be before the sickly-looking man died. His companion spoke up and said, “Not long. And good riddance. It’s no more than he deserves after the lifestyle that he’s lived.”
After that last comment, the deacon looked again at the sad, little house, and slowly walked out the door behind the elder.
While the elder was filling the tank with gas, the deacon walked across the street to the small house and knocked on the door. When the man inside called out in a raspy voice, “Come in,” the deacon walked in and found the man lying in bed looking emaciated. The deacon tried not to look at the open sores on the man’s face and neck, as the man barked with all the strength he could muster, “Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?”
The deacon gave the man his name and then said that he was in the house because the man had yelled “Come in” when he had knocked.
“That’s because,” said the man coughing as he tried to speak, “I thought you were my mother knocking.” “She’s the only one who ever comes to my house and even she hasn’t been here in a while.” The man paused then said, “Well,” what do you want?”
The deacon looked compassionately at the man and then asked in a quiet voice, “How can I help you?”
That took the man back a little, but he finally responded saying, “Why would you want to help me? No one else does. I haven’t had a single visitor other than my mother since my partner died.”
The deacon answered, “That’s really sad, and I’m very sorry. Maybe I can do something to help you.”
The man turned his head to the wall and said again, “Get out!” “No one can help me. I’m dying.” And he refused to say anymore.
Not knowing what else to do, the deacon walked out, shut the door quietly, and walked back across the street to where the elder stood looking around with a scowl on his face. He wanted to know where in the world the deacon had been, as he had been looking everywhere for him, and now, they were running behind schedule. The deacon apologized for causing the delay and started to get into the car but stopped. He told the elder about the man and his situation and finished with, “I believe we should do something to help him.”
“That’s certainly kind of you,” replied the elder, “but we need to get down the road. I’m sure there are plenty of good Christian people in this town that can help the man. After all, we passed several churches on this road alone as we were driving in.”
The deacon acknowledged that that was true and started to get in, but something stopped him. He heard a small voice deep inside himself whisper, Help him. And he listened.
The deacon told the elder that he was going to stick around for a while and try to help the man. The elder looked at the deacon with a superior look and explained, once again, that they needed to get down the road to the celebration, as he had obligations there. “Remember,” said the elder, “I’m supposed to introduce the main speaker, and it’s my duty to be on time. That is our goal, not pausing on the first leg of the journey when I’m sure there are more than enough good people in this town to help the man.”
The deacon agreed but felt inclined to stay for a little while and insisted the elder go on, and that he would try and catch up a little later. The elder didn’t know how the deacon planned to catch up but agreed that he needed to leave to be at the meeting on time.
After the elder left, the deacon walked into the diner and ordered a large milkshake to go. After paying for the shake, the deacon walked back across the yard and knocked on the sick man’s door. Again, he heard the faint call to come in. When the deacon entered the man’s room, the man looked at him and with all the strength he could muster rasped hatefully, “What do you want now?”
The deacon simply held out the shake, and then walked over to the bed, helped the man prop himself up, and then held the shake while the man drank. Afterward, the deacon helped the man to get more comfortable and started to turn towards the door, when he heard a whispered, “Thank you.” The deacon just smiled, nodded his head, and walked out.
When leaving the house, the deacon couldn’t help but notice again how overgrown the yard was and decided to look around for a lawn mower. He found a small push mower in the garage, along with a gas can. He walked back across the street to the service station to fill the can with gas when the dinner door opened, and the owner/cook walked out. He asked the deacon what he was about,