And we're back with part 2 of the short story that I started sharing last week! If you missed the first part, you can find that here: In His Presence: A Short Story (Part 1!) - Glorious Daughters (weebly.com). In His Presence (Part 2)“I'm gonna head out to the truck with David whenever you get ready.” Rachel looked into the reflection of the dresser mirror to see Jeff, dressed in jeans and red plaid neatly tucked in, standing in the doorway. Arms raised in the air above her head, she finished fastening her ponytail. “I'm ready.” Giving herself one last look-over in the mirror and retrieving her purse from the bed, she followed Jeff to the front door. He opened it, inviting the clean yet earthy smell of fresh rain into their senses. Though it wasn't raining now, gray clouds floated around a darkened sky. Streams of sunlight from between them made the moisture covering everything glisten. The ditch that surrounded David's and Alison's yard looked deep enough to swim in. The gravel on the driveway crunched as they walked together, Rachel just a half-step behind, to David's red truck. David was already in the driver's seat, buckled and ready to go. Jeff opened the passenger door and moved the seat ahead enough for her to climb into the back. Following behind her, he shut the door with a thud that almost echoed in the stillness of the morning. They both got settled into the back seats before anyone broke the silence. “Sure is getting sunnier out.” David's elbow was leaned against the driver's side window, his head resting against the glass. “Yeah. It's nice after all this rain.” Jeff cast a glance out the window. A few seconds of silence went by. It wasn't abnormal for them to have to wait for Alison, though that wasn't really her fault. It was Jeff and David, the latter who had taken after his dad's ways, who seemed to feel the need to always be in the vehicle several minutes before the time they needed to leave. It was just something quirky that was yet another thing that made Rachel smile about in her son and husband. “How do y'all feel about seeing the house and stuff?” The question, though worded casually, was spoken with care, and David glanced into the rear view mirror at his parents. Rachel didn't know how to answer and didn't trust herself to put all the emotion into words anyhow. So she just let Jeff talk. After a moment of thinking, which he often took before answering questions, he finally spoke. “Curious.” He paused. “Don't know what to expect, but,” he glanced at Rachel with a slight smile, “God's got it all in His hands.” Rachel reached over and fingered her husband's hand, and he squeezed hers in return. “Mom?” David glanced at her in the rear view mirror. She gave a slight, wobbly smile and dropped her eyes to her lap. How did she feel about it? “I don't know.” She fingered the seam of her denim skirt. “I guess the same. Curious. Nervous.” She gave a little laugh, one that held a bit of humor with a lot more uncertainty, and immediately cringed at the sound. Jeff gave her a hand another light squeeze. She didn't trust herself to speak for fear the tears would start, but she gave another smile and sat back in the seat. No one said much, and a bird outside the window somewhere in the yard was the only thing to be heard. It was like he was heralding the return of the sun despite all the rain that had fallen. She couldn't help but wonder what his home looked like. All his hard work would probably have to be done over. But he was singing. Alison stepped out of the house and pulled the door behind her. Her bright pink shirt and yellow sandals gave her a cheerful, playful look. Why she was wearing sandals to be out on such wet and soggy ground was beyond Rachel, but the kind childishness of the girl was something that had first stood out when David had brought her home from college that Memorial Day weekend. Her quietness didn't keep her from being a bright spot. Rachel was glad that she was coming along; she reminded her to keep looking up. The truck door opened, and Alison climbed in beside her husband and then shut it with a firm thud. “Ready?” David lifted his hand to change gears and looked around at each of the passengers before rolling down the gravel driveway. **** It wasn't more than a thirty-minute drive, and that only because David drove cautiously and had to take a small detour because of a fallen tree, before they pulled onto the road Rachel and her husband lived on. David dropped his speed as they inched along, surveying the neighborhood out the windows. Jeff reached over and turned the instrumental hymns that Alison had turned on on the CD player down, bringing a silence to the inside of the vehicle. The homes at the beginning of the street looked for the most part fine. Some had standing water in some lower places or a tree broken or knocked over into the yard, and one of the neighbor's had their privacy fence knocked down and carried away to various parts of the neighborhood, but nothing looked too bad or beyond repair unless you counted the old shed in one backyard that probably needed to be torn down anyway. The conditions were certainly much better than it had been in some places, like the trailer park that a tornado had hit. Rachel had seen it on the news, along with everyone else, but seeing it in-person was so much more sobering. Those poor people. Thankfully everyone was okay and only a couple minor injuries had occurred, but all the things that they had lost. Even the stuffed animals she had seen strewn helplessly under a pile of rubble had brought tears to her eyes. Those poor children. These thoughts ran through Rachel's mind as they continued to crawl down the road, getting closer to their home. There was only one more curve in the road before their home should be visible. Rachel involuntarily sucked in a breath and held it as David slowly rounded the corner. First she could see the large weeping willow, then part of the yard, and finally the house came into view. She didn't let her breath out until they had come to be sitting in front of the house and David had stopped in the middle of the road. Rachel's eyes roved over the scene. The house was in tact and standing. Parts of the privacy fence were missing, a couple of which were strewn around the yard. A couple shingles sat on top of her lilies in the flowerbed. The ditches were overflowed and spilled into the yard. The weeping willow branches sagged, and some were broken and laying around. David pulled into the smooth driveway, the tires splashing through the low-standing water, before parking. He looked around. “It doesn't look bad.” “No,” Jeff agreed, though his answer was subdued. He had a lot to think about right now. They all did. But she knew that he was likely already fighting to keep his logical mind from worrying over calculating figures on what the damages would cost and how long they would take to pay for. Help Him, Lord, she silently prayed. David unbuckled his seat belt and pushed open the driver's side, stepping down onto the ground. Rachel followed Jeff as they squeezed past the driver's seat and out the door. Alison met them from the other side of the truck and came and stood beside Rachel. “God took care of it.” The words were really only loud enough for Rachel to hear. She nodded. “Yeah,” she let out the word in a breath. Alison only offered a little smile in return, but Rachel understood the meaning. “Privacy fence got blown around a bit.” There was a chuckle in Jeff's voice. He was a good man to let himself laugh. David smirked. “Maybe some frogs or something were able to use it as a raft.” Alison shook her head at her husband's poor attempt at humor. “He only could've gotten that sense of humor from his dad.” She looked up at her mother-in-law beside her. “Come on.” Jeff reached into his pocket and pulled out the house key. His boots thudded a bit as he walked up the driveway and onto the wet, wooden porch. Silence seemed to have descended on them all as they watched him unlock the door and push it open. He looked down. “The threshold and floor here seems to be a little wet.” He motioned at it with the toe of his boot before stepping in. Alison closed the door behind them. They stepped down off the raised entryway into what was probably about an inch of standing water. Rachel took a deep breath, trying to maintain the upper hand over her emotions. A slightly musty smell met her nose. She instinctively wrinkled it. Would the whole house look like this? Would it get worse as they went through? What about the bedroom? The furniture looked wet, and a bit of mold seemed to be forming on the bottom of the couch. It could be cleaned or replaced though. She followed Jeff into the kitchen. The water levels were the same on the vinyl plank flooring as they had been in the living room. The counters were still clean, just like she had left them. “Bottom cabinets are a bit moldy,” Jeff pointed out the very bottoms of them right against the trim near the floor. He bent over and pulled one open. Sure enough, there was the beginning of mold on the bottom of one of them in a spot. Rachel sighed. In her kitchen? Jeff shut the cabinet and straightened. “Let's look at the bedrooms.” He took her hand and led her through the low water back through the living room and then down the hall. Alison and David hung back as Jeff opened their bedroom door and led her in. The carpeted floor looked a bit damp beneath her boots as she crossed through the doorway behind him. She looked around. The bed sat untouched, except for the damp ends of the lower-hanging tassels on the spread that she had put on it right before they left. Even if they'd only been leaving for a storm, Rachel still refused to leave a home that she wouldn't feel comforted coming back to the way she had left it. Her mind was brought back to looking around her by Jeff's voice. He was bent over one of the desk drawers by the window on the far wall. Having opened it, he peered into it and felt the contents with the tips of his fingers. “Some of these papers may have gotten wet.” Rachel came up behind him. She gave a small gasp but caught herself before it came out too loud. Alison and David in the hall would be too far away to hear it. “Is that the crafts?” she let out, keeping her voice controlled. Jeff inhaled and pulled out the top several sheets of paper, which he revealed to be receipts and letters from various companies. He laid those on the top of the desk and then reached back into the drawer. Next was several letters from various people, some personal and some about business. Water spotted the edges of them, but it wasn't what Rachel was concerned about at the moment. He laid them on top of the other stack on the desk and then reached inside again. Sure enough, he pulled out a few of the crafts that she had saved from David's and Sarah's growing-up years. These showed signs of the corners being wet before, but they weren't affected much. The crafts below them would be from their younger years. Rachel knew the way she had arranged them in order from their at-home-with-Mom crafts in the bottom to the drawing that Sarah had done during the last week of her senior year on top. She sucked in a breath as she realized what that meant. The ones she had done with them were closer to the floor. Tears filled her eyes as Jeff pulled out the last few papers, wet and with color run down them. You couldn't even tell what they were or what the childish print on them said. It was all run with water. A tear slipped down Rachel's cheek, soon bringing others with it in harder succession, despite her efforts to keep it all in. Jeff stood up from his crouched position and wrapped his arms around her, holding her and letting her rest her head on his shoulder as she tried to keep the tears in check. The door behind them closed; probably David and Alison wanting to give them privacy. With that the tears came loose, and she stopped trying to hold them back. Why? She knew other people lost so much more, but why did she have to lose these precious reminders of all those hours they'd sat together coloring and learning to write? She didn't keep hardly anything, even of their school crafts as she only kept their favorites and the ones that meant something particularly special to her or them, but why had God allowed the few things she did keep to be so ruined? For what was probably almost a full two minutes she stood there and cried on her husband's shoulder, as he just stood there and held her, his hand placed on her back. Finally, the cries subsided and she sucked in a shaky breath. Jeff began stroking her hair as she fell silent. “It's gonna be okay.” The words were cliché maybe, but comforting. “You still have the memories.” Rachel sighed and lifted her head. He gently pushed her head back down, almost like he was trying to make her relax. “What?” “Do you . . . do you think the pictures could have gotten wet?” She felt his chest slowly expand with a deep breath. “I don't know.” He gently let her go and pulled out of the embrace, then crouched down by the other desk drawer. The first few pictures were fine. But many of them, once again the ones from the longest ago according to Rachel's organizational system, were wet and stuck together. Rachel felt the tears coming back into her eyes and she swallowed the lump in her throat. She sat down on the floor, not having the strength to want to stand. Gently prying, Jeff tried to pull one of the pictures apart, but it only ruined the one behind it. As he flipped through them, Rachel caught a glimpse of what had been the pictures from David's birth. The only copies. And the tears came again, too strong for her to stop. It wasn't fair. And the professional photos she'd gotten of them before David had gone to kindergarten, those were in that run and ruined stack too. Rachel covered her face with her hands as the cries got harder, and Jeff's arm was once again around her. “Why did they get ruined?” she let out between the tears. “The water got to them.” His voice was so calm, so logical. “No, why did God let them get ruined?” There was a pause. “I don't know. He has a reason. Trust Him. He knows.” “They're so special to me. The crafts and the pictures from David's-from his birth-and the photos before he before he went to school. I didn't keep that much, why would God let these get ruined?” “I don't know.” He tightened his arm around her shoulders. “But God does.” “I know.” She let herself cry until all the tears were gone, and then she fell silent once again. After a few seconds, he spoke up in prayer. “Lord, please help us both. It's hard seeing things that are special to us be ruined like this. Please help us to trust that You know best. Please help our emotions, and please help us to hold onto the memories You've given us even if we don't have the items or pictures. Please provide the things that we need. Lord,” he took a deep breath, “we have a lot to fix with the flooring and things. Please provide; I know You can. Thank You for the memories, and for the things that You have provided, and for the ways that You will continue to provide for us. Thank You for being our Shelter in the time of storm.” Rachel couldn't help but notice the tears in his voice as he said that. “In Your Name, Amen.” After a few minutes together, they stood up and opened the door to join David and Alison again. **** The next evening, Rachel climbed into the guest bed beside her husband, who seemed to always make it there before she did. His Bible was spread out on his lap as he flipped around in it. He often worked on word studies at night on different topics. “What are you reading about?” She pulled back the blankets and slipped her legs underneath them. “Joy.” He turned to be facing her more and shifted his Bible on his lap. “'Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.'” She shifted in the bed and laid her head on his lap. “The presence of God brings joy.” His quiet voice spoke above her. “Fullness of joy.” Rachel didn't say anything but only gave a little sigh, one of contentment and not of tiredness. “That's how we have joy through this, Rachel. He's here. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. That brings joy and pleasure.” Rachel nodded against his lap. Rejoice alway. In His presence is fullness of joy. After a few moments of silence, Rachel lifted her head and rested it on the pillow next to her husband's, still leaning her head against his leg beside her. He was there for them. “Should we pray together?” he whispered. “Sure,” she whispered back. His strong, calming voice lifted in prayer above her. “Father, we thank You for everything that You've done for us. Thank You that even through this hard time, we haven't lost a lot and that You've still provided for our needs. Thank You for being here for us, and for listening whenever we call on You in prayer. Thank You that You never leave us nor forsake us, no matter what. Thank You for this place to stay with our son and that he's been so kind to let us use it for however long we need to. Thank You that there is fullness of joy in Your presence. Please continue to provide and help us to follow and trust You no matter what. We love you, Father. Amen.” The tears slipped out of Rachel's eyes and slid down her cheeks. God was with them. He had a reason. All she had to do was trust. **** Rachel laughed. It felt good to finally have the couch, cleaner than it had been before the storm, back in its rightful place. Jeff and David had redone all the flooring in new vinyl plank, and the room had even gotten a fresh coat of paint while they were at it. But there was one more thing she had to add to it. After stepping outside for a moment, she returned with a bag. As she took the piece of wood out of it, Jeff walked over to her. She laid it down on the coffee table. It was painted light blue, but in a thin enough layer that in some places you could still see the wooden texture beneath. In bold, white lettering it read, “...in thy presence is fullness of joy....” Slipping his arm around her shoulders, he gave her a little squeeze. “It's our truth from our Father that we're learning.”
Have there been any special things to you that you've learned about joy in your life?
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