hurried the boys to finish their pizza and clean up.
Zakia was greeted at Faith in the Word Christian Center with a smile and a warm hug. The music was different, inspirational, uplifting even. She loved good music. It soothed her, especially when she was a part of it. She had a decent background voice and had sung alto in the Fig Tree Baptist gospel choir. She never wanted to sing solo, but the backbiting the soloists did to get parts was ridiculous. The competition was fierce, and the dramatics of some of the choir members all but led to fistfights. She was losing her desire and love for the music, so she got out. Yet the music was her saving grace, since not much else went on that was truly inspiring at church, so she opted to just enjoy listening to the music on Sundays. She did miss being a part of the choir, though.
Zakia chose a seat in the middle of the sanctuary. The atmosphere was charged with something that was causing her dull, achy void to feel like it was dissipating. The choir sounded like angels singing. They even looked like angels. The music soothed her empty soul. Less organ and more harp produced more worship and less show than she was used to. Then the Word came forth. The pastor was young, in his thirties, and of average build. Instead of a robe, he wore a very sharp, conservative, dark-vested tailored suit. Pastor Patterson talked about how God reached down and pulled him back from the verge of a nervous breakdown. He talked about being a drug addict and an alcoholic, yet when he made Jesus the Lord of his life, he lost all desire to indulge. Zakia thought it was utterly amazing for a person, especially a pastor, to tell all his business like that. She knew alcoholics and drug addicts who served on the usher board, in the choir, and on the trustee board at Fig Tree Baptist who thought it was acceptable to drink and smoke Monday through Friday and especially on Saturday as long as they made it to their post on Sunday. Listening to Pastor Patterson, she began to understand that it was that kind of hypocrisy that was causing her emptiness.
She sat there with her eyes wide and heart, ears, and mouth open as he went from scripture to scripture proving by the Word of God every point he made. She had been given a Bible when she arrived, but had trouble keeping up because she didn’t know where many of the scriptures were located. A lady sitting next to her noticed her frustration and whispered to her.
“You can purchase a cassette tape of the message after service if you don’t get it all now.”
“Oh, thank you,” Zakia said, relieved, then just sat back and listened.
The Word that came across the pulpit had her head spinning, heart fluttering, spirit jumping, and legs shaking. When the invitation was given to join the church, Zakia found herself right in front of the preacher. She didn’t even remember walking up there. It was as though she had been transported supernaturally to the altar. She accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, making the decision to live her life for Him according to the Word of God. Then she and about twenty other new born-again Christians were escorted to a room where prayer counselors were waiting for them. After they were all lined up, the woman she had met in the mall the day before came up to her.
“So glad you made it, sweetie.”
The woman was now dressed in a beautiful flowery print dress, makeup, and a silver-gray wig. Zakia burst out crying as she hugged her ever so tightly. The woman held her and rubbed her back as Zakia squeezed her even tighter.
“It’s all right, sweetie. You are fine now. It’s time to get what you’ve been searching for. I’m Sister Jenkins. Are you ready?”
“Yes. Yes, ma’am,” Zakia said between sniffles.
Sister Jenkins handed her some tissue. As Zakia wiped her face, Sister Jenkins began to explain the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
“Now that you have made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, the next step is to receive the
Zakia was greeted at Faith in the Word Christian Center with a smile and a warm hug. The music was different, inspirational, uplifting even. She loved good music. It soothed her, especially when she was a part of it. She had a decent background voice and had sung alto in the Fig Tree Baptist gospel choir. She never wanted to sing solo, but the backbiting the soloists did to get parts was ridiculous. The competition was fierce, and the dramatics of some of the choir members all but led to fistfights. She was losing her desire and love for the music, so she got out. Yet the music was her saving grace, since not much else went on that was truly inspiring at church, so she opted to just enjoy listening to the music on Sundays. She did miss being a part of the choir, though.
Zakia chose a seat in the middle of the sanctuary. The atmosphere was charged with something that was causing her dull, achy void to feel like it was dissipating. The choir sounded like angels singing. They even looked like angels. The music soothed her empty soul. Less organ and more harp produced more worship and less show than she was used to. Then the Word came forth. The pastor was young, in his thirties, and of average build. Instead of a robe, he wore a very sharp, conservative, dark-vested tailored suit. Pastor Patterson talked about how God reached down and pulled him back from the verge of a nervous breakdown. He talked about being a drug addict and an alcoholic, yet when he made Jesus the Lord of his life, he lost all desire to indulge. Zakia thought it was utterly amazing for a person, especially a pastor, to tell all his business like that. She knew alcoholics and drug addicts who served on the usher board, in the choir, and on the trustee board at Fig Tree Baptist who thought it was acceptable to drink and smoke Monday through Friday and especially on Saturday as long as they made it to their post on Sunday. Listening to Pastor Patterson, she began to understand that it was that kind of hypocrisy that was causing her emptiness.
She sat there with her eyes wide and heart, ears, and mouth open as he went from scripture to scripture proving by the Word of God every point he made. She had been given a Bible when she arrived, but had trouble keeping up because she didn’t know where many of the scriptures were located. A lady sitting next to her noticed her frustration and whispered to her.
“You can purchase a cassette tape of the message after service if you don’t get it all now.”
“Oh, thank you,” Zakia said, relieved, then just sat back and listened.
The Word that came across the pulpit had her head spinning, heart fluttering, spirit jumping, and legs shaking. When the invitation was given to join the church, Zakia found herself right in front of the preacher. She didn’t even remember walking up there. It was as though she had been transported supernaturally to the altar. She accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, making the decision to live her life for Him according to the Word of God. Then she and about twenty other new born-again Christians were escorted to a room where prayer counselors were waiting for them. After they were all lined up, the woman she had met in the mall the day before came up to her.
“So glad you made it, sweetie.”
The woman was now dressed in a beautiful flowery print dress, makeup, and a silver-gray wig. Zakia burst out crying as she hugged her ever so tightly. The woman held her and rubbed her back as Zakia squeezed her even tighter.
“It’s all right, sweetie. You are fine now. It’s time to get what you’ve been searching for. I’m Sister Jenkins. Are you ready?”
“Yes. Yes, ma’am,” Zakia said between sniffles.
Sister Jenkins handed her some tissue. As Zakia wiped her face, Sister Jenkins began to explain the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
“Now that you have made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, the next step is to receive the
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