Chapter 1

© Copyright 2004 by Kimberly Jones

�And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is love.�

- I Corinthians 13:13

Tears ran down Sharon Harris face as she thought about the future that lies ahead of her. She was so afraid, that she didn�t know what to do. She was twenty-five years old, and she would no longer live in her parent�s house, and she didn�t have a clue to what lay ahead for her and her daughter.

�Mommy, look what Nana gave me,� Constance Harris said as she ran into the room holding a brown teddy bear with a smile on her face. �Mommy, are you crying?�

Sharon quickly wiped her face with the back of her hands, �Yes, baby, but it�s only because I�m going to miss living here.�

�I know. I�m going to miss it too,� Constance said as she hugged her mother. �Nana said that I can have my birthday party here when I turn nine, but only if it is okay with you. Can I, Mama?�

�It�s may I, and of course you can, but that�s next year. Why are we talking about your birthday so early?�

�Because, I can�t wait until I�m nine. Then I�ll be in the fourth grade.�

�Yes, I know,� Sharon, said with a smile. �Do you have everything packed?�

�Yes, Ma�am. Oh, look what Nana gave me,� Constance said holding up a brown teddy bear.

�Oh, he is so cute. Have you thought of a name yet?� Sharon said as she looked into her sparkling hazel eyes.

�Yes, I named him Brownie.�

�That�s the perfect name,� Sharon said as she stood up and playfully smacked her daughter on her bottom. �Come on, let�s get these things into the car. We have a lot of work in head of us.�

�Okay, Mommy,� Constance said as she took off running.

Sharon looked around the room one last time, but this time with a smile. She had her good days and her bad days in this room. She was so thankful that she had understanding parents as she did, or else her and Constance never would have made it. She wouldn�t have gotten her Associates Degree as an Administrative Assistant, and they wouldn�t have a place to stay or better yet, food to eat.

�You, know, you are always welcome to come and spend the night anytime,� Joyce Harris said as she walked into the room.

�I know,� Sharon turned around and looked at her mother. Her salt and pepper hair and dark brown eyes and caramel colored skin made her all the more beautiful. Many people say that she looked like her mother and deep inside, she was proud. �This is the first time, I�m out on my own, but I know with the Lord�s help, we�ll make it.�

�Here, I have something for you,� Joyce said as she brought forth a book that was in her hand. �It�s a journal. Whenever you feel the need to write, write it in here. I know that there are some things that you will not be able to tell Connie, but at least you�ll be able to get it off your chest.�

�Thanks, Mom. I�m finally going into this world on my own, and I would be lying if I told you I wasn�t scared, but I know that all things work for the glory of God, and he�ll make sure that me and Connie are okay.�

�Yes, you are right, God will definitely be watching over you and my granddaughter,� Joyce said as she gave Sharon a hug and then pulled back to look into her eyes. �Don�t you worry, okay? I don�t know how it is to be a single parent, but if it helps any, you are a very good mother, and Connie loves you to death.�

�Thanks, Mom. I needed to hear that,� she said with tears in her eyes. �Well, I guess I�m ready to go. The movers should be close to the apartments by now, and I got to let them in so I better get going,� Sharon walked out the room and down the stairs and saw her father playing with Constance. She smiled to herself as she tried to hold back the tears while she looked at the only father figure Constance ever known. �Daddy, I�m sorry I have to end your little playing time, but us ladies got to go now.�

Eric Harris stood up tall, and walked to his daughter. �Are you sure you have to go?�

�Yes, Daddy, it�s time I leave. Besides, you and Mom need the room.�

�Room? What room? Me and Joyce are going to have so much room we wouldn�t know what to do with it.�

�Well, this will give you the chance to travel like you always wanted, especially, since me and Sondra are out of your house.�

�Yes, well, you just remember, I didn�t force neither of you out of the house. You girls decided to leave,� he said with a chuckle.

�Yes, I know, and if you look down deep inside, you�ll know that I�m making the right decision.�

�Yeah, but that doesn�t stop me from missing my beautiful ladies,� he said with tears in his eyes. �Come on, let�s pray,� he said as everyone gathered around in a circle holding hands. �Oh, gracious Father in heaven, we come to you to thank you for all that you have blessed us with. We thank you for providing a job for Sharon so that she is now able to begin her life in the will and purpose that you have set forth for her. Lord, as she make this journey we ask that you would guide her Lord, and show her your wonderful plan for her life. Lord, we thank you, and in your precious son�s name Jesus Christ. Amen�

�Thanks, Daddy, you�ve just made me the most blessed woman in the world,� Sharon said with a smile.

*~~~*~~~*

The choir began to sing one of his favorite hymns, and Michael Thomas stood and began to praise the Lord. It�s been four days since his return to Dallas, Texas, and his first day at Sunday service was beginning to be a great start for the week.

Once the singing was over Pastor Tony stood up before the congregation and began to deliver a message that the Lord had prepared for them. He was teaching them how to forgive. Forgiveness was one of the hardest tasks a Christian had to go through, and if a person didn�t forgive, that was like a sin and sin separates a person from God. So forgiveness was very important. Pastor Tony read from Matthew 6 and showed them how important it was for them to forgive. He then showed them Matthew 18, and everyone listened intently knowing that they all had someone to forgive.

Michael searched deep down into his heart and knew that he must forgive his father for not being there for his mother. His mother raised him all on her own, and he thanked God for his mother, but his father, he knew that deep down he was angry with the man. No one knew how he felt when he had to go to a father and son event, but only to have his mother by his side instead. Children would make fun of him, and he tried to act like he didn�t care, but deep down inside it was only fueling the anger and hatred he had toward his father.

There was only one person in the world that he could talk to about how he felt, and it was because of her he had got some of his anger out in the open. Sharon Harris was his one true friend. She was the only person that he could really count on besides his mother.

After he left for college, he found out that she had a baby girl, by Darnell and that hurt him, but it wasn�t as painful when he found out that Darnell left her to take care of the baby all on her own. He could only imagine the pain she felt, and so he prayed for her day and night asking the Lord to strengthen her for the days ahead, and hoping that her heart wouldn�t be filled with bitterness for all men because of what Darnell had done to her.

After the sermon, Michael was greeted by a lot of childhood friends and family members. Many didn�t know that he was in town and was happy that he had returned, and when he saw her, all he could do was smile. She had on a pink summer dress with beautiful purple flowers on it. Her brown and blonde streaked hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, and it was until she was almost in front of him when he realized the pretty little girl walking beside her. She had three long pigtails, and light brown colored skin like her fathers and the most beautiful hazel eyes and long lashes. She was a miniature of her father.

�It is so good to see you. How have you been?� she said once she stood in front of him.

�It�s good to see you too,� he said smiling at her. �Come here and give me a hug,� he reached out and wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her cheek. �I�ve missed you.�

�I�ve missed you too,� she said and then pulled away, �I have someone I would like you to meet. This beautiful little young lady is my daughter Constance, but everyone calls her Connie. Connie, I would like you to meet a long lost friend of mine, Michael Thomas.�

Michael bent at his waist so that he was eye level with Constance, �Hello, Connie, it�s nice to finally meet you, I�ve heard so much about you.�

�It�s nice to meet you too, Mr. Thomas, my Mom told me a lot about you.�

�Oh, she did. I hope they all were good stories,� he smiled as he stood his full height.

�Yes, sir, she told me about how much of a good friend you were to her,� she replied with a smile.

�Well, that�s good to here.�

�So, how long are you staying here?� Sharon asked with a curious expression.

�For good,� he said and wondered if she would accept his proposal, �speaking of which, I really need to talk to you. What are you doing this evening?�

�Well, Mom, is cooking Sunday dinner and everyone is going over there to watch movies, and eat.�

�Would it be okay if I come and see you, say�Monday evening. Me, you and the little princess could go out for some pizza or something.�

�Okay, that sounds good. I�ll see you then,� she said as she smiled and walked away.

Michael watched her leave, and wondered if she would agree with his proposal. His mother told him how well she was doing in her career and he knew that she would be the perfect person for the job. All she had to do was agree. Michael silently closed his eyes as he said a silent prayer, hoping that the Lord was already working on her heart.


HEY! and don't forget to e-mail Kimberly Jones if you have a comment! She would really like to hear from you.





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