not let the Holy Spirit be your comforter and let God be your filler? God made Kenzie whole. He’ll do it for you, too.”
Lori looked from Jase to Kenzie to Jase again. “How? I don’t know how.”
How well he understood. Jase didn’t know how to let go of his resentment toward God for taking Rachel from him. He didn’t know how to restore his relationship with the Father. He didn’t know how to lead the kids from Beech Street. He couldn’t do any of it. At least, not on his own. A memory verse from his time as a teenager at Grace Chapel tiptoed through his mind and found its way to his tongue. “ ‘I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.’ ”
Kenzie smiled and nodded. “Philippians 4, right?”
Jase flashed her a grin. “Verses 12 through 13. We all have need for various types of filling. And we gain the strength to find contentment when we lean into the giver of strength. Do you know who that is, Lori?”
Tears filled her eyes. “It’s Jesus.”
“Yes. If you let Him, He’ll help you break the habit of overeating.”
Kenzie bent down and touched Lori’s knees. “I’ll help, too, by praying for you and encouraging you and not baking any more pans of brownies to tempt you.”
Jase reared back. “Wait a minute. No more brownies? That’s cruel and unusual punishment.” To his delight, Lori laughed. He grinned at her. “And I’ll do what I can, too, to help you. When you feel tempted, call me. I won’t judge you or ridicule you. We’ll just talk it through. Okay?”
Lori pulled in a shuddering breath and released it. “Okay. Okay, I’ll try.”
Jase stroked his chin, thinking. “You know, my psychology professor told us that to break a habit, it’s not enough to stop doing the unhealthy thing. We need to replace it with something beneficial or it leaves a hole we might try to fill with something else that isn’t healthy. Like people who replace cigarettes with food, or people who are addicted to gambling play computer games, which can also be addicting. So you need to choose something healthy or beneficial you want to do in place of eating. Any ideas?”
Lori sat for several seconds, her brow puckered and her lips sucked in. Then she gave a firm nod. “I want to pray more.”
Something jabbed like an arrow through Jase’s middle.
“I want to do something to get my mind off me and on somebody else—maybe learn a craft and donate the projects to missions, like Kenzie does with her rugs.”
Kenzie gave a little jolt and looked aside.
“And I want…I want…” Lori’s chin wobbled. “So much of the time I start gorging myself because of something I remember my dad saying to me. I think it would really help if I made peace with my dad.”
Bradleyville
Merlin
Merlin eased his car into the middle stall of the garage, then put the vehicle in park and turned off the ignition. He angled a smile at Leah, who dozed in the seat across the console. No matter how short the drive, she fell asleep when she was the passenger. But never behind the wheel, she always said with a firmness that tickled him. They were home now, so it was time to get out, but he hated to disturb her. She hadn’t slept well since he told her about his CHF diagnosis. Such irony, her telling him not to worry but taking all the worry on herself.
He touched her arm. “Leah?”
“Hmph?” She snuffled and popped her eyes open. She looked around. “Oh, we’re home.”
He chuckled. “Yep.”
Her sleepy expression morphed into a firm scowl. “And what are you going to do now?”
Another chuckle threatened, but he swallowed and erased it. She meant to be fierce. A man shouldn’t laugh at a lioness. Even if her sleep-tousled hair resembled a kitten’s fluff. “Talk to Jase.”
“Good. And while you’re doing that, I’ll start supper.”
“Something light.”
“How about creamed canary tongues on toast?”
He burst out laughing. When the kids were young and asked what was for dinner, if Leah hadn’t yet decided what to cook or was feeling a little ornery, she teasingly told them creamed canary tongues on toast. But it’d been years since she’d thrown