Welcome to the Whyte House Family Spoken Novels podcast episode #333. Today we are reading chapter 24 of the novel “All the Bishop’s Children” by Daniel Whyte III with Meriqua Whyte.
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“My goodness, I must have fallen off to sleep,” Rosalind said to herself as she sat up in the bed looking around the semi-dark room. She glanced out the window. It was dusky outside. Let me hurry and get this phone call out of the way before I change my mind. She made her way through the living room to the door separating the living room from the kitchen where the phone was hanging on the wall by the door entrance.
“Hello, Ketura. This is Rosalind,” she said quietly. “I didn’t mean to call this late, but I fell asleep. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for the food you sent. I only ate a little as I was still not feeling well, but what I did eat was delicious.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you’re feeling much better,” Ketura said.
“It’s one of those headaches that comes on suddenly and leaves you wondering where it came from,” Rosalind said. “Anyway, thank you for your prayers.”
“You’re welcome, and I won’t keep you any longer. I’m sure you want to get some more rest. Have a good night.” Ketura hung up the phone before Rosalind could say anything else.
* * * *
“No apology?” Apostle Dunbar said to his wife.
“No. Not even an attempt at one,” Ketura said. “She started to mention something her mother said you mentioned to them about starting a women’s ministry next year.”
“No apology, no fellowship,” Apostle Dunbar said with finality. “What she wanted to do was to talk with you as though nothing happened. I’m not going to let her disrespect me or you or the church family like that. And if I have to, I’ll warn pastors in the area about her.”
“I’m sure it took some humility for her to call even to thank you,” Ketura said.
“Saying ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry’ are two different things,” Apostle Dunbar said. “I know you have a soft heart, but she must see us as being one on this.”
* * * *
“That was mighty nice of you to call and thank the Dunbars,” Dwight said after his wife hung up the phone.
“I thought you were asleep,” Rosalind said.
“I heard everything you said. I heard a ‘thank you’; but I did not hear ‘I am sorry for such and such,’” Dwight said. “You’re always talking about doing what the Bible says. The Bible says to be at peace with all men. Right now, you are not at peace with the Dunbars, nor with the Pillar of Truth Church family, nor with me. And you are definitely not at peace with yourself. That being the case, you cannot be at peace with God either. I believe your so-called headache came from a guilty conscience. In our eight years of marriage, I’ve never known you to have a headache that keeps you in bed all day and especially away from church services.”
Rosalind started to protest, but Dwight raised his hand to silence her. “I’m just calling it as I see it,” he said.
* * * *
Dwight and the family pulled out from their home in Savannah, Georgia, to take Mother to her new home in Fairhope, Alabama.
“Lord willing, I plan on spending the remainder of my days right here in Fairhope,” Mother said. “I can’t wait to pick up where I left off at New Hope Holiness Apostolic Church and to fellowship with Rev. Dr. Apostle Alfred Morton again. I sure wish Prophetess Morton was still alive. Gretta tried to get me caught up on everyone and everything, but it seems like so much has changed. I can’t wait — ”
Rosalind turned her mind to other things. The ride down was more tolerable than enjoyable as things were still tense between her and her husband. This was one of those few times she appreciated her mother’s rambling and her children’s incessant talking; it helped her ignore the tension between her and Dwight.
“Isn’t this a nice outing, Rosalind?” Dwight said to his wife.
“I guess so,” Rosalind said, still looking out the side window.
“Go ahead and smile. You know you’re enjoying this time away from the house and from the pressure and guilt of trying to figure out who knows what and who can be trusted, and — ”
“Can you just drive and –”
“I am driving. Isn’t that what I’m doing, children? Mother? I’m sure I’m driving—driving this old Ford that you so hate to be seen in.” Dwight joined the children in laughter.
Rosalind snickered. “And that’s what it is: an old Ford. You’ve had this old clunker for what? Over nine years? It’s about to fall apart. Every trip we take, you have to rebuild it. Just does not make any sense. Why can’t you buy a new one? Everybody else is moving on up but us.”
“Not everybody now,” Dwight said. “And you can at least fake being pleasant for the children’s sake.”
DJ, now almost eight years old, listened to the adults as they conversed. Although a rambunctious little boy at times, there were times when he seemed deep in thought, as he was for most of this trip. It seems like almost every trip we go on, Mom’s mad about something. If she didn’t want to come, why didn’t she just stay home?
“Come on, smile for your children like you do for the church folk,” Dwight said jovially. “Smile with them now, or when they grow older, they’re not going to want to smile with you.”
DJ’s younger brother, Kennedy, nudged him and whispered, “Why does Mom always complain about the car? It rides fine to me.”
“That’s because Mom wants a bunch of fancy things that Dad doesn’t want to buy,” DJ whispered back.
“I don’t need anything,” Kennedy said.
“You wouldn’t understand,” DJ said. “You need to listen to them more when they talk and not play so much.”
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Thank you for joining us for this episode of Whyte House Family stories. You may purchase a copy of this novel and any other Christian fiction books read on this podcast from Amazon.com.
Now, dear listener, please know that God—the divine Author of all things—wants to write a great story with your life as well. But first you must give Him the pen by trusting Him with the life He gave you and surrendering your heart to Jesus Christ as Savior. Here is how:
1. Accept the fact that you are a sinner, and that you have broken God’s law. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 7:20: “For there is not a just man upon earth that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Romans 3:23 reads: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
2. Accept the fact that there is a penalty for sin. The Bible states in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…”
3. Accept the fact that you are on the road to hell. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 10:28: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The Bible says in Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
4. Accept the fact that you cannot do anything to save yourself! The Bible states in Ephesians 2: 8, 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
5. Accept the fact that God loves you more than you love yourself, and that He wants to save you from hell. Jesus Christ said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
6. With these facts in mind, please repent of your sins, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and pray and ask Him to come into your heart and save you this very moment. The Bible states in the book of Romans 10:9, 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Dear friend, if you are willing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, please pray with me this simple prayer: Heavenly Father, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you believed in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, allow me to say, congratulations on doing the most important thing in life and that is accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour! For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
May God bless you until next time.
BCNN1 WP 