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By June Foster

My husband and I are new in our church, Locust Fork Baptist. Since my husband is retired and loves the Lord, he wanted to become involved in a ministry. Of course he’s a gregarious extravert and loves working with people.

He found the perfect ministry – the committee that does repairs and other odd jobs for people in the church who can’t do the work themselves, such as widows and the elderly. His first job was in a neighboring town putting up a fence that had blown down in a recent windstorm. The head of the committee dropped by our house to pick my husband up in his truck.

The other man is about 10 years younger than my husband and outworked him showing more stamina than my dear mate. They dug holes with those post diggers and “planted” new posts where they should go working hard for over four hours. My husband came home tired and dirty.

So what is so unusual about that? Sounds logical that the other guy would outwork Joe. Here’s the fact that impressed me. The other man lost his leg in a work accident. Not just to the knee like my character Holly in Give Us This Day, but all the way to the hip. Joe said that when they dug holes, the man didn’t let his crutches stop him.

The guy gets around faster than me. I’ve seen him easily traverse the steps at church down to the fellowship room quicker than most people.

He doesn’t feel sorry for himself nor allows his handicap to stop him from serving the Lord. He’s truly a blessing to me and an example of a person whom God can use despite having experienced the ravages of living in a fallen world.

In Philippians, the Bible tells us we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. I think our friend from church takes this scripture to heart. He is an inspiration. He could’ve worked in another ministry – maybe visiting shut-ins or passing out bulletins on Sunday. Or decided he couldn’t serve.  But no – he chose doing physical labor for others who were unable to accomplish the task. That says something to me. If God ordains it, He’ll provide the means.

Sometimes I feel like giving up when I’m writing my stories. I just don’t have all it takes to be a good writer. I’m terrible at marketing. I don’t have enough readers who like my books. But no, if God called me – if He called any of us to a task, He will provide the way. Despite our physical, or any other limitations.

June Foster

June Foster is a retired teacher with a BA in Education and a MA in counseling. She writes full time and travels in her RV with her husband Joe. June has written four novels for Desert Breeze Publishing. The Bellewood Series, Give Us This Day – February 1, 2012, As We Forgive – September 1, 2012, and Deliver Us – April 1, 2013, and Hometown Fourth of July – July 1, 2012. June’s book, Ryan’s Father, will be available from WhiteFire Publishing January 2014. For All Eternity, Red and the Wolf, and Misty Hollow, God willing, will be published in the near future. June loves to write stories about characters who overcome the issues in their lives by the power of God and His Word. June uses her training in counseling and her Christian beliefs in creating characters who find freedom to live godly lives.

A man on his knees with his back to her scrubbed the tile with a large brush. His muscular shoulders visible through his brown janitor’s shirt tensed and relaxed with every stroke. She’d never seen a custodian put so much effort into his work as he sank the bristles into the tiles.

He stood and pulled his mop from the back of his cart. With long swipes, he drew the sponge over the suds, and rinsed it in the clear water of his red plastic pail. When he glanced up, their eyes connected.

Riley? Her pulse jolted. Did he work…?

The door to the OR flew open, and Jett walked out. He removed his mask and shrugged his shoulders. Without slowing his pace, he whisked past her and lowered his voice. “A lucky call this time, Jillian.”

Lucky call? How could he say that? A precious life had held in the balance.

Jillian’s exhausted body folded into a chair at the end of the hall near the OR. The pent-up emotion wouldn’t wait any longer. A baby had almost died today. Sobs shook her shoulders.

“What… what did you say to her?” A quiet masculine voice muttered. With a few steps forward, Riley peered at Jett. “I think you owe her an apology.” He dropped his gaze to the floor.

“What the…” Jett drew his fist in front of him.

In disbelief, Jillian stood transfixed.

Jett glared at Riley, tapping his chest over and over. “Who do you think you are, you lowlife?”

She bit her lip and rushed to them, grasping Jett’s arm. This couldn’t be happening.

With an easy shake, Jett brushed her away. He curled his lip and grabbed the front of Riley’s shirt with both hands. “This is none of your business.” He released Riley, placed his palms on his chest, and shoved him hard.

When Riley lost his footing on the wet floor, he stumbled backward and landed on his rear-end. Scrambling to his feet, he glanced back at the area he’d cleaned. He shook his head. “And I deserve to be fired. I’m sorry.”

“Riley, wait.” Jillian took a few steps toward the men again. “Jett, calm down.”

She worked her way between Jett glaring at Riley who hung his head like a bad dog. “Why did you say that to Dr. Camp?”

“I…I thought he said something that upset you.” Riley lifted tortured eyes. “Your face paled.”

Riley must’ve thought Jett spoke an offensive word to her. Her heart softened. He had only wanted to shield her from pain. To protect her. Compassion for the man, even concern, built in her. The sweet guy thought he was doing the right thing.

Jett held two fists in front of his chest, still on guard.

“Riley is a friend.” She blew out a breath.” I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make an issue of it. He misunderstood the situation.”

But had Riley actually misunderstood Jett’s intensions? What Jett said had hurt her. A lucky call.

“A friend?” Jett shrugged. “Yeah, whatever.” He pressed past her. “Forget it. I wouldn’t want to see his minimum wage check yanked away from him.”