At the same time that Dam was heading to the hospital, Isaac was headed for a disaster of his own making. “Why are you packing? Where are you going?”

  Marissa kept her eyes on the clothes she was folding and placing in her suitcase. “I can’t be here right now. I need some time to myself, so I can...” she trailed off, but kept packing.

  “So you can what?” Isaac demanded.

  Breathing in deeply and exhaling, Marissa turned to her husband. With the evidence of dried tears on her face, she told him, “I need to make decisions about my future.”

  “Don’t you mean... our future. You, me and Junior. You can’t just go off doing whatever you want without considering us.”

  She didn’t respond. Marissa closed her suitcase and placed it by the front door. She then headed back upstairs to Junior’s room and took his small suitcase out of the closet.

  “Oh, so now you’re going to take my son away from me too.” Isaac shook his head. “Ah-ah, that ain’t never happening.”

  “Don’t you have work to do? Isn’t this revival the most important thing in the world to you right now?”

  “I never said that. You and Junior are the most important people in my life. Don’t do this Marissa.”

  “I can’t stay here. You have belittled me and made me feel as if I don’t matter for too long. I have never been a bitter person, Isaac, you know that. But I swear I’m starting to resent you in ways that I don’t know if we can recover from.”

  Her words hit and knocked the fight out of him. Marissa had been here for him through all of what he’d been dealing with. She had been the one he could count on to stay true and pull him up. Even on days when he’d felt too low to pray, Marissa had stuck by him, encouraged him to come up higher. He was finally getting back to normal only to discover that he had destroyed the one thing he needed like he needed to breathe. “What can I do, baby? How can I make this right?”

  “Just give me some time.”

  “How much time, bae? What are we talking... a day... two.”

  Her cell phone rang before she could respond. She glanced at the caller info and then answered the phone.

  “Hon, why you answer that? I’m trying to talk to you.” Isaac paced the floor in front of his wife.

  “Oh my God,” She said as her hand went to her heart. “Is she going to be alright?”

  “Who? What’s going on?”

  Marissa didn’t respond to Isaac. She told the caller. “I’m on my way,” then hung up. Turning back to Isaac she said, “That was Angel, Dam’s mother. Amarrea has been rushed to the hospital.” She reached for Junior getting ready to take him out of bed to put his clothes on.

  “He’s still sleep, hun,” Isaac's voice was calm as he took Junior out of her arms. Go on to the hospital. I’ll take care of Junior.”

  She started to object but thought better of it. “Okay, but I want to take him with me. So, I’ll be back for him later tonight.”

  Isaac laid his son back down and then followed Marissa to her car. She tried to take the suitcase that she had set at the front door. But he told her. “This is the last thing you need to be concerned about. Go to the hospital and see about Amarrea and you can get your bags when you come back for Junior.”

  Nodding in agreement, Marissa got in her car and took off. Isaac remained in the driveway a few minutes after his wife drove off. He stood there praying for safe travels as she made her way to the hospital and a safe return home. He even prayed against every demonic force that was trying to tear them apart.

  8

  Dam was still in shock as he sat in the hospital waiting area with his family. Angel and Demetrius had gone to the chapel to pray. He was thankful that his parents were praying for Amarrea because he needed their support and he really needed to hear from God right now. His brothers DeMarcus, Dee, and Dontae were seated in the waiting room with him. The only one who wasn’t there was Dodi, and that was because she now lived in New York.

  Their beautiful sister Dodi was now a highly sought-after model who was not just a model earning top dollar, but she had also become an activist for prison reform and worked with Chaplins across the country to spread the good news of Christ. Dam was so proud of his sister. She had grown up well and had not only fell in love with the Lord Jesus Christ along the way but because of growing up in a crime family that was now reformed, she had a heart for those who still needed reform.

  DeMarcus hugged Dam as he told him, “She’s going to be alright, little bro. Get that worried expression off your face.”

  “I can’t lose her, DeMarcus. I just can’t.” Dam understood that his words did not sound as if they were coming from a man who had stood firm in the confessions of his faith for most of his life. But at this moment, even though he trusted God with everything he had, he didn’t know if the outcome of this situation would be the one he would choose. Right now, he wished there was some magical door number one and door number two that he could pick that would tell him how the rest of his life was going to be. But there wasn’t, so all he could do was wait.

  Dee got up, walked over to Dam, grabbed his hand and pulled him out of his seat. “Come on, man. I’m taking you to the chapel with Ma. You’re not sounding like any brother of mine. If we have got to take you and drip you in some water to get you to trust God, then that’s what we’re going to do.”

  Dam was so impressed by the fire he witnessed in his brother’s eyes that he agreed to go to the chapel. Of all the Shepherd children, Dee had been the most like their grandfather, Don Shepherd. The man had been a gangster and had once upon a time deemed the family business number running, pimping and drug dealing. But then Don’s only son and heir to his empire met Angel. As the years went by, Demetrius began to see that the family business didn’t have to be crime business.

  Demetrius and Angel then set out to teach their children the precepts of God. They never wanted their children to be brainwashed as Demetrius had been, into thinking that a life of crime was their best and only option. Dee had been the only one who rebelled against his parents as he went to work for his grandfather in the crime business. But prayer and Dee watching his grandfather, the original OG accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as he took his last breath convinced Dee to give God a chance.

  “Why don’t we all go to the chapel and pray,” Dontae said as he stood.

  But Dam shook his head. “I need somebody to stay here in case the doctor comes out with word on Amarrea.”

  “I got you, bro. I’ll stay here.” Dontae sat back down.

  But while Dam and Dee were headed out of the waiting area, several nurses and doctors ran towards the double door entrance. As the doors opened, Dam could hear the voice over the intercom saying, “Stat... code blue.”

  Dee kept walking, but Dam stopped, immediately he knew something very wrong had happened to Amarrea. He had no time to walk all the way to the chapel. Dam prayed like there was no tomorrow right where he stood.

  ~~~

  “She’s coding.” The defibrillator was put to her chest as they tried to shock her back to life. But a demon of death stood at the foot of her bed, encouraging her to give up the fight and just fall asleep.

  Then a bright light illuminated at the head of the bed. The demon covered his eyes and backed away from the bed. “No,” he hissed. “She’s mine.”

  The angel of light shook his head. “You’re too late. Don’t you hear the saints praying? You will not win this fight.”

  “But she is my assignment,” the demon complained.

  “She was your assignment. She’s mine now, the God I serve says that she will live and declare the glory of God.”

  The demon shrieked as his evil spirit form melted away like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz.

  As the defibrillator was about to send shockwaves through Amarrea’s body once again, the angel touched her chest with the palm of his hand as he bent over and breathed the breath of life back into her body. The doctors glanced at each other as the flatline on the monitor became wavy and mountainous again. “How’d that happen?” One asked because the defibrillator was still in his hands and had not been pressed to her chest again.

  The other doctor shrugged. “Delayed reaction, I guess.”

  ~~~

  As Dam was getting off his knees, two security guards rushed over to him. “We received a report about a disturbance in this area.”

  Dam looked around. The area was quiet with only a few people passing by. “No disturbance here.”

  “Sir, let me be clearer,” one of the guards said. “The report we received was that you were praying in this area and blocking hospital personnel from entering the emergency room through those doors.” He pointed at the double doors directly in front of them.

  “I didn’t think I was blocking the doors. I was several feet away from them when I started praying.”

  “You do know that we can write you a ticket for trespassing and have the police haul you off to jail,” the other guard said. His eyes filled with hatred for Dam.

  “Hey, what’s the problem here?” Dee interrupted the guards. “My brother’s wife is in the emergency room fighting for her life, and the two of you want to harass him because he’s praying for her? Y’all better back up before you get more trouble than you can handle.”

  “You threatening us? The guard unhooked his baton from the belt strap.

  “Hold on, wait a minute.” Dam lifted his hands to halt the confrontation. “We’re just here for my wife. That’s all.”

  “Back up, Dam. I got this.” Dee stepped in front of his brother. “Give it your best shot, but just remember, if you get a swing, so do I.”

  “What’s going on out here?” A man in a light gray suit stepped to them.

  The guard's whole demeanor changed. The one with the baton clipped it back on his belt. “Hey, Mr. Matthews. We were just getting ready to escort these two troublemakers out of the hospital.”

  The man looked over at them. He then pointed at Dam. “Aren’t you the youth pastor at Called of God?”

  Dam nodded.

  The man shook his hand. “I’m the hospital director. My name is Mark Matthews, my wife and I have been attending Called of God for a few months now. She insisted that we visit after we watched one of your sermons on YouTube.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. My wife was rushed to your hospital, I'm waiting on information from the doctor.”

  Mr. Matthews turned back to the guards. “Why don’t one of you go back there and find out what’s going on with Pastor Dam Shepherd’s wife?”

  Dee smirked. “We’d appreciate getting that information, rather than being harassed for praying.”

  “Who’s harassing you for praying?” Mr. Matthews eyebrow lifted.

  “Sir,” the guard hurriedly pleaded his case. “We received complaints. We were just doing our job.”

  Mr. Matthews shook his head. Then angrily pointed toward the emergency room. “Do the job I asked of you and stop treading on people’s first amendment rights.”

  “Yes sir, we’re on our way.” The guards left.

  Dam thanked Mr. Matthews and then sat down in the chairs closes to the emergency room doors and waited for the guards to bring him word on Amarrea.

  Dee sat down next to his brother and asked, “Why’d you stop and start praying in the middle of the hallway? I thought we were going to the chapel to pray with Mom and Dad?”

  “It felt to me as if Amarrea needed me to do something right then. The only thing I could think to do was get down on my knees in front of those emergency room doors and pray.” Tears were streaming down Dam’s face, he wiped them away. “I wasn’t trying to cause any problems, but Amarrea’s need was urgent.”

  Dee was overcome with emotion as his eyes filled with tears. He put an arm around his baby brother. “You’re my hero, you know that?”

  Laughing, Dam reminded him, “I thought Pop-Pop was your hero?”

  “Well, after him, you’re my next hero.”

  9

  “What is going on, Lord? Why is so much coming against us?” Isaac paced the floor as his son slept. He kept talking to God because he didn’t understand why he was now separated from his wife while Dam’s wife was in the hospital fighting for her life.

  As Isaac continued to pray, revelation came to him, and he knew for sure that an enemy had done this... but not just any enemy. This enemy had supernatural powers to affect situations and circumstances that mattered to Isaac and Dam. He lifted his head heavenward and asked his Lord, “Why have you allowed the enemy to attack us like this? What can we do to stop him?”

  Isaac knew that he’d asked two separate questions without waiting for a response to the first question. He stopped pacing the floor and stopped talking. He got down on the floor waiting and listening for that still small voice to guide him through the madness that had become his life. God was faithful, this Isaac knew. He no longer had an earthly father or mother he could turn to when times were tough. But he still had his heavenly Father. And Isaac knew that God would never leave him nor forsake him. He just had to wait and listen. God would show him the way.

  Isaac didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there, but somewhere in the space of time he clearly heard the words, ‘his time is short... resist’.

  And there it was. God had spoken. It took Isaac a minute to understand what the simple words meant. But as he put it together, he realized that God was telling him that Satan had ramped up his attacks because God was about to put him in chains. Then the devil would not be able to trouble God’s people for a long time to come. But for now, God was telling him to resist the devil, because in so doing, the enemy would have to flee.

  Isaac wasn’t going to let the enemy destroy his marriage and break up his home. Isaac and Marissa belonged together. As he looked back over the last couple of years, he could see the build-up of frustration in his wife’s eyes every time he said something she didn’t like. Or when he’d been more focused on the work of the ministry rather than loving the woman God had given him. He owed Marissa an apology, and she was going to receive it tonight.

  Leaving Junior’s Black Panther pajamas on, Isaac grabbed his keys and left the house.

  ~~~~

  Angel and Demetrius were back in the waiting room with the rest of the family. Marissa was now seated with them as well. The doctor had just come out to speak with Dam and the family, they were still in shock at what he had said.

  “I absolutely, cannot believe that Amarrea almost died back there. Now I know why your dad and I felt so strongly about going to the chapel to pray.” Angel said as she put a hand on top of Dam’s hand.

  “Thank you for doing that,” Dam said.

  Dee pointed toward Dam. “We were headed to the chapel to pray with y’all, but then Dam suddenly dropped to the floor in front of the emergency room doors and starts praying. I’m telling you, this guy has some sort of hotline to God... I swear he does.”

  “How did you know to stop and pray at that very moment?” Demetrius asked Dam, eyes wide with curiosity.

  “I don’t have a hotline to God like Dee thinks.” Dam tried to laugh at the comment, but the sound came out hollow and void of the kind of emotion necessary for laughter. “I’ve just learned to listen to the whispers in my head. And I heard the word ‘pray’. To me, it felt as if the need was urgent, so I had to pray right where we were.”

  “The security guards tried to throw us out of the hospital,” Dee told the group.

  Marissa rolled her eyes heavenward. “For praying? What’s wrong with people.”

  “I don’t understand it,” Dam said. “But their eyes were so full of hate... like they hated me because I believe in God.”

  “That’s the world we live in now, little brother,” DeMarcus spoke up. “I see it all the time. People don’t want to hear about God these days. They want to do what’s right in their own eyes.”

  “I dated a girl who told me that God interrupts her flow,” Dontae, who had been quiet up until now said.

  Angel cut her eyes at her son. “I hope you’re not dating this girl anymore. I certainly don’t want any of my grandchildren growing up thinking like that.”

  “No, Mama, I’m not dating her anymore.” Dontae nudged Dee as he mumbled, “I should have kept my mouth shut.”

  Angel was about to say something else to Dontae, but at that moment a nurse rushed over to Dam. “She’s asking for you.”

  Dam jumped out of his seat. “I can see her now?”

  The rest of the family stood up. The nurse stopped them. “Only one person for now.”

  Demetrius put a hand on Dam’s shoulder. “Go see about your wife, Son. We’ll wait out here for you.”

  ~~~

  “What are you doing here?” Marissa asked Isaac as she took her son from him. “And why is he in his pajamas?”

  “I was in too much of a rush to change him. I need to talk to you. But first, tell me how Amarrea is doing?”

  “I don’t think we will be able to see her tonight. But they let Dam go to her room. We just have to keep praying because she almost died tonight.”

  “I will pray. God’s got Amarrea. So, don’t worry okay.”

  She adjusted Junior on her hip. “I’m trying not to worry, but this caught all of us off guard. I have to admit I’m still a little shaken by the reports we received from the doctor earlier. But I calmed down a whole lot once she woke up and asked to see Dam.”

  “That’s good.” Isaac stood there for a moment, gazing at his wife. This beautiful woman he married and promised to not only cherish but love her like Christ loves the church. He’d allowed the cares of this world and the ministry to steal his joy. And once his joy was gone, he couldn’t truly love his wife as she deserved. But all that ends now. “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  “Okay, but let’s go to your car, so people don’t have to see my son out here in his PJs.”

  “He’s my son too,” Isaac protested.

  “Then why didn’t you put some clothes on him.” Marissa was irritated, and it showed.