A Time to Love by Al Lacy Page A

are my parents!” Linda said. “They’re home early. They found me gone, and Mom’s terribly upset. Come on, we’ve got to stop them!”
    The buggy, however, turned their way. Immediately, Shanahan let go of the reins and dashed up under the nearest street lamp, waving his arms.
    Nolan Forrest drew the buggy to a halt, and Adrienne jumped out of the buggy and ran to her daughter, crying, “Linda-a-a-a! Where have you been?”
    While both parents held on to their daughter, the officer said, “I found her standin’ at the edge of the ’arbor, folks. We have people jump in quite often. I thought—”
    “Oh, Linda!” Adrienne gasped. “You were going to jump in! You’vebeen saying you wished you could die! Oh-h-h-h!”
    “No, Mom. I wasn’t going to jump in. Yes, I was very upset. I left the house in that condition, but not to kill myself. I just wanted to go out to the harbor and look at the water in the dark. I’ll explain it better when we go into the house, but the Lord just showed me tonight that His grace is sufficient for my suffering, just as it was for a suffering apostle Paul.”
    Linda’s parents wept for joy, thanking God for answered prayer. Belatedly they turned to Officer Shanahan and thanked him for bringing their daughter home, then took her inside.
    Everybody in the Forrest household slept well that night.
    The next day was Saturday. Joline Jensen came by to see her best friend and was overjoyed to learn of the victory Linda had experienced the night before.
    The two young women went to Linda’s room to talk. Joline sat on the bed, and Linda sat in her padded chair. As the conversation progressed, Joline said, “Now that you’ve got peace in all of this, Linda, let me say something. God could have prevented what Lewis and Janet did to you. Right?”
    “Right.”
    “But He let it happen.”
    “Yes.”
    “The Lord let it happen, honey, because he has somebody better picked out for you. Certainly you want the husband
God has
chosen for you.”
    “Of course. But now I’m wondering if I can ever trust another man.”
    Joline smiled. “Remember the passage of Scripture Pastor Stanford was going to use in the wedding ceremony? From Ecclesiastes?”
    “Yes. ‘
A time to love …’”
    “Sweet Linda, believe me, you will have your time to love. The Lord has the man, the time, and the place. Let Him work it out.”

    After Joline left, Linda gazed out the window at her mother’s flower garden in full glorious bloom. The sun was shining down out of a clear azure sky.
    There was deep peace in her heart now, and even though the ache was still there, it didn’t hurt as before. It had been cushioned by the love and care of her heavenly Father. With her gaze on the sun-kissed flowers, she prayed for guidance in her life, and a sense of sweet comfort flowed within her soul.
    She went to the closet and took her wedding dress and veil from their hanger, then went to the cedar chest and opened the lid. She carefully folded the dress and placed the veil inside it, then gently placed the folded dress on top of everything else in the chest and looked at it lovingly one last time.
    Then she firmly closed the lid on her past, and just as firmly tried to close the sad memories in her heart.
    When she returned to the window, Joline’s words came back to her mind:
“Sweet Linda, believe me, you will have your time to love. The Lord has the man, the time, and the place. Let Him work it out.”

6
    T HE SKY OVER S ACRAMENTO, C ALIFORNIA , was flat and gray. Outside the city to the west a large crowd had gathered on a hillside around an open grave. The wind whipped through the cemetery, rustling the full-leafed branches of the trees and toying with the sand-colored hair of handsome Blake Barrett.
    Next to Barrett stood Haman Warner, vice president of Sacramento’s Pacific Bank and Trust Company. Six pallbearers, one of whom was Haman Warner, had placed the expensive coffin on a small wooden platform next to