Page 92 of One Last Chance

Barry nodded. “Faith is believing even when you don’t feel like it. You really think that God doesn’t care even after he sent Axel to save you? Or sent you to save Axel?”

“If we’re really honest, God saved me.”

“I guess I don’t know what I think.”

“God still holds us accountable for what we refuse to see.”

Her mouth opened. Closed. “Okay, sure. He shows up when he wants . . . how he wants. But that’s certainly not someone you cantrust.”

“So you only want to trust someone who does what you want.”

She sighed. “Listen. It’s not that I need God to do what I want?—”

“Because you’re in charge.”

Her mouth tightened. “I don’t need to be in charge, but . . . I just want to know that . . . everything is going to . . . Fine, yes, I’d like to be in charge, thank you. If I was, people wouldn’t go missing or get shot at or crash on a mountain?—”

“And they’d never see the salvation of the Lord.”

“They wouldn’t need it.”

“I don’t think a world where we don’t need God is possible.” He had taken a step back and leaned against the table. “Because if you’re in charge, then what if . . . I want to be in charge, or Dodge, or Moose—who wins?’

“It was metaphorical.”

“No, it’s not. That war is going on all the time. In politics, in governments, in the lives of communities and families, and even in your own heart. Who is worthy to be in charge of our lives—your life? That’s a lot of responsibility.”

She looked past him, out to the storm moving over the mountains, the jagged peaks splicing through the clouds. “At least I know what’s best for myself.”

“Do you?” He reached over and picked up his glasses. Put them on. “I was a bush pilot for the better part of forty years. And then my eyesight went south and I crashed my plane.” His eyes focused on her. “And because of it, my sons had to come home, one by one, reckon with this place and, as a result, their past. See, a terrible fight in our family ripped it apart, and I’d prayed for years for God to put us back together. If I was in charge, I would never have crashed my plane. But God, in his wisdom, used the crash to heal our family.”

“Are you saying he caused the crash?”

“As much as you can blame the maker of the wind. But I also live in a body that is decaying—it’s destined to decay. We’re not meant to live forever. So, could God have healed my eyesight? Absolutely. Did he use the natural order to breathe new life into our family? Yes. When God is in control, even death and decay can turn into good.”

His voice softened. “You said you came here to find your sister. Why?”

“Because I . . . I . . . Fine, I feel like she’s alive.”

“So, you have faith?”

“I have hope.”

“The devil wants to keep our eyes on the finite, the problems, the pain, the feeling that if we let go of control, everything will spiral out and become chaos. But God says, ‘Trust me.’ He is not a God of chaos but peace. And when we trust him, we can know he will be with us, here in the valley or up on the mountain or even in the depths of the sea. And it will be good, even if it doesn’t feel that way.”

The radio behind him crackled.

He picked up the mic but glanced at her. “Faith isn’t weakness. Faith is aligning yourself with true power. True control.”

“Sky King Base, this is Air One Rescue chopper, come in.”

Moose. Her eyes burned.

“Go ahead, Air One Rescue, this is Sky King Base.”

“We made an emergency landing on the mountain. All souls accounted for. No casualties. We’re sitting in a drift, however, so it might be a bit before we can get out.”

“Confirmed. Hank wants to know if he should send rangers to your position.”

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