In Times of Trouble (33 page)

“As I began to prepare for this service, I wondered, ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?' It's the same question that the prophet, Habakkuk, had asked God; and the same question I know many of you have recently asked after learning of the circumstances surrounding this young lady's death.”

Deep moans and groans echoed throughout the sanctuary. Chanelle's grandparents, friends and other family members seemed to be the most affected, though people who didn't know the family well were also moved to tears. Several surprise guests included Detective Troy Evans and his wife, Natalie; Attorney
Richard Griggs and his wife, Sylvia; and even the Ohio State head football coach came to offer his condolences.

RJ kept his arm snugly around Lisa who had been holding up much better than he had expected. Chanelle never came out of her coma. It was just Lisa and him in the room, in addition to hospital staff, when the doctor had pronounced her dead, making Chanelle's murder the sixteenth one of the year thus far.

RJ will never forget that moment. “Time of death: 11:41 a.m.,” the doctor had said. Those were the most ear-piercing and horrifying words he'd ever heard. Yet, he believed that the Lord had prepared him for what was to come. During the time he'd spent alone with Chanelle when Lisa walked her parents out to their car, the Lord had settled in his spirit that Chanelle wasn't going to pull through. Initially, RJ went into a crying and praying frenzy because he felt like he was responsible for what had happened to his daughter. “It should be me! I should be the one fighting for my life!” he pleaded. God allowed him to vent while at the same time ministering words of encouragement to his spirit. It was in that moment when RJ was freed from bearing the burden of guilt. He had a choice: to wallow in self-pity over his mistakes or to trust that God was in control of all things and to stand on His Word to make it through.

Not wanting to upset Lisa any further, RJ never spoke about what would become of their daughter. Perhaps the Lord had prepared him because He knew that Lisa would need to be comforted by him. Whatever God's reasoning for the revelation, RJ stayed glued to Lisa's side. When Chanelle passed away, instead of calling friends and family immediately, he took Lisa off alone and held her as she wailed in his arms. In such situations most people would have tried to think of something spiritually deep to say, but RJ didn't utter a word. He allowed Lisa the time to grieve, just as God had allowed him.

“I look down into this casket. . .” Beads of sweat dropped from Pastor Burlington's bald head as sorrow drenched his countenance. “And I see potential that never got to be. I see a young girl who was unfairly snatched from this life when, in many ways, life was just beginning for her. Ladies and gentleman, Chanelle's death is proof that we live in a fallen world—a world in which evil is present. There used to be a time when we as a society collectively took care of our senior citizens. Now the elderly have become prey. . .easy target for thieves. On any given day we can turn on the news or open the
Columbus Dispatch
and find cases about robbery, sexual molestation and as in Chanelle's case, murder.”

RJ pondered a moment on how many things had transpired over the last year.

Just twelve short months ago, he had begun settling into Columbus and his new position as the Director of Hope Ministries Rehabilitation Center. Chanelle was driving Lisa crazy and he would have likely sold his right arm to be this close to Lisa again. Now he and Lisa had a bond that he was sure was much stronger than the one they had during their marriage. He was a grandparent, and his baby girl—the only seed he had planted—was dead, courtesy of Lisa's ex-best friend who had been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. RJ truly had been delivered from his drug addiction; Chanelle's death would have been enough to push him over the edge had it not been for God guiding every step he made.

“I'm sure by now you are all aware of the high-profile nature of this case,” Pastor Burlington stated. “Though each of us have our own opinions about what should be done to the individuals responsible for such a heinous act, there's one thing we must agree on. What happened to Chanelle Hampton was purely a work of evil! In Ephesians, six, verse twelve, Paul tells us that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. In other words, the true
enemy in this case, or any case, is not those who have been arrested for this crime, but our
real
enemy is the devil. And he will do whatever and use whoever is willing to try and destroy us. Men and women who engage in evil are too ignorant to realize that they are actually doing Satan's bidding. The devil can't make anyone do anything. What he does is entice people with things like power, money and revenge, all the while luring them into sin. And sin, no matter how small it may seem, will always take you further than you meant to go, and leave you longer than you meant to stay.”

“Folks, the devil is knocking at every one of our doors, waiting for us to give him the opportunity to come in. Robert and Lisa, you have walked a very tough road. I want you to take all the time you need to grieve. You have every right to be hurt. To be honest the pain may never go away, but hopefully, over time, it will diminish. You also have every right to be angry about what happened to your daughter. What I encourage you two, and the rest of y'all, not to do is allow your anger to turn into resentment or bitterness. It's during tough times like this when we are tempted the most to question God. We think ‘God, if You're so powerful and mighty, and You have the whole world in the palm of Your hands, then how did this happen?' Sometimes people go through things and turn their backs on God, but the Psalmist tells us in chapter nine, verse nine that the Lord is our refuge in times of trouble. Robert and Lisa, I want you to know that this is the time when you need God more than ever. Not only will you need Him, but you will also need each other.”

Lisa squeezed RJ's hand as if to affirm Pastor Burlington's last point of them needing each other. Perhaps that was her way of letting him know that she needed him. RJ patted her hand softly as if to say that he would be there with her every step of the way. He'd let her down before, but never again.

Not only did she need him, but so did their grandson. Chanelle had picked out his name weeks before her death. Both he and Lisa wanted to honor her wishes and so they named him Chandler Robert Kyle Hampton like she'd wanted. Chandler was still in the hospital, but he was a fighter and his prognosis was very good. That didn't surprise RJ. He knew his little man wouldn't give up easily. He came from a long line of headstrong females and determined men who didn't give up without a fight. Chandler was going to make it. He had to. . .

“We may never understand why God allowed this to happen to Chanelle,” Pastor Burlington continued. “I want everyone here to understand that Chanelle's murder was never part of God's plan for her life. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says ‘I know the thoughts I think toward you. . .thoughts of peace, and not evil, [thoughts] to give you an expected end.' So, if God thinks only good toward us then we're still left with the question of why do bad things happen? The only answer I have to that is sin. God doesn't ever promise that bad things won't happen, but Jesus promises to be with you always, even until the end of the world. Despite all of your unanswered questions, I implore you to continue trusting in God. I've walked with the Lord long enough to know that the devil's plans never thwart God's power. Keep trusting God and over time you'll see that what the devil meant for evil, God will ultimately work out for your good.”

“Fortunately for Chanelle, she is with Jesus right now. Let her sudden death be a warning to all of you who don't have a relationship with Him. Tomorrow is not promised. Death does not discriminate. It can come at any moment in your life. Ask yourself this one question: if you were to die right now, would you be ready to meet Jesus?”

L
isa's family gathered at her house after the service to help her polish off some leftovers. She appreciated all the food that was brought over, but she didn't think she would be able to eat one more piece of fried chicken or chicken casserole for quite some time. Lisa laughed silently to herself as she watched her mother devour one of the casseroles, claiming how good it was, not realizing that Stacie had made it. Had someone told her beforehand, her mother would have claimed not to eat “white folks' food,” and if someone told her now, she would probably swear she was sick.

“Lisa, someone just pulled up in the driveway for you,” her sister announced, walking into the kitchen.

“Who is it?” Callie laughed and whispered in their mother's ear, who also giggled.

Lisa went into the living room and noticed RJ's goofy grin. “Who's here?” she pressed.

“It's a bird. . .it's a plane. . .it's super Christian!” He busted out laughing just as the doorbell rang.

“Hello, Sister Hampton.” Her ex-fiancé, Eric, stood at the door. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

“No, you're fine. Come on in. May I offer you something to eat or drink?”

“No, thank you.” Eric took a seat on the sofa, acknowledging RJ and the rest of her family who had gathered around.

“Guys, would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?” Lisa inquired of her family who stood like spectators at a carnival.

Even in the hours after their daughter's funeral, RJ couldn't stop his testosterone from taking over. He apparently wanted to make it known that he was the man in Lisa's life now and so he obliged her request to speak with Eric alone, but kissed her on the cheek and said, “Baby, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me.”

Eric stared blankly. “I heard about what happened to Chanelle and I wanted to personally offer my condolences.”

“Thank you, Eric. I mean, Minister Freeman. I appreciate you stopping by.”

“How are you doing?”

“My emotions fluctuate throughout the day, but right now I'm fine.”

“I want you to know that I was praying for you and Chanelle during the rape trial.”

“I know. . .I received your email. Thank you so much.”

“No problem. Are you sure you're holding up okay?” He seemed genuinely concerned.

“I really miss her. We had grown so close. It's difficult not having her around. I'm glad to at least have a part of her left with me.”

“I'm assuming you're talking about the baby. Is it going to be all right?”

Lisa didn't like her grandbaby being referred to as an “it,” but she knew Eric didn't mean any harm. “Prayerfully so. He's still in the hospital and will probably be there for a while, but things are definitely going in his favor.” Lisa picked up her digital camera
from off the coffee table. “Want to see some pictures of him?”

“Sure. . .” Eric eagerly flipped through the images. “Wow. . .what a tiny little fellow. What's his name?”

“Chandler Robert Kyle Hampton.”

Eric seemed surprised. “Kyle as in that young man she was seeing?”

“Yep; and Robert, of course after RJ. Turns out that Kyle isn't so bad of a kid after all. I was just too stuck on outward appearances to give him a chance.”

“Looks like there has been some spiritual growth taking place, huh?”

Lisa wasn't sure if he had meant that as a compliment or not so she simply nodded.

“I'm glad you shared these pictures with me. He's adorable.”

“Thanks. . .”

“I heard on the news that Olivia was arrested. Do you think she's really behind this?”

Lisa nodded sadly. “That's the way it's looking. She didn't actually pull the trigger, but the police found the gunman who turned her in. The prosecutor said it may take a while for her case to go to trial because of all the injunctions Isaac is filing, but they are actively pursing the case. In the meantime, I've filed a restraining order against her so she can't come anywhere near Chandler or me.”

“Who would have thought she would do something like this? It's horrible. I've known Olivia for over a decade through the church, and I never saw such a wicked side of her. I'm no longer part of the ministry at Abundant in Christ. These last few months, I've been gone almost every weekend. I started my own church in Sandusky.”

“Really? Congratulations! What's the name of your church?”

Eric gave a proud look. “The Tabernacle of Jesus. It's so awesome. I'm really looking forward to the move. I've only been able to make it on the weekends, so I've been missing choir rehearsal and midweek Bible study. I'm looking forward to attending those things from now on. Services are held at Mother's house for the time being. She leads Bible study and directs the choir in my absence.”

“Wow, you have enough members for a choir already?”

“We are a blessed congregation, for sure. Mother and I are the only members now, but God is faithful and He will increase our numbers.”