kissed it, relishing this daily mantra that reminded her that the ending of the story was still in the making.
Riley went through all the photos in the album two more times, never seeming to tire of seeing the same pictures and hearing Kate repeat the stories behind them.
Kate glanced at her watch. An hour and forty minutes had flown by. Soon her other children would return, Elliot would arrive, and the Cummings household would be bustling with love and laughter and crazy chaos. But for now, Kate nestled with Riley for a few sacred moments, words totally unnecessary, and affixed this sweet memory onto a new page of her mental scrapbook, all too aware of the five years of empty pages stained with tears.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The words of Jeremiah 29:11 raced through her mind with newfound clarity and hope.
Kate would never again take these intimate moments for granted or assume there would be another. Every day she was still breathing, she would be intentional about embracing her blessings—great and small, past and present. And she would leave the door open to the future—to the happier days God still had in store for her.
Kate heard a car door slam just as Jesse slid down the staircase banister and landed on his bare feet.
“Elliot’s here!” Jesse announced, his voice booming about three decibels louder than was necessary. “He’s exactly on time!”
Kate smiled at the understatement and relished the warm glow that seemed to melt through her at the mention of his name. Yes, he’s exactly on time. But then, God’s blessings always are.
… a little more …
When a delightful concert comes to an end,
the orchestra might offer an encore.
When a fine meal comes to an end,
it’s always nice to savor a bit of dessert.
When a great story comes to an end,
we think you may want to linger.
And so, we offer ...
AfterWords—just a little something more after you
have finished a David C Cook novel.
We invite you to stay awhile in the story.
Thanks for reading!
Turn the page for ...
• Discussion Questions
• An Interview with the Author
A Note from the Author
Without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
Dear reader friend,
Deep, abiding faith is rarely easy to come by. We aren’t “born again” with our faith already mature and strong and tested. But we usually begin with a childlike faith that trusts our Father to hear and answer our prayers—that believes with all our heart that He can do anything. Abby did. She chose to trust Him even when the path was dark and scary and uncertain. It wasn’t because she had no other choice. She could have chosen to blame God for the woes that had befallen her family. Allowed anger and bitterness to consume her life and steal her faith. But she saw firsthand what that kind of attitude had done to her mother, and she chose better.
I’m not one to walk away from God when things get tough. But I admit I have been guilty, from time to time, of reacting to adversity out of the flesh when circumstances were overwhelming, and not really believing deep down that God was going to help me. I knew He could. But would He? During those times when I didn’t exercise faith, the struggle was significantly more difficult. Attitude is everything! Every painful trial I’ve faced without faith has left a dark, ominous memory. But those trying times when I chose to believe God’s promise never to leave or forsake me, and trusted Him to help me through, often resulted in a blessing for me and/or someone else.
It’s impossible to overrate the peace of God that passes understanding. But it’s also impossible to have that confident peace without faith in the One who provides it.
Kate suffered immeasurably, to be sure. And her faith was tested beyond what most of us will ever be forced to endure. But in the end, she came back to faith, back to the spiritual realities she had discarded as myth and the God who had disappointed her. In her suffering, Kate’s perspective had changed. She realized that it was better to forge ahead in blind faith than to forge ahead merely blind. She couldn’t control the outcome either way. But choosing to have faith in the