House of Cards, Part Seven

The TV program was over.  Jake looked over at her and studied her for a moment, as if he was about to say something.  Monique gave him a smile.

“Why are you being nice to me?”  There: he’d said it.  Better to know the truth and get it over with.  He braced himself for the answer.

“Oh Jake, the most wonderful thing has happened to me.”

“Are you in love with someone else, Monique?  Are you having an affair?”  Jake couldn’t help himself.  He had to know.

Monique’s mouth flew open and her eyes registered shocked surprise.  Now he felt ashamed he’d even asked the question.

“No way, Jake!  She reached over and put a hand on his arm. 

He pulled away. 

“I’m not in love with anyone else and I’m not having an affair!  Why would you think that?”  Monique's lips began to tremble.

Jake stood up and got another beer from the fridge. 

* * *   

Monique’s eyes filled with tears.  “The most wonderful thing I’m talking about is what happened to me about a month ago here in the living room.  

“I feel so afraid and alone when you’re drunk or high, Jake.  Four weeks ago I was feeling like that when you came home drunk and high and yelled at Gib.  I was desperate for help, and didn’t know what to do.  That night I remembered my grandmother saying that a home without the foundation of Jesus is like living in a house of cards.  I asked God to help me.  Then I thought of my Bible I used to read in High School, and I found it in the basement in a box from our last move.  When I opened my Bible, a letter fell out.  Would you like to read it?”



When Jake didn’t say “yes” or “no”, she opened the TV cabinet door, got her Bible, found the letter and handed it to him.  Monique waited in silence as he read.  She prayed silently.  What should I say to him, Jesus? Help me to say it in the right way.  Help me to speak the truth in love.  Please work in his heart to accept Your truth, too.

As he finished the letter, Jake kept his head lowered.  When he looked up, there were tears in his eyes.  “If this is really true, why didn’t someone tell me about Jesus sooner?  I didn’t know He paid for all my sins.  The foster parents I had told me to ‘do this, don’t do that, because the Bible says so’, but nobody ever told me Jesus loved me or paid for my sins.  I could never be good enough to please my foster parents.  Seemed they were always upset with me.”

Monique asked, “May I show you the Scripture I read when I asked Jesus to save me from my sins?”

Jake looked at her as she turned to Romans 10:9-10 and read it aloud.  Would you like to pray to receive Jesus for yourself?”  Monique held her breath.  Surely the Holy Spirit was at work in her husband.

“Yes, I would, Monique; yes I would.”

In a broken voice, Jake began to speak to God in a child-like way.  “God, I’ve made a mess of my life; please clean me up and give me a new life.  I surrender my life to You and say You are my Lord too, like Monique here.  Help me be a good husband and forgive all my sins.  I didn’t know you paid for all my sins.  I thought I had to be good so You’d love me.  Thank You for paying for all my sins.”

In her own heart, Monique was praising and thanking God.  Rachel taught her that Scripture says God's kind of love never fails. This had to be the secret of winning a spouse over to the Lord, just like that fellow Peter in the Bible said.  I can't wait to tell Rachel!

As they stood to their feet, a new husband and a new wife embraced each other. They had exchanged their house of cards for the new beginnings of a house built on the Rock, Christ Jesus.

                                                                ~ ~ ~

Copyright © 2012 Elaine Beachy