“And now it’s difficult to consider envisioning it differently yet again?” Bridget asked.

Finley nodded.

“Sometimes,” Bridget said thoughtfully, “the Lord can place a temporary call on our lives. Not every calling is forever.”

“I thought I was supposed to spend my life as an overseas missionary,” Meadow said. “But then I served abroad for that summer in college. Best thing I ever did. I think He called me to that summer trip in order to show me that my actual mission wasn’t on the other side of the world. My mission is the family farm.”

“When Juilliard turned me down,” Bridget told Finley, “I was certain that meant I was never supposed to play the clarinet again. I was so disillusioned. So sick of it and burned out on it that I quit for six years. Then the worship director at church asked me to play, remember?”

Finley and Meadow nodded. They’d been there to support her the Sunday she’d joined the church orchestra.

“It turned out that it really was important for me to stop playing,” Bridget continued, “but only for a season. All along, God intended for me to play in church. There’s none of the stress or pressure or performance anxiety. I love the clarinet more now than ever before.”

“I’m wondering if I’m experiencing a similar change in plan,” Finley said. What if God was ready for her to open the door to relationships, but she wasn’t willing to risk it because she was hiding behind an expired plan for her life?

Or what if she was telling herself God was ready for her to open the door to relationships only in order to validate her own newfound desires? “Gah.” Finley rubbed the back of her neck. “Luke thinks I haven’t been dating anyone because I’m scared.”

“And?” Meadow asked. “Are you scared?”

“I didn’t think so at first. But maybe? I mean, I barely made it through the loss of my last relationship. It’s been five years, and now I’ve met someone I want to date, but he’s made it clear he’s not emotionally available.”

“Do not fall for emotionally unavailable men,” Meadow said in a serious tone.

“I know. So if I put myself back on the market, it would be to date other people. And that’s scary.”

“I find the dating world incredibly scary,” Bridget admitted.

“Dating is not for me,” Meadow announced grandly, as if this was news to any of them. “That said, fear should never be what holds any of the three of us back from something. If that’s the only thing left that’s stopping you from dating, Finley, you need to kick it out of your way.”

Luke had kissed her with raw need. The hands that had supported the back of her head had been fervent and reverent. For the first time, he’d been unguarded with her.