Read Online Learning by Karen Kingsbury - Free Book Online Page B

fling it across the room or at least toss it under her bed, she hesitated. He was part of her past. The picture was no different than the ones of her family and her kitty, Gus … no different than the one of Andi Ellison and her, or the photo of Tim Reed from their time in
Scrooge
a few winters back. Just an old friend who made up a piece of her past.
    Nothing more.
    Fine. She would leave the picture up. But still as she turned her attention to the Scriptures she felt the bitterness of his rejection, the hurt of his betrayal. He had promised he’d be her friend always, but now … now he didn’t act like she was alive.
    A long sigh rattled up from her chest, and she focused on the words before her. They were both familiar and comforting:
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near.
    Bailey stopped. Always when she had read this section of Philippians, she had felt reassured by that last line. Be gentle because God was close by. It made her realize that as a believer, she would never be alone — no matter how difficult life became. But here … for the first time, the words screamed an entirely different message.
    What are you trying to tell me, Lord … that I need to be more gentle?
    There was no response, but Bailey tried to imagine how her heart and soul must’ve looked a minute ago when she was thinking the most angry thoughts at Cody Coleman. God didn’t want her to be angry … He wanted her to be gentle. In this moment, that was the message of Philippians 4:5, Bailey was absolutely certain. And the only way to be gentle was to forgive him.
    She closed her Bible and stared at the picture of Cody again. Tears stung at her eyes, but she blinked them away. Suddenly her anger and inability to forgive him felt like a mountain resting on her chest … making it hard to feel gentle about anything. Amazing that after a fun Skype date with Brandon she could still feel so upset by Cody.
    Dear Lord, I don’t want to hold anything against him … but I can feel it in my heart … I’m still so mad. So hurt.
    Then some of her anger melted away.
    Let your gentleness be evident to all, daughter … I am with you always.
    God was speaking to her, she had no doubt. He was using the Bible — the way He often did when she prayed — making His will known to her by bringing a verse to mind. The realization was sobering. She couldn’t hold a grudge against Cody and be gentle at the same time.
    Bailey drew a slow breath and relaxed a little as she exhaled. If she was going to deal with her anger toward Cody she would have to start somewhere. Maybe if he were out of sight, she wouldn’t think about him. The way he clearly didn’t think about her. This time, without second-guessing herself, she did the only thing she could do.
    She took Cody’s photo and dropped to her knees. Then she gently sent it sliding beneath her pretty bed, all the way up againstthe opposite floorboard. That way she wouldn’t have to look at his face again.
    Even if she wanted to.
    C ODY HAD STARTED HIS FACEBOOK PAGE for two reasons: to update the kids at Lyle High about the football program … and to keep them posted on Cheyenne’s progress. Cody sat in his bed, his legs stretched out, his laptop open. Facebook also gave him a chance to keep up on his players, all of whom were his friends on the social media site now.
    He clicked to Arnie Hurley’s page. Arnie was a senior, the starting quarterback. But his profile picture looked like something from a honeymoon album. He and his girlfriend, arms around each other, the two of them locked in a significant kiss — the sort of kiss that could lead any guy to places he didn’t really want to go. “Nice,” Cody muttered, frustrated. He’d have to have a talk with Arnie. Rumor was the kid was sneaking into his girlfriend’s room every other night. Cody hadn’t believed that until now.
    Cody clicked out of Arnie’s profile and opened