“Cate, too much has happened. We can’t go back.”
“Please don’t let my mistake ruin things for us,” Cate’s eyes pleaded with him.
“Don’t you understand; it wasn’t just a mistake; you married another man. You can’t just take that back.”
“Are you telling me that there is no second chance for us?” Cate’s hope had turned to despair.
“I’m telling you that your marriage to Justin changed things between us. It had too, Cate.”
“No, it doesn’t have to.”
“Yes it does. You need to know that I’ve been seeing someone, and I’m going to marry her.”
“Y-you have? Who?”
“Jenny, it’s Jenny.”
“Jenny Howard?”
“Yes.”
“I see,” Cate felt the tightness in her stomach, her knees quivered. “She isn’t with Steve anymore. She’s with-—you.”
“She’s with me. Steve’s somewhere playing basketball. He chose basketball over God. Jenny chose God.”
“She chose God, and now she has you. There’s a little irony here, don’t you think?”
David looked uneasily at his watch. “Cate, I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’m supposed to meet Jenny in a few minutes.” As he turned to leave, he stopped, turned around, and hugged her, “Goodbye, Cate,” he whispered in her ear.
“Goodbye.” Cate whispered as she watched him walk away.
David crushed her hopes. She had heard him say there was no second chance with him. He told her about Jenny and his plans to marry her. She heard him clearly, but her heart argued something else. The hug he’d given her as he said goodbye and the strong emotions that he’d exhibited led her to believe that he still had very deep feelings for her. She vowed to continue her efforts to win him back.
Cate’s parents realized her determined desire to win David back, and Dr. Jones lovingly confronted his daughter, “Catie, honey what are you doing? David is engaged to Jenny.”
“But, Daddy he loves me. I know he does.”
“That may be, but he loves Jenny too, and I know that to be true.”
“But, Daddy…”
“No
buts
Catie, you broke your engagement to David and married Justin. Would you have David do that to Jenny?”
“Daddy,” Cate crossed her arms over her chest, “you’re not being fair.”
“Are you sure that it’s me who’s not being fair? Catie if you were to succeed in winning David back, you would ruin his ministry plans. The International Mission Board, is about to appoint him and Jenny as missionaries to Ecuador, and the IMB would never appoint a couple if one of them were divorced.”
“But, Daddy I
love
him.”
“Baby Girl, I’m going to be straight with you. You messed up when you married Justin, and unfortunately, that mistake has consequences. I know that you really love David but, you need to love him enough to let him go.”
Knowing her father was right and having no desire to mess up David’s life, as she had messed up hers, she gave up her efforts to win David back, but not before Jenny confronted her.
“Cate, I’m sorry for what happened with Justin, but David is not available.”
“Jenny, I know he’s engaged to you.”
“Yes, he is, and I’m not about to give him up. I know he loves me, but I know he also loves you. I’ve seen how torn he’s been since you’ve come home. Cate, don’t you realize that you could destroy him without meaning to?”
“I would
never
do that! Never.”
“Then, leave him alone! Let him marry me. Let us serve God together in Ecuador.”
Jenny’s words stung, but Cate couldn’t argue with them. The talk with her dad had already made her see the truth of what Jenny said. “Of course, I’m sorry; I never meant to cause so many problems. I guess, I was only thinking of myself. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
“Thank you, Cate.”
Cate kept her promise. She made herself scarce from that night on. David married Jenny, and they went to Ecuador as missionaries.
Reconciled to having no second chance with David, Cate began a new life. By God’s providence, she had chosen to get a degree in elementary education with a reading specialty. She found a job, an apartment, and moved out of her parents’ house.
While she was teaching third grade at Glendale Elementary School and getting her life together, David and Jenny were having a baby daughter. Try as she might to get over David, every bit of news from David and Jenny in Ecuador only caused her to think about what might have been. She tried many times to surrender this to God, but her feelings for David never faded. Neither did her regrets about marrying Justin.
Five
After three years of teaching, she accepted a summer position at the camp where she had met Justin five years earlier. The job at the camp gave her the opportunity to get away and have time for God to speak to her in new surroundings. She knew that the camp at Tahoe would be conducive to her spending time alone outdoors where she could walk and talk with God. Maybe there, God would give her clear guidance as to His will for her.
She was right. God did speak to her at Tahoe, and He led her to consider teaching in a missionary school. It was also at Tahoe that she heard some very bad news. The day before she was to leave for home, her father called.
“Hello,” Cate was cheered to hear her father’s voice.
“Catie, I’ve got some bad news.”
“Is it mom?”
“No, honey, it’s Jenny Barnes. The plane that was taking her to an inoculation point crashed—Jenny was killed.”
“What! How’s David?”
“Devastated, I spoke with him briefly. He’s bringing Jenny back to Kansas City for burial.”
Life was changing. David was without a wife; Sarah was without a mother, and God had given Cate another chance to follow His leadership.
She began taking steps to be obedient to God’s leadership by teaching in a mission school. She applied to a mission school in Mexico, and was accepted. Shortly before she was to leave for Mexico, Cate received a letter withdrawing their offer due to lack of funding. Cate read the letter repeatedly in disbelief. Surely, the letter was a mistake; she’d been so sure of God’s guidance.
Having had her parents’ support and constant encouragement in her efforts to follow God’s leadership, Cate appealed to them to help her make sense out of what had happened.
She held up the letter. “The mission agency has withdrawn its offer.”
“What!” Her mother was wide-eyed at the announcement.
“Why Catie?” her dad asked, as he took the letter.
“Funding issues,” Cate sank down on the couch in a lump. “I was so sure about God’s leadership. I can’t believe I got it wrong.”
Her dad looked up from the letter. “Maybe you didn’t get the leadership wrong, perhaps you got the location of where God wanted you wrong.”
“Really?”
“I suggest you settle down and pray,” her father counseled.
Since she had given up the lease on her apartment and her job, Cate spent the next few months looking for a job while temporarily living with her parents. Her father advised her to settle for a part-time job, to continue to live at home, and to consider becoming a seminary student while waiting for God to lead her further.
God’s providence was definitely at work during this period of Cate’s life. The first night of her seminary class on missions, she discovered David was the teacher. The seminary had offered him a temporary position while he was on furlough, and desiring to keep busy as a means of coping with Jenny’s death, he readily accepted.
Then, there was Sarah. When Cate first met Sarah, she was amazed; the child mesmerized her. Sarah was three years old, was very smart, and fluent in Spanish and English. Sarah looked more like David than Jenny. Yet with all her charming qualities, Sarah was sad and grief stricken, and rarely smiled. She pulled at Cate’s heartstrings.
Cate made Sarah her special project; she was intent on helping Sarah cope with Jenny’s death. Even though Jenny had been her rival for David, Cate had always liked Jenny, and envied her for not having any qualms about marrying David and going to Ecuador. Cate admired Jenny for that. Consequently, helping David and Sarah was the least she could do.
Cate spoke Spanish and did so quite often to Sarah. She brought her little gifts, but most of all she took time with Sarah. Within a few weeks, Sarah responded to Cate’s efforts to draw her out of her shell of sadness and grief. Sarah was less sad, more outgoing and smiled at times.
David saw the changes, and expressed his appreciation to Cate, “I want to thank you for all that you have done for Sarah.”
“You’re welcome, but there’s no need for thanks. Sarah’s a great little girl.”
“Thank you, I think so too,” David agreed. “I appreciate you helping her deal with Jenny’s death, and how you’ve helped turn a very sad little girl into a happy little girl again.”
“The staff at the preschool deserves a lot of the credit too.”
“That may be true, but
Miss Cate
is the one she talks about the most. I know how much you mean to her.”
“She’s a sweetheart. I’m glad I could help her.” Cate gently touched David’s arm, “If you don’t mind me asking, how are you doing?”
“I’m making it, one day at a time.”
“I know it’s hard,” Cate said.
“Yeah, it is hard, but God is good and His grace sustains me.”
That night was the first time that they had a conversation in almost five years. Before that night, they had been cordial, but kept their distance from one another. After that night, they were friends again, and both seemed relieved.
Realizing Sarah’s affection for Cate, and that she was no longer the same Cate who had dumped him for Justin, David included her in some of his and Sarah’s activities.
Cate accepted this as a gesture of forgiveness and friendship, but nothing more. Though she had very strong feelings for David, she reconciled herself to the fact that she could never be his wife. He was still a missionary, and though he was on furlough, his year was almost up, and he would be returning to Ecuador.
Cate enjoyed their times together, as did Sarah and David. They had much in common, including a call to missions. He confessed to her that he had been quite shocked when he saw her in his class that first night and even more shocked when she wrote in one of her papers that she felt that God was leading her to teach at a mission school. Through the times they spent together talking and doing things with Sarah, David and Cate became good friends again.
David confided his concerns about leaving Sarah behind when he returned to Ecuador. He hated the thought of it, but with Jenny gone, there was no one in Ecuador to be her caregiver when he had to be gone on his trips as a church planter. His family in Kansas had offered to take care of her, and he knew that he could count on them for that. However, he hated the thought of leaving his little girl behind. She wasn’t even five yet; how could she understand her daddy leaving her behind? He prayed and prayed about what to do and had not received God’s clear guidance on the subject.
The answer to everyone’s prayers came with a teacher’s vacancy at the mission school in Ecuador. David sought out Cate one night before class, “Cate, God may have just answered both our prayers.”
“How?”
“A friend of mine, Matthew Kennedy, needs a teacher at his mission school in Peguche, Ecuador. Would you consider teaching at the mission school?”
“What?”
“You heard right. The position is yours if you want it.”
“Are you sure?” Cate was having difficulty wrapping her head around it all.
“I’m very sure.”
“This may be God’s answer to my prayer, but I still want to pray about it. I don’t want to make a mistake.”
“Of course, pray about it. This may be God’s answer to both our prayers, but I want you to be sure about it, and if God leads you to Ecuador, I want to ask you to be Sarah’s caregiver if you take the position.”
“If God leads, I’d love to be Sarah’s caregiver.”
Cate sought her parents’ advice. They agreed that this might be the Lord’s answer to her prayers and David’s, but that God would have to confirm it to her. They promised to help her pray for guidance.
Cate decided to spend time alone in prayer and fasting. Over the next few days, God led her to complete peace about His will concerning teaching in Ecuador and becoming Sarah’s caregiver. Having received God’s confirmation, Cate willingly accepted Matthew’s offer of a position at his mission school outside of Otavalo, Ecuador.
Cate’s reflection on the events of the past seven years made her realize how good and gracious God had been to her. He had been faithful to lead her into His new direction for her life. Her journey to the center of God’s will had been a long winding road with a few rocky detours. She determined never to forget what it had taken her to get there. She was grateful for the memories of the last few years. Memories of God’s forgiveness and God’s grace which made the memories of the wrong choices and the irreversible consequences of those choices easier to bear. She was thankful that God was the God of the Second Chance and the God of Many Chances.
Six
The pilot’s announcement that they were about to land in Quito, interrupted Cate’s memories. David stirred and stretched as Cate turned her attention to Sarah, who was still sleeping, and she fastened Sarah’s seat belt.
“We’re here, huh?” David rubbed his eyes.
“That’s what the pilot said.”
“Sleeping beauty is still out I see.”
“I thought I’d let her sleep until we actually touched down.”
“Good idea,” David agreed. “Are you ready for your new adventure to begin?”
“I’ve been ready,” Cate nodded, “for a long time.”
As the plane touched down smoothly on the tarmac, Cate awakened Sarah,
“Come on, Baby Girl. We’re here.”
David retrieved their carryon luggage from the overhead compartment and they took their place in line to leave the plane. With Sarah’s hand in hers, Cate took a deep breath, not a sigh of anxiety or a breath of relief; rather it was a deep breath of excited anticipation.
This is it; this is my second chance at service and to submit to God in all things.
Even though it was the beginning of night in Quito, she knew it was the dawning of a new day in her life. She couldn’t help but be excited at the possibilities that lay ahead. She was certain that she was in the very center of God’s will for her life. That one fact alone caused her heart to overflow with joy; she could not stop smiling.