Page 57 of Roping Her In

“Hey, you,” she said as quietly as she could.

He recognized her in that same moment and immediately slid down a couple of spaces to sit right beside her. “You got Starr?” he whispered. “Lucky.”

The little girl smiled up at him too, and then they all looked back up to the pastor. Something fizzy flowed through Hailey’s blood, because while she and Jake hadn’t arranged to sit by one another at church, doing so had still happened and it felt amazing.

To her surprise, her mother had not asked her twenty questions about her relationship with Jake. She’d simply said, That’s so wonderful, Hailey. Jake Ahlstrom is a great man, and I hope the two of you enjoy getting to know one another.

She then said that Hailey could bring anyone she wanted to the Shiloh Ridge branding extravaganza, as they invited all the cowboys and ranchers in the Three Rivers area to come help get their calves marked for the year. Three Rivers did the same thing, coordinating with the bigger operations, like Shiloh Ridge and Seven Sons, to get the work done that needed to be done.

Sitting there with a little girl on her lap and a beautiful man at her side, Hailey couldn’t help imagining her future with Jake as her husband and Starr as their own daughter. The thoughts were dangerous, and Hailey pushed them back into the recesses of her mind.

“Today I want to talk about working through your fears and doubts,” the pastor said. “We read in Chronicles about King Jehoshaphat, who was being surrounded on all sides by opposing armies. His enemies were closing in, and he knew they were not equipped to fight back.

“I want you to take a second and think about this scenario in your own life. In our modern day lives, we most likely don’t have armies amassing against us. In fact, most of us probably don’t even have enemies that we’re well aware of.

“Sure, there might be the occasional person we don’t get along with that well, or that has said a few things to hurt our feelings, but that’s not the same thing as an enemy army marching toward you, with its sole goal to destroy you.”

He smiled warmly, and Hailey felt personally invited in to this discussion, though it would be one-sided.

“So, what in your life would represent these armies coming against you, surrounding you from all sides? I want you to think about that for a moment.”

The pastor paused there, as if truly giving them time and space to think.

Hailey thought about it, and she supposed she’d put her fixation on things in that camp, because they often filled her time to the point where she didn’t dedicate herself to her scripture study the way she should. Sometimes she was so tired that she couldn’t even kneel down to pray.

She did worry that if she didn’t dedicate her time to studying, that she wouldn’t pass her classes, and she’d have to drop out of the program. Or she wouldn’t get a promotion she’d been working for.

But maybe you don’t need to be number one, a voice whispered in her head.

“Some of you might have things come to mind immediately, and others of you might need even more than those few seconds I gave you to think.” The pastor smiled out at all of them. “I’ll give you some examples of what these armies might represent in our day and age.”

He held up one finger. “Sins,” he said. “Past sins that you’ve committed that you haven’t sought forgiveness for or repented of yet. Those can close in on you until you feel like you’re being choked and are completely cut off from the Lord.”

He shook his head, his smile happy and sad at the same time. “My brothers and sisters, there’s no need for this. God doesn’t want you to continue to suffer any more than you already have.

“If there is something you’ve done in your life that you haven’t made right yet, start today to get that taken care of. If you don’t know how, I’m happy to meet with you to go over a few options, and one of the very best ways I know how to figure out what God wants me to do is to simply ask Him. That’s what Jehoshaphat did. He went to the Lord, and he said, ‘What are we to do about this?’

“My friends, you can put anything where I said ‘this.’ Any strained relationship can go there. What am I going to do about my sister, who’s been a real jerk and hurt my feelings? How can I make things better between me and my dad, because every time we talk, all we do is argue. Anything at all can go there. How can I let my wife know that I love her and appreciate her? How can I find work to pay my bills?”

Starr started to slide out of Hailey’s lap, and she quickly let the little girl stand on her feet while keeping her safe.

“Perhaps if it’s not sin surrounding you, it’s the cares of the world,” the pastor said. “And I don’t want to make light of those, because we live here, and we do need money to pay for things, and we do have to deal with personalities that might be difficult for us. We all come with differing opinions, and habits, and wants, and needs.

“You might be overwhelmed with health challenges, or caring for others, or work and family responsibilities. Even good things can sometimes feel like an army about to attack. So what do we do?”

He scanned the crowd as if he’d take hands and let the members of the congregation answer his question.

“In the scriptures, we see Jehoshaphat go to the Lord and ask for help, and that is the very best thing we can do. Talk to Him, just as you would a best friend or your mother—if you get along with her.”

A smattering of laughter moved through the crowd. Hailey found herself smiling, especially when Jake bent over and picked up Starr. He settled the little girl on his lap, and she curled into his chest. She and Jake hadn’t talked about children yet, as they’d only been dating for a few weeks, but he’d said he wanted a wife to build his life with, and Hailey supposed she’d assumed that included children.

“And then, don’t doubt that God heard you. Don’t doubt that He’ll answer you, and don’t be afraid of what He tells you to do. You can never go wrong when following a prompting from the Lord. He told King Jehoshaphat to fear not, and neither be discouraged. And we see in those scriptures, that Jehoshaphat trusted in the Lord, and did exactly what the Lord said, and God fought the armies for him.”

The pastor really leaned into the pulpit then, his gaze blazing with energy Hailey could feel all the way in the back of the chapel. “My friends, He stands ready and willing to do the same for you, if you too will put your trust in Him, and doubt not and fear not.”

Hailey loved the way this pastor testified and spoke of God as a loving Father in Heaven, continually concerned about the welfare of His children. It aligned with how she’d been taught growing up, and she was so glad that Libby had forced her off of the on-call rotation, so she could be at this meeting today.

She laced her arm through Jake’s and leaned into his shoulder. She was glad when he shifted a little bit closer to her and ducked his head. “Do you want to come to my place for lunch after this?” he whispered.