He would do that?

How couldn’t he? When he’s surrounded by beautiful women with perfect bodies and goddess faces, how could he not come home and look at me and think, Eh, average.

If he loves you, he’ll think you’re more beautiful than all of them put together. Real love does not give someone up just because there are prettier options.

Then why did my dad leave?

Because his love was not real

How do I know Jack’s love is real? How do I know I can trust him? How do I know he won’t leave me?

You can’t know. But you can trust Me to guide you. You can trust Me not to leave you. And you can know My love is real and will not fail you. Follow Me, Grace, and stop trying to form your own future.

Tears coursed down my cheeks, unchecked and, thankfully, unseen by the other girls. I wanted to kill my father for the way he had made me so afraid, so independent. How dare he screw me up so badly!

I knew God wanted me to trust Him, but it was so hard. It scared me nearly senseless to think of committing myself to a relationship with Jack and therefore giving myself over completely to him. But how could I admit this to him, when it would mean admitting I didn’t trust him? After everything we’d gone through, after finally getting to the place where we could pursue our relationship, how could I tell him no and hurt him like that?

The movie was coming to a close; I quickly forced my emotions back beneath the surface and wiped my eyes. The ending was a tear-jerker, thankfully, so my streaky mascara didn’t seem out of place. We said our good-byes, and they filed out, leaving me blessedly alone to contemplate tomorrow’s confrontation. Suddenly the door opened, and there was Missy. “Sorry; I think my keys are here somewhere.”

I stood to help her look, and then she smiled. “Oh, hey, here they are in my pocket.” She winked impishly. “Now, for the real reason I came back … ”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Good grief, you didn’t have to contrive something!”

She shrugged and grinned. “A little scheming now and then doesn’t hurt.” She leaned against the wall. “You have thirty seconds to tell me the real reason behind all this.”

“Missy, I did. It won’t work.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

“Grace, knock it off.” I blinked. Missy’s voice never sounded like that. “You’re panicking, and I can sort of understand why, but truly, this is ridiculous. Don’t let your insecurities and fears get in the way of God’s plan. Is He telling you to end this, or are you taking His job out of His hands?”