Authors: Leona Norwell
“If you want answers, you are going to have to. I won’t do it for you.” Leah said. “I’ll announce that you are coming in, but that’s it. So, do you want me to call her?” she said walking to the intercom. Nathan nodded and Leah told him to head for the door and she’d announce him.
Nathan got to the top of the stairs for Faith’s office and stopped.
Help me be sensitive Lord.
He walked cautiously down the stairs since it was dark down there. “Hi Faith.”
“Hello” she said quietly “Did you need something?” she asked hoping he would be quick. She was so nervous in his company and she didn’t like that feeling.
“Do you have a light down here?” he asked. He wanted to see her as he asked his questions.
“Yes, I’m sorry. It’s at the top of the stairs though. We can go talk upstairs.”
Nathan walked cautiously back up the stairs and waited for her to join him. Faith walked to the living room and sat down in the chair. She invited Nathan to have a seat. “Did you need something?”
“If I asked for a flower garden at the church, it is going to be waiting for me when I return?”
Faith’s mouth dropped open in surprise then she caught herself and sat silently. She was really nervous now and didn’t realize she was fidgeting in her chair. She had been caught.
“Will you tell me why?” he asked gently as he knew he had been right
“You’ll have to ask a different question for me to answer why?” she said evading his question
Nathan burst out laughing. “I knew it. You are sneaky.”
“I am not.” She exclaimed “I don’t know exactly what you are talking about.”
“Okay, I’ll ask how then?”
“Again, how isn’t very informative.” She hedged again
“Let’s go for a walk.” He said gently chuckling at her
“A walk? Why?”
“Yes or No?” he asked gently
“I’m sure this is a bad idea but okay. You are acting very strange today.” She said rising to her feet. “We have to go by Leah’s shop to tell her.” She said turning towards the back of the house. Nathan followed her to the back door and down to Leah’s shop. She just opened the door and yelled in that they were going for a walk. “Okay” Leah called back. “Have fun.” She whispered to herself.
Faith turned to where she thought Nathan was standing. “This is your idea, where are we going?”
“Do you want me to direct you or guide you?”
“If you want me to go with you, you’ll have to take my hand and guide me.”
Nathan reached for her hand and wrapped it around his arm so he could guide her. He instantly felt less nervous as she touched him. Faith on the other hand was more nervous. She liked his gentle manner but she was not used to anyone guiding her but family members.
“So how was your vacation? Where did you go?” Nathan asked as they headed away from her house towards the park.
“We went to San Diego. We had a great time. I love the beach.”
“Me too. I used to live in Panama City, Florida. I loved going surfing in my spare time.”
“And you moved to New Mexico?”
“Sure, I like it here. The church members are wonderful. They seem to know when I need something and just show up to do it.” He had her now. She had to admit she was behind it.
“That’s nice. I have gone to that church all my life; I knew we had good people there that would help you out. I’m glad you are finding them helpful.”
She got around him again so he decided to be a little more direct. “But what I can’t figure out is how you knew to send them my way and the shelves in my office? No one knew that but me.”
Faith was silent as they walked along. She knew he knew but she wasn’t going to admit it right away. “Faith, thank you. But I’d still like to know how and why?”
“Why are you thanking me? You think I did something?”
“Faith, please answer the question.”
“Can’t you just accept it happened and move on?”
Nathan helped her sit down at a picnic table in the park. He moved around to the other side and sat down facing her. He sat silently thinking about her question. She had mostly admitted he was right but not how. “I suppose I could but I get to make two conditions.”
“Maybe. What is the first one?”
He laughed “Someday, I get to know why. Even if it is the last day I am the pastor at this church.”
“Planning to leave already? That may be a record for shortest time at one church.”
“Stop trying to sidetrack me.” He laughed “do you agree?”
“No. What’s your second condition?”
“You go out to dinner with me.” he said
“No! No No. No to that condition definitely. No to the first condition and no as to how and why. I’ll walk myself home. Goodbye Pastor Lindstrom.”
“Faith, wait. I’ll walk you home.” He said taking her hand. Faith didn’t have much choice but to go with him. She couldn’t walk home by herself; she wasn’t exactly sure where she was.
Nathan didn’t really know what to say as they walked along. She had made her feelings pretty clear about him. He knew he wouldn’t find out any answers to his questions today. Leah was coming out of her shop as they walked up the drive way. He was shaking his head as he approached her. She looked at the stiff posture of her sister and knew something had gone wrong.
“I know you’re there. Stop the silent messages.”
“He deserves to know Faith. I do too since I was part of it.”
“It just was.” She admitted “That is all I’m telling either of you.”
“And if we don’t like that answer?” Leah argued
“It’s okay Leah. I’ve upset Faith enough today. Goodbye.” He said handing Faith off to Leah.
“Wait, Nathan.” Leah stated “Stop being so stubborn and tell him.”
“Just point me towards the house.”
“Just walk straight and you will find the back door.”
“Thank you.” Faith said leaving them alone. Fortunately she found the door without much fumbling around. She wasn’t sure if Nathan was still there or if he had left, Leah was talking at the same time she tried to listen for his footsteps to be receding. Faith went into the house and moved to sit down at the kitchen table. She was sorry she had overreacted to Nathan’s invitation to dinner but it would be better if she didn’t go with him.
Out on the driveway, Leah waited until the door shut behind Faith before turning to Nathan. “What happened?”
“It doesn’t really matter. She was behind it. I’ll just wonder why.”
“Something else happened? She is upset about more than that.”
“She asked me if I could just let the subject go and I said I would on two conditions. One, that someday she would tell me why and two if she would go out to dinner with me. That one bothered her more than the first one.”
Leah pointed to the street where his car was parked and started walking that way. She wanted to tell him something and didn’t want Faith to hear it. As they reached his car, she turned to him “I’m officially interfering now. She is uncomfortable around people when she eats. She thinks she is going to make a big mess. Dinner would be extremely nerve wracking for her. If you still want to ask her out, try coffee or a concert or another walk. Patience is your best bet.”
“She won’t talk to me again Leah; let alone go on a date.”
“I think you are wrong. How patient are you?” she asked walking away
Not that patient but maybe I’ll learn
he thought to himself. He had some praying to do. Nathan arrived back at the church office and wrote Faith a quick email.
“
I’m sorry to have upset you.
Nathan”
Leah walked in and found Faith sitting dejectedly at the kitchen table. Faith had tears running down her face. “Faith, what’s wrong?”
“How did something good go so wrong?” she asked quietly
“It didn’t. They were really nice things to do. He isn’t mad at you.”
“He is now.”
“No, sister, he isn’t. He said he asked you out on a date. Are you going to go?”
“I might have if he hadn’t said dinner.”
“Then you should have made a different suggestion. Coffee or a concert or a walk.”
“If I had been thinking clearly I might have, now he won’t ask again.”
“Then you ask him and explain about why you won’t have dinner with him and in time explain about the things you did for him.”
“How did he find out I did those things?”
“He came looking for you while you were gone, then Jeremy and I went to see him about the shelves and he had suspicions that it was you. Then I confirmed that it was possible, but you confirmed it by your actions today.”
“If I call him at the church and he can meet with me, will you drive me down there?”
“Absolutely.” Leah stated happily. “I’ll even hand you the phone and leave you alone.”
“Thank you.”
“Calvary Christian Church. This is Amanda, how may I help you?”
“Hi Amanda, this is Faith Newham. Is Pastor Lindstrom available to speak to me?”
“I believe so, I’ll transfer you to him.”
“Nathan Lindstrom” he said answering the phone
“It’s Faith.”
“Hi” he said amazed to be hearing from her
“Are you available to meet with me? I’ll have Leah drive me down there.” Nathan stared at the phone in amazement.
“How about I drive over there and pick you up and take you for coffee?”
“That will be fine. Anytime you are available.”
“Give me an hour.”
“Okay. Bye”
Nathan was dumbfounded as he hung up the phone.
She actually called me. She is amazing. Lord, please help me to do this the right way. Friendship or something more, we need you to lead us. Amen.
Chapter 4
Faith was in the living room praying when she heard a car door close.
Please help me Lord to say the right things and to apologize. Where it goes from there, I’ll trust in your leading. In Jesus Name, Amen.
The front doorbell rang a few seconds later. Faith walked to the intercom and asked who it was. “Nathan Lindstrom” the voice answered. Faith opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. “Hi”
“Hello Faith. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.” She answered shyly as she held out her hand. Nathan took her hand and escorted her down the stairs. “Bye Leah”
“Bye Rach, Bye Nathan” Leah laughed from the side of the house
“How did you know she was there?” he asked incredulously
“She would have heard you through the intercom. I knew she would come to investigate.”
Nathan laughed and helped her to settle in the car. He drove them to a local coffee shop then led her to the counter to order. She handed the clerk the money before Nathan could after placing her order.
“My apology, my treat.” She said as they sat down after their coffees were prepared
“Are you a mind reader too? That’s how you knew I wanted more shelves in my office.” He joked
“Should I apologize first or explain first?”
“I’m not sure you owe me an apology so explain first. The painting at my house?”
“I overheard you tell someone as you walked past me.”
“My car?”
“You were on my mind that morning so I prayed for guidance. Then I called Mason’s wife. It seemed a relief after making that call. If you didn’t need him, then no harm sending him to your house.”
“The cleaning at the church?”
“Sam’s wife mentioned it to me. She knew I had organized a cleaning day previously.”
“The shelves at my house? I can figure that one out, I told your father.”
“Yes.”
“But you shouldn’t have paid for them.”
“I didn’t.”
“Who did?”
“My secret for all time.”
“Fair enough”
“The shelves in my office at church?”
“Mostly a lucky guess. Jeremy and Leah mentioned you had tons of books at your house. So I assumed you would at church too. Or over time you would accumulate them. My father told me once that there weren’t many shelves in there.”
“Now, will you tell me why?”
“Help the Flock. My calling. Whatever, whenever, however.”
“How did no one know it was you? Each time I asked where the phone call came from or the email and I got dozens of different answers.”
“Help the Flock has dozens of different email addresses so I can remain anonymous. Most of the people at church know about the ministry, not that I am behind it. And I would like to keep it that way. The only reason you know is because you happened to call it, then move here. I wouldn’t lie to you about who I was. The phone calls are the same way. I ask my volunteers to call. Mostly they leave messages on behalf of the ministry and people respond.”
“Mason said his wife called him.”
“Mason is a great mechanic and a fabulous friend, but when his wife tells him to help out, he doesn’t ask questions, he goes. Can I ask you a question now?”
“How did I figure it out?” he guessed and Faith nodded. “On the day of the cleaning, I prayed that if I was supposed to figure it out that the Lord would guide me. Then you sent me an email asking a question and I remembered the prayer group on my behalf and became suspicious that it was you. Then Jeremy and Leah came to see me and she confirmed it was possible but she wouldn’t say anymore than that. If I wanted to know, I had to ask. So that brings me to today. When I asked about the flower garden, your jaw dropped and you started fidgeting in your chair. So, dear Faith, you gave yourself away.”
“I figured I had, but if I kept distracting you then you would drop the subject.”
“Did that work?” he laughed
“No!” she growled
“So which one of us is more hard headed?”
Faith blushed and skipped answering him “Now to apologize. I’m sorry about how I reacted to your dinner invitation. Maybe something else besides dinner and I would have said yes. I prefer to not eat in front of strangers or in public. I really am sorry about earlier today.”
“And I’m sorry I upset you.”
“I know. I got your email, it wasn’t your fault.”
“Anyway, I didn’t even think about you being nervous about eating in public. I guess that was insensitive of me. I apologize.”
“You didn’t notice I escaped the dinner table as fast as possible that night at my parents?”
“Yes, now that you mention it. Leah kept a close watch over you too, what was your signal that you had spilled?”
“You’re good. She was to kick me under the table. It is our standard signal if I do something embarrassing.”
Nathan laughed at her description “As for me being a stranger, I’d like to get past that too if you are willing and the Lord leads us in that direction. What is your opinion on that?”
“I prayed about that too as I heard you drive up. I’ll follow as He leads is the best I can give you right now.”
“Do you mind if we start now?” he asked. Faith didn’t say anything but held out her hand and Nathan grasped it and started to pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for Faith and her gifts to minister to me and to others. We ask that you guide us now in where you want us to go to be in your will. Friendship or something more, we will follow your leading. Help us to know clearly what you want from us and to put you first in any relationship we have. In Jesus Name, Amen.
“Thank you for being willing to listen to me.” Faith said as he ended his prayer “You had every right to tell me to not bother you again.”
“I would never do that but you did catch me off guard. I was going to approach you again in a couple of days but you beat me to it.”
“I was accepting responsibility for my actions and I needed to ask for your forgiveness. I knew I behaved like an idiot today, it wasn’t something that made me proud. Leah told you about me not wanting to go to dinner and why didn’t she? And she told you to suggest something else?”
“Yes, she did. How did you know that?”
Faith held up her coffee. “Let me guess, her other suggestions were a concert or another walk?”
“Did she tell you that she told me?”
“No, she just casually mentioned to me that I should have suggested coffee or a concert or another walk instead of dinner.”
“She’s good.”
“She’s matchmaking.”
“Seriously?”
“Want to run away now?”
“No” he answered “why and how?”
“You’ll have to ask her. I blocked out her explanation when she started in on me after that dinner at my parents.”
“No way. I’d just met you.”
“Ask her not me. Until a few hours ago, I would have never even considered it. I’m basically a loner and very shy and handicapped.”
“Leah is not a handicap.” He joked
“Funny.” She groaned at him “But seriously,
if
…”
“Don’t.” he growled at her “Adjustments have to be made in any relationship. Your being blind is not a stopping point for me, if it is for you then we need to make that a topic of discussion really soon.”
“I do have concerns but whether or not we need to discuss them now if we are in the beginnings of maybe a possible relationship, I don’t know.”
“You just confused me. What did you say?”
“If the Lord doesn’t lead us into a relationship that is more than friendship, then you don’t need to know my concerns.”
“I disagree but let’s hold off on that discussion for another day. I don’t mean to rush you, but I need to get to the church for a meeting.”
Faith reached to tell the time on her watch. “Oh no! I’ve taken up your whole day today. I didn’t even realize, time passed so quickly.”
“Wait a minute, hold on.” He stopped her “Today was very important to me. Don’t think that you have taken up my whole day, we needed to talk. Do you understand?”
“Yes, but I still apologize.
“No, you won’t.” he said taking her hand to lead her from the coffee shop
“I already did.” She laughed “You are hard-headed.”
“So they tell me.” he groused “And so are you.”
“So they tell me.” she agreed. Nathan laughed again and helped her into the car. He dropped her off at her home and headed for his meeting.
Faith walked down the stairs to her office. She had lots of praying and thinking to do.
Could I ever be a helpmate to him? Lord, I need a clear picture in this situation. I don’t see myself as an asset to any man and especially not to a pastor. I will trust in your leading. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
“Did you stop being hard headed long enough to explain things to Nathan?” Leah asked at dinner that night.
“Yes, he knows the whole story. But the point was to do those things anonymously. He just had to be stubborn and keep digging until I confessed. If he had just accepted it, then I could have continued; now I can’t do anything else.”
“Why not? Who cares if he knows you helped out?”
“The point of my ministry is to help in the background; not to be noticed.”
“He won’t tell anyone.”
“I know that, but he’ll still know.”
“You are giving me a headache. Anyway, as long as you two are speaking that’s all I care about. I didn’t like being in the middle.
Faith smiled and answered “Everything is fine.”
“Why are you smiling like that?” Leah inquired
“We had a nice time.”
“You did?” Leah exclaimed.
“Yes, he is easier to be around than I would have imagined. I even got past being so nervous with him.”
“And?” Leah questioned knowingly
“And what?” came the sheepish quiet reply
“You are hard headed!! Are you going to be more than friends?”
“If the Lord leads in that direction, we will be. We are going to be doing a lot of praying about it.”
“As I am helping you get ready on your wedding day, I get to say “I told you so” and believe me I’ll be very happy about it.”
“Wait a minute, Leah. You are way ahead of us. We are thinking about it and praying about it.”
“And I will too, but my point is that a few weeks or even this morning you would have never even considered the possibility. Right?”
“Do I have to answer that question?” Faith asked as the phone started to ring
“Not anymore.” Leah said getting up to answer the phone “Hello”
“Leah or Faith?”
“Now wouldn’t you like to know? I could be Faith and then you would tell me everything I needed to know about this afternoon or I could be Leah and be kept in the dark.”
“Hi Leah”
“Hi Nathan. You needed to talk to me about something?”
Nathan laughed. “I probably could but…”
“Yes, the shelves for your house are almost ready. Jeremy and I can plan a time to come install them.”
“That’s nice, make sure you bring your sister along with you.”
“But Faith doesn’t usually come with me when I am working, it will probably be just me and Jeremy.”
“Nice try. Can I talk to Faith?” he asked hopefully
“When I find out what I need to know?”
“You can install the shelves anytime.”