“Because you wanted me to always remember to praise the Lord,” Jude said in a sing-songy way as if he had heard it all before.

  “That was one reason. But I also did it so you’d remember that you aren’t Isaac Walker. There will only ever be one like my man. But you are Isaac Judah Walker, and there will only ever be one like you.”

  The door opened, Donavan poked his head in. “Jude, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to give Marissa a ride home.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Nina said, “All of y’all should go home and get some rest.”

  “But what about Daddy?” Jude was terrified that the moment he left, he would receive a call telling that his dad passed away.

  “Your daddy ain’t going no where. He is going to wait right here so I can tell him how many lives were shook up by your march on City Hall tomorrow.”

  ~~~~

  Jude was wore out from his encounter with God so he took his mom’s advice and went to her house so he could get some sleep. But he still wasn’t sure if he was going to lead that march in the morning. Who did he think he was anyway? He was just a guy who started off wanting to bring souls to Christ, who sold out so that his app could make more money and make him rich. So, how could he reach people and bring them to the Lord like his parents want him to do, when he felt so utterly lost himself?

  He went upstairs, jumped in the shower, then went to his old bedroom, put on a pair of pj’s and flopped into the bed head first. Jude was drifting off to sleep when suddenly he felt something grabbing and pulling on him. Immediately, he knew what was happening and he tried to break free and not let the demons win... he did not want to be drug into Hades not one more time in life. “Please no,” he screamed.

  But it was no use, Jude’s eyes opened in a room that was red from all the blood dripping off the walls. Jude put his hands to his ears because screeching screaming noises were coming from those bloody walls. “Help me... help me... help me” He kept hearing those words over and over. But how could he help? He couldn’t even see the people behind that wall.

  Then one by one faces started appearing all around the room. He’d seen some of those people out rioting and looting yesterday. Jude didn’t know why the faces were so familiar to him, but as each face flashed before him he could recall where he’d seen this or that person. The one yelling for help right now, he remembered seeing as he threw a rock into the window of a department store. The next face he saw in the bloody wall was that of a woman he’d seen running out of that department store with an arm full of stolen clothes.

  He saw the faces of so many people he had the opportunity to minister to through out the years but Jude had ignored them. “These people aren’t dead.” Jude shook his head as if the display before him was just shameful.

  But then a monstrous demon slithered toward him, hissing and laughing at him. “They’ll be here soon enough. Because we stopped you from figuring it out.”

  “Figure what out?”

  The demon disappeared and Jude was left screaming until his screams shook him out of yet another nightmare. He was now woke, but still not comforted because he was being tormented by the fact that he obviously missed something. He had a feeling that figuring out this next journey of his life could possibly mean everything to so many people.

  Images of him at numerous street revivals with his father flashed through his head. Jude felt relaxed and at peace as one image after the next of women and men walking to the altar to give their lives to the Lord sped by him. But the one image that seemed to slow down was of Marissa walking towards the altar.

  As she lifted her hands and accepted Jesus Christ into her life, Jude this monstrous beat float out of her body and the name of that beast was Death. Jude watched Death slither away looking for another body to climb into, but as Isaac kept preaching and proclaiming the name of the Lord, Death couldn’t find a body at the revival and was forced to leave their presence.

  He sat up in bed wondering what in the world had God just revealed to him. Then Jude remembered a comment by Marissa from many years ago. He had said that he wished he had met her after the drama with Calvin Jones, because then she never would have gotten hurt and lost her baby.

  But Marissa had told him that if he hadn’t knocked on her door that day, then they probably never would have met. Did she know that she was scheduled to die? How did she know? Then suddenly it all seemed clear to Jude. Marissa had planned to kill herself. God planned for Jude to knock on her door at the exact moment he’d done so. He had been sent there to save her life and then his father preached the message that allowed Marissa to accept God into her life so that her soul could be saved.

  Coming to the realization that ministry mattered, and that it not only changed lives but saved them, was all too overwhelming for him. Because Jude was finally accepting the truth. That the years he spent only being concerned with making money and not the cause of Christ has consequences. Somebody out there needed him to knock on their door... needed him to tell them about a God who is quick to save. But Jude had failed. He put his hands to his head and bowed low as he yelled out into the atmosphere, “Who am I? Why am I here? What did I miss and how did I miss it?”

  Once again Jude heard the still small voice coming to him out of a whirlwind. “You are Judah, you were born to give me praise. Walk upright before Me.”

  He got out of his bed and bowed down on his knees, lifted up his hands like he hadn’t done in years. “Forgive me Lord, I was wrong. I didn’t understand.” Tears were streaming down his face as he said, “I want to be used by You. Show me where to go... tell me what to do. But most of all, don’t ever take your spirit away from me. Jesus, I promise, if You restore my soul, I’ll never turn away from You again.”

  17

  The moment his eyes opened that morning, he picked up the phone and called the hospital. Once he got his mother on the phone he asked, “How is Dad doing?”

  “There’s no change. He is still asleep.”

  His mother would not say the word ‘coma’. She just kept saying he was resting or sleep. Yesterday such talk ticked him off, but this morning it only put a smile on his face, because he now saw those words as her faith in action. “I have to go to the rally this morning. But I will be at the hospital the moment I’m done.”

  “That’s fine, Jude. And I want you to know that you’re father would be proud of you for doing this.”

  “I know he would... and Mama, please call me Judah from now on. I’m ready to be the man I was supposed to be from the moment I was born.”

  “Thank you, Jesus,” Nina said in a low voice as if she was trying not to disturb Isaac.

  “Pray for me, Mama because I don’t want to turn my back on my destiny ever again.”

  “I will pray, son. Now you go do what your father told you.”

  Judah left the house confident in what he was to do for the day, but he still had many questions. God had restored him and wanted him in the ministry, that much was clear to Judah, but he wasn’t quiet sure what his next move should be. How was he supposed to start his ministry? So many questions that Judah wished he could sit at his dad’s feet and soak up all the knowledge that man had. He took a deep breath as he got out of his car and met up with the hundreds of people that were waiting for them to begin their march to City Hall. “One day at a time... one step at a time,” he told himself as they began the march.

  Several pastors had joined the march today, so when they reached the destination each of them took turns speaking. When it was Judah’s turn he held onto the mic for a moment. Not saying anything but silently praying for God to direct him. He cleared his throat and said, “My name is Judah Walker, and I’m so thankful for the preachers who came out today and admonished us all to keep the faith even in these troubling times.

  “But I also understand there are many of you who are having trouble with all this stuff we are seeing, sometimes on a daily basis. So, I’m the last one to tell you to just believe and everything will turn out all right. Because you see, I lost my faith several years ago and I’m just now getting it back.

  “All I can tell you all is that I thought I didn’t need God. I thought I would be just fine in this world because I was making money and living good. But when things started to fall apart, and I didn’t have my faith to fall back on, I fell apart.

  “We have a right to be angry. And we have a right to stand up for what is right, but to lose hope and give up your faith, that would be like bringing about another death... a spiritual one that many people never recover from.”

  When Judah finished speaking he did something that he often saw his father do... he made an altar call. As dozens of men and women came forward to accept the Lord Jesus Christ into their lives Judah and the other preachers prayed with them. Judah smiled as he saw Marissa for the first time that day. He didn’t know she was at the rally until she took the spot next to him and began praying for a woman as she cried in Marissa’s arms... ministry.

  When they were finished, Judah slid his hand in Marissa’s as they walked back to their cars. “Thanks for coming out here today.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it.” Marissa smiled up at him as she added, “Looks like someone spent a little extra time with God last night.”

  “I figured some things out,” he told her, grinning.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  He stopped walking, still holding on to her hand and looked her in the eye. “I want to ask you about something. This might be a little awkward, but I need to know.” She nodded, giving him the go ahead. “Were you planning to kill yourself the day I knocked on your door?”

  Marissa stepped back from Judah and put a hand over her mouth. “How did you know that?”

  “Seriously, if I told you, I don’t even think you’d believe me. Let me just say that I dreamed about the day you gave your life to the Lord last night. And I saw something in the spirit that I didn’t notice that day.”

  “God is really using you, Jude.”

  “I’m Judah now,” he corrected.

  “I heard you say Judah when you introduced yourself to the crowd. God is doing a work in you.” She hugged him.

  Emotions flowed through Judah that he couldn’t control. He loved this woman, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her with everything he was dealing with.

  “What’s wrong?” Marissa asked him.

  He hesitated a moment, but then just as he opened his mouth to respond, his phone beeped. He glanced at the text message. It said, ‘We need you at the hospital’. Judah’s eyes widened.

  Marissa asked again, “What’s wrong?”

  Judah’s voice broke as he said, “They need me at the hospital.”

  “Let me drive you there, Judah. I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

  He wanted to man up and tell her that he could handle it. But in truth, Judah didn’t know if he could handle this moment alone. He had made the right decision to come out here and speak life to these people... he would always remember the looks on some of the faces as they accepted Christ. But if his father passed away before he got to the hospital, Judah didn’t know how he would feel about that. “Thank you for being here with me, Marissa. God knows I need you right now.”

  He let her drive him to the hospital. They were quiet on the drive over, neither expressing their thoughts. Neither wanting to declare that this just might be the end. But one thing Judah knew for sure... he wasn’t suffering alone, because Isaac Walker wasn’t just his father, but he was also the closest thing to a father Marissa had ever known.

  He glanced over at her and saw a few tears rolling down her face. “Do you need to pull over so I can drive?”

  “You just sit over in that passenger seat and mind your own business. I’m supposed to be helping you right now.”

  “It’s not going to be very helpful if you run us into a ditch because you’re blinded by tears. So, just pull over and I’ll drive us.”

  Marissa wiped the tears from her face and then said, “What tears? You think you know so much, but you don’t know everything, Mr. Judah.”

  His phone beeped again. Judah looked at it. This text was from Iona. It said, “What’s taking you so long... you’re missing out.”

  He texted back. “Missing out on what?”

  Judah told Marissa about the text and then asked, “What do you think she means by that? Do you think the doctor told them that he’s getting ready to go any minute or something?”

  “I don’t know Judah. Let’s just pray that we make it in time, okay?”

  And so they prayed.

  ~~~~

  Marissa and Judah sprinted through the hospital. Judah hit the elevator button like it owed him money. And then they fidgeted while waiting the full three seconds for the elevator to arrive. But once they were standing in front of Isaac’s hospital room, Marissa put a hand on the door, but Judah stopped her.

  When she gave him a quizzical glance, he said, “I need you to pray that no matter what I encounter in that room, it won’t stop me from fulfilling everything God has for me.”

  But she told him. “When you caught me crying, it wasn’t for Pastor Isaac because I know he’s going to be alright no matter what. But I was silently crying out to God for you and your ministry.”

  Judah couldn't help himself, this was the woman God had for him from the moment they met. He had messed up and let her get away, but he wasn’t about to let her go now. He leaned forward and kissed her and Marissa kissed him right back. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear and then opened the door to his father’s room, confident that he would be able to handle what came next.

  But Judah almost passed out when he saw his father sitting up in bed with a fork and knife in his hand as he cut the steak he was chowing down on.

  Isaac looked up and grinned at him as he shouted, “I’m back boy. We’ve got work to do.”

  “What? Huh?” Judah turned to his mother. “How long has he been woke?”

  Nina stood, walked over to Judah and gave him the biggest hug he’d ever received from her. “He woke up about an hour ago. He told me he watched your altar call from heaven... and that your accepting the call of God on your life is the only reason he is here with us.”

  Judah was stunned. He glanced around the room to see all the family who’d squeezed in... everybody was grinning from ear to ear. Isaac was back and Judah was happy as well, but he was confused.

  Isaac pushed his plate aside and called Judah closer. “Son, you received the gift of being able to see into the spiritual realm from me. That knowledge terrified me, because I know how many times your dreams will be haunted with monstrous beasts trying to claw your eyes out. But I’m praying that one day, the good Lord will also allow you a glimpse of Heaven... and Judah, I promise you, it will be all worth it.”

  “So, you’ve been to Heaven?”

  Isaac nodded.

  Then Judah said, “I always thought that if a man entered into Heaven then he’d never want to come back to earth.”

  Isaac put Nina’s hand in his. He kissed his wife, but then told Judah, “I’m not here for myself. I doubt if I will live long enough to see the full manifestation of all God has in store for you, but I’m here to help you build your ministry for as long as God allows.”

  Nina interjected, “I’m not ever going to get in the way of God’s business again, but I hope you’ll find the time give me and your father some grandkids while we’re still able to see and hold them.”

  Isaac giggled at his wife, but Judah didn’t think anything was funny. He was stone cold serious as he turned to Marissa and said, “What do you think, Bae? I know you don’t want to disappoint my mom.”

  Marissa’s eyebrow’s arched as she put a hand on her hips. “Just when am I supposed to be having all these kids for you.”

  He took her in his arms, not caring about all the eyes that were on them. “About two seconds after I make you my wife.”

  “So, you think you’re going to marry me, huh?”

  “Think I’m not,“ he told her as he lowered his head and kissed her with all the hunger that had been locked in inside of him for years. Marissa was always destined to be his, but Judah had not been worthy of her until this very moment. He would thank the Lord for the rest of his life for bringing Marissa back into his life.

  When their lips parted, Marissa stumbled backward. Grabbed hold of the chair behind her and then asked, “Do I at least get a ring?”

  The room erupted in laughter... because after all, laughter was good like a medicine.

  Epilogue

  Marissa was a June bride and all their family and friends were there to see the beautiful and blessed union of Isaac Judah Walker and Marissa Walker. Within the space of five years, Judah’s street ministry grew to the point where he was having to rent out football stadiums to hold his events. The ministry wasn’t the only thing that had grown. Because Marissa had given birth to two handsome little boys and one beautiful little girl.

  The girl had been born exactly five years after Isaac opened his eyes in the very same hospital that Marissa delivered the newest addition to the family. And it was on that day, as Isaac sat down in the rocking chair in the family birthing room and held his granddaughter in his arms that he closed his eyes and eternally slept with his Heavenly Father.

  Nina’s heart didn’t survive long without Isaac and within a year she joined her husband in the land where streets were paved in gold and flowers were ever blooming. When she approached her earthly husband, Nina couldn’t help but smile because Isaac was now wearing the exact same coat that had been adorned with the many jewels that he had admired on another pastor when he first visited Heaven. Her husband had received his reward and now she was about to receive hers. “Great is the Lord and worthy is He to be praised,” Isaac shouted as he saw her approaching.