The Other Side of Darkness by Melody Carlson Page A

second thoughts, I agree to meet her at church after we drop the kids off, but I’ve barely hung up when I wonder if I’ve just made a big mistake.
    The next morning I’m barely in Colleen’s car when I’m certain I shouldn’t have done this.
    “What’s with Cynthia?” she asks as she exits the church parking lot.
    “Huh?”
    “Why was she giving you that look right before we left?”
    I shrug. “You must be imagining it.” I try to redirect our conversation by telling her that I’m Cynthia’s new prayer partner.
    “You’re kidding!”
    “No, I’m serious. I was honored to be asked. Our first study is Friday at my house, and I was hoping you might want to come.”
    “I work on Fridays.”
    “Oh.”
    “And even if I didn’t, I wouldn’t come. I can’t believe you want to be her prayer partner. Don’t you know that Cynthia’s a mess?”
    “A mess?”
    “She’s nuts, Ruth. Everyone knows it.”
    I stare at Colleen like she’s a stranger.
    “Okay, maybe she’s not nuts.” Colleen sighs loudly. “But our church is in trouble. And I think it’s just a matter of time before Pastor Glenn and Cynthia are both history. Carl too. He’s getting way too caught up in their fun and games.”
    “Fun and games?”
    “Oh, you know. Their spiritual charades, witch hunts—call it whatever you like. It’s crazy. And Shauna told me about last week.”
    “Are you taking up an offense because of that?”
    “Well, that was bad enough. But she’s only one person. Lots of people are hurting from what’s going on at church.”
    “Sometimes the truth hurts,” I say as we arrive at the coffee shop and get out of the car. “But ultimately it is healing.”
    “The truth?” She turns to look at me. “Do you really believe that?”
    I nod.
    “Wow …”
    “Pastor Glenn says it’s not easy to discipline his sheep, but it’s for their own good. It’s so they don’t get—”
    “Discipline?” She shakes her head. “Is that what he calls it?”
    We’re standing by the door now, and I’m not sure I want to go in. I’m not sure I want to be subjected to Colleen’s anger and judgment.
    “He’s not disciplining his sheep, Ruth.” She opens the door. “He’s
beating
them.”
    Fortunately, we stop discussing this as we order our coffees, but I feel shaken as we go and sit down. I don’t know what to say to Colleen. All I can do is silently pray for the Lord to help me.
Help me to help Colleen see the light. She is trapped in darkness
.
    “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this right now,” she says as she blows on her mocha. “I might get so fired up that I start yelling.”
    I nod. “Yes. Let’s not make a scene.”
    She laughs. “Remember that night at Denny’s in high school?”
    I make a face. “No, and I don’t want to.”
    “We used to be such hellions.” She sighs as if she regrets that things have changed.
    “The Lord has cleansed us from all of that, Colleen.” I study her. “And I’m sure you would never want to go back to that sinful lifestyle.”
    “Not really. But sometimes I think we, as Christians, get a little too uptight.”
    “We need to be on our guard,” I remind her. “Satan is prowling around like a lion, waiting to devour us. We need to be ready.”
    She waves her hand. “Oh, that lion had his teeth pulled out, Ruth. And he’s been declawed too. Remember that Jesus defeated him on the cross. Sure, we need to be aware that Satan is still around, but we don’t need to be afraid.”
    “I’m not saying we need to be afraid. I just think we need to be prepared and equipped and on guard. We need to be wearing God’s armor. We’re in a spiritual battle, you know. We need to defend ourselves.”
    She sighs. “But that shouldn’t be our only focus. Paranoid people like Pastor Glenn and Cynthia give Satan all the power when they only talk about being on the defensive. Why not be on the offensive and focus on God’s power and strength instead?”
    “Maybe we