Baptist DISTINCTIVE: An Adam Mykonos Mystery (The Adam Myknonos Mystries) (20 page)

“Good Bye Adam.”

Rita was disrobing from the second of three
little black dresses she had placed on the bed. She picked up the third looked
at than lifted the first one again and shimmy into it.

“Who are we meeting?”

“Longstreet and his wife at the funeral,
they want to sit with you, Mom and me.”

“Like heck.” She said.

“He called Millicent first. She agreed.”

“Well bully for her, she’s always been
better at this forgiveness stuff then me. There is no way in hades I am sitting
with that snake. You can go by yourself 5-0. I will not do it.”

I smiled and waited.
 
She removed the
dress and sat down on the bed. I got up and went into the shower. Ten minutes
later when I came out Rita was sitting on the edge of the bed dressed for
Joshua’s memorial service

“I spoke to my mother.”
“I know you did.” I said with a smile

“She said we are doing this for the Lord
not for Longstreet.”
I nodded my agreement.

“I do not like it when the two of you team
up.”
“No.” I said. Then I switched the subject “Did Donald and Gary leave on that
run or will they be there.”

“Gary is half way to Boston by now and
Donald is on his way to L.A.”

“So it is the four of us?”
She shook her head “Roberta does not do funerals well. She is going to stay at work.”

“Okay then.”

I kissed her on top of the head. “We all do
things we don’t like for the work of the Kingdom sometimes Slim.”

She grunted “I need to find shoes.” She
said pushing past me.

And so it goes in married life I thought.

To say the memorial service was packed was
like saying that the Duggers had a few kids.
 
Rita, Millicent and I stood in the Narthex of Guiding Light Baptist Church
exchanging pleasantries with people, many of whom we had not seen in quite some
time. The Lord had blessed Guiding Light and in less than a year we had
inherited a foreclosed church property and were slowly turning it into our own.

Joshua Lexington Jr. along with his Glover
Grandparents came over with a broader smile than I had seen in many a day.
Strange to be smiling at your father’s memorial service.

“Brother Adam, Miss Millicent, and Miss
Rita” He said greeting us.

“Josh.” I said “How are you doing?”

“Much better now that it is clear my Mom
will be freed.”

“It is?” said Rita.

“Of course clearly Jim Sinclair and Tim Lafayette
conspired to murder my father, probably with help from Dennis Prihor.”

I was about to tell him that I doubted that
any of that was the case, but then thought better of it. From the corner of my
eye I saw the WHAG TV crew come in one of the side doors.
 
Kevin Moats one of our ushers went over to
speak to them. I was distracted by the film crew and missed the Lexington’s
entrance until Rita tapped my arm.

I turned just in time to see Beau and his
wife Charity come alongside Millicent.
 
Millicent reached out her hand, classy woman that she is, and Lexington
took it in both of his.

“Miss Millicent I am so very sorry for the
trouble my soon to be former son-in-law has caused you and the family.”

Soon to be former?
 
I wondered if Nancy even had a choice.

“When you take in a pet skunk you are supposed
to take out the smell sack, though of course they still stink.”
 
Millicent said with a wide toothy grin.

Lexington was not sure where to look or
what to say. His gracious Southern Belle wife however snorted though her nose.
“Oh Miss Millie you say the most interesting things.”

I noted the number of people in the lobby
watching our exchange. It seemed most every eye was on us. That was until
Miriam came in accompanied by her Uncle Luke and Aunt Ann.

“Seems that you had second thoughts about
where Miriam should stay Sir?”

He shuffled and then said sharply. “I had
little choice once that fool did what he did, I doubt a judge would give Charity
and I temporary custody considering how closely associated we were with Sinclair.”

“I for one am just glad to see my
grand-baby” Said the Singing Pastor as Glover reminded us that he, his wife and
Josh Jr were still there.

Luke and Ann walked Miriam over to us, her
grand-parents gushed but she was all but non-responsive. Pointedly her brother
ignored her.

I took my pastor by the elbow and stepped
aside “What’s that about?”

“I could ask the same why are you and the
Lexington’s so chummy after last night?”

“He called and asked us to please sit with
him and Charity at the funeral. A sign of forgiveness which would then as he
said ‘distance Calvary from the recent troubles.’”

“Charming snake.” said Luke.

“He has a point I’m not going to let the
good work for God be hindered by a grudge. He and Charity, even Nancy didn’t
ride a motorcycle on my lawn.”

Luke looked at Rita who was attempting to
talk to Miriam. “How’s Rita feel about that?”

“She’s my wife. She hates it.
 
And will let me know how much over the course
of the next several weeks.” I laughed then turned serious. “So what’s with
Miriam?”

“Completely unresponsive, Lexington and his
doctor friend Bradley say she has been that way since she heard about the
deaths.”

“Poor thing.”

“Yes, I want to take her to a counselor, I
know a pastor who works with Children, he’s out towards Harrisburg. It will
have to be Monday though, this week end is crowded.”

As Luke lead his family into the church I
tossed a smile to Miriam, the waif little thing gave a wan and emptied eyed
look in my direction but I had the sickening feeling that there was no there,
there.

Funerals for Bible Believing Christians are
a mixture of sadness and joy, sadness that it will be a time before we see our
loved one again and joy in the fact that they are now with the Lord awaiting
our reunion.

As I looked around the room it was a pleasant
feeling to know that the vast majority of those present would be with me in
eternity. There the animosity that we sometimes felt with each other would fade
in the light of His Glory. Rita sat at my right holding my hand tightly,
Millicent on my left her eyes staring straight ahead, I knew she saw more than
Luke at the pulpit she saw, my father-in-law and Robbie waiting for her and beaconing
her to the day of reunion. Next to her was Beau Longstreet and his long
suffering wife.
 
Someday Longstreet and I
would walk the streets of gold and laugh at the day we said we did not like
each other much. In the pew in front of us were my sister and brother-in-law,
without their prayers, concern and diligence to the Great Commission I would
not be a saved man.
 
Many reformed
Christians have a belief that God has chosen those who are too be saved and
that if they do not lead that person down “The Romans Road” then someone else
will.
 
Since God has all things planned
from the beginning of time, there is some merit in that, but I also know that
God gives to each man free will and that each person has a part they must play,
there is in short God’s prefect will for our lives and God’s permissive will
for our lives. I am thankful that Argon and Leda believe that soul winning is
part of God prefect will for their lives, without them I could still be lost, adrift
in life without My Savior and without the gift He gave me, eternal life.

The service was nearing its close, the
songs had all been sung, the voices lifted in prayer and the sermon preached to
near its conclusion.

Luke, his sandy blond hair longer than I
had ever seen it, I chuckled to myself, careful pastor it is almost touching
your collar,
 
his eyes glistening with
tears of sorrow and joy, took a long drawn breathe and then smiled out at us.

“I see many lives my brother touched here
today, many people who he comforted and pastored.” He walked to the front of
the altar and sat down on the steps.

“I see here today a small boy, around the
age of seven. Seven is a hard age, your mind becomes in many ways conscious of
itself for the first time. I see this seven year old boy coming to grips with
the fact that his mother had died giving birth to him. Dealing with the idea
that he had somehow killed his own mother. That his birth had caused her death.
 
I see here today a young man, just entering
college, called by God to preach his word, but still with all the gainliness of
youth. I see that young man sit down next to that small boy on the back porch
of a house in Georgia. I see that young man comfort that boy, I see him tell
him that he was not to blame for his mother’s passing, that God had a plan and
God’s ways are not man’s ways. I see him through sheer force of his will
convince that boy that he was not responsible.”

Luke stood up and walked back to the pulpit.
“I see that small boy ask the young man: ‘So I will see my Mom in heaven
right?’”
 

Luke paused. Waited then went on.

“’That depends’ said the young man. ‘But my
Mom was saved’ said the young boy ‘I heard Daddy say so’. The young man smiled
at the boy. ‘Yes she was a saved woman and today she is with Jesus in his
Kingdom’
 
‘So?’ said the boy. ‘So you
will see her again only if you are saved. Only if you accept Jesus. Did you know
buddy that you are a sinner?’”

Luke walked back to the front of the altar.
“And so for the next hour, that young man gave the gospel to that little boy. Painfully
and with care and love He showed the boy the depravity of man’s sins, and the
love of God. He helped the boy understand the gulf of sin that separated him
from the Glory of God. That young man made the little boy understand that none
of his good deeds could help him get to heaven, that without the sacrifice of
Christ on the cross without the atonement of his death and the glory of His
resurrection, that little boy was a sinner doomed to hell. The young man
explained that there was a much greater pain than the little boy never seeing
his mother again, that pain was an eternity separated from the love of God. “

Luke smiled out at us. “And on that back
porch in Georgia, my Brother Joshua led me to the Lord.”

He waited for the chorus of Amens to
subside.

“Because Joshua took the time, because he
cared and more importantly because Christ cared, because Christ died for my
sins, Because Christ rose in Glory, because God so loved the world, and Because
by Faith plus Nothing I am saved, I will see my mother again, I will see my
father and step mother, I will see my dear friend Mac, I will walk with Dennis
Prihor and Tim Lafayette.”

He paused letting that sink in. Salvation
is assured Jesus himself told us that no man can pluck us from His Father’s
hand, whatever sins Tim committed, his salvation was settled in heaven, as one
though the fire Tim will be there.

“And.” Luke went on “I will see my brother
Joshua again.”

He paused. He went back behind the pulpit
and bowed his head for a moment. Then:

“Every head is bowed and every eye closed.
My friends I ask you today can you with assurance in your heart, say that you
are heaven bound, can you by raising your hand say to me Preacher that is
settled in heaven, I know that heaven is my home.”

I raised my hand, and did what sadly most
of do squinted my eyes to see who else had their hands up, it was no great
surprised that most of the room held their hands up high. In fact from my
vantage point the only ones I could see who did not raise their hands were the
reporters from the Herald-Mail and WHAG. I did notice one young woman with a
sound piece in her ear tentatively raise her hand.

Luke went on “Thank you, you may put them down.
Dear friend, if you say Preacher I could not raise my hand, I do not have that
assurance, I am not sure that I am going to heaven. Preacher I am counting on
my good works and good deeds, Preacher I am counting on the teachings and
traditions of man, Preacher I am not sure where I am headed, than I ask you to
raise your hand and let me pray for you. I will not embarrass you; I simply
want to pray for you, can you do that dear friend”

I kept my eyes shut that time.

“Thank you.” Said Luke. “Thank you. I see
those hands. Thank you, you may put them down. As we stand eyes still closed
heads still bowed, I am going to ask Amy to play a verse of invitation.”

He waited for the pianist to begin to play
‘Just
as I am”
and then went on. “Friend now is the time to get this settled once
and for all. As our personal workers come forward, let us show you from the
Bible how you can today join in fellowship with Christ, how you today can know
that you have a home in heaven. Our personal workers are waiting as Amy plays another
verse, a man for man and woman for a woman, please come forward, please let us
pray with you today.”

Amy played on, and then that moment came. There
is a moment, when you can feel the Spirit move across a service. It does not
happen to all people or at all times, there have been many many services when someone
has come forward to be saved and I have not had the feeling that something was
happening, but there have been times when it was very clear to me, that the
Holy Spirit was in the room working on some ones heart. I opened my eyes and
glanced at my wife, she had her beautiful brown eyes closed and was deep in
prayer, as was Argon but my sister’s eyes meet mine and we both exchanged that
glance that we knew. On my other side I caught Longstreet’s stare, despite our
difference this was a moment that we could be in total agreement on. He nodded
his head towards the aisle and I turned and looked. The camera man from the
local TV station had handed his recorder off to one of his colleagues and was
slowly coming towards the front of the altar. Peter Semper our lead Deacon meet
him at the foot of the altar and as the two bowed in prayer Amy played yet
another verse. I smiled over at Longstreet who gave me a small half hidden
thumbs up.