Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
But for now, all Tassy knew was that the peace in her heart meant one thing.
Lucius Young was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
And because of that, there was also only one thing left to say.
"Yes, I'll be your wife."
Chapter Ten
STELLA HAD JUST CHANGED out of her housekeeping uniform and was on her way out of the locker room when her phone started buzzing inside her purse. As soon as she saw Tassy's name on the screen, she answered the call in a hurry—-
"Hello?"
—-and almost ended up having a heart attack when she heard her best friend's news.
"I've just gotten married to the man God chose for me, and I need you to tell me I did the right thing!"
Stella's tote bag crashed to the floor, and the other girls in the locker room looked at her oddly as her butt hit the bench.
"You did what?"
Stella's head started to spin as she listened to how Tassy's whirlwind romance had unfolded in a matter of hours.
"I know this won't make much sense to others, but you at least understand, don't you? I just felt so lost and broken, and I swear, Stel. I prayed like I've never prayed before. And when I opened my eyes, I saw him."
Stella didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was true that she had always advised Tassy to pray before making any decision, but she highly doubted God's answer was for Tassy to marry the first man she saw.
"Stel? Are you still there?"
"Sorry, I was, um..."
Wondering if I could've done a better job at explaining how God's answer to prayers wasn't always 'yes' or 'no'? That sometimes, God also wanted people to understand the art of waiting when He answered them with 'not yet'?
"Please don't say this is a mistake."
"No, of course not!" Because it was one thing for Stella to think that (which she did), but it was another thing entirely for her to say the words out loud.
"I knew you'd get it!"
Stella wasn't quite sure she did get it, but she also believed what Tassy didn't know wouldn't hurt her, and that was what mattered.
"Just because two people didn't know each other for a long time before getting married, it doesn't mean they won't last. If you look at it the other way around, you have couples who have known each other for years—-"
Like Xylan and Tassy, Stella couldn't help thinking.
"And have so many things in common—-"
Also like Xylan and Tassy.
"And then bam!"
Stella jumped in her seat.
"They break up just like that, and one of them likely didn't even see it coming."
Was Tassy still talking to her or had her friend started talking to herself?
"And that's why how long you've known each other isn't really a factor," Tassy closed determinedly. "Sometimes, you just know that person is the one for you because God chose that person for you."
"Um—-"
"And you know what? I bet this has happened in the Bible, too. I'm sure not all married couples in the Bible had long engagements before marrying."
"Uh..."
You read the Bible every day, Stel. Surely you can think of at least one couple mentioned in the Bible who's had a whirlwind marriage?"
Tassy had raised a really good point with that one, and Stella did her best to recall if there was any couple in the Bible—-
Oh!
Right!
She was about to say Hosea and Gomer...but caught herself in time because she also remembered that Gomer happened to be guilty of adultery.
Yeah, scratch that.
"Stel?"
The catch in Tassy's voice made Stella realize just how much her friend was counting on her for reassurance.
"Um..."
Oh, please, God, help me out.
And that was when the answer came to her.
"The words 'love at first sight' weren't explicitly mentioned in the Bible, but there is one story in the Book of Genesis."
Stella herself was feeling much and much better as she looked up the verses in her Bible app, and she just had to close her eyes for a moment.
Thank You, God.
She cleared her throat and began to read.
When Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she quickly dismounted from her camel. “Who is that man walking through the fields to meet us?” she asked the servant.
And he replied, “It is my master.” So Rebekah covered her face with her veil. Then the servant told Isaac everything he had done.
And Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent, and she became his wife. He loved her deeply, and she was a special comfort to him after the death of his mother.
Stella waited for Tassy to say something, but there was only silence on the other end. "Tas?"
And that was when she realized her friend had started to cry.
"I really needed to hear that, Stel," Tassy whispered. "And I can't thank God enough for giving me a friend like you."
Chapter Eleven
"LUCIUS?" HIS MOTHER'S voice tinged with bewilderment as she joined his stepfather on the phone in loudspeaker.