Called to Love. Arlene James

Up to that point, boys and girls shared a single sleeping room. After it was built, they had some privacy and were much happier. By the time I left, I felt as if I was leaving home instead of going home. That sense grew every time I went back on another temporary mission. So I tailored my course work in college to prepare for the day when I could return permanently, and when the original director retired, I applied for the position. I was compelled to do so. Do you understand what I mean?”

      “Yes, I think I do,” Gil said softly. “I am a Christian. I understand what it means to be called, to have that urge, hear that quiet, still voice that speaks without words. I felt that way when I arrived in Grasslands.”

      Cissy held his gaze, feeling a flutter of something in her chest.

      After a moment, he smiled and softly said, “I confess that I haven’t been in church regularly for a while. Maybe it’s time for that to change.”

      Cissy told herself that the delight rising within her was strictly a spiritual matter. If something she had said led Gil—or anyone—into a closer relationship with Christ, then her joy would be complete.

      So why, she wondered, did she fear that her pleasure might be much more personal than spiritual?