BooksBarbecue
Back When She Returned Save as PDF
Chapters (48)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT
  3. CONTENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. ONE
  6. TWO
  7. THREE
  8. FOUR
  9. FIVE
  10. SIX
  11. SEVEN
  12. EIGHT
  13. NINE
  14. TEN
  15. ELEVEN
  16. TWELVE
  17. THIRTEEN
  18. FOURTEEN
  19. FIFTEEN
  20. SIXTEEN
  21. SEVENTEEN
  22. EIGHTEEN
  23. NINETEEN
  24. TWENTY
  25. TWENTY-ONE
  26. TWENTY-TWO
  27. TWENTY-THREE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR
  29. TWENTY-FIVE
  30. TWENTY-SIX
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. TWENTY-NINE
  34. THIRTY
  35. THIRTY-ONE
  36. THIRTY-TWO
  37. THIRTY-THREE
  38. THIRTY-FOUR
  39. THIRTY-FIVE
  40. THIRTY-SIX
  41. THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. THIRTY-NINE
  44. FORTY
  45. FORTY-ONE
  46. FORTY-TWO
  47. FORTY-THREE
  48. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

His words sent us into stunned silence. He didn’t wait for us to recover before continuing. “I invite you to join me, but I must tell you, it will not be easy. There will be many trials and tribulations. Each time we advance to the next level, there are people who aren’t ready, and there are those of you sitting here tonight who think you’re not ready. You’re disappointed that you’ve come all this way and given up so much of your life to have to return disenchanted and empty handed, but I encourage you to be open minded. To embrace what this moment has taught us and what it can continue to teach us.” He shifted in his position. “Life is nothing but a series of births, deaths, and resurrections, and whoever chooses to advance must put to death the old so the Lord can raise up the new.”

This was usually when he asked for questions, but he didn’t seem interested in hearing our reaction.

“For those of you that choose to go to the next level with me, I want you to know that God revealed my deep responsibility for you. It will be my job to care for you and watch over you as the father of this light. Like any father, there will be times I will have to make decisions that might be unpopular. That hasn’t always been the case. As you know from being with me all these years, I have always opted for the happiness of the group, even if I would’ve made a different choice. Going forward, I will not be as concerned for the happiness of the group as I am for their growth. If this is something you find uncomfortable or displeasing, then please do not follow us down this path. Anyone who doesn’t want to go to the next level, I would ask that you please pack your things and leave by dawn.”

People stumbled into the tent, bleary eyed and woozy from being up so late last night. We had all gone to bed wondering the same thing—would anyone leave? I hadn’t even considered it. Where would I go? There was no home for me to return to. It’d probably been years since Scott or Abbi had given me a thought. So far everyone was here except for Will and Keith, but only because they were with Abner. We’d all talked about the name change and how tough it was going to be to remember not to call him Ray, but it’d been surprisingly easy. Even by the end of the conversations last night, we’d almost gotten used to it.

Someone had moved all the tables and chairs out of the tent. We stood in a huge mass, expectantly waiting for our next step. It wasn’t long before Abner, Keith, and Will strode across camp and into the tent.