Lela Rhineholt was driving to the Orchard Park Mall. She was planning on finding the perfect outfit to wear to church on Sunday. She was determined to catch the eye of the new pastor of her church, New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church. Pastor Brock Van Duren had paid her no attention. He shook Lela's hand and said, "God bless you, sister." He had said nothing more and nothing less. She was getting tired of him pushing her to the side. She was even more tired of being single. She was 32 years old. She needed a husband. There was nothing wrong with her. She was pretty. She had no children. She had a good job and a descent apartment. She had a little debt, but it was not so much that she could not get it down with a little tightening of her belt.
She was listening to Haley Singleton's Love Songs for the New Millennium CD. Lela had her favorite song on repeat, Conversation with A Wise Woman. Lela loved the song because in it, the older woman told the young lady, "Baby, love will find you no matter where you are. If you keep your head about you, Love will come your way." That was Lela's constant prayer, "Lord let love find me, no matter where I am."
Lela had been instantly attracted to Pastor Van Duren. He was talk, dark, and handsome. He was everything that she wanted and a preacher. Once while at a revival, the guest evangelist prophesied to Lela and told her that she was going to marry a preacher. Lela made sure that she went to all kinds of services where preachers were going to be. She was always attending a musical, a revival, or a convention, in the hope that her preacher would find her. She did not go looking or hunting for a man, but she did not see anything wrong with placing yourself in the right place at the right time. Her preacher had not found her yet. She kept on hoping and praying.
When Pastor Brock Van Duren walked into the New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church, Lela thought her prayers had been answered. He was young, but from his sermons and teaching, he was wise beyond his years. Lela liked the fact that Pastor Van Duren was wise beyond his years. He was always respectful to the older men and women in the church. He was continually courteous to the men and women his own age. He was even good with the youth and children of the church. He was a great people person and he had a great preacher's voice to boot.
On more than one occasion, Lela had reprimanded herself for thinking about the pastor so much when she should have been listening to him. She was hoping that Pastor Van Duren was her preacher. She had been doing everything that she could to get his attention without being too forward. The new young pastor did not seem to care or he was playing like he was hard to get. Lela did not know what was going on, but she had to find an outfit that would knock his robe off on Sunday. Lela chided herself for having such impure thoughts about a man of God.
***
Mikala Neu was sitting in her mother's car. They were on their way to the Orchard Park Mall. Mikala's mother insisted on buying the teenage girl an Easter outfit. Mikala did not want one. She had no need for a new outfit. It would only serve to be more clothes that she had to keep up with and keep clean. Mikala's mother was always trying to dress her in frilly girl clothing. Mikala was a tomboy. She liked wearing jeans and t-shirts. It was not that big of a deal that she hated wearing dresses and skirts. Her mother, Michelle Neu was once a fashion model and she was very girlie. Michelle liked dressing up and looking pretty, but that trait had not filtered down to her daughter.
Mikala squirmed in the passenger seat of her mother's Brandywine Mica Lexus RX350. She did not want to go to the mall. No one seemed to understand Mikala, either. They made fun of her because she did not look like a "typical" sixteen year old young lady. She cared about how she looked, but she did not have to be prissy 24 hours out of the day to feel good about herself. She did not wear make-up. She did not wear high-heeled shoes. She did not wear tight pants or shirts. She usually wore simple clothing that expressed how she felt. No one got her before the new pastor came to New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church.
Mikala liked Pastor Brock Van Duren. He was cool. He did not seem to care if she did not have on a cute dress with high heels on. He would smile at her and ask her about the Jouette Tiger's basketball game and score. He would listen intently as she told him the highlights of the game. He did not even get mad if she demonstrated a move that one of the players had made on the court. He was cool like that. She knew that Pastor Van Duren had played some ball. She could tell because he understood the basketball terminology that she used. She wanted to play him one day to see how good he was.
Mikala lamented, "Mom, do I really have to get a new dress?" Michelle made a face at the driver on her right side, "Yes. Do not you want to look pretty on Sunday?" The perplexed teenager sighed, "I am pretty whether I wear something already in m closet or if I wear a new dress, so what difference does it make if I am wearing a new dress?" Michelle looked quickly at her daughter and then turned her face back to the road, "Girl, you are going to give me a headache. I just want you to look like a girl for once. Cannot you just wear the doggone dress for me? Good grief! I am not asking you to cut off one of your legs, just to wear a dress!" Michelle became extremely quiet after that.
Mikala knew that she had upset her mother; anytime that her mother raised her voice, she was upset. Mikala hated upsetting her mother. Mikala sighed and decided to wear whatever dress that her mother picked out for her. It would only be worn once, after Sunday, the dress would go in the pile in the back of her closet with the rest of her girlie clothes.
***
The Orchard Park Mall was the biggest mall in the state of Maddocha. It boasted a collection of over 250 stores. Every store that you could think of had a store in the mall. It was an upscale mall, where the elite of the city shopped. The mall was a haven for patrons ages 20 and up. If there were children in the mall, they were with their parents. The Orchard Park Mall had a strict policy of not allowing children to roam around the mall freely. The security staff of the mall made sure of that. Boasting the best and well-equipped security staff that would rival the security staff of the mayor's office kept the mall safe for its visitors.
The mall was a place where people meet for business meetings. The mall housed four conference rooms; one hosting 12 people, one hosting 20 people, and the two others hosting over 100 people. The mall had four levels. The dome of the shopping center was made of glass and was taller than the average skyscraper in the city of Jouette. The mall had been the envy of many malls in the state as well as the surrounding states.
Deacon Bill Logan was walking around the Orchard Park Mall. He had been working security at the mall since it had opened in 1970. He had been made one of the floor managers. He managed the fourth floor of the mall. This was where the food court was housed. He was noted for saying, "I do not know why they put me here. If I keep getting samples from this place, I will not be able to catch any criminals." He was a well-liked security officer, but he would correct anyone that needed correction with any hesitation.
He laughed as he watched the shoppers run from store to store, looking for the best deals or the best clothes. This was a heavy Spring weekend for the mall. People were coming and going in hordes. Deacon Logan had already seen a lot of the members of his church, New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church. Everyone at the church knew that he worked at the mall, so they made it a point to come by and say hello to him.
Deacon Logan walked around the full food court. He watched the young child begging for a Happy Meal from McDonalds. The little boy's mother did not seem to want to oblige him. Deacon Logan knew the outcome of this fight; he had seen it so many times before. After some whining and demanding, the mother gave into her son. Deacon Logan laughed. That fight always went to the beseeching child.
Deacon Logan paused for a moment as he saw a couple kissing at one of the tables. He got close enough so that they could hear him clear his throat. When he cleared his throat, the couple jumped, startled, and stopped kissing. They smiled at the security officer as he nodded at them. They knew to take their show somewhere more private, like home. The seasoned patrolman thought to himself, "What is it about Spring that makes everyone want to be so loving?" he laughed at himself as he thought about how he had acted when he was much younger. He knew he would have had to clear his throat at himself.
Deacon Logan continued walking the full length of the fourth floor. He was going to have to get an office job where he could sit down. it would be easier for him because he was getting too old to walk the length of the floor. He did not want to be closed up in an office, not being able to see the patrons of the mall, but he did not like going home aching from the pains of having walked the fourth floor all day. He wife wanted him to get an office job, but she knew that he liked meeting and greeting the people of the Orchard Park Mall. She rarely fussed at him when he came home tired and in pain. She would smile at him and run him a steamy hot tub of water filled with pain relieving bath salts. He would soak and then kiss his wife before falling asleep on the couch.
Deacon Logan smiled as he thought of his wife covering him up with a blanket. He missed her. she hadn't been to the mall today. She always came by the mall to eat lunch with him. When she hadn't come by today, he was kind of worried, but he figured something else must have come up. He knew that she would call him eventually to let him know what was going on. He ate lunch in the food court with one of the younger security officers. Deacon Logan saw some potential in the young man and he was glad that he had the opportunity to witness to the young man. The young man always listened. The wise counselor was excited that the young man had accepted the invitation to come to the Resurrection Sunday services that New Tabernacle of Praise was hosting. Deacon Logan believed that the young man would give his life to Christ.
***
David Victor Lyons, III walked his beat at the Orchard Park Mall. He had been back on patrol for only 30 minutes. he had come back from lunch where he had lunch with Mr. Bill Logan, a fellow security officer at the mall. David liked talking to the old man. The old man was wise and cool. he never seemed to be telling you what to do, but he was just conversating with you about life and things like that. He always had something to say.
David had been trying to get his life together. He had just gotten away from his cousin, who was leading David down a dreadful path of violence, drugs, and death. His cousin was dealing drugs. David had been running around with the drug dealer. David hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't sold any drugs. He hadn't even held any drugs, but he was living dangerously. The last straw was when David almost got shot when another drug dealer was shooting at his cousin. David barely escaped with his life. A bullet hit David in his arm. The doctor who worked on David told him that if the bullet would have been 1 inch lower, he would have probably lost his arm, if not his life. David's life had been spared. That's when he knew that he had to make a change. He left the city that he was living in and moved to Jouette. The move to the new city had been a positive occurrence in David's life. He had turned his life around and things were working out for him.
David had been feeling like something was missing in his life lately. He did not know what it was, but he knew that something was missing. He was glad that he had Mr. Logan to help him out. Mr. Logan told David that he was missing God in his life. David had never gone to church before. His grandmother, who raised him, had gone to church, but she never made him and his cousin go to church. He did not particularly see the need for God in his life either. After David told Mr. Logan about the shooting incident, the astute aged gentleman enlightened David about the incident.
"Son that was God telling you that you needed to get your life together. If you tried to figure it out from now until eternity, you could not figure out how that bullet did not hit you in your artery. You know that you should have been killed that night. God spared your life. You may think that you do not need God in your life, but He belongs in your life. He has been in your life all along. I am sure that your grandmother has been praying for you all your life, so God has been there protecting you. I promise you, everybody needs God in their life, whether they think they do or not. God loves you boy. You know that He does. That is why He let you live when you should have died. He loves you man. And you need Him."
David could feel God moving on his heart as the old man dropped the knowledge on him. David became hard hearted and rudely told Mr. Logan that he was full of it. David still felt bad about what happened that day. It did not help that Mr. Logan acted as if what David had said did not offend him. He acted as if David had accepted Jesus right then and there. Mr. Logan would always say, "Son, God loves you and one of these days, you are going realize that you need God, too." David had shrugged the expressions of the fanatical old man off, but lately, Mr. Logan's word had haunted the young man day and night. Finally, David had agreed to go to church with Mr. Logan. David did not know what to expect, but he felt good about accepting the invitation to church.
***
Ramona Hauley felt good being out of the house. She had been sick for so long. She had been in the house for so long. She was glad that she had been given permission by her doctor to get out of the hospital. She wanted to go to the Resurrection services at her church on Sunday. She hadn't been to New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church in over 6 months. They had probably forgotten what she looked like. She was not even able to attend the first service that the new pastor had preached. She had been hearing good things about the young man. She was finally going to get to hear him preach.
Ramona knew that it was not the doctor who had given her permission, but it had been God. She had been praying for the past three weeks that the doctor would release her to go to the services. She had her pray partners praying for her as well. Her prayers had been answered. She was out at the mall, riding around in a wheelchair, looking for a new outfit to wear to church. She wished she could have been walking, but her doctor told her to take it easy. She believed in adhering to what the doctor told her, after all, she was paying him for his services, so she needed to do what he told her.
Ramona's sister had accompanied her to the mall. Her sister, Amanda Jean had been talking the whole time. Ramona had no idea what her sister had been talking about. She was not paying any attention to the chatterbox. Ramona was thanking the good Lord for letting her be able to feel the sun rays shining down on her body. The sun felt good. Its heat was refreshing. Ramona had looked up in the sky to look at the sun, but it had blinded her and she had to look away after a second. The brief second that she had looking at the sun brought tears to her eyes. Amanda Jean had asked her if she needed her sunglasses. Ramona smiled at the unaware woman and told her no.
Ramona was excited about the weekend. She loved the Resurrection celebration. It blessed her heart to know that Jesus had given His life for her. She was not worthy of the act that Jesus had done, but He did it anyway. How could God be so unselfish and send His son to die for people who act as if He doesn't exist. Ramona was glad that God chose to give us the awesome that He had because she was able to live in peace even though she was slowly dying every day. She rejoiced in the fact that one day soon, she would be able to see the magnificent Man who had given His life for her. she knew that God had a purpose for her suffering. She still did not know what it was, but she was glad that God loved her, loved her enough to send His son to give His life for her.
She had tears coming from her eyes again. Amanda Jean looked at her sister, "Ramona, are you alright." Ramona laughed at her sister's lisp. Amanda Jean became annoyed, "Quit laughing at me." Ramona smiled, "I am okay. I am just happy to be out of the hospital. God is so good. Baby sis, this is an awesome day for me. You do not know how awesome it is for me. God is too awesome to a wretch like me. I do not deserve His love, but He gives it to me everyday."
Amanda Jean Roberson tuned her sister out. She knew that her sister was about to go into a sermon, one that she Amanda Jean had heard too many times. She did not want to hear it right now. How could her sister be so happy about a God who let her suffer like she had and for so long? Amanda Jean had no interest in hearing about Ramona's God.
Precious Deveraux gets all dressed up for Resurrection Sunday to go "meet" the newly appointed (single) pastor @ New Tabernacle of Praise Baptist Church, but she meets Jesus instead. It is a story about human nature, the truth, and God's love. A sexy woman goes to church to "meet" the new pastor, but meets Jesus instead. Come and join us for Resurrection Sunday.
