Page 69 of An Irish Kiss
“That’s okay with you?”
She nodded.“And then if you’re around tomorrow we could maybe visit church together.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
“Ahem.”
He glanced at the end of the aisle where Mary stood.
“Now, Aidan, when you get a minute I’d love to know what else you have discovered about the Quinns.”
He nodded, then glanced back at Rory.Some of the brightness in her face had faded.
And he remembered that for all their flirting they weren’t quite out of the woods yet.Not by any means.Which meant God was going to have to make a way.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
It was one thing to sit in church and sing songs about trusting God.It was quite another to actually do it.And while Aidan’s attention yesterday had nearly hit the euphoric heights of Friday, she still couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.Unease that had started with Mary’s comment, and slithered into her awareness since.
What should she do?She couldn’t help but overhear some of Mary’s discussion, and it seemed Aidan had consulted a lawyer.Just as she had.
And while she didn’t want this to come between them, she couldn’t see a way forward.Which meant God would really need to produce some more of His miracle-working power for this to work out.
Aidan, sitting next to her on the far end of the church pew, seemed to sense her inner turmoil and clasped her hand.She shot him a small smile, but still the thoughts kept pecking.
Lord, how do I not worry?
The minister advised people to turn to the book of Philippians, chapter four.She released Aidan’s hand to do so.Mam glanced at her, shooting Rory an upraised brow look.She probably should have explained to her last night just what happened, but she’d been enjoying living in this bubble, where only he and she—and Aisling—seemed to know what was going on.So she’d tell her.Today.
“Now in verses six and seven, we see the apostle Paul’s encouragement for us to ‘not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus’.Amen.”
“Amen,” she echoed.
“So what are we encouraged to do?Pray, praise, and present.Whatever our circumstances, good or bad, we are to commit each situation to God in prayer.And know that He hears our prayers.And that bit about petition?Each time you worry or feel anxious pray about it again.Praying is the opposite of worry.If you’re praying, then you’re not worrying, especially if you’re thanking and praising God at the same time.Worry is so often our fleshly self-centred response to what we feel or what wethinkwe see, and we all know that what we think we see or feel is not necessarily based in reality.”
Amen.
“So when we’re anxious, and I include myself in this, let’s remember who our Heavenly Father is, and remember His goodness, and His love, and His faithfulness, and who He is.When our focus is on these things, we leave a lot less room for worry to sneak in.I think that’s why Paul goes on in verse eight to tell us to think about whatever is true and noble and right and pure and lovely and admirable.Because when we’re thinking about these good things, when we’re thinking about how good our God is, we’re starting to train our brain and our hearts to see things as God does.And so there’s less room for those things that concern us or distract us from God’s purposes.Instead of worry, we’re focused on who God is and His promises to us.”
Aidan glanced at her, and she found a smile.
“And the last point, the one about presenting our requests?Give it to Him.Begin the practice of leaving things at the foot of the cross.The devil wants us worried about many things.God wants us to keep our eyes focused on Him, on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.Give your anxieties to God, and don’t be tempted to pick them back up again.Leave it there once and for all.And each time you’re tempted to pick them up remember to thank and praise Him that He’s faithful, that He loves you, and He has good plans for you.Continue to think on all that is good, lovely and true, right, excellent and praiseworthy, like it says in verse eight.And God promises, Hepromises, that the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.He will give us peace, like a deep tranquillity in our soul, because we know our God is good.God’s going to protect you, that’s His promise.It’s like He puts those who trust him in ‘protective custody’ where tranquillity runs to the core as they know that nothing can really harm them.God loves you.You can trust Him.Amen.”
“Amen,” she softly echoed.
Mr.McGuigan closed the service in prayer, and she took a moment to fully release her cares to God.She knew God cared for them.He’d proved His faithfulness over the years, so many times, especially when her father had died.She knew she could trust Him.So she would trust Him with it all.
* * *
“That was a great service,”Aidan said as they mingled outside the church.
“Mr.McGuigan always delivers something powerful but punchy.”
He nodded.“I’ve been in a few church services where people have been a little inclined to think the longer they talk the more they might impress God.”He glanced at Mam.“Not that I mean to sound judgy.It’s just my experience that people can tend to switch off after much more than twenty minutes.”
“Do they have short attention spans in Australia?”Aisling teased.
