Sweet Thang [COMPLETE]

Concentrate On Me

Winston

As I stepped up behind the pulpit I placed my hands on it and closed my eyes and prayed for discernment. That God would help me to operate in the spirit and not in the flesh. I opened my eyes and watched the sunlight shift through the crucifix shaped window in the balcony of the sanctuary before it began to beam through as if the Son was right there behind it.

"To God... be the glory," I started and looked back at my wife's empty seat.

"Today... church... I want to talk to you about promises. If you will, follow me to second Peter chapter one and join me in reading verses three through eleven. Please stand for the reading of God's holy word."

As the congregation and I came to the end of the text I couldn't help but to give God the highest praise, "Hallelujah!"

"Family... many of us here and... at home... have been blessed to be the recipients of God's favor. It's no secret that when God decides to pour it out on our lives— out of the cup comes blessings, His unmerited grace and mercy, His love. But sometimes as God pours out that favor we start getting hit by stuff that ain't even in the cup. Do anybody in here feel me, today?"

They started talking back to me and I smacked on the podium and stomped my foot. I looked up into the face of my mentor to see him nodding. "How many of y'all know sometimes we the ones that cause the flood when God's just trynna drizzle a little favor over our lives?"

"You talkin' right, Pastor!" Sister Adelia called out.

"You might not be a drunk like your daddy— but you're arrogant like King Ahaz. See— you know what you posed to be doing— you know you ought to make yourself holy and acceptable. But you think you special, huh?"

The congregation chuckled. "Help me up this hill Holy Ghost! Jesus said 'I love you even as my father loves me— REMAIN IN MY LOVE!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Sister Canan called out from the choir stand.

"Remaining in His love is a choice we all have to make. See Paul tells us in Galatians five that we are called to live in freedom and to use that freedom to fellowship with love— but he also warns us of the dangers of using that freedom to satisfy our sinful nature. Jesus said that we shall know them by their fruit— what kinda fruit you wanna bear?"

I took a look around the room.

"You wanna bear the fruit of the flesh? The product of lust? You wanna be a junkie? An alcoholic? Or would you rather bear the fruit of the spirit? You want the power to lay hands? You wanna prophesy? You wanna speak in tongues? I ain't got no help in here!"

"Preach pastor!" Someone called out and I looked down shaking my head.

"If you don't mind, let's back it up to first Peter chapter one. Peter tells the church not to slip back into their old ways of living as a means to satisfying their desires. He said back then you didn't know better— how many of you ever heard the old saints say, 'If you knew better you'd do better'?"

"That's right!"

"That's right, church. We know better, so we got to do better. Because see— God wants to bless us. He wants to pour out that favor on our lives. But in that same chapter Peter tells us that God loves us as a Father— but He is a responsible Father and he will not let us get away with sloppy living."

I took a deep breath as I stepped away from the podium and opened the button on my jacket. "Is there one today... who is ready to do away with their sloppy living? Come to the altar. God loves you. He's here— ready to help you clean up whatever you messed up. Don't matter how many times you been here. Don't matter how long. He's waiting on you... Pastor too..."

I turned to kneel at the altar and I began to cry out to God with praises of thanksgiving. As I prayed I could feel the altar filling up without even opening an eye. "Thank God for what He's doing son," my mentor said in my ear before praying over the congregation over the microphone.

Jennifer

After a long week of ignoring my husband and letting him sleep alone I decided that now was as good a time as any to put on my big girl panties and stop by this house I loved to call home. After much thought and playing a little get back... I was ready to forgive Winston. How couldn't I? He hurt me. But I loved Winston more than I hated his faults so I knew there was no use in continuing to drag this out. I pulled up and immediately my eldest son stood off of the top step to come help me out of my car.

"Yo where you been, bruh? You good?" Meech asked as he pulled me into a hug and I laughed. "I'm good, son. Is your dad inside?"

"He is," Meech said as his girlfriend Kaliyah came out of the house carrying two glasses of juice. "Hey sweetheart. Don't be lettin' my son put you to work now," I said as I pushed Meech's shoulder. He just laughed and shook his head as I passed Kaliyah by with a quick kiss on the cheek to go inside.

"Baaaaaabbeee!" I called out as I entered the house. As I approached my husband's office door he opened it and I latched onto him like a spoiled child. And straight away I was wrapped in his warmth and spilling over from it. "I'm sorry Jennifer," Winston's voice cracked in my ear as he kissed my head. "Me too," I shrugged a little as he pulled back to stare down at me.

"I—," he stopped me. "None of it matters. Jen," he pulled out a small box and got down on one knee. "I had to be real with myself and real with God about this whole thing. I been in this office all day and all night just praying. Fasting. I... even paid that old man a visit. In all that I found there's nothing more I want in this big beautiful world than you. Us. The Sapphire's. Jen if you'll take this ring... and forgive me and agree to work this thing out with me... I'll never stop being the man I promised I'd be the day we became whole with God."

I sniffed and wiped my tears and looked Winston dead in the eye and said, "I let another nigga put it in," with a shrug of the shoulders. He just took my left hand and said, "You wanna keep this on or what?" He popped the box open to reveal the prettiest biggest diamond ring and I bit my bottom lip like my girl SuSu had me doin'.

"Put it on me," he took off my ring and slid the new one on. He stood up and I wrapped my arms around his neck kissing him. "We're gonna renew our vows."

"Let's do it. I love you."

"I love you too."

"WHEWWWWW! Glad that's over!" Justin tried to shuffle past me and his dad and I laughed as I reached for my son to pull him in and kiss his head.