Chasing Sunsets (28 page)

JAG SAT NEAR
Jalen’s hospital bed. It was Tuesday afternoon and they’d been keeping watch over the child for nearly three days straight. He was off his breathing tube, but he still hadn’t woken up. Today, though, something was different. Jag could sense a breakthrough.

Something about the aroma of prayer that had made its way to heaven. That had to be it. Orlon had told him and Aspyn before the mission began. Keep praying. Make sure everyone is praying.

There were times Jag wondered what people thought about prayer. Most humans didn’t understand it. They thought God was a genie, someone to beg favors off . . . or a Father to turn to when things went wrong.

But that wasn’t prayer at all.

Praying was simply talking to God. Of course, the Lord loved hearing from His people. Whether they were believers or not. When Marcus Dillinger asked his Twitter followers to pray, it started a tidal wave of sweet requests directed straight to heaven.

It wasn’t that a child like Jalen needed so many voices praying on his behalf. God heard the desperate prayer of a single voice in a dark room. But sometimes something happened that caused the world to sit up and take notice. A time when miracles could sway a generation to believe in God.

Miracles amidst tragedies.

And in that way, God would be glorified. Which wasn’t always easy for people on earth to see or understand.

“Do you feel it?” Jag looked at Aspyn. This mission had kept them busier than either of them had ever imagined. “Something’s happening with the boy.”

“Yes.” Aspyn held out her hands. “It’s God’s energy. It’s all around us.”

“It’ll be any moment now.” Jag hovered closer to the boy. “Come on, Jalen . . . Jesus, breathe life into him. Please, Jesus. We need You now. Here. Please.”

Aspyn was praying too, and there in the chair beside the bed, Shamika had never stopped praying. Even when she doubted, she kept seeking God’s help. Never stopped believing.

Suddenly the boy made the slightest coughing sound.

Jag could hear the celebration starting in heaven. The other angels cheering as they watched. “Come on. Wake up, boy.” Jag held his hands over the child’s heart. “We feel You working, God. Be glorified through Jalen.”

And with that the boy began to sputter. His mother was on her feet instantly. “Jalen! Jalen, it’s Mama. I’m here, baby. Wake up, Jalen.” She began to cry, her voice desperate to see another sign of life from her son.

Again Jalen coughed and his eyes began to blink. They didn’t open. It would take a few minutes. But he was coming to. That much was certain. “Nurse!” Shamika ran to the door and yelled into the hallway. “Please! Someone come here! My baby is waking up.”

The miracle was unfolding. Jag felt the sense of deep wonder and awe, the feeling that never grew old. When death was denied the last word.

If Jesus were standing here, He’d be crying. Jag was sure. This was the reason He’d died on the cross. So that what was dead might live again.

“Jalen! Baby, I’m here.” Shamika hurried back to her son’s bed and put her hand alongside his face. Her hands trembled,
and her voice was unsteady with the weight of her emotion. She kissed her son’s cheek and took hold of his hand. “I’ve missed you so much, Jalen. Please . . . open your eyes, baby.” She whispered low near his cheek. “Come back to me, sweet boy. I want to see you smile again. God, please bring him back to me.” She brought his hand to her lips and kissed it. “Jalen . . . Mama’s here!”

Again the boy tried to blink his eyes open, and this time his eyelids opened just a hint. Slowly his lips parted. He peered at Shamika. “Mama? I’m hungry!”

“Okay, baby. We’ll get you something to eat.” Then without hesitating, Shamika did what most humans forgot to do in a moment like this.

She fell to her knees. “Jesus, You did this! You gave me my boy back. Thank You, Lord. Thank You.” With words and tears she continued to give praise to Jesus, the One who had brought her son back to life, the One from whom all good things flowed.

Including this.

26

M
ARCUS WASN’T SURE WHAT
he had expected from the first group meeting with the girls, but he had never imagined this. They met at six o’clock that Tuesday in a classroom at the police station—one of the requirements. Tyler and Sami sat with Alicia, the small blond girl, and Marcus and Mary Catherine sat with Lexy.

Just the six of them.

But the topics that had come up made Marcus glad for the training. On the surface the girls looked very young. Too young to be in trouble. But they were sadly wise beyond their years. Today’s focus was on the difference between love and abuse.

Since they were allowed to discuss God in the group meeting—as long as the participants were willing, and they were—Marcus started the meeting with God’s definition of love. He read it straight from 1 Corinthians 13 in his Bible.

“ ‘Love is patient; love is kind.’ ” Marcus looked up at the
two girls. They seemed despondent. Like they weren’t listening at all. He kept reading. “ ‘Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love; it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset.’ ”

Lexy was the first to roll her eyes. Marcus stopped reading and waited for her to speak. Finally she tossed her hands up. “Okay.” Hurt filled her tone. “You want to talk about ‘love isn’t rude’? Dwayne’s rude all the time.” She looked at Alicia at the other side of the table. “That’s how guys are, right?”

“Definitely.” The girl fidgeted, twisting her fingers together. Clearly uncomfortable. “Love always means someone’s angry.”

For the next half hour they talked about how for these girls love felt the exact opposite of how it was described in the Bible. Lexy announced that last week Dwayne had threatened to kill her.

“See, Lexy?” Mary Catherine’s voice was kind. “That’s what we’re talking about today. Dwayne has harmed you emotionally and physically. That’s not love.”

Marcus loved watching Mary Catherine in this setting. It was like she was made for this role. She looked past Lexy’s exterior hardness and spoke to the girl’s heart. Now that their time together was winding down, both girls had opened up a little.

Lexy talked about the guys she’d had before Dwayne, and Alicia talked about her current boyfriend. Though Alicia’s crimes involved theft, her relationships had apparently been equally bad for her. Marcus’s heart hurt for the young girls. It would take more than ninety minutes to teach them that abuse was not the same as love.

But they had made more progress than Marcus dreamed.

It was like Officer Kent had told them at the first day of training. These kids were starving for someone to invest in them, to care enough to listen and give guidance. Sure, they’d throw up ten-foot walls at the beginning. They might do that at every meeting. But eventually they’d talk, and then there were only two rules for the volunteers.

Listen. And don’t act shocked.

Which was hard, Marcus had to admit. Where were the people who were supposed to care for these girls and cherish them? Because of neglect or lack of supervision or bad patterns, their lives had been destined for violence and abuse, crime and even prison.

Today’s meeting, though, proved there was hope. The girls were talking and they were listening. That was a better start than he had expected for their first gathering.

When the meeting was over, they took the girls to Dairy Queen. Part of the program was introducing normal moments, where the girls could be kids. Marcus couldn’t believe how easily the girls laughed and enjoyed themselves. A different environment changed everything.

They were about to leave when Mary Catherine’s phone rang. She stepped away to answer it and almost at the same time her eyes lit up. “He is! That’s amazing!” She put her hand to her mouth and shook her head. “Shamika, I can’t believe that. Yes, I’ll tell them.” Her eyes shone with unshed tears, her smile filling her face. “It’s a miracle for sure.”

The call ended and she motioned the others close. Lexy and her new friend came closer, clearly interested. “What happened?” Lexy was the first to ask.

“Jalen’s awake! He’s talking to his mama.”

“That’s amazing.” Marcus came to Mary Catherine first, and then Sami and Tyler did the same. They formed a circle, their arms around each other.

“I can’t believe it.” Sami’s eyes welled with tears. “This is the best news.”

Marcus felt his knees shaking. “He wasn’t supposed to live.”

“I know.” Mary Catherine’s eyes shone with joy. “Now they think his brain will be fine!”

“Wow . . . thank God!” Marcus whispered the words. He loved that they were all together when the news came in. His Twitter followers were still spreading the word, still getting people all over the world to pray for the boy.

“Should we go there?” Sami sounded hopeful. “I’d love to see him.”

“Maybe tomorrow. Shamika said the doctors are doing tests.” Mary Catherine opened up the circle, her eyes on Lexy and Alicia, who were standing awkwardly a few feet away.

“We can all go together.” Tyler sounded thrilled. “I’ve seen God do a lot of things, but this is at the top of the list.”

Marcus put his arm around Mary Catherine’s shoulders. Their friendship was more comfortable now. So much of what they’d been through together had been intense. He wanted to be there for her, to be available in the highs and lows.

And this was one of the highest highs of all.

Only then did Marcus notice Lexy. The girl had her hands over her face, her back turned to them. He watched her walk slowly outside, like she was in a trance, and sit at one of the
tables. Again she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

“What’s up?” Marcus looked at Mary Catherine.

A knowing look came into her pretty green eyes. “I think I know.” She motioned for him to follow her. “Come on. Let’s go talk.”

Tyler and Sami stayed inside with Alicia. Marcus led the way, opening the door for Mary Catherine as they joined Lexy at the table. Mary Catherine sat next to her and put her hand on the girl’s back. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?”

Lexy was sobbing. Marcus realized the great changes happening in the girl. She had been so hard when Mary Catherine first met her. But at the prison tour and again today, her heart was plain for all of them to see. She still had miles to go if the journey was to make a difference. But these moments of opening up with her emotions were another beautiful answer to their prayers.

After a minute, Lexy lifted her head. Her eyes were red, her face wet. “Nothing.”

Marcus was confused. “Nothing’s wrong?”

“No.” She sniffed, and another few sobs came over her. “I told God if He was real, then He needed to save that . . . that little boy.” She shook her head. “I didn’t believe He could do it.” She covered her face with one hand this time. “So He must be real.” She looked at them again. “God must be real.”

There was a stinging in Marcus’s eyes as he watched the scene. Mary Catherine slid closer to the girl and put her arm around her back. “That’s right. He is real. And He loves you, Lexy. More than you could understand.”

“I thought I’d pick something really hard.” She wiped her
cheeks with the backs of her hands. “Something only God could do. If there was a God.” The sobs were still coming. “But . . . but if there’s a God, then why would He love me after . . . after all the things I’ve done?”

They had so far to go. Marcus drew a deep breath. “Lexy, we all have things we shouldn’t have done. God wants us to be sorry for that and tell Him. Then, well, we can have a fresh start. A new life.”

“For me?” The hardness flashed in her eyes again. “In my neighborhood? It’ll take more than that where I come from.”

“Maybe there’s another way.” Marcus refused to feel defeated. “There’s always another way with God.”

Lexy thought about that and slowly she nodded. A smile lifted the corners of her lips and she turned to Mary Catherine. “When you go see the boy tomorrow . . . can I go?”

Mary Catherine shared a quick look with Marcus. There might be legal reasons why Lexy shouldn’t go to the hospital. After all, she’d been in the car with Dwayne when the shot was fired. Mary Catherine moved closer to Lexy and looked intently into her eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“I know . . . you probably think the mama wouldn’t want me.” She sniffed. “All I wanna do is tell ’em I’m sorry.”

“Okay.” Mary Catherine was beyond kind. “I’ll talk to them. I’m sure they’ll be so glad you’re sorry. And that you were praying.”

Lexy nodded again. “I need to get home. I told my grandma I wouldn’t be late.”

Tyler and Sami and Alicia came out then and said their goodbyes. “I have to work early tomorrow.” Sami made a face. “I’m thinking about quitting. Finding a job that really mat
ters.” She and Tyler shared a smile. “We’ll see! Mary Catherine is rubbing off on me.”

Marcus and Mary Catherine took Lexy home, too, and the minute they were back in the car alone, Marcus felt his heart soar. “You have time for dinner? We could pick something up and take it to my house?”

It looked like Mary Catherine might say no, find some reason why they couldn’t spend another few hours together. But then she found her best teasing smile. “I could cook.”