Read Online A Chance at Love by T. K. Chapin - Free Book Online

from my lungs. Releasing me, he said, “When did this happen?”
    “When I was at my grandma’s house for those weeks.”
    “That’s where you were?”
    “Yeah. I’m sorry if you ever felt offended by anything I said previously. I know I was a little harsh with the Christian faith.”
    He shook his head. “It’s all good. We’re family now. You are washed by the blood!”
    I smiled. “Thanks, man.”
    “Can you two get back to work instead of making out over here?” Jessica scolded from the cutting table a few steps away.
    “We’ll go fold boxes,” Mike said.
    We both left and went back to fold boxes out of earshot of her. As we arrived to the cardboard that was stacked in the back, I said, “Man, she’s so difficult to work for!”
    He laughed as he handed me a stack of cardboard. “Forget her, man. She’s powerless over us.”
    “Can I ask you an honest question?”
    Mike tipped his chin and asked, “Is there such thing as a dishonest question?”
    I laughed. “I don’t know.”
    “Go ahead. What’s your question?”
    Glancing over my shoulder toward the front where Jessica was, I asked, “How come you stay here?”
    He stopped and looked at me. “I like the time I have driving around. Gives me time with the Lord.”
    “I don’t want to offend you by asking you something.”
    He started folding boxes and stacking them. “Pretty hard to offend me. Go for it.”
    “Don’t you want to do more with your life than . . . delivering pizzas?”
    “I do more than this,” he replied.
    “Really?”
    “Yeah. I run a men’s ministry full-time out of my home church. It’s to empower men to be more godly.”
    “Why do you stay here?” I asked as I folded boxes along with him.
    “The ministry is rather small . . . I don’t make a whole lot from it.”
    “You’re okay with that?”
    “Of course. I’m not concerned about living comfortably here on earth, man. I’m investing in my future.”
    “Future?”
    He nodded. “Eternity. Our life on earth is so small in the grand scheme of things. I’m more focused on the beyond. Glory. That’s what I’m working for, and I’m fulfilled.”
    “I’d love to come check it out sometime.”
    “We meet at the abandoned grocery store off Francis on Thursday nights at seven. We’d love to have you.”
    “Toss & Save?”
    “Yep.”
    “I thought that burned down in that crazy fire a few years back.”
    “It did for the most part, but there was part of the structure that stayed intact. We were able to get an electrician to sign off on it, and it’s rent-free since the owner is part of the group and volunteered the space. Before that, we were in a school’s gymnasium.”
    “Wow.”
    He smiled. “God’s doing a great work with those men there.”
    “That’s really neat.”
    Mike’s perspective on life was like nothing I had ever come across before. He was fully invested in the afterlife, not this earthly life. Mike made me realize that an eternal perspective was more important.
    “Hey, man,” Mike said, stopping again.
    “Yeah?”
    “I know you’re all worried about school, work and so on. But if you just commit that stuff to the Lord, He will provide. You won’t be slinging pizzas forever. I know that. You gotta trust that God will provide.”
    I nodded.
    “Stick that nose of yours in the Bible and keep praying. God will lead your steps.”

CHAPTER 9
    T he next morning, I spent a half hour playing video games, but I kept thinking about what Mike had said the night before. Shutting off the TV, I went over and pulled my grandpa’s Bible down from my bookshelf and opened it up.
    Sitting on the end of my bed, I began flipping through the pages and came to the book of Proverbs. Mike mentioned it last night, and he said it was the book of wisdom in the Bible. Starting in chapter one, I began to read through the highlighted verses and jumped all around. My grandfather had highlighted much and written notes on every page.
    A verse spoke to my