LIII

BUT I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT WHOSOEVER LOOKS ON A WOMAN (MAN) TO LUST AFTER HER (HIM) HAS COMMITTED ADULTRY WITH HER (HIM) ALREADY IN HIS HEART.

(MATTHEW 5:28)

SEVEN SALLIE (FATHER OF SEVENIA SALLIE GIRL PROPHETESS)

“Dad!” my daughter had said a week ago, running an exasperated hand through her short auburn hair before putting fists on her hips. But a little smile played at her lips and her big lovely emerald eyes twinkled. “It would be nice if you would have asked me first. What if I don’t like doing this interview stuff for your podcast?”

“But you do, don’t you?”

“Well yeah, sort of,” she shrugged. “But it would have been courteous to talk to me before you announce something regarding me to your audience.”

“But I got a text from Jack while your interview was recording. He and his wife Jill would be willing to share their testimony on how their marriage went from nearly ending to becoming revived in a powerful way. They just renewed their wedding vows last week on their 25^th anniversary.”

“Wow, it does sound interesting,” Sevenia said. “I didn’t even know Jack Griffin was married. His wife’s name is Jill? Like Jack and Jill went up the hill?”

“To fetch a pail of Chili,” I said nodding.

“What? Don’t you mean water? Then Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.”

“This little ditty quite literally happened to their marriage,” I told Sevenia. “You just have to change some of the wording.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, Jack will explain. It has to do with a restaurant his wife went to work for and the guy that she fell love with.”

“Okay. Obviously, I know Jack. He’s been at Cotton Creek Cove fellowship ever since I’ve been going. But have I ever met his wife Jill?”

“I don’t know, have you?” I asked. “She’s been coming with him the last few weeks.”

“That woman he’s been coming with is his wife? I thought she was his sister.”

“Yeah, they do sort of look alike. Brown hair, brown eyes, narrow noses, thin lips.”

Seven days later I eyed my daughter as I prepared to record another interview. She talked with Jack and Jill. As often happened, affection for her swelled in my heart. She was so mature, wholesome, and had a way of putting people at ease. Her being part of my podcast was already boosting ratings.

“Are you all ready?” I asked. My daughter and Jill sat six feet across from each other at a table and Jack sat back and in between them, facing me. As I gazed at the ladies profiles, I decided to tease a little. My asking if they were ready had put a frightened look into Jill’s eyes. “Did you ladies decide to dress alike for the photos later?”

The three laughed. Then Jill and Sevenia look at each other, realizing that their light blue blouses looked similar. They were also wearing what I sometimes thought of as sort of a uniform for women who belong to our fellowship. Women tended to wear dresses on Sabbath, but long denim skirts otherwise. It wasn’t a rule or anything. But more women than not seemed to prefer this attire.

They also were both wearing navy tights. But Jill wore blue flat shoes while my daughter wore black converse sneakers. It was cool for early October, and it was the first I’d seen Sevenia in tights since May. It was a sad sign that summer was over.

I began the podcast by welcoming Sevenia back and introducing our guests to the audience. I explained that by calling the interview, the Seven Year Switch, it had nothing to do with my name. Rather, it signified the seven year period that a third party was involved in Jack and Jill’s legal marriage. With their marriage on the brink of ending, it suddenly and quickly turned around. I turned it over to my daughter to extract the details.

“We were talking about the famous Jack and Jill ditty before we got started here,” Sevenia said with a giggle. “Jack, would you explain the significance of the wording change you implemented. It would be a good way to get your story rolling.”

“Sure,” Jack replied and then cleared his throat. “Seven years ago, Jill and I had both gotten home late and we didn’t feel like making any supper. We lived in a small town, and I recalled having recently run into an old friend and former co-worker, Will. He told me he had opened a bar and grill in a neighboring town six miles away. The place was called Willie’s Chili and More Bar and Grill. I suggested we have supper there.”

“The town is kind of hilly, and after parking, you need to climb about dozen stairs or walk around on a ramp to get to the entrance. So we had a burger and a bowl of chili. Since it was late, we ended up being the last customers to finish eating. My old friend came over to sit at our table to ask us how our meal was and to catch up a little.”

“So this Will or Willie,” Sevenia said to Jill. “Is he the man you, ah…”

“Yes,” Jill interrupted quickly, followed with a nervous laugh. “Until that night, I hadn’t seen Will in years. It had been around ten years previous that he worked with Will. I had only met him a few times, but the irony is that I didn’t like him at all back then. Sure he was good looking, but I found him disgusting. He was a big blonde rowdy redneck. He always had a big wad of tobacco in his mouth and didn’t seem to be able to complete a sentence without a swear word. He was the type of guy that whistled at women passing by construction sites.”

“Was that the type of work you guys did back then?” Sevenia asked Jack.

“Still do, I’ve been a carpenter my whole life,” Jack replied.

“Okay. So Jill, you said you didn’t like Will back then, what had changed?” Sevenia asked.

“I guess the first thing I noticed was he aged well,” she replied. “For a big man approaching fifty, he still had more muscle than fat. He still had most of his hair and it was now a distinguished silver. But most importantly, he seemed to have matured. He seemed more sophisticated.”

“He also flattered Jill,” Jack interjected with a frown. “He mentioned she was pretty and fit.”

“That was after you suggested I work for him,” Jill replied, with a seemingly forced smile.

I felt myself go rigid. Was this interview, barely under way, about to go sideways? Was this interview going to cause their reconciliating to go the other way? I simply thought their story was inspiring. Thankfully, my smart girl kept them on the right path.

“Jack, I’m curious now,” Sevenia said. “Tell us your ditty.”

Jack and Jill looked at each other and chuckled. I felt myself relax a little.

“Just a little more background before the ditty,” Jack said with a sigh. “Jill’s right, I suggested that maybe she should waitress for Will. He had mentioned that he was hurting for help. Jill had worked part time at the county as a clerk, but due to budget cuts, she got let go. Before and just after we married she had waitressed for a couple years. She was hesitant with my suggestion, but that’s when Will said that with her good looks, she’d make nice tips.”

“But I was concerned about being on my feet for long periods of time,” Jill explained. “I remembered being exhausted when I was nineteen. How would I be at forty something? That’s when Will said I looked really fit to him. He also told me to please give it a try, and I could quit anytime, no hard feelings. Then we shook on it.”

“Right about that time, I excused myself to use the restroom,” Jack said. “When I came out, I didn’t like the way they were looking at each other, all googly eyed. Then I had gotten a text from a guy that worked for me. He said he was sick and wouldn’t be in the next day. As I was texting back, Will’s phone rang behind the bar. As he went to answer it, I noticed Jill didn’t take her eyes off of him. I thought, uh oh, what did I just do? Then I laughed to myself thinking, Jill’s never given me a reason not to trust her.”

“I’ll admit it,” Jill interjected. “It’s part of the healing process. I was smitten with Will. I didn’t believe then that I would ever actually cheat on Jack, but I was trusting to myself. When Jesus said that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery in his heart (Matthew 5:28). It doesn’t just apply to men. But with women, it’s more in the mind, the feelings.”

Jill and Sevenia both chuckled politely. My daughter opened her mouth to proceed with the interview, but Jack spoke.

“So the ditty,” He said with a sigh. “When Jill actually left me and moved in with Will, I wrote her a letter. I recalled that first meeting when we went for that fateful late supper. So I concluded  the letter with a P.S. It was a little poem. Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a bowl of chili. Jack turned around, and then he frowned, because he saw that Jill had eyes for Willie.”

“So Jill,” Sevenia said. “You mentioned the warning Jesus gave in the book of Matthew, yet you also mentioned trusting to yourself. Can you explain?”

“I’ll try,” Jill chuckled nervously. “Jack and I were both raised in religious homes. We both grew up in the same church. We were married in this church, and we were both virgins when we married. Well, I mean, technically. But until I left Jack for Will, we attended church regularly.”

I noticed Jack blush when his wife informed the audience about their level of being chaste when they married.

“We had two kids, and I was a stay at home mom until both our children were in school full time. I ended up getting a part time job with the county as a clerk. Over the years my prayer life and devotional life slowly dwindled. About a year before I started waitressing at Willie’s Chili, I was let go by the county. I ended up at a temp service. At one of the offices I worked at, I met and became friends with someone who raved about the book Fifty Shades of Grey.

“When she offered to loan me her copy, I had resisted at first. Up to that point in my life, I had mostly just read Christian fiction for recreational reading. To make a long story short, I gave it a try, and I couldn’t put it down. I was curious, tantalized and intrigued. All three in the trilogy had been out by then and within two weeks I had them all read.

“Just to be clear. I’m not into BDSM. Yet reading about it aroused me on some level. I went in search for something similar. I found myself at a used bookstore. The only other person there besides myself was a middle aged woman who was the cashier. I told her what I was looking for, and she led me to a small section labeled erotica.

“I spent the next hour reading the backs of twenty or thirty novels of erotic fiction as well as supposedly true stories. I purchased about a half dozen that intrigued me the most. I’m ashamed to say that I became addicted to erotica.

“Girl porn was the main reason for my downfall. Jack was a wonderful husband and father, we had a great marriage. But if it weren’t for my fascination with tantalizing sexual stories, I don’t believe I ever would have entered into an affair. Like it says in the book of James. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.” (James 1:14).

“Then when lust has conceived,” Jack said mechanically. “It brings forth sin. And when sin is finished it brings forth death.” (Verse 15).

Jill began sobbing hysterically.

“I’m sorry, Jill. I didn’t mean it that way,” Jack said soothingly. Then he spoke something into her ear and patted her back. She kissed his check, but then only sobbed the harder. Sevenia put an arm around her and looked at me. I whirled my hand to keep recording. Sevenia scowled and shook her head. I nodded and we took a break.