TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 12

APRIL 1986

“Did you tell him?” Dawn asked her husband Hal as he slowly walked into their bedroom. His hands were in his pockets as he stroked his chin thoughtfully, wearing both a puzzled frown and a smirk.

“No,” Hal replied quietly. Since Dawn had been putting off for weeks telling their close friend that he was going to be a father, Hal agreed to do it. But once on the phone with Ed, he didn’t do it.

“Oh, and why’s that?” she inquired, calmly, yet curiously.

“A couple reasons,” Hal said. He then slowly pulled a hand out of his pocket, scratched his head, and put his hand back in his pocket. Then he stared at an empty chair as if it was fascinating.

“Okay,” Dawn drawled slowly. “Are you gonna tell me?”

“It sounds like he’s in love,” Hal chuckled.

“What!” Dawn replied, feeling a jolt of excitement and then a strange twist of jealousy. But why? She and Ed had made a terrible mistake, and it would never happen again. Her  marriage with Hal was moving forward nicely, despite her now carrying Ed’s daughter. Her envy must be for her deceased friend Wendy, or simply a sense protectiveness for  Ed. “You said a couple reasons?”

“Yeah, he’s coming back in a couple weeks for a visit,” Hal explained. “I figured the news that he was going to have a daughter would be better told in person.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Dawn replied as she put away laundry into their dresser. Hal came up behind her and pulled her into a spoon embrace. He kissed her neck, gently rubbing her stomach.

Dawn noticed that the more advanced she became with her pregnancy, the more loving her husband had become. He seemed to be truly excited with the prospect of a daughter, even though she wasn’t biologically his. She just hoped that Ed’s reaction didn’t throw a wrench in it somehow.

“You said Ed is coming back for a visit. Is he not staying for the summer?” Dawn inquired.

“That’s right.”

“So, this woman he’s in love with. Is she keeping him in Arizona?”

“Apparently.”

“Is she coming with on the visit?”

“Yeah.”

“Well that’s gonna make telling him he’s gonna be a father by his best friend’s wife a little difficult,” Dawn spewed,but instantly regretted it. She turned and looked at Hal. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

“You know, mentioning that Ed’s the, um, sperm donor.”

Hal smiled. “Honey, I’m well aware of how you got in this condition.”

“You mean fat,” she joked as she looped her arms around Hal’s neck.

“No, I mean sexy with child,” he laughed before kissing her passionately.

Dawn marveled that her husband seemed more amorous than ever. She was feeling like a cow, but Hal couldn’t seem to take his hands off of her. Better than the other way around. Yet she wondered if his extra attention had more to do with insecurity, and claiming his territory rather than genuine attraction. Regardless, she let the rest of the laundry wait, and let her husband have his way with her.

Two weeks later, Dawn and Hal picked up Ed and his new girlfriend at the airport. Dawn and Hal were both surprised at the resemblance Nicole, Ed’s girlfriend, bore to his deceased wife. She was a tall voluptuous redhead who could have easily passed for Wendy’s sister.

After grins, introductions, and hugs were exchanged, Ed’s smile faded as he couldn’t help stealing glances at Dawn’s midsection. But he wasn’t going to ask. She clearly looked pregnant, but he had once witnessed Wendy asking a woman when she was due. They were both mortified when the woman declared that she wasn’t expecting.

“Just so you know,” Dawn said with a coy smile. “I haven’t been drinking lots of Budweiser, I’m pregnant.”

“Wow, really?” Ed said in amazement. But he hadn’t been a detective by mistake. However, he didn’t know what to say. When Hal watched his friend staring dumbfounded at his wife’s midsection, he realized that it was a huge mistake to have not told him beforehand.

“We’re gonna have a little girl,” Dawn declared as she looped an arm through Hal’s. Yet she looked Ed right in the eyes when she said it.

“You don’t say,” Ed said as he forced a smile. “I’m guessing it was unplanned?”

“Completely,” Dawn replied. “But Hal and I are excited. And that’s not all.”

“Oh?”

“We’re gonna be grandparents, too,” Dawn added.

“Congratulations,” Ed said, and then stammered. “I mean, for both.”

“The weird thing is, our granddaughter is due before our daughter.”

“You don’t say,” Ed chuckled.

The foursome drove to the Strom residence, and the guests were set up in a spare bedroom. Before Hal ordered pizza for dinner, Ed took his old friend aside. He scratched his head and had an awkward expression. “Say Hal… Did you have your vasectomy reversed?”

“Come on, Ed,” Hal chuckled. “You know better than that.”

“So I’m…?”

“Yes, you’re the baby’s father.”

“Hal, I don’t know what to say,” Ed replied, looking a bit bewildered. “Are we good?”

Hal remembered Ed asking this same thing in the aftermath of his fling with his wife. “We are.”

Ed ran a hand through his dark blonde hair. “I wish you’d have told me sooner.”

“I was leaving it up to Dawn to tell you,” Hal said with a shrug. “She kept procrastinating.”

After dinner, the two couples chatted for over an hour. Then Nicole declared weariness from travel and went to bed. Hal, his whole adult life nurturing a habit of early to bed and early to rise, turned in. This left Dawn, Ed, and their unborn daughter alone.

“May I?” Ed asked with a grin as a hand hovered over Dawn’s stomach.

“Sure,” she replied with a smile and a shrug.

Ed gently ran his hand over her belly. Then without asking, he pulled up her blouse far enough to expose her midsection and gave his daughter soft kisses. Dawn felt inappropriate sensations that reminded her of the night their baby was conceived. Why was something so pleasurable so wrong?

She placed a hand on the back of his head in an effort to get him to stop, but he miss interpreted the gesture. He raised his head and kissed her. Taken by surprise, she let the lip lock linger. But when he attempted to deepen it, Dawn pushed him away. “Eddie, what are you doing?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “It’s just, well, you’ve never looked more beautiful.”

Dawn smiled, placing her hand on his cheek.

“I love you, Dawn,” Ed told her.

“I love you too, Eddie,” Dawn replied. “But I also love Hal, and he’s who I’m married to. And what made this baby could have easily cost me that marriage. But Hal has a big, forgiving heart, and he forgave not just me, but both of us.”

“I know,” Ed said, sighed, then chuckled. “I love him as much as I love you.”

“Then tomorrow, I want to see you give his belly soft kisses,” Dawn said and laughed. “Then kiss him on the mouth.”

Ed winced and scratched his head. “Look, I love Hal as much, but not the same exact way, I suppose.”

Dawn laughed. “Speaking of Hal, he suggested that you’re in love with Nicole.

“I guess.”

“You guess? Isn’t being in love something you should know?”

“Ah, me lass,” Ed said with an Irish accent. “Who knoweth or understandeth the human heart?”

“Not I, lad,” Dawn replied with her own Irish accent.

“What do you think of Nicole?”

“I think she looks an awful lot like Wendy.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, but she certainly doesn’t have Wendy’s personality.”

“I suppose that’s why I said ‘I guess’ over the question of love.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, over the last couple of weeks it started going the other way. It was actually this trip that turned our relationship around.”

“How long have you two been seeing each other?”

“Since November.”

“How did you meet?”

“She runs an art gallery. As you know, Wendy loved art, was an artist, as well as an art teacher. So I was perusing Nicole’s gallery, and we got to talking. She was impressed with my knowledge of art, and I was impressed with her legs, chest, long red hair, and pretty face.”

Dawn smirked. “I notice you mentioned face last.”

“Last but not least.”

“So tell me why your relationship is doing an about face.”

Ed shrugged. “I was pretty smitten with her the first couple months. I mean, I did think she was a little snooty, but… Anyway, when I suggested this trip back to Minnesota, she didn’t really want to go, but I talked her into it. Ever since, she hasn’t seemed to hold back.”

“Hold back what?”

“Nagging, and just being a cold, all-around witch.”

“That’s too bad.”

“I’ve actually been kind of hoping she’d break up with me,” Ed said with a chuckle. Then he gave Dawn’s belly a little pat. “But now I have a good reason to move back here permanently.”

Dawn inwardly cringed. “I know you still need time to get your head around our baby. But do you have an idea of how involved you want to be in your daughter’s life?”

“Very involved,” Ed replied. Then he noticed a pained look on Dawn’s face as she chewed on her lower lip. “Why, how involved do you want me to be?”

“Very involved,” Dawn said, touching his arm and wincing. “But more in the role of an uncle.”

“So, you want the parentage to remain a secret.”

“I’d like everyone to assume that Hal’s the biological father.”

“Isn’t that dishonest?”

“What makes it dishonest? When our boys inquired about me getting pregnant after all these years, I basically told them it was an opps. Which it was. Hal and I never ever talked about our sex life in front of them, so what’s wrong with letting them assume he’s the father? My sex life is my business, and private, period.”

“Fair point.”

“Am I being fair though? To you?”

“Absolutely,” Ed said, taking her hand in his. “I want what you want. I fully understand I’m not your husband, and I had no business impregnating you in the first place. So I’m just grateful to be Uncle Eddie.”

“Thank you,” Dawn smiled, then leaned in and hugged him. She jolted when the phone rang. Then a wave of anxiety flashed through her when she saw it was a quarter past eleven. Who could be calling at this hour? It couldn’t be good. “Hello?”

“Hi, Grandma,” her son said cheerfully into her ear.

She felt relieved that his tone was so upbeat, thinking there must not be anything wrong. She laughed. “Now don’t be calling me a grandma just yet.”

“Why not?” David chuckled. “I’m holding your granddaughter as we speak. She decided to come a couple weeks early.”

“You’re kidding!”

“I’m not. April Lilly Storm was born a half hour ago. She’s slightly underweight, but otherwise healthy with powerful little lungs.”

Dawn felt her eyes well with gratitude. “April Storm. It has been thundering and lightning tonight, too.”

Suddenly the baby in Dawn’s womb gave her the hardest kick to date. This caused Dawn to recall Luke chapter 1:41, when John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb upon hearing the greeting from Mary, who carried baby Jesus in her womb. Dawn whispered a thank you to the Lord for a healthy baby grandchild, grinning from ear to ear as she wiped at a tear.

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 25)

“Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28.

The heaviest burden that we bear is sin. If we were left to bear this burden, it would crush us. But the Sinless One has taken our place. “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6.

He is watching over you! Are you tempted, He will deliver. Are you weak? He will strengthen. Are you ignorant? He will enlighten. Are you wounded? He will heal. “He tells the number of the stars;” and yet, “He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:4, and 3.

Whatever your anxieties and trials, spread out your case before the Lord. Your spirit will be braced for endurance. The way will be opened for you to disentangle yourself from embarrassment or difficulty. The weaker and more helpless you know yourself to be, the stronger you will become in His strength.

Jesus tells us how His rest is to be found. “Take My yoke upon you,” He says. The yoke is an instrument of service. Cattle were yoked for labor, and the yoke is essential that they may labor effectually. We are to take upon us His yoke, that we may be co-workers with Him.

The yoke that binds to service is the law of God.

Those who accept the one principle of making the service and honor of God supreme will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet.

Worry is blind and cannot discern the future, but Jesus sees the end from the beginning.

Redemption is that process by which the soul is trained for heaven. This training means a knowledge of Christ.

In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, nor dejected by censure or disappointment. Amid the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage.

But many who profess to be His followers have an anxious, troubled heart, because they are afraid to trust themselves with God. They do not make a complete surrender to Him. They shrink from the consequences that such a surrender may involve. Unless they do make this surrender, they cannot find peace.

Those who take Christ at His word and surrender their souls to His keeping, their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3

As through Jesus we enter into rest, heaven begins here. We respond to His invitation, Come, learn of Me, and in thus coming we begin the life eternal.

Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God through Christ.

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 11

FEBRUARY 1986

“When are you gonna tell Eddie that he’s gonna be a father?” Hal asked his wife.

Dawn looked startled. “Why do I have to tell him?”

“Who else? Surely you don’t expect me too?”

“Why does he have to know?”

Hal laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Dawn, he’s a close friend of ours. He’s gonna find out sooner or later that you’re either with child or had a child.”

Dawn’s eyes looked sad and pleading. “I know I don’t deserve it. But I was hoping you would claim the child is yours.”

“Honey, Eddie knows I’ve had a vasectomy. He’s gonna put two and two together.”

“Yeah, but the rest of the world doesn’t know.”

“But that’s a lie. I don’t want to live a lie.”

“So, you’re not gonna help me raise her?” Dawn asked with a stern expression as she folded her arms.

“Of course I am,” Hal replied, and then he frowned. “You know you’re gonna have a girl?”

Dawn shrugged a shoulder. “No, not for sure, just a hunch. Anyway, if you’re gonna raise her, you are her father, even if the sperm wasn’t… You know… .”

Hal pursed his lips and nodded. “Look, I will let people assume I’m the dad, but we still need to let Eddie know he’s gonna be a father. Then if he wants to go along with your wish, fine. But also, if he wants to be part of the child’s life, he has every right.”

“Does he? What right did he have having sex with a married woman?”

Hal snorted. “You let him.”

Dawn’s jaw clenched, and Hal could see tears welling. “So now you’re reneging on that night being your fault too?”

“No,” Hal said with a sigh, closing his eyes and put a hand on his forehead.

“Now my blood pressure is spiking right before my doctor’s appointment,” Dawn groaned.

“I’m sorry,” Hal said, sighed again, and looked at his watch. “We better go.”

An hour later Dawn had a dreamy look on her face as she and Hal exited the doctor’s office. She linked her arm with her husband’s. “We’re gonna have a baby girl, Hal.”

Hal was thrilled that she said we, not I, and grinned. “I guess you were right.”

“About what?”

“You said you had a feeling it was a girl.”

Dawn giggled, shrugged, and hung onto Hal’s arm a little tighter. Hal had been worried that Dawn would end up with postpartum depression worse than with David and Luke. Between her age and manner in which she conceived, he felt the outlook for her mental health was bleak.

But now he could see that his wife was excited about the prospect of having a daughter. He remembered when they were expecting David, and he picked up on clues that Dawn hoped for a girl. Then with Luke, she actually bought some girl’s clothes before he was born. Hal often wondered if the unfulfilled desire for a daughter contributed to Dawn’s struggle with depression.

As Hal pulled the car out of the doctor’s parking lot, he felt joyful with the contented smile on his wife’s face. Her getting a daughter might be a difference maker in what was sure to be a complicated situation. It pained him that he wasn’t the biological father. However, that actually made him the more determined to raise their girl as his own.

Hal’s grin then left his face when he realized that right now was the best time to broach a subject they’ve been avoiding. “You know, it’s probably time we should let the boys know that they’re gonna have a sister.”

Now the smile also left Dawn’s face, and she gave Hal a startled look before she asked. “You’ll claim to be the father, right?”

“Listen, Dawn, I’m fine with letting people assume I’m your baby’s father. But are you asking me to lie if someone happens to press the question on us?”

“No,” she replied sullenly. Hal thought for a second she was going to give him a pouty lip. “But if the boys don’t press it, who will? They don’t know you’ve had a vasectomy, do they?”

“I never told them, so I don’t know how they could.”

“Good, so the only person that knows is Eddie. And what better person to be the only one?”

“That’s another thing though, Dawn. This will be Eddie’s only child, what if he wants to be involved in her life? What if he wants joint custody? We won’t be able to hide her real parentage then.”

“I believe he will honor my wishes.”

“I hope so, but who knows the human heart?”

“It’s deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?” Dawn added with a coy smile. “But he loves me, and he’ll want what’s best for our little girl as well as our marriage. He will understand that you appearing to be the father will allow her to grow up without the stigma of, you know…”

Her words, “he loves me” and “our little girl,” were like a slap in the face from the green eyed monster. But Hal shook it off. “I believe you’re right. I was just cautioning that you never know about people.”

Now Dawn felt a sting of guilt by her husband’s words of never knowing about people. She never thought she would ever be an adulterous woman, but she was with her growing abdomen as one of the consequences. Hal also probably thought his best friend would never go to bed with his wife, but he did. What would her boys think of her if they knew the truth?

“Will you contact David and invite him to dinner tonight?”

“Sure.”

When Hal got off the phone with their son, she asked why he was frowning.

“Dave sounded nervous, saying he has something he needs to talk to us about,” Hal replied. “He said he had been putting it off, and he wanted to talk to you and me alone. He said he would tell his brother right after he talked to us in private. I told him Luke wouldn’t be home from basketball practice until five thirty, and asked if he could come early. He said he’ll be here by five.”

Dawn felt a wave of anxiety pass through, and she put a hand on her stomach. Did David have a serious illness? Was he gonna drop out of college? Was he in legal trouble? Was he gonna come out as gay? He had been awful secretive about his love life since he graduated high school.

At five on the nose, Dawn, Hal, and their oldest son took seats at the kitchen table. Dave twisted a drinking straw in his fingers when he blurted. “My girlfriend is pregnant, and were gonna get married in April.”

Dawn and Hal stared at their son with gaping mouths. Dawn now suspected who and was horrified. Hal composed himself first. “And who’s your girlfriend?”

Dave glanced at his mother. “Angie Ferguson.”

Now the protective mother surfaced, and Dawn tried not to sound stern when she asked. “So, do you have to wait until April so her divorce can be finalized?”

“Mom, it’s not what you think.”

“Oh, and what do I think?”

“You probably think Angie is a loose woman, or something. Well, she’s not!”

“David, I like Angie, and I realize she’s had bad luck with men, but…”

“But what?” David asked disgruntled, and he abruptly folded his arms.

“Who’s Angie?” Hal asked with a frown.

“She works at the department store,” Dawn replied.

Three years earlier, Dawn got David a part time job at the store where she was employed. He continued working there as he went to community college, pursing an A.A. in business. Then he had planned on a university and a bachelor’s degree.

“Her dad owns the store,” David added in an attempt to put his girlfriend in a good light.

“And what does he think about this?” Dawn asked.

“He doesn’t know.”

“How could he not? I could tell for the last couple weeks that she was with child. I assumed she got back with her husband. I had no clue that you put her in that condition. I mean, I knew you two were chummy and all. But for goodness sakes, she’s thirty-two years old and going through a second divorce. You just turned twenty.”

“Three months ago.”

“Oh, three months ago?” Dawn added sarcastically. “I guess it’s not that big of an age gap then after all.”

Dawn glanced at her husband, and then did a double take. His expression looked more forlorn than when he had picked her up at Eddie’s after her night of debauchery and adultery.

“Look,” David explained. “Angie married her high school sweetheart just a month after they graduated. Within the first year, she discovered he was cheating on her with her best friend. I mean, can you imagine that?”

Hal noticed Dawn’s eyes looked startled, and then she simply bowed her head and nodded.

“Then her current husband leads her on about starting a family when they were dating,” David continued. “Then after a year of not being able to conceive, she gets checked out and is perfectly, um, fertile, I guess. So she tries to get her husband to get checked. He puts it off, and puts it off. She keeps pressing, and he finally confesses that he has had a vasectomy, and actually doesn’t want any more kids.”

Dawn and Hal both looked at each other, both wondering what the other is thinking.

The discussion continued. Dawn and Hal questioned their son about college. They brought up adoption as an option. They suggested he didn’t have to get married just because she was pregnant, but he could still support her. How did he know the child was his anyway?

After dinner when Dawn and Hal informed both of their sons that they were gonna have a sister, Dawn felt like a hypocrite. When the question of pregnancy after seventeen years came up, Dawn just said it was an accident, that she didn’t think she could still get pregnant and had become careless.

“You know, Angie and I are having a baby girl, too,” David said happily.

“Really, a little girl?” Dawn asked pleasantly. “You never said when the due date was.”

“You never asked.”

Dawn pursed her lips in exasperation. “Well, I’m asking now.”

“May fourth,” David replied. “How about my sister?”

“June twenty-third,” Dawn answered.

“How about that!” Luke laughed. “I’ll have a niece before I have a sister.”

“Yeah, you guys, how about that?” David chuckled. “You’ll be grandparents before you’re parents again.”

Dawn and Hal looked at each other. Dawn looked stunned and speechless. Hal smiled weakly. “Yeah, how about that?”

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 24)

(See Matthew 12:22-50 Mark 3:20-35)

Whatever the sin, if the soul repents and believes, the guilt is washed away in the blood of Christ. But he who rejects the work of the Holy Spirit is placing himself where repentance and faith cannot come to him.

It is by the Spirit that God works upon the heart. When men willfully reject the Spirit, and even declare it to be from Satan, they cut off the channel by which God can communicate with them.

It is not God that blinds the eyes of men or hardens their hearts. He sends them light to correct their errors, and to lead them in safe paths. It is by rejection of this light that the eyes are blinded and the heart hardened.

Often the process is gradual, and almost imperceptible. Light comes to the soul through God’s word, through His servants, or by the direct agency of His Spirit. But when one ray of light is disregarded, there is a partial benumbing of the spiritual perceptions, and the second revealing of light is less clearly discerned. So the darkness increases, until it is night in the soul.

People are influenced by their own words. Often under a momentary impulse, prompted by Satan, they give utterance to jealousy or evil surmising, expressing that which they do not really believe. But the expression reacts on the thoughts.

It is not only by resistance, but by neglect that the soul is destroyed.

When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which a person can never accomplish for themselves. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature.

It is not necessary for us deliberately to choose the service of the kingdom of darkness in order to come under its dominion. We have only to neglect to ally ourselves with the kingdom of light.

The only defense against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart through faith in His righteousness.

Unless we become vitally connected with God, we can never resist the unhallowed effects of self-love, self-indulgence, and temptation to sin. We may leave off many bad habits, but without a vital connection with God, through the surrender of ourselves to Him moment by moment, we shall be overcome.

Without a personal acquaintance with Christ, and a continual communion, we are at the mercy of the enemy, and shall do his bidding in the end.

Jesus’s brothers often saw Him full of grief; but instead of comforting Him, their spirit and words only wounded His heart. His sensitive nature was tortured, His motives were misunderstood, His work was uncomprehended.

His brothers presumed to think that they could teach Him who understood all truth, and comprehended all mysteries. They avowed faith in God, and thought they were vindicating God, when God was with them in the flesh, and they knew Him not.

There were none on earth who could comprehend His divine mission, or know the burden which He bore on behalf of humanity. Often He could find relief only in being alone, and communing with His heavenly Father.

Christ loves the heavenly beings that surround His throne. But what shall account for the great love wherewith He has loved us? We cannot understand it, but we can know it to be true in our own experience.

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 10

SEPTEMBER 1985 to FEBRUARY 1986

Dawn felt like it had to be the ultimate walk of shame as she and her husband walked to the car, especially when he opened her door for her as he whistled softly. Was it some psychological ploy to make her feel worse? Or was he really this forgiving after literally finding her in bed with his best friend?

A side of her wished Hal would have punched Ed. Instead, when she came out of the bathroom, she discovered Hal and Ed sitting under the awning outside. They were chatting casually as if it were just any other day.

When she stepped outside of the camper, her husband arose and calmly asked if she was ready. She wished he would yell at her, or at least act mad. Instead he just seemed disappointed. Twenty minutes previous when he found her hiding in the small bathroom, he seemed on the verge of tears as he took in the sight of her wearing one of Ed’s shirts.

“You forgot these,” he had said matter of fact as he handed her black tights to her. Her face flushed as she recalled Ed pulling them off of her and tossing them at the table the night before.

Dawn felt extra dirty wearing yesterday’s clothes. She pulled her boots off as Hal drove out of the campground, propped her feet on the dashboard, and slouched down as if to hide. She found it ironic that Hal waved at Ed as they left, but she didn’t.

Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t. She was horrified when she caught the scent of her forbidden lover on herself. Why hadn’t she taken a shower? She was simply too eager to get out this place. Besides, what was the point of showering when she was putting all of her dirty clothes on afterward? Her dull, throbbing brain hadn’t factored driving home with her husband in the close proximity of the car.

As they rode in silence, Hal’s emotions whirled. It hurt him to the core to think that his relationship with his wife and best friend was tarnished. Other than his two children, there was nobody in the world he was closer to than Dawn and Ed.

Hal tried not to look at it as a betrayal. Dawn and Ed had developed an extra close bond after Wendy’s death. He had let them. They just happened to get a little too close, leading to a  mistake. Hal felt more left out than betrayed. Not that he wanted threesome. That would just be weird as well as wrong. But if Dawn was going to cheat, he was glad it was with Ed rather than a gold chain wearing, mustached Marlboro man who drove a corvette.

Dawn found the silence was deafening as they drove. “Hal, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he replied, forcing a smile.

“I wish you’d yell at me or something.”

Hal laughed. “Listen, Dawn, I’m to blame for what happened last night too.”

“How do you figure?” she asked with a frown.

“You told me you weren’t gonna behave.”

Dawn’s frown deepened. “I was joking… Sort of.”

“Many a truth is said in jest.”

“So you’re saying you knew Ed and I were gonna fool around?”

“No, I didn’t know. But I figured it was more likely than not.”

“Why did you let it happen then?”

“I wasn’t fit to drive after drinking a bottle of wine, and you didn’t want to take a cab.”

Dawn studied her husband as something began to occur to her. “Hal, can I ask you something?”

Hal frowned at his wife. She had never asked permission to ask him something before. “Of course.”

“Never mind.”

Dawn took an especially long shower after they got home. When she stepped from the shower, she was surprised to find her husband smiling at her, wearing her robe. “We’re home alone.”

Despite still feeling grogging from too much drink the previous night, Dawn grinned from ear to ear at the prosect of repairing her marriage so fast. Hal was extra passionate, and Dawn chocked it up to some animalist desire to reclaim his territory. Then the question she had earlier returned as they were in a post coital cuddle. “Can I ask you something?”

“Is this the question you said never mind about?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re gonna ask me this time?”

“Why did you drink last night? I haven’t seen you have a drink in a few years, let alone a whole bottle of wine.”

“Well, I was worried and, well, feeling lonely and left out.”

“Please don’t be mad with my next question,” Dawn began, and then chewed her lower lip nervously.

“What is it?”

“Let me qualify it before I ask. Given what transpired last night, I hope your answer is yes. So here it goes, did you at any point in your history with Wendy ever fool around together? Even if it was just a more than friendly kiss?”

Hal told her about the deep kiss he and Wendy shared back in 1969. It was then that Dawn happened to interrupt the passion with a phone call. A call that told them both that Ed was back from the war. A call that stopped what likely would have been an illicit affair between Wendy and Hal. A call that inevitably sent Wendy and Ed on track to rekindle their romance.

Dawn forced a smile, asking gently. “Is that why you are forgiving Ed and me so easy?”

Hal snorted. “This is anything but easy.”

“The way you’ve handled it so far has made it easier for both Ed and me, and I’m very grateful.”

“Yeah, it certainly plays a role in me forgiving so fast, but there’s something else,” Hal said, and then he chewed on his lip as he considered his words.

“What else?” Dawn asked, eagerly.

“It was the very last one on one conversation I had with Wendy,” Hal said, and then he fought hard to not choke up on his words. “She obviously knew she was dying. Yet her concern was for all of us, especially Eddie and you. She talked about how the war, and even things Eddie saw as a cop had affected him. He had horrible nightmares, followed by sleepless nights. So on top of that, she was very worried about how he would handle her death.”

Hal pinched the bridge of his nose and bowed his head. Tears leaked from Dawn’s eyes as she gently rubbed Hal’s arm.

“She was worried about you too, Honey,” Hal said, forcing a smile. “The years when you struggled with depression. She was also concerned with how both of you and Eddie had lost your, um, spiritual zeal.”

Dawn closed her eyes, bowed her head, and nodded. She couldn’t stop feeling the sting of yesterday’s sins. She began to sob, and Hal hugged her tight. When she settled, Hal finished speaking about Wendy.

“Anyway,” he continued. “She told me that you and Ed were gonna need each other. I told her I knew that. She said it could be dangerous because of your lack of spirituality, coupled with your love for each other. I told her I know, but I’ll give them all the freedom they need, I’ll set them free. Then she smiled and squeezed my hand.”

Hal snorted, grinned, and shook his head.

“Was there something more?” Dawn asked.

“Oh, it’s just this stupid song I keep hearing ever since Ed returned last month from Florida. It’s by The Police. It goes, if you love someone, set them free. Free, free, set them free.”

“That’s not The Police,” Dawn corrected. “It’s by Sting, the singer for The Police.”

“Huh? Oh, whatever. Anyway, I swear, half the time I go into some store I hear that song. At first it made me feel, I don’t know, comforted. But now I can’t stand it.”

“Sorry,” Dawn said.

“No, I mean… Never mind,” Hal replied, smiling as he rubbed her shoulder.

The next day, Hal noticed Dawn throwing away a sack of books. He frowned. “Why are you throwing away books? Why don’t you take them to the used bookstore like usual?”

“I’ve decided they’re not appropriate reading material,” Dawn replied uneasily. “To be honest Hal, I’ve developed some bad habits. I’m just supremely regretful that it took infidelity to wake me up to my spiritual lethargy. Once again, I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” Hal replied, giving her a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to keep saying that. I’m not going to take back my forgiveness, and neither will God.”

“I’ve asked God, you know.”

“Asked Him what?”

“To forgive me for my grievous sins. Also that I repent and want to renew my faith.”

“Honey, that’s wonderful!”

“And putting this trash in the trash is part of it,” she grinned.

Three days later, Hal had convinced Ed that it was okay to come over for dinner. When he witnessed how awkward it was for Dawn and Ed, he thought he had made a mistake. Nobody could seem to breath with the gigantic elephant in the room. But good relationships are built on communication, and Hal persevered in getting everyone to talk it out, moving forward.

It did cross Hal’s mind that it was strange for the cuckhold in an adulterous situation to be the peacemaker. But due to his selflessness, things got mostly back to normal for the threesome. Dawn and Ed even began hugging again, although awkwardly. Despite himself, their awkwardness and caution around each other pleased Hal.

At the end of October, Ed decided to go to Arizona for the winter instead of Florida. Hal marveled that the aftermath of what could have been a relationship catastrophe, ended up reviving Dawn’s spiritual life. Due to her repentance and recommitment, their relationship was better than ever. It was frightening that it sometimes took a person hitting rock bottom to wake them up. But although forgiven, sin does have its consequences.

In Early January, Hal noticed that Dawn was looking a little pudgy around the middle. He figured it was from too much food during the holidays. But a month later, it caught his attention again. She not only seemed a little more bigger, she was more rounded in the middle.

“Dawn, can ask you something?” Hal asked.

Dawn felt herself tense. She couldn’t recall her husband ever asking if he could ask her a question.

“Of course.”

Hal winced, scratching his head. “Are you pregnant?”

“Of course not,” Dawn laughed. “You’re rude. Just because I’ve fattened up a little over the holidays and winter, you ask if I’m pregnant.”

“But I don’t recall you having your monthly cycle for a while either.”

“Some women go through menopause early,” she shrugged, then rolled her eyes, and grinned. “I am almost forty. Besides, you seem to have forgotten, silly, you’ve had a vasectomy.”

“That’s true,” Hal said, and then smiled sadly. “But Eddie hasn’t.”

Dawn’s face fell as realization washed over her. Did she really not consider the possibility? Hal wondered. Maybe it was some way her mind was trying to protect itself. Regardless, she needed to face reality. He could feel that his blood pressure had spiked.

“Dawn, during your and Eddie’s night of indiscretion, did he use a condom?”

Dawn seemed to be in a trance for a moment before she softly replied, “No.”

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 23)

The Centurion (See Matthew 8: 5-13 and Luke 7: 1-17)

Christ had said to the nobleman whose son he had healed, “Except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe.” (John 4:48)

Jesus was grieved that His own nation should require these outward signs of His Messiahship. Again and again He marveled at their unbelief. But He marveled at the faith of the Roman centurion who came to Him. The centurion did not question the Savior’s power. He did not even ask Him to come in person to perform the miracle. “Speak the word only,” he had said. “And my servant shall be healed.”

In the teaching of Christ, as it had been reported to him, he found that which met the need of the soul. All that was spiritual within him responded to the Savior’s words. But he felt unworthy to come into the presence of Jesus.

He explained to Jesus, as I represent the power of Rome, and my soldiers recognize my authority as supreme, so do You represent the power of the Infinite God, and all created things obey Your word. You can command the disease to depart, and it will obey You. You can summon Your heavenly messengers, and they shall impart healing virtue. Speak the word and my servant shall be healed.

The Jewish elders did not recognize that our great need is our only claim on God’s mercy. In their self-righteousness they commended the centurion because of the favor he had shown to “our nation.” But the centurion said of himself, “I am not worthy.”

We have nothing to recommend us to God; but the plea that we may urge now and forever is our utterly helpless condition that makes His redeeming power a necessity. Renouncing all self-dependence, we may look to the cross of Calvary and say, “In my hand no price I bring. Simply to the cross I cling.”

When they came across a funeral train, it was a sight to awaken sympathy. The deceased was the only son of his mother, and she a widow.

Jesus came and touched the bier. To Him even contact with death could impart no defilement. The bearers stood still, and the lamentations of the mourners ceased. One was present who had banished disease, and vanquished demons; was death also subject to His power?

His heart, that loved and pitied, is a heart of unchangeable tenderness. His word, that called the dead to life, is no less efficacious now than when spoken to the young man of Nain. He says, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)

Satan cannot hold the dead in his grasp when the Son of God bids them live. He cannot hold in spiritual death one soul who in faith receives Christ’s word of power. God is saying to all who are dead in sin, “Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead.” (Ephesians 5:14). That word is eternal life!

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 9

AUGUST 1985 to SEPTEMBER 1985

Ed flew to Florida, returning with his camper in two days. He had dinner at the Storm residence almost every evening. He and Dawn also resumed weekly motorcycle rides. Yet Ed’s return didn’t stop Dawn from her runs with Ron Melrose, her suspected lover. Ironically, it was shortly after Ed’s return that Hal discovered Brenda Melrose always joined them.

Hal was playing the fool, but didn’t know it. Due to his unfound jealously over the imagined affair Dawn wasn’t even having, he invited real temptation to his beloved wife. However, he felt vastly different about her time spent with Ed over Ron.

He loved Ed. Whenever he came across the story of David and Jonathan in the Bible, it reminded him of their own relationship. ‘He loved him as he loved his own soul’ (1 Samuel 20:17). Plus, Dawn and Ed had needed each other in the aftermath of Wendy’s death.

Now they simply wanted to enjoy the bond they had formed, and Hal was determined to not get in the way. After all, he had had his own relationship with Wendy, and they kept it platonic. Yet their bond had been over prayer meetings and Bible study. Dawn and Ed’s was over motorcycle rides. Dawn usually wore tight jeans and leather jacket as she hugged Ed’s backside.

Thus far, Dawn and Ed had kept their relationship platonic. They both felt loyal to Hal. But their desire for each other was pushing their limits with temptation, and their spiritual lives were less than steadfast. Bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ was a thing of the past for both of them. Fighting carnal minds with human power was wearing them down.

At the end of September, Ed invited Dawn to go on an all day motorcycle ride called a poker run. Up until then, their excursions were no more than two hours long. This event would keep them on and off the cycle for more than seven hours, taking them over one hundred miles.

“What’s a poker run?” Hal had asked Dawn.

“It sounds like they ride to five different taverns,” Dawn explained. “They get a card at each establishment, and at the fifth bar, the best hand wins.”

“Wins what?”

Dawn shrugged. “I don’t know and don’t really care. I just think it sounds like a fun day.”

“So, now your gonna trade going to church to go to bars?”

“You don’t want me to go then?” Dawn asked with a pouty lip, knowing this usually won Hal over.

“That’s up to you, I’m just saying.”

“Just this once, okay? I’m going for the ride, not the bars. I doubt we even drink.”

“Well, I would hope not, especially Ed.”

“Ed has never had one beer while riding his motorcycle. At least not with me.”

Hal smiled and nodded.

“We leave at eleven in the morning, and it will be over by six,” Dawn informed him.

On the morning of the big ride, Hal felt a pang of insecurity when he went into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Dawn was taking a bubble bath and carefully shaving her legs. Then he shook his head at himself. Dawn shaved her legs every week at about that time.

He noticed the clothes she had laid out. Black Harley Davidson shirt, faded blue jeans with holes in the knees and thighs, black tights, and, to his relief, plain undergarments, nothing frilly or sexy. A little later, when he watched her pull on her cowboy boots, he noticed her makeup of heavy black eyeliner and dark red lipstick. He bit his tongue from commenting.

When the clock struck six, Hal figured it should be fifteen or twenty minutes until they arrived home. At six thirty, they still hadn’t arrived. After a day of feeling left out, tense, and now outright worried, Hal went to Dawn’s stash of wine and poured almost half the bottle into a large goblet. Later he would reflect on his decision. If he would have prayed, instead of imbibing, a damage to relationships could have been avoided. At ten till eight, the phone rang.

“Hey, hi Honey,” Dawn said happily into Hal’s ear.

“Hey, where are you? I’ve been worried sick.”

“Sorry,” Dawn giggled. Hal instantly noticed she sounded half drunk. “Can you come get me?”

“Once again, where are you at?”

“Eddie’s camper.”

“He doesn’t have a phone there.”

“Actually, I’m calling from the campground’s office. Can you come get me?”

“Eddie was supposed to bring you home a little after six. What happened?”

“We swung by his camper to have a vodka and lemonade,” she said, giggling some more. “But we had about four. We figured the campground is only a few miles away and you wouldn’t mind coming out.”

“Well, I’ve had a whole bottle of wine, and I shouldn’t drive.”

There was a long moment of silence. “Dawn?”

“I’m here, and I have a solution,” she said, slurring solution.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll spend the night with Eddie, and he can bring me home in the morning.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why? He already said I could stay.”

“I bet he did.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Hal mumbled, never feeling more jealous and insecure in his life. Yet due to the alcohol, he felt strangely excited. There was something about her naughty behavior that turned him on, even though another part of him was angry. “I guess we don’t have a choice.”

“I guess we don’t.”

“You’ll behave won’t you?”

“No,” she replied, and then she giggled.

“Dawn!” Hal tried not to bark. “How about I call you a cab?”

“I don’t want to ride in a smelly old cab with some creepy driver smoking a cigar. I’d rather just sleep in Eddie’s spare bunk for the night.”

Hal liked the sound of that, thinking she was just teasing about not behaving. Yet he needed reassurance. “You’ll behave then, right?”

“Oh, I’ll behave, Henry,” she said with a giggle. “Maybe.”

“Whatever,” Hal responded with exasperation.

“Hal?” Dawn said softly and seriously.

“What?” Hal replied sharply.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Hal said reluctantly.

Hal slept fitfully, and at the crack of dawn, had coffee, choked down toast, and swallowed three aspirin. At seven in the morning, he raised his fist to knock on Ed’s camper door. Then he figured that since his wife was in there, he didn’t have to knock. He tried the door handle, and it wasn’t locked. He opened the door slowly, being as quiet as possible.

Dawn hadn’t lied. She had slept in Ed’s spare bunk. The problem was, Ed was in it too. By the looks of their scattered clothes, they had done more than just sleep. Hal felt enraged, and thought about making a scene. But then, for some reason, he turned and left as quietly as he came.

At around nine, Dawn stirred, opened her eyes, and was disoriented. The last thing she remembered before passing out, was her and Hal making passionate love. But why were they in Ed’s camper? Hal’s arm was draped over her, spooning her to himself. Then she noticed a scar on the hand. It wasn’t Hal, it was Ed!

Dawn flung Ed’s arm off of her, stumbling out of bed. The room spun, and the nausea rose quickly from her stomach to her mouth. She just made it to the sink when the vomit was expelled in a violent torrent. When she finished, she realized Ed was rubbing her back and asking if she was okay. Last night his touch felt tantalizing, arousing, and erotic. Why did it feel so repulsive now?

“No, I’m not okay!” she barked as she wiped tears off her face. The mascara smeared all over her cheeks, making her look like something out of a gothic horror movie.

“Yeah,” Ed groaned. He went to the fridge, pulled out a red substance in a bottle, grabbed a bottle of vodka, and made a Bloody Mary.

Dawn groaned herself, mumbling. “What if Hal finds out?”

“He already did,” Ed said dully.

“Huh?” Dawn replied baffled. “Are you drinking? It’s nine in the morning.”

“Hair of the dog. Want one?”

“No,” Dawn barked, then frowned. “What do you mean Hal found out? How could he?”

“He came in here about seven.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I’m not. I’ve been a light sleeper ever since Vietnam.”

Dawn paused, gathering her racing, jumbled thoughts.

“Did you talk to him?”

“No,” Ed said, lighting a cigarette. “I pretended to be asleep as I thought about what I could possibly say to him. But he just turned and left.”

“Put that cigarette out or I’m gonna puke again,” Dawn ordered.

Ed took another quick drag and snuffed it out. “Sorry.”

“On second thought, I think I’ll have one of those concoctions you just made,” Dawn said, rubbing her face.

The cocktail made her feel surprisingly good. She even admired how Ed looked wearing jeans and no shirt. But then that thought triggered the guilt over what they did. She rubbed her face some more. She wanted to rub her skin off. “What’s Hal gonna say? What’s he gonna do?”

“Speak of the devil,” Ed said as he hurriedly pulled a shirt over his head.

Dawn was suddenly aware that she was wearing one of Ed’s shirts. Her adrenaline spiked and she rushed to grab her clothes. “I’d say we’re the devils, not Hal.”

Once again, Hal walked into the camper without knocking. Dawn had made it to the tiny bathroom just in time.

“Morning,” Ed choked.

“Morning,” Hal said blandly. “What’s new?”

“Not much.”

“Oh, yeah? Not much huh? You guys sleep well?”

“More like passed out,” Ed chuckled without humor. Then he raised his glass. “We’re pretty hungover, and having a hair of the dog.”

“Can I have one?”

“Of course.”

“Where’s Dawn?”

“The bathroom. She puked first thing this morning. That’s why I made us a couple Bloody Marys.”

“So, you were too drunk to do anything besides pass out?” Hal asked as he bent down in front of the kitchen table, picking up Dawn’s tights. As bad and strange as Hal felt, he couldn’t help laughing at the look of horror in Ed’s eyes.

He went to the bathroom door and opened it. A look of surprise came over his wife’s face. She hadn’t begun to dress. She had been sitting quietly and listening intently to the conversation between the two men.

“Nice shirt,” Hal said matter of fact. “You forgot these.”

“Thanks,” she squeaked as Hal shut the door.

Then the way Dawn looked registered with him. Matted hair, bloodshot eyes, and mascara smeared all over her cheeks. He opened the door again. “Are you alright, Dawn?”

“No,” she croaked, then began to quietly cry as she spoke. “I’m sorry. I’ve sinned against you and betrayed our marriage. And I’m so, so sorry.”

“I forgive you,” Hal said, but then immediately closed the bathroom door.

But this won’t be forgotten, Hal thought as he stepped to Ed, who looked stunned at Dawn’s confession. Ed extended the Bloody Mary to Hal, but he shook his head. “I decided I don’t want it.”

Hal sat down hard and sighed. The two men were silent for a long moment. The tension in the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. Hal prayed earnestly for the right spirit, the right attitude. Blessed are the peace makers began to reverberate in his head.

“Well,” Ed said shakily. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag.”

“Was it ever in the bag?” Hal asked bitterly.

“Probably not,” Ed said, wincing. “Listen, Hal, for what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry. I know it’s no excuse, but we both drank quite a bit, and…”

“So, it’s the alcohol’s fault?” Hal asked with eerie calm.

“No, it’s several things. I, I guess I don’t even know what to say… I heard you forgive Dawn, do you forgive me?”

“I do,” Hal replied reluctantly. Last night’s wine dulled his spiritual perceptions, and made the stress of this awkward situation unbearable. “On second thought, can I have that cocktail?”

“Of course,” Ed said, then asked cautiously. “Are we gonna be able to get past this?”

“Well, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?”

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 22)

The Sermon on the Mount (See Matthew 5, 6, and 7)

Hearts that respond to the influence of the Holy Spirit are the channels through which God’s blessing flows. Were those who serve God removed from the earth, and His Spirit withdrawn from humanity, this world would be left to desolation and destruction, the fruit of Satan’s dominion.

Though the wicked don’t know it, they owe even the blessings of this life to the presence, in the world, of God’s  people whom they despise.

Our profession of faith may proclaim the theory of religion, but it is our practical piety that holds forth the words of truth.

In the life of Christ the principles of the law are made plain. As the Holy Spirit of God touches the heart, as the light of Christ reveals to men their need of His cleansing blood and His justifying righteousness, the law is still an agent in bringing us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7

The greatest deception of the human mind in Christ’s day was that a mere assent to the truth constitutes righteousness. In all human experience a theoretical knowledge of the truth has been proved to be insufficient for the saving of the soul.

The darkest chapters of history are burdened with the record of crimes committed by bigoted religionists.

The Pharisees thought themselves the greatest religionists of the world, but their so called orthodoxy led them to crucify The Son of God!

The same danger exists. Many take it for granted that they are Christians, simply because they subscribe to certain theological tenets. But they have not brought the truth into practical life. They have not believed and loved it, therefore they have not received the power and grace that come through sanctification of the truth.

God’s ideal for His children is higher than the highest human thought can reach.

Satan is jubilant when he hears the professed followers of Christ making excuses for their deformity of character. It is these excuses that lead to sin.

All who choose Christ’s kingdom of love and righteousness and peace, making its interest paramount to all other, are linked to the worlds above, and every blessing needed for this life is theirs.

Good works can never purchase salvation, but they are an evidence of the faith that acts by love and purifies the soul.

Self is but shifting sand. If you build upon human theories, your house will fall.

It is not enough, Jesus says, for you to hear My words. By obedience you must make them the foundation of your character.

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 8

AUGUST 1985

“Morning, you’re up early,” Hal greeted his old friend. “Coffee?”

“Morning, yeah,” Ed replied, rubbing his face. “I thought you didn’t work today.”

“I don’t.”

“What are you doing up at five?”

“I’m used to getting up at three,” Hal shrugged. “Getting up at five is sleeping in. How come you’re up already? Dawn didn’t come to bed until just before one. I assumed you two were up talking.”

“We were, but I went to bed at eleven thirty. Dawn said she was gonna read for a while.”

Hal smirked, snorted, and shook his head. “She does that.”

“You don’t approve?”

“The reading late doesn’t bother me, it’s what she reads.”

“What does she read?” Ed asked nonchalantly as he sipped his coffee. He already knew from snooping in her drawer a few days ago and discovering novels of erotica.

“Trash,” Hal replied as he snorted again.

“What do you mean?”

“Dawn usually has two books going,” Hal said with a sigh. “She reads a basic romance when I’m around. Then she gets something she keeps locked in a drawer in her sewing room after I go to bed.”

Being secretly privy to this information, Ed felt himself tense. “Does she know that you know?”

“I’m not sure,” Hal replied as he then chuckled. “I caught her putting away a book one night when I got up to use the bathroom. She was startled and dropped it. I got a glimpse of the cover, and let’s just say, it was a bit more graphic than your typical romance book.”

“So what happened?”

“Nothing,” Hal shrugged. “I was groggy with sleep and played dumb.”

“That must not have been too hard,” Ed joked.

“You got that right,” Hal said and then sighed.

“I’m just kidding, man.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Hal lamented. “I think Dawn might be having an affair.”

“What!” Ed exclaimed.

“Shh,” Hal frowned as he put a finger to his lips.

“I don’t believe it,” Ed said as adrenaline surged through his body. He felt an odd mixture of thoughts and emotions. He was both tantalized and jealous. He felt sorry for Hal as well as  disappointed with Dawn. He also felt ashamed about his own desires for his friend’s wife. “Are you sure?”

“No, I’m not sure. That’s why I said think, you know, as in suspect.”

“What makes you suspect?”

“About two months ago, I overheard a phone conversation she had with Ron Melrose.”

“Ron Melrose! From church? The deacon that has a wife and five kids? I don’t believe it!”

“I find it hard to believe myself, but I’m just putting two and two together,” Hal said, snorted, and then laughed despite himself.

“Alright, I used to be a detective,” Ed said. “So lay it on me. What’s your evidence?”

“Well, exhibit one is the trash she’s been reading the last couple of years,” Hal replied. “Then She and Ron became pretty close friends when they were paired chaperoning a Wednesday night youth group over the winter at the school gym. Then in the spring they started running together two or three times a week. Then the phone conversation I overheard.”

“So, what exactly did you overhear?”

“It’s not necessarily what, but the manner of how she was talking.”

“What do you mean?”

“Her tone of voice was a bit too low, and, um, a bit too friendly, if you know what I mean?”

“I guess so.”

“Let’s just say, I could tell she wasn’t talking to another woman.”

“Okay, so did she say anything that was actually incriminating?”

“Just one thing, she called him Ronny,” Hal said with a sigh.

Ed waited for more, but Hal just looked at him. “What else?”

“Nothing else,” Hal shrugged.

“So, she talked low, friendly, and called him by his name,” Ed said, smirking. “You could have just described Wendy talking to you.”

“Your wife never called me Hallie,” Hal replied.

“She’d call you Henry teasingly from time to time.”

“Yeah but when she called me that, she was teasing because she knows I don’t really like being called that. But it was never like, ‘oh, Henry, hi, how are you?’”

“Well, there were times the green eyed monster whispered in my ear about you two,” Ed said. “But then my better sense took over, and I realized I trusted you both. You need to give Dawn the benefit of the doubt.”

“I am. Otherwise, I would have confronted her,” Hal said, and then narrowed his eyes. “Did my friendship with your wife really bother you?”

“Sometimes,” Ed said with a shrug. “On the other hand, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. Wendy’s character and spiritual growth over her last couple years of life are one of the few things that keep me clinging to a hope that there is a God.”

Hal nodded, and then looked at the floor. He perceived that now wasn’t the time to be an apologist for God. He had prayed that Ed would return from Florida and stay the summer just like last year. Although summer was half over and Ed returned on motorcycle instead of with his camper, it wasn’t too late.

“You know, this dilemma is your fault,” Hal said with a mischievous smile.

Ed’s eyebrows raised. “My fault? How do you figure?”

“If you would have come back for the summer, Dawn would be hanging out with you instead of Ron.”

“Oh, so an affair with me would be better than with Ron?” Ed asked with an arched eyebrow.

“I trust you with my wife, just like you trusted me with yours.”

Ed felt his conscience pricked. This was another thing that made him cling to the hope of God. What gave him this sense of right and wrong. His pulse quicken with the confession that almost came out of his mouth. He opened it to tell his best friend that his overwhelming attraction to Dawn was the reason he didn’t come back this summer. But something else came out. “How about I interrogate Dawn on the matter?”

“Interrogate her? Do you want to get her mad at me?”

“Hal, I was a cop, a detective even, I know how to be subtle.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ll take her for a ride on the Harley, and I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

“Do not even hint that I suspect she might be having an affair, it’s pure speculation. You are the only person on the planet I have told or am going to tell.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Dawn and Ed did go for a ride later that day, ending up at a state park. They got off the motorcycle and took a walk down by the river. Ed lit a cigarette as Dawn chastised him. “You seem to be smoking more than ever. You ought to quit and take up running. I haven’t felt so good in years since I started last spring.”

Ed saw his opening. “Oh yeah, how often do you run?”

“Pretty much every day.”

“Do you ever run with anybody?”

“The Melroses usually run with me a couple times a week.”

“Melroses, as in plural?”

“Yeah, you remember them from church, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Ron and I were leading out in a youth group last winter, and I got to know him and Brenda pretty well. She had been telling me how she lost fifty pounds by diet and exercise, primarily running. She challenged Ron and I to join her.”

“So the three of you go running a couple times a week?”

“Yeah, they only live a block away. On Tuesday’s and Thursday’s, Brenda finishes an aerobics class at five. Ron stops at our place, and then he and I go meet Brenda at the Rec center. Then the three of us jog down to the trail by the river.”

Ed had to keep from laughing. He also had to refrain from saying, “So you’re not having an affair with Ron?”

Ed couldn’t blame Hal for his insecurities, though. There did seem to be sufficient evidence of untoward behavior. If the tables were turned, he would have been more uptight than Hal.

“I’m serious, Ed, you ought to at least quit smoking.”

“I know. I have quit off and on from time to time. But after Wendy died, I guess I need the crutch.”

“Want, not need,” Dawn scolded lightheartedly.

Ed considered Dawn’s secret vice. Everybody had something it seemed. Did Dawn need hers, or just want it? What was Hal’s? To Ed, Hal didn’t seem to have one. He was a faithful believer and a solid citizen. Even with his concern over his wife’s spiritual apathy and possible adultery, he handled it far more patiently than the average man would.

“Hal thinks I should bring the camper up for the rest of summer and into the fall,” Ed said, reaching for his pack of cigarettes, then stifling the urge, and placing it back in his pocket.

“Eddie, that would be wonderful!” Dawn enthused as she put a hand on his forearm.

Eddie, Donny, Henry. There was probably nothing to the extra flair of endearment other than being fond of a good friend. Or was there? He and Dawn sat on a bench by a rippling creek. Dawn kicked off her black Puma sneakers, stretched out her legs, and put her toes in the water. Dawn was wearing jean shorts, just as she typically did in their youth. Her legs were still just as shapely and tan, Ed thought, and she was almost forty. Maybe there was something to running.

Ed smiled to himself as he reminisced about youthful lusts. He and Hal’s heart racing as they snuck into Ed’s dad’s secret stash of Playboy’s. Then the debates. Blonde, brunette, or redhead? Leg man or chest man? Ginger or Mary Ann? Wendy or Dawn? What childish ponderings. Ed still bought Playboy’s from time. He bet Hal didn’t, though. Wouldn’t he be a hypocrite if he did? He should ask him when the last time he perused a girlie magazine.

“So what are you gonna do?” Dawn asked. He felt her eyes upon his face, yet he didn’t take his eyes off of her outstretched legs. He wondered how she would react if he told her how nice they looked? Maybe he should. Then if she was more flattered than aghast, he would kiss her. If she scolded him, he would tell her that’s why he should stay away. If she kissed him back, what then? Betray his best friend, or would he simply be sharing a woman they both loved?

“Well, I’m sort of outnumbered,” Ed said. “You and Hal both want me to come back for a while. I also checked on campsites. A few people have pulled out for the summer already, so I shouldn’t have a problem getting a spot.”

“Wonderful!” she exclaimed as she gave his hand a squeeze. If she noticed his blatant stare at her bare legs, she didn’t let on or seem to care. “I’ve missed these rides we go on.”

“I don’t know, Dawn…”

“What don’t you know?”

“Will it bother Hal if we take up where we left off almost a year ago?”

“He suggested you come back, right? He knows we like to go for rides, that I like to go for rides. We could afford a motorcycle, you know, but he doesn’t like them.”

“I know, he says they’re dangerous,” Ed snickered.

“Actually, he says the other people on the road are dangerous.”

“He’s got a point.”

“Plus, we let him and Wendy share a common interest,” Dawn said with a shrug. “I don’t regret sharing my husband with her at all. He was so strong for her when we were both too devastated to really lift her spirits.”

“Yeah,” Ed replied, feeling a lump in his throat.

“Now he can share me with you,” Dawn said, happily as she smiled sweet and innocent, but then winked a wee bit seductively.

Was there something behind that wink? He would indeed come back for the rest of summer and into the fall to find out. But just to find out. He had thought it best to not torment himself with her presence. But he discovered on this road trip that just being with her was better than dreaming of her from a far.

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 21)

The Sermon on the Mount (See Mathew 5, 6, and 7)

Christ disappointed the hope of worldly greatness. In the Sermon on the Mount He sought to undo the work that had been wrought by false education, and to give His hearers a right conception of His kingdom of His own character. Yet He did not make a direct attack on the errors of the people.

Christ’s first words to the people on the mount were words of blessing. Happy are they, He said, who recognize their spiritual poverty, and feel their need of redemption.

The proud heart strives to earn salvation; but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward the recovery of man until, convinced of his own weakness and stripped of all self-sufficiency, he yields himself to the control of God.

We often sorrow because our evil deeds bring unpleasant consequences to ourselves; but this is not repentance. Real sorrow for sin is the result of the working of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit reveals the ingratitude of the heart that has slighted and grieved the Savior, and brings us in contrition to the foot of the cross.

The bitterness of grief and humiliation is better than the indulgences of sin. Through affliction, God reveals to us the plague spots in our characters, that by His grace we may overcome our faults.

When brought into trial, we are not to fret and complain. We should not rebel, and worry ourselves out of the hand of Christ. We are to humble the soul before God. The ways of the Lord are obscure to him who desires to see things in a light pleasing to himself. They appear dark and joyless to our human nature. But God’s ways are the ways of mercy and the end is salvation.

Elijah did not know what he was doing when in the desert he said that he had had enough of life, and prayed that he might die. The Lord in His mercy did not take him at his word.

The highest evidence of nobility in a Christian is self-control.

The Holy Spirit never leaves unassisted the soul who is looking unto Jesus.

Every impure thought defiles the soul, impairs the moral sense, and tends to obliterate the impressions of the Holy Spirit. It dims the spiritual vision, so that men cannot behold God.

The Lord may, and does forgive the repenting sinner; but though forgiven, the soul is marred. All impurity of speech or of thought must be shunned by him who would have clear discernment of spiritual truth.

After explaining what constitutes true happiness, and how it may be obtained, Jesus more definitely pointed out the duty of His disciples, as teachers chosen of God to lead others into the path of righteousness and eternal life.

The world loves sin, and hates righteousness, and this was the cause of its hostility to Jesus. All who refuse His infinite love will find Christianity a disturbing element. The light of Christ sweeps away the darkness that covers their sins, and the need of reform is made manifest.

While those who yield to the influence of the Holy Spirit begin war with themselves, those who cling to sin war against the truth and its representatives.

Each fiery trial is God’s agent for their refining. Each is fitting them for their work as co-laborers with Him. Each conflict has its place in the great battle for righteousness, and each will add to the joy of their final triumph. Having this in view, the test of their faith and patience will be cheerfully accepted rather than dreaded and avoided.

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 7

MAY 1979—AUGUST 1985

Wendy’s cancer wasn’t caught early, but it wasn’t stage four either. After a year long battle, it went into remission. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. The one positive thing to come out of Wendy’s ordeal was the transformation of her spiritual life.

At the time of her marriage to Edward, Wendy had become a born again Christian. But it was more of an outward, intellectual acceptance rather than an inward, true heart conversion. She went through various religious motions, but as her husband slowly lost interest in spiritual things, she did as well.

However, as she faced the very real prospect of dying when she was only thirty-two years old, it became a huge wake up call. She began a nightly ritual of kneeling in prayer by her bed. She often looked at two particular Bible verses before she did this. James 4:14, as she stared her mortality right in the face, and then she turned to the most famous verse in the Bible to take in eternal comfort, John 3:16.

The early 1980’s found Dawn, Hal, and Wendy regularly attending Sabbath services. Ed was usually either too busy or too tired to join them. Wendy and Hal felt like the time flew in church. Whereas Dawn increasingly looked at her watch, longing for her weekend bubble baths, a glass of wine, and her latest romance novel.

On Wednesdays, Hal and Wendy began attending weekly prayer meetings. Afterward, they often conversed over a cup of herbal tea. Although their friendship was strictly platonic, both were slightly disturbed that they were developing a close bond with someone of the opposite sex that wasn’t their own spouse.

However, they justified their relationship by the fact that their spouses were aware of their friendship, and not interested in talking about Biblical issues. Ed, now a detective, often worked late into the night, and Dawn usually wanted to relax with her latest book.

Hal was steadily growing spiritually. He was concerned with Dawn’s spiritual apathy, and her growing desire to escape with wine and novels. He didn’t understand what happened to the zealous young woman that declared she couldn’t be yoked to an unbeliever. Not that she had become an unbeliever herself, but she was increasingly and subconsciously, embracing relativism. On the positive side, she did still faithfully attend church. She was also a great mom, and she also had a renewed interest in non-sleeping bedroom activities, which Hal found quite pleasing.

In the summer of 1983, Wendy had consistently not felt well. She was in denial, and hid her illness as long as she could. But when Ed began to notice how often she was tired and her loss of weight, he insisted she get checked out.

Her cancer had returned with a vengeance. It spread quickly through her body. She fought valiantly, prayed earnestly, but unfortunately it was a losing battle. Her fight was courageous, and her cheerful outlook through her darkest hours inspired many.

In hospice, visits from her husband and best friend broke her heart. Although they tried, both were unable to hide their pain and sorrow. Ironically, she loved seeing Hal. He always had Bible promises at the ready, and a strong, stoic demeanor to help her stay brave. The last time they saw each other, Hal would never forget every word she said to Dawn, Ed, and himself that fateful day.

“Time is such a deception,” she had begun.

“What do ya mean, Honey?” Ed had asked.

“Our time on earth is really so short and unpredictable,” she had said, pausing after to get her breath. “Our lives are like a blink of an eye in the scope of eternity. We make so many earthly plans, and subtly become so neglectful of things eternal. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets out of here alive without Him. Please remember that, all of you.”

Then she smiled that sweet happy go lucky grin they all remembered from their youth. Utter peace radiated from her face, but her words came with great effort. “Don’t be sad for me, we will meet again. I’m just going to sleep before you all, but the next thing I will realize is the resurrection, and Jesus coming with thousands of angels. My redeemer, dear lovely Jesus.”

Wendy closed her eyes after that and never opened them back up. A few hours later, she took her last breath as she passed away peacefully, just a few days into 1984.

Ed had seen a lot of horror in his life, especially in Vietnam and then as a police officer. But nothing compared with the anguish he felt over losing Wendy. He quit the force, sold their house, bought an RV, and traveled the country.

In late spring, Ed returned to Minnesota. He acquired a spot at a campground for the whole summer. Hal and Dawn were delighted that their old friend was back, at least for the warm season.

Although his campsite was a twenty minute drive to the Storm residence, he drove there almost daily to have dinner with them, or to just hang out. At first, it had been a comfort for all of them to reminisce. Then they simply enjoyed each other’s company. Hal and Ed watched sports, played golf and tennis.

In July, Ed bought a Harley from a former coworker. He took Dawn for afternoon motorcycle rides on days she wasn’t working at the department store. They would stop at parks and go for long walks. They’d talk about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. They always seemed end their time together reminiscing with a story from their youth.

At the end of October, Ed took Dawn and Hal out to dinner. Ed informed the couple that he was going south for the winter. Dawn insisted he come back for the holidays. He emphatically declared that he didn’t want to be anywhere near Minnesota during his first holidays without Wendy.

On a beautiful, exceptionally warm autumn day, Dawn and Ed went for one last motorcycle ride. It was bittersweet. When Ed dropped Dawn off at home, they embraced. Occasionally hugging wasn’t something new to the longtime friends, but when both went to kiss each other on the cheek for the first time, their lips accidently met. Both lurched back in surprise and then laughed.

“I meant to kiss your cheek,” Ed explained as his face flushed.

“Me too. I guess we missed,” Dawn giggled.

“I know, that’s why you reeled back in repulsion,” Ed said with a chuckle.

“Oh, I wasn’t repulsed at all,” Dawn replied with a coy smile. “If anything, I was tempted.”

“Tempted to what?” Ed asked, becoming serious and still.

“What’d ya think, ya dope?” Dawn asked with a sarcastic laugh as she slapped him playfully on the arm.

After looking awkwardly at each other for a long moment, Ed said “Well, I better go.”

“Thanks for the ride.”

“Thank you for going.”

“You’ll be back in the spring?” Dawn asked.

“Probably, but I haven’t been very good at making plans this year,” he explained and then emitted a fake laugh.

“Well, you better,” Dawn said with mock sternness, hands on her hips. “I’ll want more motorcycle rides after we endure winter.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Ed said with an affectionate smile as he rubbed her upper arm.

Over the winter, Dawn recalled the afternoons spent with Ed. She replayed their walks and talks, and the forbidden feeling she had when her arms were locked around his waist on the cycle rides. The clean smell of his soap, and the subtle scent of his aftershave as the wind whipped through their hair. She remembered the accidental kiss, and how she longed for him to kiss her again. Then the urge to kiss him on the cheek when he rubbed her upper arm.

In Florida, Ed’s nightmares about his deceased wife became interspersed with illicit dreams about his best friend’s wife. He longed for her to be more than just a friend, and that was just plain wrong. He needed to stay away. He wondered if Dawn felt the same about him. Plus, after habitually letting his fantasies about her run wild over the winter, it would be too painful to be around her and not have her.

Ed had enjoyed his job working security at a prestigious Tampa hotel, so he thought ‘why not just stay put.’ But in August the hotel manager, whom Ed liked and became friends with, retired. His replacement tried to let Ed know who was boss. But Ed let him know that nobody was going to push him around and immediately quit.

The day after his job ended, Ed left on a motorcycle road trip. Three days later he pulled into Dawn and Hal’s driveway. Dawn’s mouth dropped open when she answered the door and saw Ed. He grinned from ear to ear. “Hey Stranger.”

“Eddie!” she exclaimed before she hugged him. “I was just thinking about you.”

“I know, that’s why I teleported here,” he joked. “Where’s Hal? Shouldn’t he be home from work by now?”

“He’ll be awhile yet. He and a buddy went golfing after work.”

“I’m hurt that he chose him over me,” Ed teased.

“Silly,” Dawn giggled. “You know better than that. There’s no way Hal would have went golfing if he knew you were coming.”

Dawn invited him in, and they began catching up. Ed noticed she held a paperback novel, and almost seemed to be hiding the cover. The phone rang and Dawn answered it, talking briefly. “I’ve gotta pick Luke up from the pool.”

“Doesn’t he have a license yet?”

“He’s got a license, but no car, and I needed it earlier this afternoon. Do you mind waiting fifteen or twenty minutes?”

“I should go get a motel.”

“You’ll do no such thing!” Dawn declared. “David left for college and you can sleep in his bed.”

“Well, okay, if you’re gonna twist my arm,” Ed said with a chuckle. “Can I use your bathroom?”

“No, you can sleep here, but you’ll have to use the gas station to relieve yourself,” Dawn said with a laugh.

Something made Ed stop from shutting the bathroom door all the way. As he watched threw an inch of open doorway, he noticed Dawn go into her sewing room. She put the book in a desk drawer, locked it, and put the key under the pedal of her sewing machine.

When he finished using the restroom, Dawn was gone. With a pounding heart, he located the key to the desk drawer and opened it. The book on top was called ‘The Best Man.’ He read the back. It was about a woman having an affair with her husband’s best friend.

Ed swallowed. He was Dawn’s husband’s best friend. He was also the best man in their wedding. There were a half a dozen other books in the drawer. All of them had to do with some form of illicit affairs. Was sweet, wholesome Dawn into literary erotica? It couldn’t be.

What led Dawn to read novels about illicit affairs? Was it their accidental kiss? Had it aroused her as much as it did him? Was it even an accident? Or was there some other man she pined for? Was she already having an affair? Or was she just indulging in fantasy?

He doubted that she was seeing someone. Yet he never would have dreamed Dawn Storm would be reading stories about illicit sex. Also, she had been twenty or thirty pounds overweight for more than a decade. Now she seemed to have shed all of the extra poundage since he had seen her last. Why? Doctor’s orders, or to impress a lover?

He had wanted Dawn in a bad way before, that’s why he’d stayed away all this time. Now that he knew about a secret naughty side, he was convinced he could have her if he played his cards right. He had enough spiritual training in his life to know that lust begins in the heart. Matthew 5:28 and Proverbs 6:25 seemed to slap him in the face.

No! He needed to just go back to Florida right away and stay put. How could he betray his best buddy? Then again, he didn’t want to steal her, just share her. Hal didn’t even have to know about it. Like the old saying, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Right?

What a decision! So, should he stay or should he go?

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 20)

The disciples: (See Mark 3:13-19 Luke 6:12-16)

Jesus loved the scenes of nature. To Him each quiet retreat was a sacred temple. By communion with God in nature, the mind is uplifted, and the heart finds rest.

Philip was a sincere seeker of truth, but he was slow of heart to believe.

When Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life…. If you had known me, you should have known My Father also.”

In happy contrast to Philip’s and Thomas’s unbelief was the childlike trust of Nathanael. He was a man of intensely earnest nature, one whose faith took hold upon unseen realities.

Yet Philip was a student in the school of Christ, and the divine Teacher bore patiently with his unbelief and dullness.

Judas believed Jesus to be the Messiah; and by joining the apostles, he hoped to secure a high position in the new kingdom. This hope Jesus designed to cut off by the statement of His poverty. “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” (Matthew 8:19, 20)

The disciples were surprised that Jesus received Judas so coolly. If He had repulsed Judas, they would have questioned the wisdom of their Master. The after history of Judas would show them the danger of allowing any worldly consideration to have weight in deciding the fitness of men for the work of God.

God takes men as they are, with the human elements in their characters, and trains them for His service, if they will be disciplined and learn of Him. They are not chosen because they are perfect, but notwithstanding their imperfections, that through the knowledge and practice of the truth, through the grace of Christ, they may become transformed into His image.

Instead of walking in the light, Judas chose to retain his defects. Evil desires, revengeful passions, dark and sullen thoughts, were cherished, until Satan had full control of the man. Judas became a representative of the enemy of Christ.

All the disciples had serious faults when Jesus called them to His service. Even John, who came into closest association with the meek and lowly One, was not himself naturally meek and yielding. He and his brother were called “the sons of thunder.”

As His representatives among men, Christ does not choose angels who have never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they seek to save.

There are souls perplexed with doubt, burdened with infirmities, weak in faith, and unable to grasp the Unseen. But a friend who they can see, coming to them in Christ’s stead, can be a connecting link to fasten their trembling faith upon Christ.

We are to be laborers together with the heavenly angels in presenting Jesus to the world. With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation. For man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in wholehearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God’s love.

CXXVI

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 6

MAY 1969—MAY 1979

“Oh no! Eddie’s dead?” Wendy cried.

The shock of her words and her reaction caused a surge of adrenaline to course through Hal. His best friend dead! Only twenty-two years old. Hal felt like his knees would give out. Just a minute ago he was giving in to temptation, his body electrified with carnal desire. Now he was becoming numb with dread and disbelief.

A moment ago, Hal had been saying goodbye to his wife’s best friend with a friendly hug and kiss. It was something they had done a dozen times before. But after sharing several adult beverages over conversation, their secret attraction caused their affection for each other to cross a line.

Wendy’s typically quick peck on the lips lingered. Then when she pulled away, Hal just stared at her, unable to hide his desire, so she kissed him again. She knew she was crossing a line. Hal wasn’t just a married man, he was the husband of her best friend. But she was lonely, and Hal was great company, a good listener, not to mention one of the best looking guys she had ever known.

The telephone made them both about jump out of their skin right when they were going to deepen their kisses. The guilt that caused the rush of anxiety only intensified when it was Dawn, Hal’s wife who had called. It was as if she had intuited their adulterous intentions. Hal was close enough he could hear his wife’s words croak those startling words. They momentarily made their lustful behavior vanish from their minds.

After Wendy’s bloodcurdling declaration, he heard his wife sniff again. “What? No, Eddie’s not dead.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure, he’s sitting right here in my kitchen.”

Wendy took a deep breath and sighed heavily, relief surging through her. “Girlfriend, you scared the dickens out of me. Why do you sound like you’ve been crying then?”

“I do? Oh, I guess it must be my allergies. They’re pretty bad today.”

The up and down of extreme emotions in only minutes made Hal feel like he could collapse. He stepped back into Wendy’s apartment and sat down on her sofa. He rubbed his hands over his face as he tried to compose himself. Then he quickly became giddy. His best friend was home from Vietnam, and alive!

“He was here, he left though,” Wendy said, glancing guiltily at Hal. He surged to his feet as he listened to Wendy continue to talk to his wife. He hated the lie that was just told. “I’ll freshen up and be right over. Okay, see you in a bit, bye.”

“Eddie’s home!” Wendy sang as she grabbed Hal’s hands, jumping up and down. Then she hugged him fiercely. But when they separated, she wore a somber expression. “Hal, I’m sorry about what was happening when your wife called.”

The fact that she said your wife rather than Dawn didn’t go beyond his notice. “Me too.”

“I guess the alcohol caused us to give it.”

“Yeah,” Hal replied, liking the idea of a scape goat.

Wendy shrugged, smiling sweetly and innocently. “But nothing really happened. We just became a little extra friendly, that’s all.”

“We did at that,” Hal replied as he rubbed his neck, afraid to think what might have happened had they not been interrupted.

Hal feared that if they hadn’t quite literally been saved by the bell, the Northwestern Bell, they likely would have ended up in Wendy’s bedroom. He decided right then and there that he was no longer going to stop by for a drink and a friendly chat with Wendy.

“You better get home,” Wendy said and then giggled. “You left already, don’t you know.”

Was Wendy not all that bothered about what just happened? The kissing and then the lie? Or was she just happy that Eddie was home, and she was about to see him?

Hal’s brain and emotions spun and whirled as he drove home. How could he be so disappointed at losing the forbidden pleasure of Wendy’s affection, yet extremely grateful that he had? Plus, his best friend was home from war, and at his house right now!

“Eddie!” Hal shouted as he stepped into his house. The kitchen was empty, and he dashed into the living room. Eddie arose from the sofa, grinning. He limped a couple steps toward Hal, and the two buddies embraced. Hal kissed his cheek. In part, because he was so giddy at seeing his friend, and also because he frequently had kissed Wendy. After all, that’s what friends do.

Ed both laughed and frowned as he wiped his cheek. “What’d ya doing man!”

“Just happy to see you old pal,” Hal said. Yet he was a little taken aback at how haggard his friend looked. He appeared to be north of thirty-two years of age, let alone twenty-two. “I didn’t think you were due back in the states until June or July.”

“I caught some shrapnel in my thigh and calf,” Ed explained. “I guess it was my ticket to home early.”

“So you’re discharged then?” Hal asked.

“No, not till August. But I am done with the war.”

“Man, it’s great to see you,” Hal enthused, slapping his buddy’s shoulder. “As soon as I heard you were here, I raced over.”

Hal glanced at Dawn. She was both grinning and frowning as she sat in an easy chair, nursing baby Luke. “How did you know Eddie was here?”

“Wendy told me,” Hal replied, and then recalled Wendy’s lie about him leaving.

“When I called her, she said you had left.”

“I forgot my Bible and went back after it right when she finished talking to you,” Hal replied, and then felt sick using the Holy Bible in a lie.

“Oh,” was all Dawn said as she studied him suspiciously. He had already sensed that she was uncomfortable with his visits with Wendy. Now he felt his guilt showed under her scrutiny. “Here, take Luke.”

Hal reached for his son, relieved at the distraction. Then he felt a wave of annoyance at his wife for leaving her bare breast exposed as she casually took a sip of tea. He glanced at Ed and saw his eyes riveted on Dawn’s chest. Ed looked away, embarrassed when he realized Hal was looking at him.

However, his embarrassment was overpowered by tantalization. His eyes returned to Dawn as she unhurriedly covered herself. Hal felt his jaw clench. Not because his friend was getting a peep show from his wife, but because his wife was giving it. He was sure she was doing it out of spite because he had seen so much of Dawn lately.

There was a couple quick knocks on the door, then it opened, and Wendy appeared in the entryway. “Eddie!”

“Wendy!” he called back as she stepped quickly to her old boyfriend and hugged him. “Are you ever a sight for sore eyes.”

Hal ran out and bought burgers and fries for dinner from the same drive in that the foursome had ate at on their first double date. The friends then talked well into the evening. When Wendy and Ed left, her arm was looped through his as he walked her to her car.

“Wendy’s going to invite Eddie back to her place,” Dawn told Hal as they changed into bed clothes, a sly grin on her face.

“How do you know?” Hal asked. He had been intending to ask his wife about her prolonged breast exposure after she finished feeding baby Luke. However, he discovered his wife to be energized and upbeat, rather than her usual tired and depressed demeanor. He decided that he would rather have his arousal satisfied instead of his jealousy. It had been a couple weeks since they made love.

“She asked me when we were cleaning up after dinner if I thought it would be too forward or presumptuous, and I told her no.”

“So you’re encouraging her to have premarital sex?” Hal asked. He wasn’t jealous over Wendy being with Ed. He was hopeful they would get back together, and ashamed of his own attraction to his wife’s best friend.

He was also concerned with Dawn’s gradual lack of interest with spiritual things. It seemed that they both were slowly back sliding together. He was determined that they turn things around. Kissing with Wendy, and then using the Bible as a prop in a lie was a personal low.

“No,” Dawn said with a shrug. “They need to get reacquainted with each other. What’s wrong with inviting him up for conversation?”

Dawn gave him an intense stare, but a little grin played at her lips. Was she suspicious of his own conversations in Wendy’s apartment? Or was she simply delighted at playing a little cupid? He hoped his wife was in the mood for some loving. He hadn’t acquired a vasectomy only to remain abstemious from intimate relations.

“Nothing at all,” Hal grinned as he drew his wife to him and kissed her. To his pleasant surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Let’s just hope they get back together.”

Wendy and Ed did get back together. For the two weeks he was on leave, they were inseparable. When he returned to his Marine base in California, Wendy went out to see him for a couple weeks during the summer. In mid-August, Ed was honorably discharged from the service.

Upon returning home, Ed was hired as a Mayfield police officer. Wendy was hired permanently at Springdale High School, and the two high school sweethearts continued to date. Over the holidays, Ed gave Wendy something she called the best Christmas present ever, an engagement ring. They were married on a Friday evening, June 12, 1970.

Hal thought it was an interesting coincidence that they were marrying on his and Dawn’s anniversary. Dawn thought it was a bit strange, but a sweet sentiment. Wendy had told Dawn that it was on purpose. She said she had always envied, in a good way, her and Hal’s family life.

When Wendy expressed a desire to start having kids right away, Dawn had a real heart to heart talk with her best friend. Surprisingly, Wendy agreed, and put reason ahead of passion. So, the first couple years of their marriage, Wendy and Ed simply enjoyed each other as they both adjusted to married life, as well as their new jobs.

Wendy and Ed bought a house only two blocks away from Dawn and Hal. The two couples spent a lot of time together over the years. Ever since the day Ed returned from war, and unknowingly put a stop to a potentially adulterous situation, Wendy and Hal seemingly forgot it had ever happened. Yet they remembered very distinctly, yet secretly, every time they shared a hug.

By the mid 1970’s, no children were forthcoming to Wendy and Ed. It was later  discovered that Wendy was unable to bare children. The two talked of adopting. Then after years of procrastinating, the couple finally took a serious look into it, intending to finally make the commitment. They arranged to have dinner with Dawn and Hal to reveal the good news.

“Where’s Wendy?” Dawn asked Ed as she and Hal met him out in front of Luigi’s Italian restaurant.

“She had a doctor’s appointment, but I thought she’d be here by now,” Ed replied.

They waited, and ten minutes later Wendy arrived. She smiled and kissed her husband.

“Should we go inside?” Ed asked.

“Um, I hate to be a party pooper,” Wendy said, and then laughed. But Dawn noticed her eyes were red rimmed from crying. “But I don’t think I can join you guys.”

“Honey, why not?” Ed asked, and then looked at their friends with a concerned expression.

“I just found out I have breast cancer,” she replied solemnly.

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 19)

The Leper: (See Mark 1:40-45, 2:1-12 and Luke 5:12-28)

Of all diseases known in the East the leprosy was most dreaded. Its incurable and contagious character, and its horrible effect upon its victims, filled the bravest with fear. Among the Jews it was regarded as a judgement on account of sin, and hence was called “the stroke,” and “the finger of God.” Deep-rooted, ineradicable, deadly, it was looked upon as a symbol of sin.

The leper thought of all he had been told him of Jesus. Not one who had sought His help had been turned away.

The leper was a loathsome spectacle. The disease had made frightful inroads, and his decaying body is horrible to look upon. At the sight of him the people fall back in terror. They crowd upon one another in their eagerness to escape contact with him. He neither sees nor hears them. Their expressions of loathing are lost upon him. He sees only the Son of God. He hears only the voice that speaks life to the dying. Pressing to Jesus, he casts himself at his feet with the cry, “Lord, if You’re willing, You can make me clean.”

Jesus replied, “I am willing, be cleansed.” (Matthew 8:3)

The leaders at Jerusalem had sent out spies to find some pretext for putting Christ to death. He responded by giving them an evidence of His love for humanity, His respect for the law, and His power to deliver from sin and death. Thus he bore witness of them: “They have rewarded Me evil for good, and hatred for My love.” (Psalm 109:5)

The work of Christ in cleansing the leper from his terrible disease is an illustration of His work in cleansing the soul from sin.

The leprosy was cleansed. Thus it is with the leprosy of sin. Deep rooted, deadly, and impossible to be cleansed by human power. “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores. (Isaiah 1:5, 6)

But Jesus, coming to dwell in humanity, receives no pollution. His presence has healing virtue for the sinner. Whoever will fall at His feet, saying in faith, “Lord if You’re willing, You can make me clean.” Shall hear the answer, “I am willing, be cleansed.”

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Jesus had declared that the sins of the paralytic were forgiven. The Pharisees caught at these words as blasphemy, and conceived that they could present this as a sin worthy of death. They said in their hearts. (See Mark 2:7)

Physical disease, however malignant and deep seated, was healed by the power of Christ; but the disease of the soul took a firmer hold upon those who closed their eyes against the light. Leprosy and palsy were not so terrible as bigotry and unbelief.

Oh, wonderous love of Christ, stooping to heal the guilty and the afflicted! Divinity sorrowing over and soothing the ills of suffering humanity! Oh, marvelous power thus displayed to the children of men! Who can doubt the message of salvation? Who can slight the mercies of a compassionate Redeemer?

CXXV

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 5

APRIL 1965—MAY 1969

After the shock of teenage parenthood wore off, Hal began a quick maturation process. First, he asked Dawn to marry him and she said yes. Then together they told his parents and her mother. Surprisingly, Dawn’s austere mother took the news the best and even seemed pleased at the prospect of becoming a grandmother.

Then they talked to Dawn’s pastor and his wife. She felt their disappointment keenly. Yet they were pleased that Hal requested to be baptized and intended to marry Dawn. The pastor and his wife began premarital counselling with the young lovers. They instructed the pair to not only refrain from intimate contact, but not so much as hold hands until I ‘do’s were said.

In a two week span, Hal was baptized into Dawn’s church. The following weekend the four friends graduated from Mayfield High. The weekend after that, on June 12, 1965, Dawn and Hal were married in a small ceremony. Wendy was maid of honor, and Ed was the best man.

Little did Dawn and Hal realize what an impact their life changing situation would have on their best friends. Before the precious child was conceived, the foursome had all planned on  attending the nearby University of Minnesota together. Now Hal decided to forgo school to support his young family, and Dawn was going to focus on motherhood.

Ed became increasingly uncomfortable with Wendy’s apparent longing to become a wife and mother like her friend. Although Ed desired to settle down one day and have a family, he didn’t want to realize that dream when he was still a teenager. The pair began to quarrel rather than converse, and ultimately broke up.

When Wendy immediately began dating Will Briscoe, while a devastated, heartbroken Ed joined the Marines. The war in Vietnam was only escalating, and Hal angrily berated his friend and told him he was committing suicide. Wendy tearfully begged Ed to not go and to take her back. But his physical had been taken, and the papers were signed.

In August, Ed shipped off to the Marine Corps, Wendy became a Golden Gopher, Hal continued to work at one of his father’s warehouses, and Dawn worked in retail at a local department store until her third trimester. Mr. and Mrs. Hal Storm settled into domestic life in a trailer park not far from the secluded woods where their romance first gave bloom.

The four friend’s birthdays were within twenty days of each other. Wendy’s was November 1^st, Ed’s was the 8^th, Dawn’s was the 12^th, and Hal’s was the 19^th. Baby Storm’s due date was the 15^th. They all secretly hoped he or she would be born on their particular birthday.

The winner of the baby lottery was Ed. Baby Storm arrived during a storm when there was only twenty minutes left on the 8^th day of November. Superstitious Wendy feared this was a bad omen for her beloved Eddie. She was concerned that this meant he was going to be killed during his service to the country. Six months later, Ed did ship off to Vietnam and into harm’s way.

Wendy’s concern was based on a flimsy theory that David Edward Storm being born on Ed’s birthday was somehow meant to replace him. Unfortunately, Wendy didn’t keep her irrational fear to herself. Dawn just laughed it off, knowing her bestie was capable of flightiness. Outwardly Hal laughed it off as well, but inwardly he feared Wendy might be having some type of women’s intuition.

On February 22, 1969, a second child was born to Dawn and Hal. Another healthy baby boy they named Luke Henry Storm. With the birth of their first child, Dawn experienced bouts of melancholy for the first few weeks. With the second, she had significant postpartum depression for the first couple of months, and it would be years before the depression completely subsided.

Being thrown into domesticity at such a young age had its affect on Hal too. He was growing weary of daily toil, between work and the struggles of raising very young children. Coupled with that, his wife’s energy seemed frightening low for the normally fiery Dawn. Her attitude was also bleak unless they had company.

Hal’s religious conversion had gotten him through the first couple years. But the busyness of life kept him away from the amount of spiritual food he needed. The daily devotions he had practiced early on, became less and less. He made sure to pray with his young family every day, but other than at church, his time in the Bible almost disappeared.

The birth of baby Luke brought a visit from Wendy. She was student teaching at Springdale High School. It was Mayfield High’s chief rival, and Hal teased Wendy about being a traitor to their alma mater.

“Hey, I applied at Mayfield first,” Wendy defended. “But they never offered me a position.”

It was also realized that Wendy was living in an apartment only a block away from the warehouse where Hal worked.

“You should stop by,” Wendy invited, then giggled. “Maybe we could study the Bible.”

Dawn felt a twinge of something in her psyche. Was it jealousy? She decided to overcome her insecurities by making a suggestion, after all, she trusted her husband and best friend. If they spent time together, she was confident that it would never leave the realm of platonic. “I think that would be a good idea, as long as Wendy is serious.”

“I’m serious,” Wendy said with a shrug, but then giggled again. “After sowing some oats in college, I’d love for your wholesome lives to rub off on me.”

“You’re not seeing anyone, then?” Dawn asked.

“I had a kinda serious boyfriend, but he’s from Montana and intends to move back after graduation. And I’m hoping Springdale gives me a permanent position, and it looks hopeful so far. The art teacher I am working with is retiring, and the principle seems to like me.”

“I bet he does,” Hal teased.

Wendy winked, while Hal and Dawn glanced at each other. “I’m not sleeping with him you guys. Gross, he’s older than my dad. I just give him a little show.”

Wendy demonstrated by bending over in front of Hal. His eyebrows rose as his eyeballs took in her ample cleavage.

“I see,” Hal murmured.

“I’m sure you did,” Dawn said sternly.

“Anyway,” Wendy said with an innocent shrug, and then a playful hip bump with Hal. “Nothing wrong with a little looking, right Henry?”

“Wendy, you know Hal doesn’t like to be called Henry,” Dawn said as her eyes ran up and down Wendy’s form. She would always love her best friend, but she liked Wendy better when she was a scrawny nerd.

“It is my name, Sweetheart,” Hal replied.

“Oh, I see, you don’t like it when my mother calls you Henry,” Dawn responded sarcastically. “But if a pretty girl shows you her breasts, Henry is just fine.”

Wendy blushed, and Hal jammed his hands in his pockets, feeling scolded. “Yes, I prefer to be called Hal, but it’s the way your mom calls me Henry that I don’t like.”

“Whatever,” Dawn mumbled.

Hal rectified the awkward situation by suggesting that the two long time friends get together once a week. Dawn would give the potential Bible study, and he would babysit. The two women were delighted with this prospect. Wendy left, hugging Dawn, and kissing her cheek. She then turned and hugged Hal, but when she kissed his cheek, the corner of her mouth caught the corner of his mouth.

When Dawn came home after an evening with Wendy, she was in such a good mood that  she initiated intimacy with Hal. But before the making of love could be completed, baby Luke woke up crying. Hal was left extremely frustrated as he laid with his hands behind his head, waiting patiently and hopeful.

A couple weeks later, his heart pounded as he knocked on Wendy’s door. He didn’t understand why. She had invited him to stop by anytime. He simply wanted to share a letter he had received from Ed with her. Maybe it was because the view down her blouse, the playful hip bump, and the innocent, yet somehow provocative kiss, kept playing over and over in his head.

He heard soft, quick footfalls, then the peep hole darkened. He waved, and Wendy squealed his name. His grin vanished for a second when he noticed she was naked, except for a towel wrapped around her torso. Her long red hair was covered by a green shower cap. Even without her red-gold mane to frame her face, she was still exceptionally pretty.

“Come in,” she instructed happily. “I’m going out for diner with a girlfriend of mine. I thought you were her and way early.”

“I’m sorry. I should have called first,” Hal said. “I can come back some other time, or just let Dawn show you what I brought.”

“No, no, don’t go. She’s not due here until six. Just let put some clothes on.”

Hal tried unsuccessfully to avert his eyes, but he did refrain from joking that she needn’t dress on his behalf. His conscience was pricked. What was he doing here? He could have just let his wife share the letter with her in a couple days.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Wendy asked, when she reappeared a few minutes later. She wore a tan corduroy skirt, brown tights, tan boots, and a tight white, ribbed top. Her hair was in a ponytail. “I have cola, orange juice, beer, or wine.”

“I’ll have a beer,” Hal heard himself say. He hadn’t had a drop of alcohol since Dawn told him she was pregnant that fateful night at the end of their senior year in high school.

Wendy brought Hal a bottle of Miller and a glass of wine for herself.

“So,” Wendy said happily, “What was it you wanted to show me?”

“Dawn was telling me that you haven’t heard from Eddie in almost a year,” Hal said.

“Yeah,” Wendy said, and then sighed. “He and I had exchanged letters pretty regularly. Then in one of them, he asked me if I was seeing anyone. I did have a boyfriend at the time, and believing honesty is the best policy, I told him the truth. I haven’t heard from him since, even though I’ve continued to write him about once a month. How often do you hear from him?”

“The first couple of years, about every three weeks or so. The last couple years now, about every two or three months. This one is kind of short, but it has to do with you.”

Hal handed Wendy the letter. She read it silently most of the way through. Then she began to read out loud quietly. “I’m due to get out in August. That is, if I make it back. The fighting here is pretty intense. If I don’t make it back, tell Wendy I love her. I always have, and never stopped. I know she’s moved on and I have to respect that. But pictures of her have gotten me through some pretty lonely nights. Take care, old buddy. You’re friend, Eddie.”

Wendy both laughed and cried, causing Hal to put his arm around her. She and he continued to converse for twenty minutes. “I’d love to chat all night, but my friend will be here any minute.”

“No, that’s cool, I just thought you should see that letter,” Hal replied, then chuckled. “Eddie would probably clobber me if he knew I showed you. But he also didn’t know you and your boyfriend broke up.”

“Thanks, Hal,” Wendy smiled sweetly. “I think I’ll write him, telling him I’m single and can’t wait until he gets back. I’ve never stopped loving him as well. I’m not going to date again until he either takes me back, or tells me to get lost.”

“I don’t think he’ll do that, you’ve only gotten prettier since he’s been gone.”

“You’re sweet,” Wendy said, and hugged him, “And now that you know where I live, don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t,” Hal grinned.

Then, to Hal’s surprise, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Hal wasn’t a stranger. Over the next couple months, Hal stopped in about once a week. He had a beer and she had a wine as they chatted for twenty or thirty minutes. They always parted with a hug and quick kiss.

Even though the kisses tantalized Hal, he told himself they were just friendly, just quick pecks of affection. He tried to block from his mind the fact that not once had he ever shared a kiss on the cheek, let alone lips, with a male friend.

Then came the day they talked for over an hour and had more than one adult beverage. Ironically, Hal had stayed later because they were discussing the Bible, even looking up several passages. But then the Bible was set aside, and Wendy continued their dialogue with a confession.

“Hal, I’ve got something that’s been plaguing my mind,” she said. “I already talked to Dawn about it, but I want a guy’s perspective.”

“Okay.”

“Eddie is writing to me again,” she explained. “I told him I wasn’t seeing anyone, and he expressed interest in us getting back together when his second tour in Nam is up in June. Then he is set to be discharged in August.”

Wendy stared silently at Hal, and he didn’t understand why that would be plaguing her mind.

“So, now you don’t want to rekindle things with Eddie?”

“No, that’s not it at all,” she said, and then bit her lower lip with an anxious expression.

“Well, what then?” Hal inquired.

“My first couple years in college, I was kind of promiscuous. Then at the beginning of my junior year, I met Roger. He’s the guy from Montana I recently broke up with. I was actually with him twice as long as Eddie. My point is, I don’t know that I deserve an honorable man like Eddie anymore.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Hal consoled. “I know for a fact Eddie himself had a steady girlfriend when he was stationed at Camp Pendleton. Then they broke up before he left on his second tour in Nam. She is the only one he ever wrote about, but I highly doubt she was the only girl he dated. You two went different directions for a while, now you’re coming full circle, and right where you were meant to be all along.”

“Thanks, Hal,” Wendy smiled, covering her hand over his. He gave it a gentle squeeze, then she hopped up and dashed to the kitchen. Before Hal could protest, she had popped the top on another bottle of beer, and then refilled her wine glass.

They chatted some more, and Hal drained his beer as quickly as he could. Dawn was gonna wonder what was taking him so long. He walked to the door, and they shared a quick hug and kiss.

“Hal, have you ever wondered what our lives would have been like if you and I would have been paired, and Dawn and Eddie had been?” Wendy asked as he was about to step out of her apartment.

“Of course I have, it actually almost happened.”

“Yes it did,” Wendy said solemnly. “To be honest, I guess I’ve been kind of jealous of Dawn. Two beautiful kids, and a settled family life.”

“You’ll get yours,” Hal said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Then he laughed. “You’re not exactly old. Remember, Dawn and I started things rather prematurely, and definitely not planned.”

“Yeah,” she said, smiling at him fondly.

She put a hand on his cheek and kissed him again. This time it lingered, and several passages from chapter five of Proverbs ran through his head. He had been reading it a lot lately, due to his fascination with Wendy. But he told himself Wendy wasn’t like the women described in chapter five. She was the sweet best friend of his wife.

She was also a chesty, leggy, pretty redhead who was at this very moment giving him something more than a friendly kiss. He told himself to flee like Joseph from Potiphar’s wife. But he had the strongest buzz since he was eighteen, and it wasn’t just from the alcohol. She kissed him a second time, and then a third. They just began to deepen their kiss when the phone made both of them jump.

“Hello,” Wendy said into the receiver as Hal stood stone still in the doorway, frozen with inappropriate desires. Wendy glanced guiltily at Hal, not liking the croaky way Dawn’s voice sounded. “Oh, Dawn, hi. Is something wrong?”

Dawn sniffed. “Wendy, I have some news about Eddie.”

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 18)

At Capernaum: Capernaum itself was well adapted to be the center of the Savior’s work. Being on the highway from Damascus to Jerusalem and Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea, it was a great thoroughfare of travel. People from many lands passed through the city. Here Jesus could meet all classes of humanity.

Jesus met the people on their own ground, as one who was acquainted with their perplexities. He made truth beautiful by presenting it in the most direct and simple way.

While His teaching was simple, He spoke as one having authority. This characteristic set His teaching in contrast to that of all others. The rabbis spoke with doubt and hesitancy, as if the Scriptures might be interpreted to mean one thing or exactly the opposite.

Jesus sought to break the spell of infatuation which keeps men absorbed in earthly things.

When Jesus saw men refuse the message of peace, His heart was pierced to the very depth.

The demoniac Jesus delivered partially comprehended that he was in the presence of One who could set Him free. But when he tried to come within reach of that mighty hand, demon’s will held him, demon’s words found utterance through him. The conflict between the power of Satan and his own desire for freedom was terrible.

The demoniac had been fascinated by the pleasures of sin, and had thought to make life a grand carnival. He did not dream of becoming a terror to the world and the reproach of his family. He thought his time could be spent in innocent folly. But once in the downward path, his feet rapidly descended. Intemperance and frivolity perverted the noble attributes of his nature, and Satan took absolute control of him.

So it will be with all who yield to evil, the fascinating pleasure of their early career ends in the darkness of despair or the madness of a ruined soul.

The period of Christ’s personal ministry among humanity was the time of greatest activity for the forces of the kingdom of darkness.

So it will be in the great final conflict of the controversy between righteousness and sin.

With a subtlety gained through centuries of conflict, the prince of evil works under a disguise. He appears clothed as an angel of light, and multitudes are “giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

History is repeating!! With the Bible open before them and professing to reverence its teachings, many of the religious leaders of our time are destroying faith in the word of God. They busy themselves with dissecting the word, and set their own opinions above its plainest statements. In their hands God’s word loses its regenerating power. This is why infidelity runs riot, and sinful indulgence is widespread.

Secret sin or master passion may hold him captive as helpless as was the demoniac of Capernaum. Yet his condition is not hopeless. The means by which we can overcome the wicked one is that by which Christ overcame—the power of the word. God does not control our minds without our consent.

The spirits of darkness will battle for the soul once under their dominion, but angels of God will contend for that soul with prevailing power.

Every person is free to choose what power they will have to rule over them. None have fallen so low, none are so vile, but that they can find deliverance in Christ. The demoniac, in place of prayer, could utter only the words of Satan; yet the heart’s unspoken appeal was heard. No cry from a soul in need, though it fail of utterance in words, will be unheeded.

CXXIV

TRICKY TRIANGLE

CHAPTER 4

SEPTEMBER 1964—APRIL 1965

Hal could feel his blood pumping in his ears. He swallowed nervously as he groped for what to say. Three faces stared at him as they waited for him to speak.

Dawn was glaring at him with her arms folded and her dark hair pulled into a bun.  She was still wearing the same jean shorts and checked blouse from earlier that day, making her seem to be a wholesome, yet sexy country girl. Yet her facial expression caused her to appear like a stern old school marm.

Wendy had a nervous, expectant look, but smiled happily as she twisted a strand of her long red hair between her fingers. Hal marveled at how stunning she looked. She had been like a scrawny plant that had blossomed into a beautiful flower. This change made Hal all the more tongue tied and confused.

His best friend Ed ran a hand through his blond hair, eyeing his buddy with a puzzled frown. He had felt an element of betrayal when Ed had made a pass at Wendy before him. After all, Hal had been the first to discover Wendy’s transformation from a skinny nerd with braces into a curvaceous vixen. She was now like something right out of the pages of a men’s magazine.

But Ed was doing his part to make things right, which made Hal both appreciative and annoyed. That’s why he was now in this difficult position. No matter what, someone was going to be hurt. He just needed to seize the opportunity and follow his heart. But how did he go about this delicate task?

“Does anyone believe in love at first sight?” Hal asked as he held up a hand, subtly urging his listeners do the same if they agreed. Wendy slowly began to raise her hand, but put it down when she glanced to the right and left, noticing that Dawn and Ed remained motionless.

“That didn’t come out right,” Hal said with a groan. He rubbed the back of his neck. How did he get in this mess?

An hour earlier, Ed had informed Hal that he and Wendy had decided that the two couples should switch. The previous night, the foursome had been on a double date together. Dawn had been paired with Hal, while Wendy was with Ed.

At the time, Dawn and Hal seemed to mix like oil and water. Whereas Wendy and Ed hit it off like two peas in a pod. However, the next day the two couples had two separate encounters. Hal had spotted Dawn out walking and followed her into some secluded woods. They shared a fiery exchange of words, before sharing a few passionate kisses. They then proceeded to have a long, deep conversation that ended with a single tender kiss.

Wendy and Hal had met that Sunday, going out for a sundae. As they ate their ice cream, talk of the future ensued. Although it was only their second date, they had gotten along so well that the prospect of marriage and children came up, causing their first disagreement.

Hal suggested that when the time came, they marry in his church. Wendy, on the other hand, insisted they marry in her church. Then a light bulb seemed to illuminate over Wendy’s head. She belonged to the same Catholic parish as Hal, and Ed’s family attended the same fundamentalist church that Dawn and her mother worshipped at.

Wendy conspiratorially suggested they switch dating partners.  Ed recalled seeing Dawn walking an hour earlier when he was on his way to pick up Wendy. Dawn had silky tan legs, a sway to her hips, pouty lips, and big brown eyes. He also recalled how she looked the previous night in a short skirt and go-go boots. He smiled wolfishly and agreed to the change up.

Oh, how fickle the young! Passionate one minute, over it the next. No wonder it’s suggested by experts that couples wait at least two years before tying the knot. Now pour Hal was feeling the brunt of their immature actions. He felt Dawn turn even colder and decided to be blunt.

“Wendy, you are beautiful girl,” Hal said. “And I’m honored that you would like to go out with me.”

“Thanks, I feel the same,” Wendy beamed.

“What, that Hal’s a beautiful girl?” Ed teased.

“No, silly,” Wendy replied, giggling and playfully slapped Ed on the shoulder.

“I know this is strange and awkward…” Hal said, and paused as he looked at Dawn.

She looked away from his gaze, fighting hard against angry, hurt tears. How could he! Just a few hours ago they had shared sweet kisses. Then two hours seemed like two minutes as they talked, mostly about a surprisingly civil debate over God.

Hal had suggested that a loving God could not exist in a world like ours. Dawn had countered with the origin of sin and the war in heaven, which led to our fallen world. Hal had then asked, ‘why, if God is all powerful, like the way He supposedly cast Satan and his angels out of heaven, could he not have saved his twenty year old cousin from being killed in Vietnam back in May?’

Hal had been ready to leave with their debate in a stalemate. Then Hal had asked his final question with a trembling lower lip and a quiver in his voice. “Tell me Dawn, where was God when my cousin, barely out of his teens, was killed in an explosion? His parents and little sister are absolutely devastated.”

Dawn didn’t try to stop the tear that leaked from her own eye as she replied softly. “The same place He was when His Son was tortured and then crucified for our sins.”

“I see,” Hal replied quietly, never considering before that God has enemies, even though the vast majority of humanity has heard of demons, devils, and Satan.

“But Jesus rose from the grave,” Dawn continued with a gentle voice. “He is the only person to defeat death. He’s also the only hope we have in a fallen world, a world that killed God when He came to save them.”

Hal had stared at Dawn, stunned. What she said was so simple, yet it resonated as true with him. She could see it in his eyes. He gave a little smile and nodded.

“I know there’s a lot of pain in the world,” Dawn continued. “But time is a deception. Our earthly life can seem so long, yet compared to eternity, it is literally like a blink of an eye.”

“How did you get so wise?” Hal asked with a chuckle.

“You should come to church with me and find out,” Dawn said, and then feared she might be pushing too fast.

“I think I might,” Hal replied. “I better go.”

Hal leaned in and gave her a feather light kiss. Then he pulled her in for a gentle, yet firm embrace. Dawn smiled sweetly at him. “Bye.”

“See ya at school tomorrow,” Hal said as he walked backward to his dad’s pickup truck.

“Okay.”

“Can I give you a ride home?”

“I’d like that,” Dawn beamed. Her heart soared as high the clouds as she watched her potential boyfriend drive away. A guy most of her female classmates dreamed of having as their own. Was he really going to be hers? What an answer to prayer!

But then a phone call from Wendy an hour later, telling her ‘no, he wasn’t hers.’ She knew very well that Wendy had been Hal’s first choice. Now something seemed to happen to reverse the weekend’s chain of events. It seemed the three of them conspired without her to change things up. Wendy was going to go out with Hal now, and apparently Dawn was expected to pair with Ed.

Well they had another thing coming. Not that Ed was so bad. He was strong, handsome, and polite. But he was no Hal. Hal was one of those boys, others just naturally seemed to follow. He was suave and cool, he also looked like he could be Paul McCartney’s younger brother. On the other hand, Dawn didn’t want to be left out either. Maybe she was being prideful. She had just read in the book of James after Hal left her house, that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

“The thing is what?” Ed demanded.

Hal  was staring at Dawn with a determined expression. “I think I’m falling in love with Dawn, and I don’t want to switch.”

Dawn’s jaw dropped, and she considered throwing herself in Hal’s arms. But Ed spoke and she stayed put.

“What?” Ed exclaimed, and then snorted a laugh. “You two looked miserable last night. Are you drunk? How can you go from never wanting to see someone again one day to falling in love with them the next?”

“All I know is today Dawn and I had a connection I’ve never felt with another human being before,” Hal explained as he recalled the way she felt in his arms, the way her lips felt against his, and the way time seemed to stand still when they conversed.

Hal looked at Wendy. “I’m sorry, Wendy. You’re a beautiful girl and all. As a matter of fact…” Hal then stopped himself from saying that he originally wanted to go out with her, thinking that might just make things more complicated.

“That’s cool,” Wendy replied with a casual shrug. “We were just trying to help. We had no idea you two got together today. Ed and I figured if religion became an issue with us, it had to be with Dawn. We also realized that Hal and I belong to the same church, and Ed’s family goes to Dawn’s church, that’s all. It just seemed logical to switch. But tell me something, Dawn.”

“Okay.”

“I know how serious you are about your faith,” Wendy said. “So how is it you two are, I guess, going to be seeing each other? And why did you go out with him in the first place when you knew he was Catholic, and also a bit of a wild child?”

“Hey,” Hal said with mock offence.

“I thought it could be possible,” she replied, and then cringed. “That he might convert and join my church.”

“Yeah, right,” Ed laughed. “I’ve invited Hal several times to church services and church activities over the years, and not once has he ever considered it.”

“I’m going next weekend,” Hal declared.

“You don’t say,” Ed said sarcastically, and then defiantly put his hands on his hips. “You’re going just because she’s prettier than me, that’s all.”

Dawn felt herself blush. It only deepened after Hal spoke.

“Well, she’s prettier than you to be sure,” Hal said. “But she’s also smarter, and, um, holier than you are, too.”

Wendy giggled, Dawn humbly cast her eyes downward, and Ed shook his head and laughed.

Hal then proceeded to convince Wendy and Ed to continue seeing each other. He reasoned that if they were still together at the end of the school year, they could then begin to decide what their future holds.

Talk of compromising spiritual matters made Dawn uncomfortable. Compromise had been what watered down the standards of the Christian faith over centuries. Yet her desire for Hal, coupled with her hope he would truly convert, led to her own series of compromising.

She felt encouraged that Hal did indeed begin attending church services with her. But then she became concerned when he began skipping occasionally due to late night, teenage shenanigans. She was delighted that Hal stopped smoking around her, but disappointed when Wendy began dabbling with the unhealthy practice.

Then came Christmas break. Dawn was delighted with the pretty gold locket Hal had given her. She gave him a leather bound Bible, which he seemed to genuinely like. Then she fought off jealousy over the promise ring Ed had given Wendy. But she was more disturbed when she asked Wendy what she had given Ed.

Even though they were alone in Wendy’s bedroom, her best friend put her mouth close to Dawn’s ear and whispered. “I gave Ed my virginity.”

“Wendy!” Dawn exclaimed as she felt the blood drain from her face.

“Shh,” Wendy responded with a finger to her lips and a frown on her brow.

“Wendy, I thought you were saving yourself for marriage?” Dawn whispered.

“Get with it, Dawn, this is the sixties,” Wendy seemed to scold. “I’ll tell you something you might not like to hear. You’re gonna end up losing Hal if you don’t start doing more than kiss with him.”

“I will not,” Dawn declared. “Hal’s known from the start that I’m saving myself for marriage, and he honors and respects that.”

“Yeah, well, he knows you intend to be a virgin your wedding day, but he didn’t know you wouldn’t even let him touch you, or, you know, do other sexual things besides intercourse.”

Dawn felt something grow cold inside her. Did Wendy know something she didn’t? Did Hal say something to Ed, and then Ed to Wendy? She inquired and found out Hal had complained to his best friend about sexual frustrations.

This put Dawn in the biggest spiritual battle of her life. Why hadn’t Hal talked to her about this? Maybe he was too much of a gentleman. It didn’t help when he missed the next church service. Dawn anguished over what to do, yet she prayed very little over the matter. It made her feel strange talking to God about sex, so she trusted to her own reasoning.

After all, her track record proved her to be a good, responsible, and moral person. But Wendy was right, this was the sixties. She couldn’t expect Hal to be content with just kisses for the next two years, or whenever it was they decided to marry.

The next time Dawn and Hal were alone, she let the explorations begin. Each time she let things go a little further. Hal was beyond pleased with the carnal pleasures he was now experiencing, and he always reassured Dawn that she was the girl for him. Then came Valentine’s day.

Dawn had never tasted alcohol before, and never intended to. But time and again she had watched Hal, Wendy, and Ed enjoying beers and laughing as she quietly sipped a coke. Ed had grown up in her church, which on record, forbade drinking and smoking. He had always seemed fairly devout, yet he easily downed beers and smoked cigarettes with no apparent violation of conscience. She also had witnessed her mother, one of the most stern people she had ever known, occasionally have a glass of wine on a special occasion.

Valentine’s day for a young couple in love was a very special occasion. No one was home at the Storm residence, so Hal invited the foursome for a little party. First the boys gave their girls flowers and presents. Wendy received earrings from Ed, and Dawn’s jaw dropped when Hal placed a promise ring on her finger. Wendy squealed and clapped, and Ed whistled and clapped.

Then Hal went to the kitchen and returned with four glasses, a bottle of wine, and a Pepsi for Dawn. Hal was about to pop the top on the can of soda when Dawn stopped him. “Can I have a glass of wine?”

Wendy and Ed grinned, but Hal frowned. His association with Dawn was convicting his conscience to give up smoking and drinking. Although he had cut back on both, he had not yet refrained. Maybe in the spring, he told himself.

But he didn’t like the idea of Dawn compromising her principles. She had already begun doing sexual things with him, even though he had been patient and respectful. He needed to become more like her, not her like him. She was worth the wait.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dawn,” he told her.

“Just once, I want to see what it’s like,” she shrugged. “You guys drink all the time. I just want to celebrate this day, and mostly this ring.”

Hal’s jaw clenched as he poured wine instead of Pepsi into Dawn’s glass. But once a buzz was had, Hal’s conscience wasn’t nearly as bothered. He even liked how lighthearted Dawn became, and the cute way she giggled. But when she asked for a refill, Hal had the sense to tell her ‘no, she wasn’t used to it’ and needed to drink a soda now. However, when Hal went to the bathroom, Wendy refilled her best friend’s glass.

Not much later, Dawn found herself in Hal’s bedroom. It wasn’t a place unfamiliar to her, but the state she was in was. She felt light, uninhibited, and erotic. She wondered why she had always been so against drinking because she felt incredible, adventurous, even reckless. In a breathy voice she petitioned her boyfriend. “Hal?”

“Yeah,” Hal gasped, caught up in his own desire.

“Let’s make love for real.”

“Dawn, no!” he scolded.

“Dawn, no,” she repeated, and then giggled. “It sounded like you were scolding your dog.”

Hal laughed, but then became serious. “Dawn, let’s just keep doing what we’ve been doing. I can wait until marriage for, you know….”

“Please, Hal, I’m ready.”

“You’ve been drinking.”

“But I’m really in the mood.”

“We’ll wait until tomorrow then.”

“No,” Dawn whined. “Wendy and Ed have been doing it since Christmas.”

“You’ve been drinking, I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

She recited half of the alphabet backwards, and a big chunk of Hal’s resolve was gone. A half dozen pleading words, and a dozen kisses later, and Hal gave in.

The next morning Dawn didn’t feel so good. Two glasses of wine may not seem like much, but Dawn weighed just over a hundred pounds and had never drank before. How was it she felt so light and free last night, but now she felt thick and dirty? She recalled practically begging Hal to have sex with her. How could she face him now? She was never going to drink again! And she didn’t for more than a decade.

Facing Hal wasn’t as hard as she thought, he was extra lovey dovey and had shown up with flowers the day after. A dozen red roses and a promise ring on Valentine’s, and a dozen pink roses the day after. This relieved her anguished mind some.

But she knew Hal would expect them to go all the way on a regular basis now. She knew she should tell him it was a sin, that they made a mistake, and they should go back to waiting for marriage. But sin is easier to do when you’ve already done it once. Even easier when you’ve done it twice. Dawn justified giving in by the promise ring. They intended to be married one day, the only thing lacking was a future ceremony.

In mid-April, Hal was puzzled by Dawn’s melancholy mood. It was Saturday night, and when Hal told her that his parents went out with friends, he thought for sure she wouldn’t be in the mood. But when he suggested they go to his bedroom, she went without hesitation. Yet she just sat down hard on his bed, sighed heavily, and crossed her arms. Hal sat next to her, put an arm around her, and kissed her cheek. He pulled a condom out of his pocket and waved it. “Are we gonna take advantage of being alone? Isn’t this better than the backseat of my car?”

Dawn forced a smile and kissed him. Then she sighed. “Yes, we’ll take advantage of this opportunity, but you don’t need this.”

She grabbed the condom out of his hand and flung it into the trash can.

“Dawn, what are doing?” he chuckled. “You don’t want to get pregnant, do you?”

“Oh, I won’t get pregnant,” Dawn said sadly, then kissed him tenderly. “I already am.”

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 17)

Called by the sea. (See Luke 5: 1-11)

Night was the only favorable time for fishing with nets in the clear waters of the big lake. After toiling all night without success, it seemed hopeless to cast the net by day. But Jesus had given the command, and love for their Master moved the disciples to obey.

This miracle, above any other he had witnessed, was to Peter a manifestation of divine power. In Jesus he saw One who held all nature under His control. This presence of divinity revealed his own unholiness. Love for his Master, shame for his own unbelief, gratitude for the condescension of Christ, above all, the sense of his uncleanness in the presence of infinite purity, overwhelmed him.

Peter exclaimed, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man,” yet he clung to the feet of Jesus, feeling that he could not be parted from Him. The Savior answered, “Fear not, from henceforth you shall catch men.”

The imprisonment of John the Baptist had been to them all a bitter disappointment. If such were to be the outcome of John’s mission, they could have little hope for their Master, with all the religious leaders combined against Him.

Before asking them to leave their nets and fishing boats, Jesus had given them the assurance that God would supply their needs.

Apart from Christ, our work is fruitless, and it is easy to distrust and murmur. But when He is near, and we labor under His direction, we rejoice in the evidence of His power. It is Satan’s work to discourage the soul; it is Christ’s work to inspire with faith and hope.

Those fishers of Galilee were humble and unlearned men. But Christ, the light of the world, was abundantly able to qualify them for the position for which He had chosen them.

The first thing to be learned by all who would become workers together with God is the lesson of self-distrust; then they are prepared to have imparted to them the character of Christ.

In the common walks of life there is  many a man patiently treading the round of daily toil, unconscious that he possesses powers which, if called into action, would raise him to an equality with the world’s most honored men.

It is not the highest work of education to communicate knowledge merely, but to impart that vitalizing energy which is received through the contact of mind with mind, and soul with soul. It is only life that can beget life. What privilege, then, was theirs who for three years were in daily contact with that divine life from which has flowed every life-giving impulse that has blessed the world.

The weak, vacillating  character becomes changed to one of strength and steadfastness. Continual devotion establishes so close a relation between Jesus and His disciple that the Christian becomes like Him in mind and character.

CXXIII

TRICKY TRIANGLE

SEPTEMBER 1964

CHAPTER 3

Dawn was talking so low as she prayed, Hal could only make out about half of what she was saying. He thought it was probably a double sin to lust after a woman as she prayed. Then he smirked, he didn’t believe in God anyway so he continued to admire her backside. Then something she spoke caused him to tense.

“Please, if it be your will,  have him ask me out,” she prayed. “But only if it’s your will, all wise, all knowing Creator.”

Was Hal the him she spoke of? If he was, shouldn’t she have said again? He felt a pang of jealousy. But why, hadn’t he told himself he wanted nothing more to do with Dawn. Then a relieved thought came to his mind. He didn’t actually ask her out for last night’s date, Ed had arranged the rendezvous for the foursome.

Dawn rose suddenly, startling Hal. But he wasn’t half as startled as Dawn. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her breath caught as a hand flew to her chest. Then the stunned countenance turned to an angry one. “How dare you invade my privacy?”

“What do you mean? The county owns this property, I have as much right to be here as you.”

“Well, then, how dare you sneak up on me and spy?” she barked as she whisked past him.

He followed on her heels. “Who’s the him you want to ask you out?”

She stopped abruptly and turned. They collided, and then she shoved him hard in the chest. “Of all the nerve! Get away from me!”

“Who, Dawn?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Dawn began a brisk walk through the narrow trail with Hal once again on her heels. “Dawn, will you go out with me again?”

Dawn stopped abruptly, and Hal almost collided with her again. Her brain whirled in confusion. Her first instinct was to slap him. Then she realized that God not only answered her prayer concerning the guy she had prayed about, he had seemed to materialize as soon as her prayer ended. Was it a miracle? Coincidence? Fate?

Maybe she should be thankful instead of angry. Regardless, for some reason, she couldn’t seem to move. She felt Hal’s strong gentle hands on her shoulders. He guided her around to face him. “How about it, just you and me? We’ll go to dinner. At a nicer place than a drive in burger joint.”

“Why?” Dawn asked quietly.

Good question, Hal was asking himself that same very same thing. Then he shrugged. “Why not?”

“You’ve never liked me.”

“You’ve never been very nice.”

“And you think I am nice now?” She asked skeptically.

Hal refrained from saying nice looking. “That’s what I want to find out. Maybe I’m an optimist, and maybe it’s a case of opposites attract.”

“What makes you think I’m attracted to you?” Dawn asked coolly.

“You just prayed for me to ask you out,” Hal said with a coy smile.

“Did I?” Dawn replied patiently. His haughty attitude made her want to lash out, but she controlled herself. “Can you prove that?”

“I think I can,” Hal said.

“Oh, so you can read minds then?”

“No,” Hal replied, shaking his head. “But I have known you for over a decade. Granted, we never used to play at each other’s houses or anything. But you are the most honest, straightforward person I have ever known. So tell me then, if not me, who were you praying for?”

“That’s none of your business!” she barked. Yet she felt like what he had just said about her honesty was a compliment, and it thrilled her heart, even as his demand annoyed her. She was beginning to think the pursuit of love was the most confusing, anguishing endeavor known to humanity. At the same time it was the most exciting.

Hal went to his knees, and for the first time in years he prayed. Although, it was more for show than genuine communion with his Maker. “Dear Lord, whether I was the one Dawn prayed for or not, please inspire her to agree to an evening of fine dining and conversation with me. Amen.”

Dawn wondered if Hal was mocking her, but despite herself, she couldn’t help giggling as Hal rose. He grinned from ear to ear. The happy countenance on the most serious girl he had ever known was a beautiful sight.

“Are you even a believer?” Dawn asked, as her merriment slowly faded.

“I’m a confirmed member of the Catholic church,” Hal declared.

“I’m a citizen of the United States, but that doesn’t make me president. Are you a believer or not?”

“A believer in what?” Hal stalled.

“A believer in God, silly.”

“Not really.”

“The Bible says I shouldn’t be yoked to an unbeliever.”

“Going out on a date isn’t going to yoke us.”

“What’s the point then if a possible courtship is out of the question? I already told you that I’m saving myself for marriage, and you don’t seem like the type of guy that’s willing to wait.”

“That’s judgmental. The Bible says judge not, or else you will be judged.”

“I’m not judging you, I don’t know your heart,” she shrugged. “I’m just making an observation. You seem like the type of guy that wants a girl willing to fool around in the backseat of your car.”

“That’s just it, you don’t know me. I don’t want to use a girl just for sex. That’s why I’m suggesting we start seeing each other.”

“But like I said, I ultimately can’t be yoked to an unbeliever.”

“So make me a believer.”

She studied him for a moment. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” he said, spreading his arms in exasperation. “That’s part of getting to know each other. I want to understand what makes you such a spiritual person. Who knows, maybe it will make me one too.”

She chewed tentatively on her lower lip and gazed at Hal with her big beautiful brown eyes. He never wanted to kiss a girl more in his life.

“Listen,” he continued. “I don’t care if I was the one in your, you know, prayer. Regardless of that, I still want to go out with you. So how about it?”

“I’ll think about it,” she replied, folding her arms and eyeing him innocently.

“Oh!” Hal grimaced, clenching his jaw, and clutching her upper arms firmly. “Girl, you’re driving me nuts!”

Dawn didn’t really feel threatened by Hal, but on the other hand, she wasn’t used to being alone with a guy. Especially in a remote area. She kicked him in the shin and stepped past him, beginning a trek out of the woods.

“Ouch!” Hal bellowed and gave chase. “Why you little…”

Dawn squealed and began running down the narrow trail, laughing. But she didn’t get very far before her tender ankle began to bother her. Then a stab of pain brought her to her knees.

“Ya know, you should wait until your ankle heels before you go hiking into thick woods,” Hal scolded.

“Ow,” Dawn moaned as Hal helped her to her feet. “It was doing just fine until some lunatic started chasing me.”

“Here let me carry you,” Hal offered.

“No, I’m fine,” she replied. But Hal persisted and picked her up. “Put me down.”

“Oh, just be quiet,” Hal demanded. But Dawn continued to squirm in his arms as Hal walked them out of the woods. “Stop squirming.”

“Put me down.”

Hal stumbled, and their cheeks pressed together. He stopped walking, and Dawn stilled. She looked at him with her eyes looking extra huge and cute just inches from his. Without even thinking, he kissed her. Now they both looked startled, and he gently set her down.

Dawn gazed at him with a stunned expression, and then mumbled. “You kissed me.”

“I’m sorry, Dawn,” Hal said, lifting his hands in defense.

“You kissed me,” she repeated, touching two fingers to her lips and looking at them as if they might have come away bloody.

Hal remembered the previous night when Dawn licked a napkin and scrubbed dried catchup from the corner of his mouth. He put a finger where the moisture had been. “I’m sorry, Dawn, I had no right to steal your first kiss. I’m sure you wanted it to be with someone special, someone you love.”

“What makes you think it was my first?” Dawn asked with something like a coy smile on her lips.

Hal frowned. That was his first kiss, how could it not be hers?  “That wasn’t the first time you were kissed by a guy?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes, I would.”

“Well, I don’t kiss and tell.”

“I see, well, I’d like to rescind my offer of a date,” Hal said, as he began to walk past her. “I didn’t realize that you’ve been defiled.”

Dawn folded her arms, stuck her tongue in her cheek, and turned to watch walk away. “I hadn’t been defiled until just a minute ago.”

Hal stopped, turning to face her. “Once again, Dawn, I’m sorry.” He turned and began his trek out of the woods again.

“Hal,” Dawn called after him. “I accept your apology, and I also accept your offer of a date.”

Hal went back to her, placing his hands on his hips. “I just told you, I rescinded the offer.”

“Oh, I see,” Dawn replied, batting her eyelashes a little. She rose to her tiptoes, put her hands on Hal’s shoulders, and pressed her lips onto his. Then she attempted to brush past him, but he caught her hand.

“Dawn, I rescind my rescinding,” he told her with a grin.

“Too bad,” she said with a coy smile. “I rescind my acceptance.”

She turned and began a brisk walk out of the woods again. Hal took four quick, long steps, wrapped his arms around her waist, and whirled her around a couple times. “Oh no, you don’t.”

“Ehhhhh!” Dawn squealed and laughed as her shoe flew off. Hal set her on a nearby tree stump, and retrieved the black and white sneaker.

“Didn’t your mom ever teach you how to properly tie a shoe?” Hal teased.

“It was tied loose because I have a tender ankle. Now hand it over.”

“Not until you agree to go out with me.”

“Well, if that’s the only way I get my shoe back, I accept.”

“One more thing,” Hal demanded. “You have to kiss me again, too.”

“Oh, if I must,” Dawn replied with mock disgust.

Two hours later, Hal was shooting baskets in his driveway. He wore a satisfied smile as he thought about his encounter that afternoon with Dawn. Her feistiness, the kisses they shared, the long, deep conversation they had when he drove her home. Was this what love felt like?

“Hal, Ed’s on the phone,” his mother called.

Hal trotted into the house, anxious to tell his good friend about his afternoon encounter with Dawn. But Ed got in the first word, and it wasn’t good.

“Wendy and I got into a bit of a tiff today,” Ed explained.

“Over what?” Hal asked as his grip on the phone tightened.

“Religion.”

“Religion?”

“Yeah, but we were civil, we’re still friends,” Ed said, and then sighed. “As a matter of fact, she came up with a great idea.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“You’re gonna get your wish old buddy.”

“What’s my wish?”

“You know, Wendy.”

“Wendy, what are you talking about?”

“She and I both noticed how badly you and Dawn got along last night. Wendy and I also realized that she and I are ultimately not very compatible. So, she actually suggested we switch. You start seeing her, and I start seeing Dawn. How about that old pal?

“Yeah, how about that,” Hal mumbled.

(DESTINY’S BIBLE STUDY NOTES AND QUOTES)

(The LIFE and MINISTRY of JESUS Part 16)

As Jesus traveled through Galilee, teaching and healing, multitudes flocked to Him from the cities and villages. Never before have there been such a period as this for the world. Heaven was brought down to humanity. Hungering and thirsting souls that had waited long for the redemption of Israel now feasted upon the grace of a merciful Savior.

“In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.” (Daniel 9:27). In the spring of A. D. 31, Christ the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary. The veil of the temple was torn in two, showing that the sacredness and significance of the sacrificial service had departed. The time had come for the earthly sacrifice and oblation to cease.

The one week—seven years—ended in A. D. 34. Then by the stoning of Stephen the Jews finally sealed their rejection of the gospel; the disciples who were scattered abroad by persecution “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4) and shortly after, Saul the persecutor was converted, and became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.

It was Gabriel, the angel next in rank to the Son of God, who came with the divine message to Daniel. It was also Gabriel who Christ sent to open the future to John the Revelator.

The words of the angel to Daniel relating to the last days were to be understood in the time of the end. At that time, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” “The wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. (Daniel 12:4, 10)

The Savior Himself has given signs of His coming. (See Luke 21:31-36)

So today the kingdom of this world absorbs humanity’s thoughts, and they take no note of the rapidly fulfilling prophecies and the tokens of the swift-coming kingdom of God.

(See Luke 4:16-21) Upon this Sabbath Jesus was requested to take part in the service. He stood to read. And there was delivered to Him a roll of the prophet Isaiah. The scripture which He read was one that was understood as referring to the Messiah. Jesus stood before the people as a living expositor of the prophecies concerning Himself.

But when Jesus announced, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” they suddenly recalled to think of themselves, and the claims of Him who had been addressing them.

Who is this Jesus? They questioned. He who had claimed for Himself the glory of the Messiah was the son of a carpenter, and had worked at His trade with His father Joseph. Although His life had been spotless, they would not believe that He was the Promised One.

Truth was unpopular in Christ’s day, and it is unpopular in our day. Do we not today meet theories and doctrines that have no foundation in the word of God? People cling as tenaciously to them as did the Jews to their traditions. Today, as then, as real piety declined leaders have become more jealous for their traditions and ceremonies.

In all ages, angels have been near to Christ’s faithful followers. The vast confederacy of evil is arrayed against all who would overcome; but Christ would have us look to the things which are not seen, to the armies of heaven encamped about all who love God, to deliver them. From what dangers, seen and unseen, we have been preserved through the interposition of the angels, we shall never know, until in the light of eternity we see the providences of God. Then we shall know that the whole family of heaven was interested in the family here below, and that messengers from the throne of God attended our steps from day to day