Read Christian Romance: Heaven on Earth... [4 Beautiful Christian Romance Stories] Online

Authors: Joanne Sawyer

Tags: #love story, #contemporary romance, #christian romance, #heaven on earth, #clean love story, #wholesome love story

Christian Romance: Heaven on Earth... [4 Beautiful Christian Romance Stories] (10 page)

BOOK: Christian Romance: Heaven on Earth... [4 Beautiful Christian Romance Stories]
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As the Taxi pulled up in front of the
restaurant, she hurriedly paid the driver and ran towards the
restaurant. Oh dear, she was nearly 10 minutes late. As she walked
into the restaurant, she realized how terribly under-dressed she
was. Everyone in the restaurant was dressed to the nines here. But
there was nothing she can do now. She then went right on to the
maître d’, who then quickly directed her to a rather stuffy looking
Brent. Karen could tell he was getting impatient so she hurried
over.

“Oh honey, I’m so sorry for being
late, but there was another emergency and…”

“No, no. Its fine Karen. Have a
seat.”

Karen could immediately
tell that something was wrong. Brent was acting odd.
Maybe it’s just nerves,
Karen thought hopefully. She sat down and, as usual, Brent
ordered her some salad and roast chicken.

“So…” Karen began, “How was
work?”

“Oh it was fine. How was it at the
hospital?” he said, while checking his watch.

“Oh it was hectic, you know, as
usual,” she said, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had
brought a ring, and if he had, where would he have hidden
it?

They talked a bit more, Karen was
talking most of the time as Brent seemed a bit nervous, which only
served to reinforce Karen’s suspicions. Finally, the food came and
they could both turned their attention to something
else.

As Karen was half way through her
salad and chicken, Brent suddenly spoke.

“There’s something I have to tell
you,” he said, straightening in his chair. “It’s about us…our
relationship.”

“Honey, whatever it is. I think I’m
ready for what you have to say,” Karen said, almost
enthusiastically.

 “
I’m glad that you
say so. I’m sure you must have seen this coming,” and Karen nodded
readily, expecting him to whip out a ring then.

“Karen, honey, you know I love you
dearly, but I think it’s time, this relationship has run its
course. I think we should break up.”

Karen felt her world spinning out of
control. She was stunned. “Why?” was all she managed to
say.

“Honey, you’re going to be a resident,
and I’m aiming to be junior partner by next year, we barely have
time enough for each other as it is. You’ll need someone who can be
flexible with time and be with you when you need it, and I need
someone who’s willing to support me and be there for me as I work
on my career,” He paused and took her hand. “I really think that
this is the best course for us. You’re a wonderful girl, and I’m
sure you’ll be an amazing doctor, but maybe we just weren’t meant
for each other,” he stopped then, turning his brown eyes toward her
hands, as if he couldn’t bear to look into her eyes.

“We could have made it work…you could
have said something and I…I would have…” but she stopped when she
saw him shaking his head sadly.

Karen swallowed. She felt as if a
brown bear punched her in the gut. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t
feel, there was only this huge lump in her throat. And the
nausea.

“I…I have to go.” She pulled her hands
away from is and got up quickly. She ran out of the restaurant and
hailed a cab. When she closed the cab door, she was already in
tears.

************

Karen called the hospital supervisor
early that afternoon; she knew she couldn’t face anyone the next
day. She needs to gather her strength soon and go back to work, but
she needed a day at least. This was devastating for her. She had
known Brent since she was a freshman in pre-med and as the years
rolled by, she had always imagined being married to him and having
children. Obviously, he did not feel the same way.

How could he do this, oh
God, how could he hurt me so badly?
She
could only cry into her pillows that whole afternoon, not knowing
what to do.

Rrrring, rrring.
It was the phone. Karen reached over and took the
phone by her bedside.

“Hello?”

“Karen? Darling what’s wrong?” It was
her mother.

“Mom? How did you know I was in
trouble?”

“Oh darling, a mother knows when her
child is hurting, Lysette called me and said you had asked for a
sick day for tomorrow.” Lysette was her good friend at the
hospital. She was the resident psychologist and she was very good
at her job.

“It’s Brent mother. He… he said we
should break up!” and Karen felt herself succumb to a fit of
weeping.

“Oh, Karen. I…I’m so
sorry.”

“I really thought we were meant to be.
Mom, I thought he was going to propose,” and Karen sobbed even
louder.

“Karen, I’m so sorry it didn’t work
out, but please don’t give in to despair… Somewhere out there is
the man God meant for you, and you won’t have to try so hard and
change so much of yourself like you did with Brent, because if God
picked him for you, it means God picked you for him too and you’ll
both be perfect for each other just as you are. Pray to God to send
you the right man that’s meant for you Darling, just trust in God’s
plans for you.”

“I do mom, and I try. But I can’t help
but think of the six years of my life that I gave to him. It hurts
so badly, I don’t know what to do.”

“Would you like me to come
over?”

“No, you don’t have to. Thanks for the
call. I’m sure I can figure it out eventually, with God’s
help.”

When they hung up, Karen was feeling a
little better. What Brent had done to her had completely blindsided
her and she couldn’t help feeling scared and alone, but she wasn’t
alone, she knew God was with her, and she would not be lost. She
remembered a line from the bible:

“My flesh and my heart may
fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalms 73:26 

And it was then that Karen knew she’d
be fine, she just had to trust in God’s will.

************

It was two weeks later that Karen
found her calling, or maybe it was more on the fact that it had
called to her. She was now a resident at the hospital, trying to
drown her sorrow in her work, because despite how hard she tried,
she couldn’t help but feel the devastation that Brent had left in
her life. She had gone into the doctor’s lounge for a quick cup of
Joe when she found it; it was a flyer for the hospital’s outreach
program. The flyer was blue and on big bold letters, it
said:

Let Us Do God’s Work – Help the Least
of Our Brethren

It was a residency program that urged
med school graduates to pack up and head out to far-flung areas
that had no medical facilities. It basically meant that she will be
going off with her medical knowledge, some bandages, and
antibiotics and set up a non-profit medical clinic or center out in
the middle of nowhere, where people needed it most.

She saw it as a golden opportunity to
do God’s work and to find herself. She always knew she wasn’t out
for a big practice and be wealthy. She wanted to give back, she
wanted her faith to fuel change in others and for her skills to
save the lives of those she could. Karen knew then what she had to
do.

The Heart of a Little
Town...

In a span of two weeks, Karen had
managed to sign up for the program, follow up on her application
and get her assignment under the program. She was heading to
Brickwater County, Louisiana, and set up a clinic there. The
hospital was working side by side with the parish in the area and
they would take care of her food and lodgings, she just had to show
up and bring what supplies she could. The hospital director had
been very surprised at her decision.

“I really thought you were going to be
senior resident here soon, but this is a worthy cause Miss
Johnston, and I hope you find fulfillment in your new
job.”

It was a major change in her life that
could make her do a 360-degree turn. First, she’d be away from all
her friends and family, but she knew she could always come and
visit, or they could, and that God would help her find a way.
Secondly, she would not know many people there and she wasn’t quite
sure how they will receive her, but that was part of the adventure
right? Thirdly, she would be getting only a fraction of what she
would have earned if she stayed as resident and started a practice,
but she knew money would not be an issue for her. She just needed
to do this.

She had already said goodbye to her
dear friends at the hospital, especially her best friend Lysette,
who had been so supportive when she found out about the break up.
She was sure that some of her co-workers thought it was a drastic
thing to do, move your whole life to some village in one of the
poorest states in the country, but she knew that this was what God
intended for her. It just felt right for her.

Her parents came over to help her pack
a few days ago, and they managed to get most of her things into
storage. The only things left were the refrigerator, stove and the
bed, and her parents said they would sell those for her, and take
care of all the things she had to leave behind. She was so thankful
that she had such wonderful and supportive parents. She knew they
trusted her and she would not let them down.

They were driving her to the airport
now, and Karen was ready for the 4-hour flight.

“Remember to call us when you land.
Okay? And take care of yourself.” her dad said, trying to act
nonchalantly though she could see he had tears in his eyes. Her dad
had always been such a gentleman, he was soft-spoken and kind, and
his grey hair made him look so noble, but it touched her greatly
now to see her father close to tears.

“We’ll pray for your safe
flight dear. Tell us all about the place when you get there okay?”
her mother turned to her. Karen could see that she hardly looked
her 55 years. She could just be Karen’s older sister. They had the
same blonde hair and slender physique and they were both very
pretty.
I might end up looking older than
she looks someday,
Karen thought, seeing
the dark circles under her eyes through the back seat mirror. She
knew her mother was happy and fulfilled, married to a Godly man
whom she loved with all her heart and a child she was so proud of,
and Karen couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever find someone
to share her life with too.

“Faith is the substance of
things hoped for, evidence of things unseen.” Hebrews
11:1

 
The words came to
her gradually, but she felt elation when she recognized them. Yes,
she just needed to have faith in Jesus and in the Lord God and she
knew she would find happiness in her life. Maybe she would even
find it in Brickwater County, Louisiana.

************

The four-hour flight was already
tiring, but the three-hour drive was utterly exhausting. She didn’t
know if she already fell asleep in the car that picked her up, all
she remembered were the constant jolts and dust and bugs. She was
just so tired and the road was so bumpy she could hardly start a
conversation with the rather attractive man who came to fetch her
from the airport. He seemed quite surly in his manner, but Karen
guessed it was just because they had never met before. She smiled
at him when she saw him holding up a sign that said “Dr. Johnston”
and he just looked at her for a while, only realizing she was Dr.
Johnston when she pointed at the sign. He shrugged and wordlessly
took her carry-on, and he was equally silent as they waited for her
luggage. She tried to start a conversation by asking about the
town, all he said was, “It’ll be a bit too small for a doctor’s
liking, but we make do.” and had then turned his head away from
her, closing off any further conversation.

And now here they were, nearly 4 and a
half hours after meeting each other and Karen was sure she had they
had not exchanged more than 20 words. The surly silence that had
followed after her first question was enough to discourage her to
broach any subject again for the entire ride. Karen tried to sleep
but it was nearly impossible with all the jostling the car took in
the dirt road.

It was late in the evening
when they reached Brickwater County, and it was probably after
midnight when they finally got to where she was supposed to stay,
the town of Vignon. It was a smallish town, and in the late
afternoon, there was not much to see. The streets were dimly lit,
and they weren’t paved at all. She couldn’t see much of the town
other than the few, broken down houses they had passed on their way
to the clinic she was supposed to stay in. The grave man got up and
took out her luggage and grunted at her, and Karen guessed he meant
for her to follow him.
What is his
problem?
Karen could only shake her head
in disbelief and follow him into the smallish white building. It
was made of concrete and was obviously freshly painted. There was a
small wooden fence around it and a concrete porch with benches
right in front of the door. The man opened the door and they both
stepped inside. When he turned on the light, Karen found herself in
a small white room with green curtains. There was a table and some
chairs on the right hand corner, and a little room with a
consultation table with a partition that separated it from the
room. On the far end of the room was a small door. The man gave her
a key and pointed at the door. “Go see if you like your new
apartment.” She took the key and headed to the door, unlocked it
and turned on the light. Inside, there was a small twin bed, an old
wood closet with a mirror and a small table. There were two more
doors, one led to a bathroom and the other to a pantry with various
foodstuffs, like bread, cheese, and canned goods, a coffee maker, a
toaster and a microwave oven.

BOOK: Christian Romance: Heaven on Earth... [4 Beautiful Christian Romance Stories]
6.97Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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