4

  Dam was in the kitchen washing dishes when the doorbell rang. He dried his hands and went to open the door.

  Amarrea yelled from upstairs. “Who is it?”

  “I don’t know. I’m on my way to the door now.” His wife being laid up and unable to do much for herself revealed just how impatient she was. She had him running around here like a chicken with his head cut off making sure everything was the way she wanted it, so she wouldn’t get out of bed and do it herself.

  Looking out the peephole, a smile spread across Dam’s face. He swung the door open. “Don’t tell me you brought food,” Dam said as he looked at the casserole dish his mother had in her hand. And the pot that his father was holding.

  Demetrius and Angel stepped inside. Angel handed her dish to her son. “Hold this one, I’ve got a couple more things in the car.”

  Demetrius laughed as Angel made her way back to the car. “You know your mother. She can’t sit still. Always has to be helping the needy and right now, you and my daughter-in-law are the needy.”

  “I can’t argue with you on that. I was just in the kitchen washing the dishes trying to think of something to fix for lunch.”

  “Well, your mama has lunch and dinner covered for a few days.” Demetrius put his pot on the stove and then went out to the car to help Angel bring in the other dishes.

  “Okay, I made spaghetti, salad, soup and that tuna noodle casserole that Amarrea loves so much. And don’t worry Son, I used very little salt in these dishes.”

  “She made y’all a cake in case Amarrea was craving something sweet.” Demetrius took the lid off the cake dish and let Dam see the Carmel Bundt Cake. Another of Amarrea’s favorites.

  “Has she eaten yet?” Angel asked.

  “No, ma’am.” I was just getting ready to put something together.”

  “Let me take her some of this casserole and a piece of that cake. That’ll put a smile on her face.” Angel made the plate and then headed upstairs.

  Dam leaned against the counter with a grateful expression on his face. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

  “Boy, don’t think we don’t remember how you burned them boiled eggs.”

  “I was ten, Dad.”

  “And you almost burned our house down. We haven’t forgotten.”

  “So, Mama fixed all this food so I wouldn’t burn this house down, huh? You know y’all wrong for that.” Dam couldn’t help himself, he chuckled at the thought of trying to cook but starting a fire instead.

  “But all seriousness, Son. We know you have a lot on your plate with getting ready for this revival. So, your mom and I want to help with Amarrea in any way we can.”

  Dam sighed, he was truly heartbroken over having to bow out of the revival and wished he could just erase the whole thing from his mind. “I haven’t told Amarrea yet, so this is just between you and me.” Dam lowered his head and shook it. Then looked back toward his father. “I told Isaac that I couldn’t do the revival with him.”

  “No, Son... no.” Now Demetrius was the one shaking his head.

  “I don’t have a choice, Dad. But you know what... the weird thing about it is that I keep thinking God wants me to do something big for Him, then something always shows up to block it.”

  “Did you think it was going to be easy?”

  “I didn’t think it would be this hard. I didn’t think I would make so many wrong decisions.”

  “Listen to me, Dam. You are a servant of God. This has been prophesied over you even while you were in your mother’s belly. All your life Satan has been trying to destroy God’s plan for you. Don’t let him win.”

  ~~~

  Marissa Walker spent the day taking care of her son. She then fixed dinner and kept watching the clock as time ticked on. Isaac had taken to coming home late and ignoring her like he was too tired after talking to everyone else all day long to have a five-minute conversation with his wife.

  When they were first married, they smiled and laughed together. They took long walks and talked about the things they were going through with the loss of Isaac Sr. and Nina, his mother. She thought things were good between them. She thought that having their son would bring Isaac back from the dark place he had sunken to after losing both his parents.

  For a while, things had gone back to normal for them. But lately, Marissa had begun questioning whether Isaac still loved her. He was distant and moody all the time. And now he wasn’t even coming home on time. Junior fell asleep, so Marissa put him in his bed, then turned on the radio as she cleaned the dishes. But then Tina Campbell’s song, It’s Too Hard Not Too came on, and tears began rolling down Marissa’s face just as they did every time she heard that song.

  Yes, she admitted to herself, she was angry with her husband. He was being so senseless and selfish lately that she did feel entitled to her anger. But Tina Campbell’s song kept telling her how hard it was to hold onto unforgiveness. She put the dish rag down and went to her closet. She got on her knees and poured her heart out to God. “I don’t know what to do anymore, Lord. I don’t even know if he loves me.”

  As Marissa cried, she heard a still small voice say, “Love him.”

  She didn’t want that response from the Lord. She wanted Him to tell her that he would make Isaac behave more like a man in love. So, she said, “But he’s not treating me right.”

  She didn’t expect a response that time, she just wanted the Lord to know that things weren’t right in her world and the treatment she’d been receiving from her husband was the reason. She needed someone to join in on her pity party. But instead, she heard that still small voice again say, “Love him anyway.”

  Marissa stretched out on the floor and cried. She didn’t want to love on Isaac when he was acting as if she wasn’t important to him. She wanted to give him an ultimatum... either act like the man she married or pack your stuff and leave. But God required something else from her. God required her to get over herself and give Isaac the love and support he needed while he worked his way through the darkness.

  As she pulled herself off the floor, Marissa wondered where her love and support was going to come from... who was going to see about her while she was making sure her husband had everything he needed? It was times like this when she really needed a good pep talk from Nina. That woman, her mother-in-love truly walked with God. She was the epitome of how a Christian woman should walk, talk, act... all of it.

  Marissa truly understood why her husband would have battled with depression after losing both his wonderful parents in the space of a year. He hadn’t spent much time with Isaac Sr. or Nina the last few years of their lives. He had been out in the world making a name for himself and trying to forget everything he’d known about the God his parents served. Then the reality of having older parents kicked him in the butt. Nina had been fifty, and Isaac Sr. had been sixty-three when their last child was born. So, it was no surprise that at thirty-five-years-old he was now living without his parents.

  Marissa was here to help him through the pain, but she didn’t understand why he’d started pushing her away. That was their new norm, and she didn’t know how much more of it she could take. Were they roommates or were they husband and wife? She desperately wanted to challenge Isaac with that question, but the Lord had admonished her to treat her husband right, even though he wasn’t treating her so right.

  Hearing the kitchen door open Marissa wiped her eyes and then rushed out of her prayer closet. “Hon, is that you?” She called out as she headed down the stairs.

  “Who else would it be, Marissa? You didn’t expect our three-year-old son to put his key in the lock and open the door, did you?” He laughed at her.

  That was the other thing. Isaac’s tone with her was short and sarcastic lately. Taking a deep breath, she ignored the comment. “You hungry? I was waiting for you to get home so we could eat together.”

  “I could eat this whole kitchen right about now.” Isaac sat down at the table and waited to be served. “Whatcha got?”

  “I just made penne noodle with that white cream sauce you like.”

  Isaac perked up. “Does it have the chicken and shrimp in it?”

  “You know it.” She fixed their plates, then sat down at the table with her husband. After he said grace and they dug into the meal, she asked, “So what took you so long to get home tonight?”

  “I needed to talk to uncle Keith so instead of ringing his phone I decided to stop by and see how he was doing.”

  “Ah, wow. I would have loved to visit with them. How are Keith and Cynda doing?”

  “I just sat on the porch with Keith, so I didn’t get a chance to see Cynda.”

  “Cynda came to the house to check on me and junior a couple of months ago. I really should return the favor. She reminds me so much of your mother. Those two women have unshakable faith, and I need to be around that.”

  With a look of agitation on his face, Isaac said, “Hon, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to eat in silence.”

  He was doing it again... couldn’t even spare a few minutes to talk to his wife. She’d had enough. “Maybe you’d like to eat by yourself as well.” Marissa grabbed her plate and left the kitchen. This man was mistreating her for no reason, and the Lord admonished her to love him anyway. When would the Lord tell Isaac that he needed to treat his wife better?

  5

  Amarrea’s feet were still swollen, just like her belly. She could only get up to go to the bathroom, and after just three days of this, she was not only irritable, she was emotional as well. So, when Marissa called complaining about Isaac, Amarrea wasn’t interested in taking up for him tonight. “No he didn’t. Girl, you good because I would have put that whole pot of pasta over his head.”

  “Don’t think I didn’t want to. But I was praying earlier, the Lord told me to be good to Isaac even though he wasn’t being good to me. I flunked the test at dinner tonight because I could only hold my tongue for so long. I know my husband is going through something, especially with Bishop Thomas threatening to fire Dam if he participated in the street revival, but he doesn’t have to treat me like I’m the enemy.”

  “Wait... hold up. What did you just say about my husband getting fired?”

  Complete silence came from the other end of the phone.

  “Fess up, Marissa. What’s going on?”

  “I am so sorry, Amarrea. You are already stressed enough as it is. I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth.”

  “But you did, so tell me what’s going on, because clearly, my husband hasn’t told me a thing.”

  “Okay girl, but I don’t need you getting angry and getting that blood pressure up again. So, you have to promise me that you’ll stay calm.”

  Taking a deep breath, Amarrea nodded. “I can do that.”

  “Evidently Bishop Thomas is ticked off about the street revivals. He told Dam that if he went through with it, he could kiss his job at the church goodbye. So, for the past few days, Isaac has been scrambling, trying to figure out what he and Dam can do about this situation.”

  “When did all of this go down?” Amarrea wanted to know.

  “I think it was the same day you went on bedrest... matter-of-fact, I know it was the same day. Because I was so worried about you, that I forgot to mention it to you then.”

  “So, my husband quit his job, and nobody says a word to me?”

  “No, Amarrea. Dam didn’t quit his job at the church. He told Isaac that he wouldn’t be able to do the revivals with him. That’s why Isaac has been running around here acting like he lost his mind.”

  “Marissa, let me call you back.” Amarrea hung up the phone as she heard Dam coming up the stairs. All Dam ever wanted to do was follow after God. And he had told her that the street revivals was God’s next mission for him. So how could he just quit on it?

  “Hey, beautiful,” Dam said as he entered their bedroom. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the lips.

  She loved the feel of his lips on hers. But she couldn’t concentrate on that now. She was too angry with her husband to think sweet thoughts. “What have you done, Obadiah Damerae Shepherd?” She demanded.

  “Uh-oh, I know I’m in trouble when you use my full government name.” Dam sat on the edge of the bed. “What did I do?”

  “You know what you did... and I can’t for the life of me understand it.” She paused, breathed in deep as if trying to calm herself. “Why did you back out of doing the street revivals?”

  He looked surprised, then a knowing looked flashed across his face. “You’ve been talking to Marissa.”

  “Of course, I talked to Marissa. But what I don’t understand is why my best friend knew that you were having problems at work before I did. Why didn’t you tell me what happened?” She balled her fist and punched him in the arm.

  “Ooouu.” He rubbed his arm. “Girl, you got some hands on you.”

  “Good, now that I’ve got your attention tell me what’s going on.”

  “Look, bae, you know me, so I’m not going to pretend like backing out on the revival was no big deal. And when Bishop said if I didn’t back out he would fire me, I was tempted to quit. I even came home to talk to you about doing just that. But that was the same day the doctor put you on bedrest.”

  Amarrea couldn’t help herself, she burst out laughing. She put her hand over her mouth trying to stop the giggles.

  “Well, at least you’re laughing rather than punching.”

  “I’m sorry.” Still laughing, she managed to say, “I just pictured your face when you came home that day and found me in bed with my feet propped up. Now I know why you looked so sick when I told you I’d been put on bedrest. I thought you were worried about me, but you weren’t worried about me at all.”

  “I was too,” he protested.

  “Okay, I’m sure you were a little worried about me. But you were also sick about not being able to quit your job so you could lay around the house while your pregnant wife supports you.”

  “When you put it like that, I do sound like a bum. Good thing I kept my job, huh?”

  “No, it’s not a good thing.” Amarrea became serious again. “Giving up on the revival when you know it’s what you’re called to do tells me that you stopped trusting God.”

  He shook his head. “Never that. But I do have a family to think about now.” Dam walked to the bottom of the bed, removed the covers and started rubbing Amarrea’s feet.

  “Ooh, that feels good.” Amarrea closed her eyes and leaned back while Dam worked his magic on her aching feet. But then she caught herself just before drifting. “You’re not getting off the hook that easy, mister. Your family wants you doing what you were born to do.”

  “You want this house too,” Dam quickly reminded her.

  Amarrea pulled her feet away from Dam as she sat up and looked around the bedroom. This was one of her favorite rooms in the house. From the trey ceiling above their bed to the sitting area where she placed a lounge chair that she had spent months searching for and the white furry rug she placed on top of the dark hardwood floors that had been installed in their bedroom the week before they moved in. She loved everything about her bedroom, not to mention the adjoining bathroom had a deep soaking tub and a walk-in closet. All the things she’d put on her wish list... but these were just things.

  “I don’t need this house, Dam. And our baby will be happy where ever we are. But you will never be happy if you give up on God’s plan for your life.”

  Dam’s shoulders slumped as he hung his head. “I don’t know what to do, hon. I don’t want to disappoint God, but I don’t want to let you down either.”

  She put her arms around her husband, hugging him tight as she said, “I’m going to tell you the same thing you tell me whenever I have a problem that I’ve tried to figure out on my own... let’s pray.”

  6

  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also. Seated on His marvelous throne of grace the Lord set his eyes on Satan and asked, “From where have you come?”

  Satan answered the Lord, “From going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it.”

  And the Lord said, “Have you considered my servants Obadiah Damerae Shepherd and Isaac Judah Walker Jr., that there is none like them in the earth. They are perfect and upright men, who fear God and hate evil?”

  But Satan answered the Lord, “Do they fear God for nothing? Haven’t You blessed the works of their hands and protected them on every turn? I almost caused Isaac to spiral into depression after he lost his parents, but you sent angels to defeat the imps I had assigned to him.”

  “Touch not my anointed and do my profits no harm.”

  “As you command, but that just proves my point,” Satan reiterated.

  “The revival Obadiah and Isaac are working on will bring many souls into My kingdom. You’ve been working hard to stop the revival, and I will not stand in your way. Do what you will, and My servants will find a way to do My will.”

  Satan gleefully asked, “I can do anything I want, and You won’t stop me?”

  “My servants will stop you... As I said, do what you will only do not touch one hair on their head.”

  Satan bowed to the Lord. “I won't have to touch them. But I promise, when I’m done they will curse You to Your face.”

  ~~~

  Dam and Isaac met for coffee. After getting scolded by Amarrea and his father, Dam realized that he needed to be a part of this revival. God was up to something, and for some reason he wanted Dam to be a part of it. So maybe there was some way he could help Isaac out that wouldn’t get him fired.

  “I’m glad you called, man. Things are falling apart on this revival, I'm hoping we can find a way to pull it back together,” Isaac said as the waitress sat a coffee mug and crumb cake in front of both of them.