She adapted to limitations better than he did.
James watched Rae carry in her briefcase from the car, noticed the way she moved, using the cane he had bought her to keep her balance as she came up the steps. The unsteadiness was not improving with time, was still made worse with fatigue. James was worried about her going back to work, but also dreading the options she was considering.
They had spent the morning installing a second handrail for her staircase, then she had gone to meet Gary, Dave and York for lunch, while he painted the trim.
He held open the front door for her.
She smiled as she got to the top of the stairs, slightly out of breath. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
She paused at the bottom of the stairs. “This looks nice, James.”
James agreed. The fresh coat of paint looked good. “I was just cleaning the brushes,” he remarked, moving back to the kitchen. Rae joined him. “How did the lunch go?” he asked, turning back on the water.
Rae found a cold soda on the bottom shelf of the fridge and offered him one also. When he nodded, she opened it for him, then set it down on the counter beside him. She leaned against the cabinets beside him. “Will you really be upset with me if I sell the business?”
James didn’t know how to answer that question. He hated the idea, but he certainly understood why she was considering it. “I wouldn’t want you to do it because of me, Rae,” he finally said.
She nodded, staring at the soda can for a long time. “The business doesn’t leave time for a relationship, James. That’s the bottom line of it. I have seen you more since the accident than I did for all the months before it.”
She sighed and turned so she could touch his arm. “You still want to be a builder, but the illness says you can’t right now. For the first time, I’m facing a limitation that says the business may not be the best thing for me to do. I want to sell the business so I can avoid the fatigue, so I can continue to have time to write. But I have to be honest, our relationship is also one of the reasons I want to sell. I don’t want to give up my time with you.”
James dried his hands, reached over and pulled her into a hug, careful of her healing ribs. “Rae, forget what I said in the past about your schedule and my energy. I’m not going anywhere. I love you. Do you really want to sell the business? Are you going to regret it in six months?”
Her hands slipped up to his shoulders. “I really want to sell the business.”
“Then sell it.” He leaned down and kissed her. “It will make a honeymoon easier to schedule,” he offered. James watched her blush and found it endearing. He tipped her chin up with one finger, unable to contain his soft laughter. “Rae, I’ve just been waiting for you to recover before I hit you with my timetable. Marry me. I’ve got the chapel reserved for the twenty-fifth.”
She pushed away from him. “Four weeks?”
“See any reason to wait?”
“Besides a dress, invitations, flowers and the rest…no.”
He leaned down and kissed her again, felt her hands curl into his shirt as she leaned into him. He reluctantly broke the kiss so they could breathe. “Good. Lace, Patricia and my mom will help with the arrangements.”
Her arms slid around his waist so she could carefully hug him. “I can’t believe you already reserved the chapel.”
He chuckled. “I reserved it for the last Saturday of every month for the rest of the year,” he assured her. “You’re going to marry me.”
He felt her laughter. “Were you nervous I would say no?”
“With Lace and Dave around? It was never a possibility.” He smiled as he brushed her hair back from her face. “But Dave figured you might play hard to get.”
She leaned back. “Did he?”
“Now Rae, go gentle with him. I figure his turn is coming with Lace.”
“Absolutely.”
“I love you, Rae. I’m sorry it took an accident to make me realize what I was walking away from.”
She gently traced his face with her hand, her expression serious. “It’s okay. I understand better what it is like to have good days and bad days. If you can put up with my cooking, I can adapt to a slower pace of life and quiet evenings.”
“You’re being kind.”
“No, I’m not. I love you.”
James kissed her. “Not as much as I love you.”
Rae grinned and rested her hands on his chest. “How much do you love me, on a scale of one to a hundred?”
James considered the question, smiling at her. “Maybe…about ninety-nine.”
“What?”
She giggled as he teased her with another kiss.
“I still love Africa,” he replied, being fair.
“Would you show it to me someday? Your clinics and your kids?”
James took his time with the next kiss. “It would be my pleasure.”
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
James Graham’s life plan was thrown off course and he doubted his next steps. In what ways have plans you’ve envisioned differed from where God has ultimately led you? How did you open your heart to God’s leading?
Rachel allowed work to fill the gaps in her life after Leo died. In what ways do people use work, hobbies or other activities to distract them from emotional pain? What advice would you give to those people?
We see James deciding not to “burden” Rachel by discussing with her the pain his injuries is causing him. Have you acted in a similar way toward your spouse or a family member? How did you overcome that reticence?
Rae finds her day job conflicts with her writing time. In what ways have you been forced to choose between hobbies and job commitments? How do you balance your time? What advice would you give to someone in this position?
The book’s theme verse is Psalms 37:4-5—how can you “commit your way to the Lord”?
Rachel’s accident helped crystallize James’s feelings for her. At what moment did you know you loved your spouse or boyfriend? If you haven’t reached that point yet, how do you envision that happening?
Puppies play a significant secondary role in this story—how do pets help people through grief? How was Rachel helped?
Rachel prayed that her friends Dave and Lace would find each other. Have you helped a friend find love? How?
What did chronic pain teach James about God’s love? What lessons can you take from that?
Rachel loves to write, even though she believes she’ll never be published. Do you have any hobbies you simply do for fun? What got you into them?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5761-4
GOD’S GIFT
Copyright © 1998 by Dee Henderson
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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Dee Henderson, God's Gift
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