Page 91 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

“Are you okay?” she asked, almost under her breath.

“Just thinking through some things,” he said.

“Well, church is a good place for that.”

The music started only a minute later. The choir sang one of Henry’s absolute favorite songs for the opening number, whichlifted his heart so much that he returned to his seat with hope running through him.

Pastor Ryan got up, and while he probably had twenty years on Henry, he’d always said exactly what Henry needed to hear. Today, he started with a story about geological terms and directions, about needing a fixed location to measure from.

“It’s called a backsight,” Pastor Ryan said. “A fixed location that everyone has agreed upon. It’s what land surveyors all use—a fixed, known position to move forward to unknown positions around the world.”

Henry could see where he was going with this “fixed, known position,” and equating it to the Savior. He sure did enjoy the mini lesson, as told by a great storyteller, about how land surveyors worked to determine property lines.

“I once counseled someone who was having a dispute with his neighbor over where the fence could go and which parcel of property he owned and which his neighbor did. There has to be a legal way to determine that. It’s not just what he wanted, and it’s not what his neighbor wanted.”

The pastor spoke in such an engaging voice, and he surveyed the congregation as he did. “But on the earth, we have established backsights, usually situated at higher elevations, and land surveyors can use thoseknown marksto determine property lines.

“So one was called, and he came out and determined where the property line was using this anchored spot on the earth, this backsight, this known and agreed-upon position. By looking back to what has been established, to what is known, a clear boundary between the two properties could be established.”

Fascinating, Henry thought. He’d never much thought about such things.

“And that is what the Savior does,” Pastor Ryan continued. “When you’re not sure about where your boundaries are, whenyou’re not sure of the lines, when you’re not sure of the direction you need to go, you turn back to theone constant thingthat doesn’t move and doesn’t change—and that is God.”

Henry found himself nodding along, his attention solely focused on the pastor up front.

“Go to Him with your questions and your concerns and find out whatHewants you to do,” Pastor Ryan said. “I have one little bit of warning here, and that’s about the timing of what you think you want andwhenyou want it. Because God very rarely works on men’s time.

“He has a plan for you, and He is aware of you. But my friends, my brothers and sisters, speed does not matter if there is no direction.”

Speed does not matter if there is no direction.

“We always get our direction from the established backsight, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and God the Father. So you might be trying to go too fast, and God might feel like He needs to slow you down. It’s because He knows the direction that you need to go, and He knows how fast you need to do it. Getting something before you’re ready for it does no good, and arriving late could also be detrimental.”

“So turn to the Lord in all things, and trust in His timing. Trust inHisspeed. Trust inHisdirection, forHeis the ultimate backsight.”

“Amen, brother,” Henry whispered, though the preacher’s words also whipped like a chastisement to his soul. He hadn’t really been going to the Lord and asking for anything to do with timing. But Henry was a go-go-go man, and he wanted everything all at once.

With the introduction of this new advice, some of his frustration over Angel’s slowness in announcing the relationship to everyone at Lone Star bled away. Speed was irrelevant without proper direction. His mind went through that for therest of the sermon, though the pastor moved on to say other things.

The meeting ended, and Henry stood to sing and clap along with everybody else. The music finished, and he turned toward Angel at the same time she looked at him.

“He was great,” Henry said. “I didn’t know that about land surveyors and backsights. Did you?”

“No,” she said. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

He led the way out of the pew, wanting to spend more time with Angel that day, but knowing that she spent the Sabbath with her family. He also wasn’t sure if she wanted them to be seen together. So he simply moved up the aisle and out of the building, basking in the sunshine as it beat down on him.

Angel didn’t come out right behind him, which meant she’d gotten stopped and was probably chatting with someone inside. They hadn’t come together, hadn’t planned to come together, and hadn’t planned to spend any time together today. But Henry still felt a little bit odd just simply walking away from her. He did, because no one could stand outside in this Texas heat for long, but when he got behind the wheel of his truck, he pulled out his phone to text her.

Thanks for letting me sit by you at church today. I didn’t see your momma and hope she’s okay. Let me know if you need anything.He sent that, adjusted the vents to blow more directly at him, and turned up the radio before he headed back to Lone Star.

Along the way, Henry wasn’t even sure if he passed through green lights or red lights. He had no idea what songs played. He shivered before he realized he was cold from the blasting AC, because he’d been thinking about what the pastor had said.

Speed is irrelevant without direction.

Henry really needed to know what direction to go. He could see himself easing easily into the Whites’ way of life at Lone Star.Angel had a cabin; they could get married, and he could move in there with her.

They could raise their family there, shoeing horses and teaching horseback riding lessons for the rest of their lives. His life could definitely go in that direction.

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