In Chapter-23, Chuck originally had this opportunity to think things through, but all that thinking slows the action way down.
Chuck retied the laces on his running shoes, and turned on the Weather Channel before heading outside. “Thirty-nine,” he mumbled. “Not bad.”
“Goodness, what are you dressed up for?” Ann asked, as she came from the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
“I thought I smelled coffee.” He walked over and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to go run.”
“Run? It’s frigid outside!”
“It’s almost forty degrees. You’ve been in
“Will you be gone long?”
“Half hour, forty-five minutes maybe.”
“Can I borrow your car?”
“Sure.” Chuck disappeared to the bedroom for a moment and returned with his keys. “What do you need?”
“I have some errands to run.”
“On Christmas Eve?”
“Yes, today. Now, since when are you a runner?”
“I’m more of a jogger.”
“Even so. Since when?”
“Since I moved out. I had to do something to keep my sanity, and that’s when God’s been explaining things to me.”
“Then run, by all means, run.” She shooed him away.
Chuck turned back before he got two steps away. “Oh, I forgot to tell you- Walter Davis became a Christian after the Christmas party. He wanted to talk to Bobbi and me. He couldn’t figure us out.”
“And you got to explain it all to him?”
“Yeah, I can’t believe God let me do it,” Chuck said. “I felt like He let me back in the family.”
“You were never out of the family. God’s or mine.”
“That’s good to know.” Chuck hugged his mother. “I’ve got a key,” he said as he left. Stretching and loosening his muscles, he recited as much of the Thirty-seventh Psalm as he could remember. The cool air filled his lungs, and at the end of the block, he began to run.
Dear God, I forget how many people I hurt, and all of them are so innocent. I ruined Thanksgiving for my mother, and she almost missed Christmas…
Bobbi did so well at the Christmas party… We were husband and wife again. God, it felt so good, so natural. She had to notice that. And Walter, letting us be part of that… Lord, I don’t think You could be any clearer with Your approval.
Bobbi invited me to spend the night, but there’s still something there. Something paralyzing her. What do I need to do to reassure her?
‘For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.’
Psalm 37. Okay, I get the message. Keep waiting. But God, please, help her see that I belong at home. We belong together.