As they walked down the center aisle, Mitch was awestruck by the glorious crucifix that was suspended high above the altar and dominated the interior of the church. It was surprising not simply because the figure of Jesus was so frighteningly realistic, but because the fine detail and color had been rendered so exquisitely that it could have stood proudly in the Vatican—yet here it was in a little church in Cleveland. It was a riveting work of art that could only have been divinely inspired.

Mitch and Carolyn paused in front of the altar and respectfully made the sign of the cross as they continued to peer up at it.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Richard said.

“Fantastic,” Mitch replied. “How long has it been here?”

“It was part of the original church, so that would make it something like one hundred and twenty years old. It’s survived two world wars, the Depression, Vietnam, the riots in the ’60s, and Lord knows what else over the years.

“The church was abandoned for a decade before we took it over. I guess it provided shelter for the people who needed it, but it was pretty ripped up by the time we came along. Joanna and I knew we had found our church the minute we walked in, looked up, and saw Jesus beckoning to us. We knew we had come home. Sometimes ya just know, ya know?”

Mitch and Carolyn nodded as Richard led them through a door to the left of the altar where they emerged into a flower garden that greeted them with an explosion of color. The brilliance of the colors was particularly stunning in contrast to the drab setting on either side of the backyard.

Richard laughed when he saw their reaction and said, “I don’t know how she does it, but anything she touches just seems to grow and grow. Joanna says it’s all the conversations she’s had with the flowers over the years! Well, there she is. I’ll see you later.”

Joanna stood near a stone picnic table that was set behind a trellis adorned by all manner of grape vines, ivy, roses, clematis, and an assortment of climbing plants that all strained skyward. It created an extraordinary passageway to what appeared to be a shady grotto that was bathed in dappled sunlight. Mitch was immediately reminded of the sacred place to which he had been drawn in his dream.