The Other Side of Darkness by Melody Carlson Read Free Book Online Page A

for me. Plus I had this amazing peace—a peace I’d never experienced before. I knew it was real, and I knew it was from God.
    Rick had wanted to name our firstborn son Taylor, but I insisted on a biblical name: Matthew, after the first gospel in the Bible, which I’d just started to read. And I secretly hoped to have three more sons, whom I would subsequently name Mark and Luke and John, after the other gospels. Rick should be thankful that wehad only girls after that. But we were happy back then. Life was simpler. And we were in love.
    Cheered by those old memories, I smile to myself as I drive through the business section of town. Things will be better now. My mother’s check is safely zipped in my purse, and life is, once again, under control. I park in front of the bank and go inside. I don’t like using the drive-up window; I worry that the teller will make a mistake or money will get lost in that strange black tube. I carefully fill out the deposit form, putting most of the check into our account, enough to cover my recent “errors.” But I take the remainder out in cash, asking for fives and tens, which I hide in the zipper pocket of my purse.
    I have no idea why I need small bills or why I need to hide it. But I do it anyway. Maybe it’s the Holy Spirit guiding me. Just today Pastor Glenn said that the Holy Spirit often urges us to do the unexpected. I feel a huge sense of relief as I drive away from the bank. But as I get closer to home, I realize that this feeling is heavily mixed with guilt.

4
    C olleen and I have grown apart these past few years. At first I thought it was because she and her husband moved to the other side of town. But when I speak to her today, I’m not so sure. I’m afraid that Colleen is falling away from the Lord.
    “I heard you went to that meeting,” she tells me as I wait in the parking lot for the girls to come out of school. Colleen’s twin boys also attend VBF, and she parked her SUV next to my minivan and is now standing by the driver’s side so that I am in essence a prisoner in my own vehicle.
    “How did you hear that?” I ask in a slightly hushed tone, although no one is close enough to overhear our conversation.
    “Ginger.”
    “Oh.” I nod. Ginger has been the church secretary for nearly thirty years, which, she likes to point out, is a lot longer than Pastor Glenn has been there. Ginger is also a good friend of Colleen’s. And, in my opinion, Ginger talks too much.
    “So what’s going on?” Colleen frantically waves at her son Kyle, yelling at him to quit hitting his brother with his backpack.
    I shrug. “Just some planning.”
    “Ginger said that Pastor Glenn is doing something behind the backs of the elders and that they’re not happy about it.”
    “Carl was there.”
    “Everyone knows Carl is Pastor Glenn’s puppet.”
    I turn and stare at her. “That’s not a very Christlike thing to say.”
    She just rolls her eyes, the same way she did in high school. “It’s a well-known fact.”
    I sigh deeply, trying to think of a kind way to reprimand my old friend.
    “I don’t see why you’re so loyal to Pastor Glenn. Can’t you see he’s tearing this church down with all his so-called words, which are really just false accusations? He’s going too far. And it’s just a matter of time before the council and elders toss him out.”
    “You shouldn’t talk like that, Colleen. It’s disrespectful.”
    “I’m just calling a spade a spade. Church attendance is way down. Lots of parents have removed their kids from the school. Glenn Pratt is tearing this place apart, and unless you’ve got your head in a hole, you know it’s true.”
    “Just because a few people have been offended?”
    “Not just a few people, Ruth. Sure, only a handful were publicly rebuked. But Glenn has torn more than a few apart in private, including my own husband!”
    “Are you serious?” I study Colleen carefully. She’s always been a bit of a drama queen, but I