Page 2
The day started out so beautifully.
Donald and Grace had invited some friends to lunch so they could start
talking about their plans. Hope and Ben were their best friends all through
college. They had studied together, shared their most private
thoughts and when there was time, they double dated. Usually just a
movie or a picnic. They were the very best of friends and
somehow knew they'd always be close. No matter how life's road led
them. If in different paths, they'd still keep in touch, always and
forever.
During a nice lunch they talked about plans
to work for a while then go into business together. Grace said to
Hope, "I really hate that we may have to wait for so long,
but we've made up our minds that it will be best that way. We want
to start out right. Most of all, we want to make sure that we are in
God's will."
Ben begin to talk and he was making a lot of
sense. Both Donald and Grace were listening intently.
"Hope and I are thinking along the same lines. Maybe we could
work something out here." Hope chimed in, "You know that
I've been studying modeling and am very good with people, and Ben is a
great business man." Ben continued, "If we all four work
for a year I bet we could pool our resources and if you two are interested
in having partners... well, it's something to think about."
About that time Grace's phone rang, it was
Sister Marley. Just what she needed to put a damper on an otherwise
beautiful day. Marley went on and on about how she needed Grace to
come home and get started on the work they had to do together. She
wanted Grace to head up a campaign to raise money for the new
church. Grace tried to tell her that she was busy now with her own
life and trying to save money to start a business with Donald.
Of course Marley brought up Mom and Dad and how she had promised them
before they died that she would always take care of her little sister and
they would always stay close as a family. Marley had a way of using
that every time she wanted Grace to do things her way. Grace
had been so close to her parents and after the accident that took their
lives, she was just a lost little girl. She missed her Mom and Dad
so much and Marley always acted like she was the Mom, but Grace never felt
that way about her. She loved her as a sister but she didn't want
anyone taking her mother's place in her life. At the same time she knew
her Mom would want her to stay close to Marley. She was torn, what
should she do? She wanted to do the Christian thing and be nice to
her sister and help if she could but how she longed to get her own life
started with Donald.
She told Hope and Ben that she needed to
leave early because of some things back home. She and Donald had to
have a serious talk and decide what to do. After explaining that she
would call as soon as she knew what she would be doing about Marley, they
left.
Grace and Donald sat talking long into the
night. They prayed, they cried and asked God what His will was in
the matter. Family meant a lot to Donald and he didn't want to be
the cause of a rift between Grace and her sister. But privately, he
was hoping that Marley could work out her own problems and just leave them
alone.
Finally they came to a decision. They
would go to visit Marley and try to explain to her how they felt and ask
her to get someone else to work with her on the new church. They
would just tell her how much in love they were and how they needed to get
their own business started and get married and have their own
family. Oh, Grace thought, Donald doesn't know Marley. She's
not going to buy this at all. But she was willing to try.
Grace called Marley and told her that they
would be coming for a visit soon and they would talk about the new
church. Marley thought she'd won this one, hands down. She'd
always been able to manipulate her little sister. This would be no
different.
They thought it would be best to get this
over with. The next week end they started out on their trip.
It was a beautiful day and they took their time and had an enjoyable trip,
stopping at quaint little shops, looking at the way others worked their
shops. Getting ideas for their own when the time came. But
Grace already had so many ideas about how to decorate her own little shop
and the kinds of things she wanted to sell, but still it was fun seeing
how others were operating their stores.
She picked up a little gift for her sister
and Donald decided to take her some flowers. He wanted to get off on
the right foot with his future sister-in-law. They arrived late in
the afternoon and asked Marley if they could take her out to eat. She
was not very receptive to that idea, she said, "No, I'd rather stay
here and fix something so we can talk about how Grace will run the
campaign for me." Right away it started, "Mom would
be so proud of us for working for the Lord together. Now this is
what we will do."
Grace quickly interrupted her,
"Sis, I've told you that Donald and I have our own plans and we've
just come to talk face to face with you so you'll understand that we are
not just being selfish, but that we really love each other so very much
and we want to get started on our future together. There's so much
to do, we need to work for a least a year in order to save enough money to start our own business."
"And just what kind of business do you
think you could succeed at?" I mean, after all, you've wasted
all this time studying about clothes! No, Grace, you'll be better
off here with me, and Donald will just have to understand, that's how Mom
And Dad would want it."
Donald couldn't believe his ears. How
could a woman of God talk this way and be so cruel to her own
sister. Surely she was not in God's will, acting like this. He
sensed a mean streak in her.
|