Read Online A Carol for Christmas by Robin Lee Hatcher - Free Book Online

singing “Silent Night” since she was a little girl. She knew every note, every word. It also helped that she sang with a pro, a man who’d performed before thousands of people.
    “Heavenly hosts sing alleluia; Christ the Savior is born!
    Christ the Savior is born!”
    As the last strains of the song faded, Carol opened her eyes. For a few moments, the sanctuary was dead silent. Suddenly, wonderfully, the congregation began to applaud. Softly at first, then louder and louder.
    “Thank you, Carol,” Travis said, raising his voice enough for her to hear over the clapping. “That was beautiful.” He offered his arm once again.
    She took hold, smiling, her ears filled with the continu- ing applause.
    “Is there anything more wonderful,” Cal Matthews said from the pulpit, “than voices lifted in praise to our Lord?” Carol felt a catch in her spirit as Travis escorted her down the steps. Was that what she’d done? Had her voice been lifted in praise? Had she thought of the Lord as she sang the beloved carol? Or had she thought only of herself and the way she sounded to others? Was it joy she’d felt . . .
    or pride?
    Q

    Carol was quiet on the drive home from church, and Jonathan didn’t have the courage to attempt a conversation. What if she said something he wasn’t ready to hear?
    She’d looked so beautiful as she sang “Silent Night,” her eyes closed, her face tilted upward. Her auburn hair had turned fiery red beneath the lights of the altar area. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought she and Travis had sung together for years.
    What she’d wanted — the singing career, the record deals, the fame, all the dreams she’d shared with him when they first met — was within her grasp. Jonathan sensed it, deep in his soul.
    Lord , don’t let me lose her. Show me what to do. Tell me
    what to say.
    But all he heard in reply was the fearful beating of his own heart.

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    Cbaplez _!)

    C

    arol was exhausted by the time she arrived at the Monday evening rehearsal. But her weariness didn’t
    come from physical exertion. It came from a spiritual wres- tling match not yet finished.
    There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
    Jesus . Isn’t that what the Bible said? Yes. In Romans. She’d read it in her devotions last week. So why did she feel guilty? Why did she feel condemned? What was so wrong with singing?
    Nothing. It wasn’t singing that was the problem, and she knew it. The problem was her motivation, her secret desire for something she didn’t have. In the deepest corner of her heart, she wanted to sing for all the wrong reasons. She wanted fame. She wanted glory. She wanted a life she didn’t have now.
    Rebellion welled in her heart, stacking bricks of silence between her and Jonathan in a growing wall.
    Carol entered the fellowship hall with her thoughts churning. She discovered she was the last to arrive. “I’m sorry.” She glanced at her watch. “Am I late?”
    Travis waved her forward. “No, you’re not late. The rest of us were early.”
    Carol pulled off her knit cap and stuffed it into her pocket before removing her coat and laying it on a folding chair. When she turned around, she found Travis coming toward her.
    He held out his hand, a white card held between his thumb and index finger. “I brought this for you.”
    “What is it?”
    “My agent’s business card.”
    She hesitated, heart fluttering, then took it from him. “I talked to Ken earlier today and told him you might
    give him a call. He’s hoping you will.”
    Could this be happening? Was Travis Thompson really telling her to call his talent agent? He’d mentioned it the night of the party, but it seemed too good to be true.
    It must be God’s will for her to have this information. It must be God’s will for her to pursue a singing career in Nashville. Otherwise, why would He cause Travis to give her this business card?
    The Bible said that God would