A Moment of Weakness by Karen Kingsbury Page B

the process. Occasionally he’d chuckle out loud or smile fondly when giving examples about how people often worked all their lives to keep God out, only to give in when crisis hit.
    “And let’s face it, folks,” Pastor Ritchie said. “We’re all going to have to deal with crisis at some point.”
    Jade listened intently. The second choice, the pastor said, was whether people were willing to give their lives to the Lord and let him do with them what he wished. He talked about the futility of holding tightly to a life lived without Christ when there was such freedom in living alongside him.
    The time flew by, and soon the pastor was winding up. Jade was mesmerized, spellbound by the way the man’s words made sense. She hadn’t glanced at Tanner once through the pastor’s sermon. She hadn’t looked anywhere but straight ahead, soaking in what the man was saying, amazed at how completely it applied to her.
    Pastor Ritchie paused and studied the group of people before him. “The thing is, folks—” he held his arm up and pretended to stage an arm wrestling contest with an invisible opponent—“God won’t wrestle with you forever.” He let his arm fall forward. “Eventually he’ll let you have your way.” He hesitated again. “Let’s not let that happen. If you’ve never made a decision for Christ, isn’t it time? Shall we pray?”
    Jade closed her eyes and felt the tears again. She had talked to God, but never tried to live for him. Tanner’s words from that night in her apartment came back to her
—the promises are
for anyone who loves the Lord, anyone who has given their life to God
. She’d kept him at arm’s length, not wanting to get close to him any more than she’d wanted to get close to anyone else. He wasn’t her Lord—he was another of her many acquaintances.
    Pastor Ritchie was praying. “Father God, I know there are some here today who’ve never made you Lord, never given their lives completely to you. You brought them here today so they could finally make the right choice, take advantage of this opportunity so that not another day would go by without their names being written in the Lamb’s book of life.
    “Oh, maybe they think they’re here because it was something to do on a Sunday morning, maybe a friend asked them here and that’s why they came—”
    Jade wondered if someone had told him. How come everything he said seemed to apply directly to her? Had Tanner planned this? The pastor was finishing the prayer. “Of course we know the truth, Lord. You brought them here today so you could meet them where they are.” He paused and it was as though Jade could physically feel the walls around her heart crumbling. “With everyone in prayer, eyes closed, if you are one who wants to make Jesus the Lord of your life right here, right now, raise your hand, would you? Raise it high so I can see it.”
    Jade squirmed in her seat, tears streaming down her face. She was tired of fighting through life on her own. And though she had no solid reason to believe the things Pastor Ritchie had said that morning, somehow she was desperate to do so. More than she’d ever wanted anything.
    The pastor’s voice was kind, beckoning. “Anyone else. Please, don’t let another day go by. Believe me, there’s nothing outside those doors that matters more than meeting JesusChrist for the first time right here, right now, before another minute goes by … anyone else?”
    And in that moment, as though her arm had a mind of its own, Jade’s hand was up.
    It was true. She wanted to give her life completely to the savior that Pastor Ritchie had shared about, and she wanted to do it now, before another minute passed.
    Eyes still closed, hand raised, Jade heard the pastor finishing his prayer, thanking God for those who had taken that first step of faith. The pastor paused. “Now, will those of you with hands raised please stand up. Come on, stand up. No one’s watching.”
    Terror ran through Jade.