All I'll Ever Ask (The Greatest Love Book 1) (15 page)

As Kevin pondered those questions, Paige could do nothing but close her eyes as Pastor Caine continued this message that was nothing but the truth. Pastor Caine had one baggage for personal. Paige, if she had an honest moment with herself, had dozens of personal baggage chained to her. As Pastor Caine explained how personal baggage came to be, he was telling the story of her life. Her baggage began before she could remember. Her mother was addicted to drugs, causing her as a toddler to care for herself. That caused her self–preservation by any means necessary, to take root. That and every family hurt, which included being verbally abused and continual neglect. Paige was left chained and bound. Tears began to stream as she received Pastor Caine’s words of redemption. He explained 1 Peter 5:7. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Paige repeated that last phrase silently to herself, “He cares for me.” She had a heavenly father that cared for her and who wanted her baggage. Instantly her mind went to Kevin who wanted her to release the anger, venom, and vicious self-protection mask. Now she knew the Savior above, wanted the same thing for her. Paige looked in the bulletin and grabbed the blank note card that read, what’s your baggage? She began to write down every heavy burden that was chained to her.

Camille was already writing down her baggage. She was weighed down with personal issues. Fear of telling Karen that they were possibly sisters and the disappointment that her father was not the superman she believed he was all of her life. That disappointment was leading her to doubt if Benjamin was her Adam or like her dad, too good to be true. Her work baggage was full with imbalance and the need to work long hours to prevent her fear of failure. Camille, just this morning, strapped on a baggage for church hurt. Mrs. Carol gifted that piece of luggage today with her ugly remarks and mean spirit. But she was determined to cast all these cares on the Master. According to Pastor Caine and Peter, He wanted her burdens and anxiety.

Benjamin’s chained baggage was that he held other people’s baggage. Pastor Caine’s message was divinely inspired and Benjamin received that he could help carry Mrs. Carol’s burden of grief by praying for her, giving her a listening ear, helping her enroll in counseling, and by showing her love. However, he could not let her refusal to heal from grief become his baggage. The light bulb went off to Ben. If he continued to carry Lauren’s mother grief, he would lose his future. Ben wrote a one-liner on his baggage card, other peoples.

In twenty-two minutes, Pastor Caine delivered a message of deliverance. As he ministered, he started to unlock and remove the chained luggage on his person. He explained Hebrews 12:1, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Pastor Cain finished the sermon asking a key question.

“
Have you entered the race with Christ? If you are not in the race, you must accept Jesus as your personal savior. If you are in the race, you must prepare yourself to finish the race well. A runner when racing, dresses light so they may run a diligent race. We as Christians cannot run diligently if we are loaded with baggage. Therefore, we must cast and throw down the weights of: not forgiving others, anxiety, and doubt. We must do away with sins; doing things we know are wrong. We must look to Jesus for our help. It is not always easy to do this. Liberty Church is here to help you. We offer free counseling for individuals, couples, family, and grief counseling by licensed therapists.”

Pastor Caine extended his hands toward the congregation saying.

“The praise and worship team is coming to minister to our hearts through song. Please take your notecards and list the baggage you want to release today. Come throw it on the altar and leave it there. The elders are here to pray with you and the spirit of Christ is here to heal you.”

As the praise and worship ministry began to sing the Tasha Cobbs version of Break Every Chain, the aisles of the sanctuary were filled with people eager to release their baggage and lay aside their weights and sin. Kevin, Paige, Camille, and Benjamin were among those people.

None of them would ever be the same again.

Coming Soon:

The Second Installment

The Greatest Love Series

After Church

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Book Club Questions

1. Do you think Mrs. Carol will ever get help and accept Camille and Benjamin’s relationship?
   
2. Will the drama of a blended family tear apart Frankie and Karen’s marriage?
   
3. How do you think Paige’s past has affected her present relationship?
   
4. Do you think Jacob Darius (J.D.) will accept Karen and pursue a relationship with her and Nikki?
   
5. What do you think happened to Karen’s wedding cake?
   
6. Do you believe Paige can ever form a cordial relationship with Kevin’s mother?
   
7. Do you think Shayla will allow Frankie to live in peace with his new wife and family?
   
8. Do you think one message from a Pastor can be the answer to each couple’s problems?
   

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