Free The Lights of Tenth Street by Shaunti Feldhahn Page B

away.
    Doug walked into the terminal, feeling alone.
    Sherry merged with the traffic, emptiness swamping her. She had so looked forward to having her husband all to herself for a solid hour or two. What on earth had gone wrong? Maybe it was too much to expect, that Doug would ever be able to relax and connect during a preflight rush.
    A decrepit car with one taillight missing swerved in front of her, barely missing her bumper. Sherry stomped on her brakes, then leaned on the horn. Someone in the backseat of the car turned around and made an obscene gesture. Sherry watched as the old vehicle turned off at the next exit and sped onto a rundown street, tires squealing. Why did some people think they owned the road? She would never treat anyone like that!
    The rest of the midday traffic was well-behaved as Sherry merged onto the main highway and headed north through downtown Atlanta. Her eye was drawn to a billboard that advertised a local church’s Christmas show:
Bring the whole family!
    She gave the sign a sad smile. Doug wouldn’t be back for their church’s Christmasshow this weekend. He had explained to Genna that he couldn’t get back from California in time, and the four-year-old had seemed to understand. But as Sherry had watched her daughter prance around the house in her little angel costume, her heart ached at what her husband was missing.
    And it wasn’t just the time away from his family. Sherry wanted him to be
happy
in his work, not exhausted, not stressed. She remembered his delight in his first job out of business school, how he whistled in the shower on Monday mornings. Now, he was quiet and withdrawn on Sunday evenings, thinking about what was coming in a few hours.
    They had a great house, two beautiful cars; the kids were in their church’s expensive Christian school … and it wasn’t worth it.
    She drove around a curve, and another billboard jumped out at her. This one was larger, emblazoned with the name of a gentleman’s club and a woman in a suggestive pose.
    Ugh
. Who would go into one of those places? They were dirty, in run-down neighborhoods, and reeking of alcohol. She glanced again at the woman’s smoky-eyed picture as she sped by. What kind of person would do that sort of thing?
    A moment later, Sherry let out a sigh. Who was she to ask that question? Before her life was transformed, she hadn’t exactly been an angel. She had grieved God’s heart many, many times. Why was it that a decade of distance made it difficult for her to remember that? It was as if those memories were pictures of a whole different person—a whole different life that she could somehow judge from afar.
    She sat up straighter in her seat. Those memories
were
of a whole different person—in a way. She was a new creation.
    Her voice was small in the gently humming car. “Thank You, God, for reaching out to me, for transforming me. Thank You for giving me this wonderful husband and family. Please, please forgive me for my snippy attitude.” She gave a snort, annoyed with herself. “I’m probably overanalyzing everything again, like always. Lord, help me leave it in Your hands and not be so stressed. Help me learn how to be the wife that Doug needs me to be.”
    Her mind went to the decrepit car and to the woman on the billboard, and she sighed. “And help me love the unlovable as You do.”

S EVEN
    H ey, Jordan.” Doug set his laptop case on the tiled floor of the vast foyer and shook hands with his boss.
    “Glad you made it. Your phone call about gave me a heart attack. I thought you were going to miss your flight.”
    “I nearly did. Had a problem getting out of the house, and then getting through security nearly torpedoed the whole thing. I ran up to the gate just as they were closing the doors.”
    “Been there.” Jordan smirked. “I’ve had a few of those getting-out-of-the-house problems, too. Probably why I’ve been divorced twice. Well, time to go make money.”
    Jordan picked up his