My Father's Gift (8 page)

D’Cerner began her afternoon of errands by picking up her dry cleaning, going to the post office to mail bills and picking up some fruit and vegetables for a pasta salad.  Before going home, she couldn’t resist stopping at her favorite bakery to buy some chocolate truffles and mini pecan pies.  With nothing more on her mind than enjoying dinner and dessert, D’Cerner was blissfully unaware that an unforgettable chapter of her life was about to be written.

****

Pastor Gibson went to the church to finalize the church’s calendar for the balance of the year.  Completing this task, he leaned back in his chair and sat in deep thought for awhile.  He remembered when D’Cerner had first joined his church.  She had visited them for a number of months before deciding to stay.  Though soft spoken, she was really outspoken and made it clear to him she was seeking a ministry in which she could be used and not just as a benchwarmer.  He smiled as he remembered how serious and defensive she was.  He had assured her that if in fact he was led to use her, he would.

He had later regaled his wife with the details of that meeting and she was just as amused as he was. She knew just how much he respected women in ministry.  He and his wife had been in ministry for many years and he reminisced with mixed emotions about their relationship and the ministry.  D’Cerner proved to be a great asset in the church.  She was an informed teacher of the Word, paid great attention to details about everything she did, and was a marvel to watch as she helped to organize new auxiliaries and programs.  She assisted teaching Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and evangelism training classes.  When his wife had died a few years ago, she was remarkable at stepping in and helping with the administrative side of running the church.  From the time D’Cerner joined his congregation, more and more people had not only visited, but also stayed.  Their membership had almost doubled since she came five years ago and was now at 700 and growing.

While Bernard Gibson was not necessarily interested in just building a large congregation, he did realize that D’Cerner’s presence had made a real impact on the number of people attending services.  He contemplated for a moment about how that could change if she left.  Not liking the possible effect of her leaving could have, he looked up the number for Eternal Joy and placed a call to Pastor Covey Thomas. 

*****

A few days later, Bernard Gibson met with Cal’s pastor, Covey Thomas.  The phone call he made before had resulted in their agreeing to meet to discuss “mutual interests.”  Once inside her office, Pastor Thomas, a full-figured, middle-aged Amazonian, didn’t hesitate to control the meeting.

“Welcome, please have a seat,” she said while pointing to the chair in front of her desk.  “I’m glad to meet you.  I’m surprised that we haven’t met before now.  I wish this meeting could have taken place under different circumstances.”  She sat down a bit ceremoniously in her chair, leaning back.

“Thank you,” said Pastor Gibson seating himself.  “Different  circumstances?”

“Well, yes.  You see, Cal has told me about this mysterious conversation he supposedly heard from God regarding one of your ministers.  Sister Everett, I believe.  Anyway, I’ve cautioned him about thinking he’s heard God say things He really hasn’t said.  After all, the devil can talk to us, too, and usually does when we’re vulnerable.  I chalked it up to them both fasting and imagining what they heard.  I hope that you did the same thing, if Sister Everett talked to you.” She was looking at him over the rim of her glasses.

“Well, actually I didn’t.” Pastor Gibson was cautious as he spoke.  “I told Sister Everett that if in fact this was of God, then He would see to it that it worked and if not, it wouldn’t.  I trust her judgment and I know she knows the voice of the Lord.” He sat back in the chair with his fingers entwined, staring back at her pensively.

“Minister Recinoire knows the voice of the Lord as well.  After all, he does stand in the office of a prophet,” she haughtily admonished him.

“I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.  It seems to me that we have two people who know the voice of the Lord, but don’t know how to act upon it.  I don’t know about you, but I need Sister Everett to stay at my church.  She’s a very talented and anointed young lady, and she has quite a following.  I’d hate for her to leave, which I know she would if she married someone who wasn’t a member of our church,” Pastor Gibson explained.

“I suppose that’s true.  Minister Recinoire can also be quite a drawing card.  I know he’s expressed to me that there’s a pastoral calling on both their lives, so maybe they would leave both churches to pastor together.  I’m not ready for that to happen.  I’ve got a few things for him to do here and if he were to leave now, this church would be in a mess.”  Her concession was wrapped with defensiveness.

“I understand totally.  So what do you propose that we do about this situation?”

“Honestly?  Keep them where we can keep an eye on them and control what they do.  That’s my plan.  What do you plan to do?”

“I can do the same, but how do you plan to accomplish that?”

“Well, Minister Recinoire has a great deal of confidence in what I say and he trusts me.  So as long as I can convince him he didn’t hear anything and keep him away from her, he’ll be right here.” Her smugness was as sickening as a regurgitated Chinese dinner.

“All right.  I guess I’ll have to keep her busy so she won’t have time to think about this.  I don’t dare tell her she didn’t hear what she heard.  She would know that something was not right.  She has quite a full schedule for the rest of the year, so keeping them apart should not pose too much of a problem.  I have already asked her to take care of planning some programs at the church, so she will be very busy.”  As he spoke, Pastor Gibson felt a check in his spirit that made him ponder the wisdom of what they were planning.

“Well, it seems to me that the problem is solved.  By the way, I don’t think it would be a good idea if they knew that we had this conversation.  Thank you for coming and keep in touch.” Pastor Thomas stood up, dismissing Pastor Gibson.

“You’re absolutely right.  Thank you for taking the time to see me.  I can see myself out.”

They shook hands and Pastor Gibson walked slowly out of the office and down the corridor out to the parking lot. 

Pastor Thomas sat in her office awhile contemplating her next move with Cal.  She wasn’t sure how long he was going to believe her, but she didn’t want to lose a valuable asset either.  “Well, anything goes in order to accomplish what you want in life,” she thought to herself.  “And what I want is for that young man to stay put.”

Covey Thomas was a very strong-willed individual who was used to having her way.  When she left the church she attended before starting this one, it was because the pastor had the audacity to confront her about some of the beliefs she was teaching.  Not willing to be kept in a situation where she didn’t have control, she left in a huff and never looked back.  She had struggled for some time to build a new congregation and it wasn’t until Calord Recinoire had walked in the door that she had begun to relax.  She sat for awhile thinking about that day. 

He was hurt and confused when he walked in seeking direction.  His former pastor had disappointed him when an affair between the pastor and another church member was exposed.  Realizing that in his current state of mind he could be manipulated into believing almost anything, Pastor Thomas had not hesitated to cultivate a belief in her ability to not only see the past, but also to predict the future.  She convinced Cal that the Lord had shown him to her in a vision and that this church was where he was to remain.  After having him complete the church’s traditional initial training classes, she immediately put him to work.  He had the ability to teach the Word expressively and he was completely vulnerable to accepting new beliefs since his old ones had only brought him disappointment in people. 

Thinking about the difference he had made in her congregation, made her even more determined she was not about to lose him to either another woman or another church.

Chapter Twelve

Before the scheduled basketball tournament, Cal and D’Cerner held a few strained conversations, but they both knew that it was out of a sense of courtesy more than any real desire to talk to one another. In fact, their conversations had become so stilted she was reluctant to even commit to going to the tournament.  The day before the game, he called to confirm she would be there.  She told him she would have to drop Carlos and his friends off because she needed to meet a contractor at the Stradus Center.  She informed him she would be there as soon as she could, but she wasn’t making any promises.  That night, she had trouble sleeping, tossing and turning most of the night.

The next day, after dropping Carlos and his friends off at the recreation center where the basketball tournament was being held, D’Cerner left to meet the contractor at the Stradus Center.  A water pipe had burst and they needed to tear out a wall to replace pipes.  When she saw the damage and the plaster dust that covered everything, she sighed, knowing she would be there much longer than she had planned.  She listened to the contractor ramble on about what they needed to do and how much it was going to cost an hour.  After approving the work order and signing the contract, she waited for them to go and get the material they needed and to return.  While they gone, she decided she might as well get some of her own work done. Going into her office, she slumped into her chair and dejectedly turned on her computer.  Sighing, she picked up some files and began to look through them and began formatting information.  Determined not to get frustrated, she worked feverishly for three hours and was amazed at how much she had actually accomplished when she stopped to look at the time. 

“Oh no,” groaned inwardly.  “I didn’t realize it was so late.  I’ve probably missed most of Carlos’ game.”

She shut down the computer, grabbed her purse and informed the contractors on her way out she would be back before they left.  She drove back to the tournament only to discover that Carlos had indeed played out his participation, but his friends were still playing.  While waiting for them, she was introduced to Pastor Thomas by Brandon who was also at the tournament with Reggie.  D’Cerner was not very impressed with the fact that she called herself, “Pastor Covey Thomas” when they were introduced.  She felt that since they were not in church, there was no need for titles.  She introduced herself as D’Cerner Everett and left it at that.  Pastor Thomas inquired as to which she church she attended and what her responsibilities were, if any, and what she did for a living.  D’Cerner responded with her usual graceful aplomb, but she didn’t care for the inquisition.  Brandon mentioned to Pastor Thomas that D’Cerner had written several books and when she indicated an interest, offered to get some from D’Cerner’s car.  D’Cerner gave him her car keys and told him where she was parked.  While waiting for him to return, D’Cerner noticed that Cal had not attempted to approach her or to even speak to her.  She couldn’t help but wonder why, but it didn’t bother her too much since he was refereeing the current match.

After Brandon returned with the books for Pastor Thomas, D’Cerner found herself a seat on the other side of the gymnasium and patiently waited for the game to end.  While she waited, Pastor Thomas and some others had also decided to find refuge near where she was sitting.  Although Pastor Thomas appeared not to be speaking directly to D’Cerner, she made sure she could hear her conversation with the other people to whom she was talking.  She was apparently quite proud of the fact that none of her members would ever consider marrying anyone in their church because they all believed they were truly brothers and sisters.  She also commented on how people mistake the voice of God with the voice of the devil and get misled into all sorts of tragedies.  From the angle at which she sat and turned her head, it appeared she wanted to make sure that D’Cerner heard her.

She did.

Finally, after the game was over, Cal acknowledged D’Cerner’s presence long enough to ask if she had met his pastor.

“Did you meet my pastor?” he asked.

“Yes, I did.” 

“Okay, well I’ll call you later.”

“I’ll be there.”

  As D’Cerner was leaving the building, she heard the word
bondage.
  She looked around to see if anyone was talking to her and not finding anyone, just shook her head.  Before she could get out of the door she heard the word again and turned to see Pastor Thomas looking in her direction.

“She has her members in bondage and the shackles need to be broken.”

“So what do you want me do?” D’Cerner asked.

“Help him to see the truth and that he needs balance in his life.”

“Now how am I supposed to do that when he won’t hear anything negative about his precious pastor and acts as though he doesn’t want to talk to me?”

”Patience will win in the end.  Nothing will be accomplished in haste.”

“Okay, okay.  But you know me.  I’m subject to blow it.”

D’Cerner left the building, but not before praying a deliverance prayer for everyone in the building all the way out to her car.  After she took Carlos and his friends home, she went back to the Stradus Center, hoping that the contractors would be finished with their work.  They were just replacing the torn out wall when she arrived.  After writing them a check, when they finished, she locked up and went home.

She didn’t expect Cal to call that night and she was not disappointed.  He called a few nights later and they discussed the outcome of the tournament and what she thought of his pastor.  While talking, they both realized that an inexplicable discomfort had crept into the conversation.  No matter what either of them did to try to eradicate the gloom that seemed to have taken up permanent residence over them, nothing worked. 

After going through this for two weeks, they finally gave up attempts to have regular conversations and only called each other sporadically.  On two occasions, Cal was supposed to have helped her with different projects and both times, he failed to appear and did not call to either forewarn her he couldn’t make it or explain his absence.  D’Cerner didn’t want to get angry, but she was extremely frustrated since she had thought him to be a person of integrity and commitment.  On both occasions, his name had appeared on the programme and she had to explain his absence as well as fill in for the spots he had left vacated.  She was beginning to see another side of him she really didn’t like, but didn’t know what to do about it.  Fortunately, for the sake of her sanity and peace of mind, she was either busy at the church or away on weekend retreats or revivals so much she didn’t really have time to brood about it.