down for his morning devotions, and words from his reading jumped out at him: “Leave the boat, all of you.”
He blinked, read the words again, and broke into a grin. He supposed there was a message in that somewhere. He read the whole chapter, but nothing stood out except those six words.
Yeah, well, that’s what he got for thinking he could just open the Bible and get a word from God.
During the week, he read the entire book of Genesis, and still that same verse kept coming back to him, over and over, like maddening song lyrics that wouldn’t go away.
It wasn’t until he met with his sisters that it made sense. Annie arrived that afternoon, so they came to Dan’s for dinner. After putting the kids to bed, the three of them gathered in the library.
Annie had barely shut the door when Kyla jumped in. “Okay, Avidan, what’s your verse?”
He fidgeted, scooting to the edge of the couch cushion. “I’d rather one of you went first. Mine is a bit … odd.”
“Odd or not—” Kyla sank into the cushion next to him—“let’s hear it.”
Dan started to argue with her, then sighed, watching Annie take her usual spot, perching on the arm of the couch. “Okay. You asked for it. My verse is Genesis 8:16. It says, ‘Leave the boat, all of you.’ ”
Their reactions weren’t even close to what he’d expected.He thought they’d laugh, maybe tease him. Instead, they just stared, first at him, then at each other.
Kyla swallowed. “Well. That settles it.”
Dan frowned. “Settles what?”
Annie looked at her sister. “Yours, too, huh?”
Resignation glimmered in Kyla’s green eyes. “I kept hoping I got it wrong.”
“Me, too. I mean, mine didn’t quite fit with what I thought God was saying, but now—” Annie folded her hands in her lap—“it makes sense.”
Dan crossed his arms and stared at his sisters. “You two care to let me in on the secret?”
Annie folded her knees to her chest. “Go ahead, Kyla.”
She turned to Dan, and he wondered at the hint of sadness in her eyes. “My verse is Acts 7:3. ‘God told him, “Leave your native land and your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.” ’ ”
Dan’s mouth fell open.
“Annot?”
Annie followed her sister’s lead. “My verse is John 14:16. ‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.’ ”
It didn’t take a genius to put it all together: The change they needed was a move.
As hard as it was to even consider the idea—to imagine leaving the home he and Sarah had made or the sisters who meant so much to him—Dan had to admit he felt a certainty, deep inside, that it was the right thing to do.
The first confirmation came in the form of a job opening posted on the wall at work. Dan seldom looked at the job postings, but today he was drawn to them. And one sheet in particular caught his eyes. It was a job description for a sheriff’s deputy in a rural mountain community about an hour north. Dan read the sheet three times. Each time his heart beat a little faster.
Finally he stuck his head in his boss’s office, dangling the job description in front of him. “What’s this?”
John Grayson, Jackson County’s sheriff, looked up, one bushy brow lifting. “What? You forget how to read?”
Dan stepped inside the office. “No, I mean … we don’t have deputies in those mountain communities.”
“Yeah, well, we do now. Or we will, when they fill the position.”
Dan frowned. “How? I thought the county couldn’t afford—”
“They couldn’t. But some rich guy decided he wanted to donate money for a new program to get deputies to those remote areas, and this is where the county decided to start. So, the money’s there. All they need is a deputy.”
Dan looked down at the paper. “I want to apply.” He didn’t know who was more surprised: Grayson or Dan himself.
The sheriff leaned his arms on the desk in front of him. “Figured you
He blinked, read the words again, and broke into a grin. He supposed there was a message in that somewhere. He read the whole chapter, but nothing stood out except those six words.
Yeah, well, that’s what he got for thinking he could just open the Bible and get a word from God.
During the week, he read the entire book of Genesis, and still that same verse kept coming back to him, over and over, like maddening song lyrics that wouldn’t go away.
It wasn’t until he met with his sisters that it made sense. Annie arrived that afternoon, so they came to Dan’s for dinner. After putting the kids to bed, the three of them gathered in the library.
Annie had barely shut the door when Kyla jumped in. “Okay, Avidan, what’s your verse?”
He fidgeted, scooting to the edge of the couch cushion. “I’d rather one of you went first. Mine is a bit … odd.”
“Odd or not—” Kyla sank into the cushion next to him—“let’s hear it.”
Dan started to argue with her, then sighed, watching Annie take her usual spot, perching on the arm of the couch. “Okay. You asked for it. My verse is Genesis 8:16. It says, ‘Leave the boat, all of you.’ ”
Their reactions weren’t even close to what he’d expected.He thought they’d laugh, maybe tease him. Instead, they just stared, first at him, then at each other.
Kyla swallowed. “Well. That settles it.”
Dan frowned. “Settles what?”
Annie looked at her sister. “Yours, too, huh?”
Resignation glimmered in Kyla’s green eyes. “I kept hoping I got it wrong.”
“Me, too. I mean, mine didn’t quite fit with what I thought God was saying, but now—” Annie folded her hands in her lap—“it makes sense.”
Dan crossed his arms and stared at his sisters. “You two care to let me in on the secret?”
Annie folded her knees to her chest. “Go ahead, Kyla.”
She turned to Dan, and he wondered at the hint of sadness in her eyes. “My verse is Acts 7:3. ‘God told him, “Leave your native land and your relatives, and come to the land that I will show you.” ’ ”
Dan’s mouth fell open.
“Annot?”
Annie followed her sister’s lead. “My verse is John 14:16. ‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you.’ ”
It didn’t take a genius to put it all together: The change they needed was a move.
As hard as it was to even consider the idea—to imagine leaving the home he and Sarah had made or the sisters who meant so much to him—Dan had to admit he felt a certainty, deep inside, that it was the right thing to do.
The first confirmation came in the form of a job opening posted on the wall at work. Dan seldom looked at the job postings, but today he was drawn to them. And one sheet in particular caught his eyes. It was a job description for a sheriff’s deputy in a rural mountain community about an hour north. Dan read the sheet three times. Each time his heart beat a little faster.
Finally he stuck his head in his boss’s office, dangling the job description in front of him. “What’s this?”
John Grayson, Jackson County’s sheriff, looked up, one bushy brow lifting. “What? You forget how to read?”
Dan stepped inside the office. “No, I mean … we don’t have deputies in those mountain communities.”
“Yeah, well, we do now. Or we will, when they fill the position.”
Dan frowned. “How? I thought the county couldn’t afford—”
“They couldn’t. But some rich guy decided he wanted to donate money for a new program to get deputies to those remote areas, and this is where the county decided to start. So, the money’s there. All they need is a deputy.”
Dan looked down at the paper. “I want to apply.” He didn’t know who was more surprised: Grayson or Dan himself.
The sheriff leaned his arms on the desk in front of him. “Figured you
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