Page 17 of Hidden Depths

“That’s okay. You can repeat after me if that makes it easier.”

Voices boomed into the room from the open door, and Sara and Margaret looked up to see a woman enter with three kids. The two-year-old sprinted up the aisle toward Jerry, who put his guitar aside in time for the child to spring into his lap.

“Morning, ladies,” the newcomer said as she passed.

“Morning, Rach,” Margaret said before turning back to Sara. “It’s going to get busy in here soon. We don’t have to do this, but it will transform your life. It will set you free. That I can promise you.”

A tear escaped Sara’s eye, tracing a path down her cheek. “Does it still count if I do it because I don’t know how else to deal with the fear I have every single day?”

Margaret’s cheek twitched against the clench of her teeth. “You never told me what you battled with. And you don’t have to tell me why, but fear is the enemy, and Jesus defeated the enemy when He rose from the grave. You came here to this town to run away. I figured out that much. But you’ve used fear for far too long to be your protector. It’s time for you to rely on something else.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“Then why don’t you pray with me?”

“Do you think I’m ready?”

“It’s not about being ready. You may never feel truly ready. But is it what you want?”

“This is a big deal.”

“It is.”

“But it’s what I want.”

* * *

As Sara repeated the prayer Margaret spoke, it became difficult to speak the words. She struggled with a wavering voice long enough to complete the prayer, and when they finished, the restrained sobs broke loose.

Margaret led her out of the room and into one Sara had never been in. At one point, she felt another hand helping her along, but her eyes were blurred by tears.

The service began somewhere on the other side of the wall. The muffled music brought an undercurrent to the room that added potency. Sara wept as years of pain poured from her, and the fear that had kept her chained was released.

The music quieted as Sara’s tears receded. She wiped at her face with the tissues that had been stuffed in her hand.

Margaret rubbed her back. “How’re you doing?”

“Better,” Sara said through her blocked nose. “I think I’ll have a headache all day from the crying, but I’d rather that any time.”

“Today was the day.”

“It certainly was. I’m finally free. There’s nothing left to fear.”

Chapter6

Tom pulledup the collar of his trench coat as the icy rain stung the back of his neck when he got out of the Uber at the airport.

He may not have been happy about taking this trip, but the cold snap had persisted all week as he tied up loose ends at work, and he couldn’t say he was sorry to see the end of it.

After dragging his suitcase from the car, he hurried for cover, taking a moment to shake off his coat before heading inside.

A family passed him with a screaming child. The mom was frantically trying to shush the boy while he thrashed, and she was forced to half-drag him inside.

Tom moved his jaw to release it from the clench and smoothed the grimace from his face. It wasn’t that he had a problem with kids, but maybe Armstrong was right. Maybe he did need this vacation. He may have framed it like it was HR’s problem, but they both knew it was a ploy to get Tom out of the office for a few weeks.

The one thing that had impressed Tom was how clever his boss had been. He certainly had not seen it coming from that angle. But he couldn’t begrudge the man. A few weeks in the tropics would be a nice change. No suspension went on his record, and he’d be straight back to work as soon as he returned.

Entering through the sliding doors, he pulled out his phone, bringing his plane ticket onto the screen.

---