Another dreary day walking home in the rain. Pastor Bill wrapped his great coat around him and held the umbrella close in hopes the wind wouldn’t tear it out of his hands. Bill walked slowly, letting his mind drift over the events of the day, more correctly categorized as worrying.

Lately, his congregation was slowly losing members to the more exciting programs being offered by the huge Calvary Chapel across town. Most of them made excuses for leaving. And he took the news with a thoughtful attitude. Unfortunately, every family that left took their tithes with them. He had been praying consistently in the mornings, crying out for help. But the only answer was the steam heaters pinging and hissing, trying to warm up the office.

Bill stopped at the combined mailboxes; his was number 12. Then, mainly holding junk mail, he walked through the front door and into the kitchen; the foreclosure notice that had arrived at the church triggered the panic attack he had had that morning. Lynda usually waited for him to come home, sitting at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Lynda wasn’t there. There was a note sitting next to a piece of his favorite apple pie, wrapped in plastic. 

The note reminded him of Jen’s soccer match this afternoon, which he had obviously forgotten. Bill sat down on the stool that Lynda usually occupied, with that sinking gut feeling of failure again. He was about to lie down on the living room couch and then read the last couple of sentences. “Bill, stop kicking yourself. Eat your pie, because I’m coming right back to get you. You can at least catch the last half of her game.”

Bill breathed a sigh of relief that Lynda was there for him. She had never given up on him. So he grabbed the pie and began to look over the mail. But the turmoil in his heart kept him from enjoying the pie and took away his ability to focus on reading the junk mail.

The envelope burning an imaginary hole in the counter was from the bank’s loan division in Helena. Bill knew what was in the envelope. It was the final notice for missed mortgage payments on the Church building. He had used up the thirty days to get caught up on his payments. 

Bill didn’t have time for his misery as the front door opened, and there was Lynda. “C’mon, did you finish your pie? It’s halftime now, so if we hustle, you can catch the last half.”

Bill took one last big bite and a gulp of water and followed her out the door to their 2010 Highlander. Trying to figure out how he would tell her the bad news.

The game took his mind off the news and provided a much-needed distraction. Unfortunately, it was short-lived, because climbing the bleacher steps was his loan officer with another, larger envelope. Bill could distinctly see the word eviction notice in bold red letters on the envelope. 

“Was this man going to serve him an eviction notice in front of his friends and family?” Panic and fear gripped Bill’s heart.

That was precisely what this man was doing. He walked up the bleacher seats in front of Bill and Lynda and, with a self-satisfied look of arrogance, loudly said, “You have three days to evacuate the church premises.” Then he turned around and stared down two of Bill’s prayer group, who had seen what was happening, and made his way back down the aisle.

Bill’s secret was out. Everyone had heard what the loan officer had said and realized Bill was facing his church’s closing. Quickly, Lynda bolted after the loan officer while Bill’s friends gathered around him and gently began to comfort Bill.

Lynda was back quickly as the loan officer had managed to escape, unscathed, for the brutal way he acted. She sat down beside Bill and wrapped her arms around him, and the two of them began to weep quietly. She knew that now was not the time for questions.

Three days felt like forever and gone in a blink at the same time. The night before the deadline to finish packing the years of memories and extensive shelves of books. Bill gave up trying to sleep and went out into the window nook which seemed to have soaked up the aroma of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Bill was numb and at a loss for coherence. So he leaned against the window behind him and silently wept. Sometimes, Lynda would get up in the morning and find Bill curled up on the half-circle bench seat, sound asleep.

As Bill cried, a light startled him. He worried that somehow he had awakened Lynda. But then footsteps approached, and he turned to see who was coming, just in time to see Jesus slide onto the bench across from him. Bill was frozen to his seat when Jesus said, “Bill, is this situation any different from the hundreds of times you have seen me work?” Bill couldn’t answer.

Jesus continued, “Of course not. And, to prove to you how favored you are in my eyes, I want to show you something very important.”

Jesus pointed into the living room, which was lit up like a hot summer afternoon. There was a long table set in the middle of the room with what looked like Thanksgiving dinner. The smell was incredible. 

“Shall we?” Jesus gestured in invitation, then helped Bill stand and walk to the table. 

When Bill sat down, the house disappeared, replaced by a vast meadow. The table was facing a small, quickly moving stream about five feet across. And, when Bill turned to his right, he could see that the table stretched out farther than he could see. Then his peripheral vision caught a movement to his left, across the stream.

Bill felt, rather than saw, Jesus sit down next to him, because his mind realized where he was. This was the table set before his enemies. Across the stream was an uncountable swarm of humans and the demonic, attempting to cross the stream. Their faces were contorted in rage. 

Bill just watched. There was no sound. Only the unmistakable peace of Heaven over him and through him. He watched this mound of creatures climbing on and over each other like bees without a hive, with an analytical detachment. 

Jesus touched Bill on his arm and said, “I brought you here to show you that nothing will harm you. My favor is all you need. Do not fear the loan officer. I have it all taken care of.”

Bill woke up as Lynda gently shook his shoulder. 

When Bill and Lynda walked up to the church, several cars were waiting in the small parking lot next to the building. Bill ignored them all, unlocked the doors, and went into his office. The only thing left was the telephone, sitting on the original desk that had been in the room when the church first opened. Only one straight-backed chair was against the wall, which Bill moved to the desk. 

But before he could sit down, the loan officer was standing in the doorway. The same arrogant look on his face. He was holding up a large sheet of paper with the words For Sale, printed in red. In his other hand was the trust deed for him to sign.

But as he held it out as if to say, “I win,” a group of people walked into the room. The first person reached out and grabbed the trust deed, saying, “I’ll take that, since I now own this building.”

It was Howard Kringle, the senior pastor of the Calvary Chapel across town. He was flanked by two of his board members, who were friends of Bill. Then a third man stepped in with Lynda. This man walked up to the now-silent loan officer, who caused his face to turn white. 

“Adam, you’re fired. Please leave. Your actions with these people are an embarrassment to our company.”

It was the head of the home office from Helena. He proceeded to the desk with Howard, who began finalizing documents for the church building.

When he finished, he reached across the desk and grabbed Bill’s hand and said, “First of all, let me ask your forgiveness for the way our church cannibalized yours. I should have come over to offer our help a long time ago. When my board came to me and described what was happening, we went into high gear and devised a plan. We would like you to lead a church plant here in your building. Full salary, and a small staff who have already volunteered. Enthusiastically, I should say! No more worries about building costs. We have that covered. I only want you to focus on serving your community the way you have for a long time.”

Bill was smiling from ear to ear as he remembered what Jesus had told him in the middle of the night. 

He began to chuckle, which started an avalanche of laughter.

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