Hope Springs by Kim Cash Tate Page A

looked at her, his green eyes twinkling.
    â€œClicked.” She bit her lip, nodding. “What am I missing, Todd? If your job is safe, why would you want to leave?”
    He grabbed a chair from the small round table in her office and sat. “When they told me who they were laying off—including a woman who just had a baby and a guy who just bought a house—it struck me that nothing is secure in this world. We hang on to it like it’s everything, but it could be gone like that.” He snapped a finger. “I felt like God was showing me that instead of trusting in a job, I need to trust where He leads us. You know?”
    â€œNot really.” She stared at him. “I’m not seeing why you’d quit a job—that affords us a nice living, by the way—to take a position you’ve said you’re not called to do.”
    Todd nodded. “That’s the other thing God’s been showing me.”
    If I hear that one more time . . .
    Todd had prayed and fasted after Christmas, something she’d never seen him do, not apart from some churchwide initiative. Now every time she turned around he had something else God was showing him. And she wasn’t excited about any of it.
    â€œI’ve been running from it, Bec, from my calling,” he continued. “Doing what’s comfortable. Maybe I feared I wouldn’t measure up to my dad and granddad. And frankly, I knew enough to know that shepherding a congregation can be one big headache after another. I didn’t want the hassle. But now . . .”
    Becca didn’t necessarily want to hear the rest. She liked their life just fine before the But now .
    He sighed. “I don’t know . . . I know you’re against the move. It’s not even that I’m for it. I just can’t shake it.” He leaned forward, elbows on his thighs, and looked her in the eye. “But you’re right. I’d be giving up a good salary. I’m out of my mind, aren’t I?”
    â€œYes. You are.” She gave him a wry smile, then sighed herself. “I don’t get what God is doing. Right when my travel ramps up, we’re talking about moving away from Mom? She’s invaluable to us. And most of my ministry opportunities are out of town now, but I still get speaking engagements in St. Louis. I would hate to leave the ministry network I’ve built here.” She felt a check inside. “And yet . . . this Calvary opportunity came out of the blue, just like Worth & Purpose. How can I say God is at work with one and not the other?”
    Todd stared at her.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI hadn’t thought about that. For so long we’ve been plugging along, taking steps that made sense. Now this ‘out of the blue’ stuff.”
    â€œKind of like your message at your dad’s funeral.” He had shared it with her on the way back to St. Louis. “Be nice if ‘living full-out’ only applied to the things you’re excited about.” Becca shook her head. “But I’m sorry, I don’t think I could ever get excited about living in Hope Springs. I love our life here.”
    â€œSweetheart . . .” He stood and pulled her into a hug. “I love our life here too. I love our church. I love living in a city this size, with everything at our fingertips—shopping, restaurants, museums—”
    â€œâ€”Mom. Cable Internet.”
    He laughed into her hair. “They’ve got cable Internet. Dad just didn’t have it.” He stepped back and looked her in the eye. “Moving back to the place I grew up doesn’t excite me either. But hearing from God and trusting Him on a whole new level—that’s what excites me.” He held her shoulders. “I really do think this is God, Bec. But I’d never accept Calvary’s offer without your full support.”
    She walked to the window. So she could end this with a flat no? Though