A Time to Gather Read Online Free PDF Page B

pressed a hand against her lips and squished the grin that kept tugging. Oh, my.
    “I can’t control one infernal thing!” he said.
    Ben burst into laughter, a wild, bellowing noise. He slapped the table. Tears rolled down his flushed cheeks.
    Indio jabbed him with her elbow a few times, all the while smiling and giggling herself.
    Max kneaded his forehead.
    Ben cleared his throat. “Son.” He chuckled and wiped the corners of his eyes. “You just figured this out?”
    “Well, yeah, I guess so.”
    “Better now than never. To tell you the truth, it took me awhile too. You get used to the fact that you are not in control. It slowly dawns on you that you never were. You just thought you were.”
    Indio said, “You’ll figure out that God is in control. Pretty soon you’ll realize He wants only the best for you. He’s not trying to make you miserable. That’s when the peace comes no matter what things look like.”
    “I’m sure being miserable is my own fault. It’s obvious I’m reaping what I’ve been sowing. You can’t exactly go AWOL on your kids and then expect them to forgive and forget the hurt you inflicted.”
    Ben and Indio’s smiles vanished. They exchanged a look.
    Max shut his eyes. “Good grief.”
    Ben said, “You’re a little slow on the uptake, son. I think we’ve been here before, like when you were growing up and we went AWOL on you.”
    “Yeah.”
    “And what did your mother and I do, Max, when we realized we’d unintentionally hurt you for years and years? Unfairly comparing you to your brother, making you think your brother walked on water?”
    “You asked me to forgive you.” He spoke in a hushed tone. “And I didn’t, not right then. Not for a very long time.”
    “So don’t give up hope on your kids.”
    Indio said, “And remember this: You and Claire have sown good things. My grandchildren have excellent work ethics. They do not take for granted that you provided for all their needs, that you gave them an abundance of opportunities. God’s Word was planted in them because you took them to church. They are good-hearted people. Max, you get to reap all that good stuff too.”
    Ben nodded. “We all sow weeds right along with the flowers. Gather the flowers and give the weeds to God. He does amazing things with our messes.”
    Max covered his face with his hands.
    Claire wrapped her arms around him and held tightly until the shuddering stopped.

   Six
    W here does this event fall on your fun list?” Danny whispered the question in Lexi’s ear.
    She glared at her twin, a waste of effort considering he couldn’t see it through her sunglasses. “I can’t believe you said that.”
    “Remember how you used to rate everything by the fun list?” he murmured.
    “I was a kid.”
    Pointedly ignoring her, he went on. “Let me guess. If hanging out with Zak Emeterio is at the top of the list—by the way, how is Zak?”
    “Go away.”
    “Moving right along, how about we say Zak is near the top and at the bottom is losing a tube of paint. This would be below the tube of paint loss, right?”
    “You’re a jerk.”
    “Just trying to lighten the mood.”
    She had worse derogatory names for him, but the nauseating ache in her throat choked them off.
    The scene before them was from hell. Hundreds of people milled about. They divided themselves into clusters. In the center of each cluster stood one person with a buzzed haircut, dressed in desert fatigues. In the middle of the Beaumont family cluster stood her brother-in-law, Kevin Mason.
    Jenna clung to him, grasping his arm with both hands. Her husband had no local family members, but all of his in-laws had come to say good-bye. In a few minutes he would board a bus and be whisked off to an airbase and from there flown overseas so he could live in hell full-time, for at least a year.
    Danny leaned again toward Lexi and whispered, “Shall I get my antiwar sign out of the truck? ‘Bring ’Em Home Now!’ The slogan seems