Forsaking All Others Read online

  “Yep.” And another day started at the Comedy Club bar.

  Part 7

  Marla prayed all that day, and the next and the next, but Gene didn’t come home. The house was an empty shell around her, as silent as the grave she felt she had dug for herself. Her heart ached constantly and she missed her husband. Oh God, how she missed Gene.

  She puttered around the house that Saturday morning until noon. The kids had slept over at a friend’s, and in the silence she could hear every creak the house made. It seemed to grumble and groan under an undue load. Tears of regret streamed down her cheeks as her heart struggled under the burden of loneliness, fear, and immobility.

  Finally, at 1 p.m. she made up her mind that she must talk to someone. But not her new friends – someone she felt would be honest with her. She suddenly remembered Dianne, the one who had been so kind to her at Calvary Chapel church. “I have her number, I think,” she mumbled. She found it in her address book and sat at her desk by the phone. She fiddled with the receiver a while, then she dialed the number. The phone rang twice, and a woman answered.

  “Dianne?”

  “Yes?”

  “This is Marla Hayden; do you remember? I used to attend Calvary Chapel.”

  “Oh yes, in fact I have had you on my heart lately. Is everything ok?”

  “Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. I just wondered about you.”

  Immediately, Marla thought, What am I saying that for? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

  “Marla, are you sure everything is ok? There’s nothing wrong?”

  When Dianne said that, Marla broke.

  “N-N-N-No, I’m lying, everything is wrong!” and she began weeping openly.

  Dianne waited until Marla got herself under control somewhat, and listened quietly while Marla explained her situation. Then she said, “Marla, I just feel that I am not the one who can help you. Would you consider going to see the pastor at Calvary Chapel? He’s in his office today, and I will go with you if you want me too.”

  Marla sat there and thought about it. She knew the pastor at Calvary Chapel to be a fine, decent man who seemed to have a lot of wisdom. The whole congregation liked him and respected him.

  “I… I guess so, if you think I should. Oh, Dianne, I don’t know what to do! Yes I’ll go if you would go with me.”

  Thirty-five minutes later they were sitting in front of the Calvary Chapel church. They walked into the office, and the pastor looked up from his study as Dianne knocked gently on the open door.

  “Pastor, are you busy?”

  “Oh, Dianne. No, come on in.”

  Dianne re-introduced Marla.

  “Oh, yes, I remember. Have a seat.” He waved at the two chairs in front of his desk.

  Marla and Dianne sat down.

  “Pastor, Marla called me, and I felt led of the Spirit that you could help her better than I could. Marla, if you don’t mind, I’ll just wait outside.”

  “Ok.”

  Marla sat there and tried to gather her thoughts. Should she tell him all of it? Without the complete story, he might be misguided and not be able to help her. She began to relate to him all that had happened since she had quit going to his church. She was embarrassed, to say the least, but she was desperate for guidance. The pastor listened intently as she related to him her trouble with her marriage, and her confusion. She waited as the pastor sat there for a few moments, gazing at the bookshelf, deep in thought.

  Finally, he looked up at her and said, “Marla, you realize that there are implications to this that make your case rather complicated. There is another church involved here, which makes it seem rather awkward for me. But the trouble seems to have started when you began attending the Seventh-day church. I know very little about them, but I believe I know someone who does. Would you be willing to wait outside while I make a phone call?”

  “I’ll see if Dianne can wait.”

  She found Dianne kneeling at a pew in the front row of the sanctuary. She gently tapped her on the shoulder and Dianne looked up.

  “Can you wait with me? The pastor wants to make a phone call.”

  “Yes, I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

  Marla went back to the pastor’s office and told him they would wait outside while he made the call.

  The pastor looked at his phone book, picked up the phone, and dialed his friend, Don Schuler. The phone rang three times, and Don answered.

  “Don, this is Bud Thatcher.”

  “Oh, Hi, Bud. How are you?”

  “I’m fine. Don, the reason I am calling is that I have a lady here with several problems. A big part of them seems to be related to the Seventh-day church over by Burnside. She left here several months ago and started attending there, and now she is having complications in her marriage. I knew you worked with cult churches, and I wondered if you know anything about that particular organization.”

  Don was silent for a minute.

  “Bud, I am afraid your lady has fallen into a cult. They sound Christian, they use Christian jargon, but their beliefs are heretical and do not have sound doctrine. Moreover, they claim to have a prophet named Ellen White, but she was no prophet.”

  Bud was shocked as, for fifteen minutes, he listened to his friend relate the peculiar beliefs of that church, explaining it to him more fully. When Don finished, the pastor walked across the hall and called Marla back to his office.

  “Marla, I’m going to be on the up and up with you. I just called a friend who has spent 20 years studying the various cults out there. This is his bailiwick and his ministry. He informs me that you have fallen into a cultic organization. I should have been better informed about this particular organization, but I am just being truthful with you. This has never confronted me before today. Although I slightly know the pastor of the church you mention, I was not aware of all this.”

  “Now, the problem is this. With what we term cultic organizations, they are not based on sound Bible doctrine. Any time a Christian gets away from sound Christian teachings and sound Biblical doctrine, they don’t know how to handle it, and confusion sets in. It may very well be different for someone who is raised in it, because they know nothing different. They don’t know that everything is not right.”

  “But you were exposed to sound Bible doctrine, I know, because here at this church we are deeply committed to sound doctrine. If I make a boo-boo, I will hear about it real quick. Now then, the woman you met has not been exposed to sound doctrine. She may very well believe deeply in her church doctrine, and it may sound perfectly normal to her.”

  “The problem is that it has caused a cognitive dissonance in you, and it has caused confusion to be introduced into your family. Your husband was not a church attendee, and when you changed, it changed the whole picture in your marriage. He had no way of knowing what was going on, and it has raised havoc in your relationship. He most likely feels betrayed by you; that you have placed other people before him, and it sounds like he is dealing with it the best way he knows how.”

  “We men are peculiar creatures. We have to feel that we come before all others. We never say it, but it’s the truth, and it just is. There is a reason the marriage vows say ‘Forsaking all others,’ and when a man begins feeling as if this has been violated, he feels violated, and when that happens, anything can happen.”

  “Gene is not dumb, and when the church got into the mix, what should have been a spat that would blow over, turned into something much more serious when you handed him that list of demands. When this happened he felt violated. The marriage vow, ‘Forsaking all others’ was broken in his sight, and he didn’t know how to handle it, most likely. I can’t speak for Gene, but I can speak as a general rule, you understand.”

  Marla wiped the tears as she sat there nodding her head and listening to the pastor. It was as if he was revealing things she already knew deep down, but had not paid attention to.

  The kind pastor went on, “Marla, this thing is not hopeless, but you have to be prepared to forgi
ve as well as be forgiven, and that’s the business God is in. He knows our hearts and he knows our weaknesses. When the church told you to leave him that is strictly against sound biblical principles. Jesus is in the business of restoration, not tearing down marriages and instigating separation and divorce.”

  “What I suggest is that we go to prayer and the three of us pray for your marriage. We will pray expressly for God to bring about healing for the both of you. Would you like to do that?”

  Marla continued to wipe the tears. She nodded her head yes, and the pastor said, “Let’s go into the sanctuary and pray.”

  When they got to the sanctuary, the pastor told Dianne, “I would like for us to pray expressly for God to heal Marla’s marriage, and then we will pray for Marla.”

  Dianne nodded, and they laid their hands on Marla and began to pray. They prayed for about fifteen minutes that God would heal the marriage and that Marla would be able to make sound decisions when she faced Gene. They also prayed that there would be no long-term effects on the children.

  When they were through with prayer they returned to the pastor’s office. Marla stood wiping her eyes; she had felt some of the load lift as they prayed.

  “Pastor, would you be willing to call Gene? Ask him to meet us here if he will come.”

  The pastor thought about it for a minute. “I would be willing to call him, although I am not sure how he would react to me at this point. Give me some time, and I will call you if I have anything.”

  Marla and Dianne shook hands with the pastor and left.

  Part 8

  Gene closed the bar on Sunday night, but he did not return to Debbie’s apartment. Instead, he rented a clean motel room with a kitchenette, on the outskirts of San Antonio. He didn’t have his clothing with him, but his clothing was not what he was concerned about. He was concerned about Marla and the kids, and he did not know what to do. He slept fitfully that night on the uncomfortable motel bed, and he arose early on Monday. He made coffee in the coffee maker in the motel room, and settled into an uncomfortable chair by the bed.

  He looked around at the little motel room with its one bed, a sink and small refrigerator. So, this is what my life has come to, he mused, no house, no kids, no wife, no Vegas, no nothing.

  Gene knew he wouldn’t be going back to Debbie’s apartment. He didn’t care for her and never had. But he did love his wife dearly. He just did not know how to deal with her, or what had happened to her to make her turn against him like that. He was the same as when they had met and married. What had changed?

  He had gotten through his second cup of coffee when his cell phone rang. He jumped at the sound, forgetting that he had even brought the phone in from the car last night. His heart skipped a little in the hopes that it would be Marla, but instead a man’s voice came over the phone, and his heart dropped.

  “Is this Gene Hayden?”

  “Yes.”

  “Gene, I don’t think you know me, but this is Pastor Bud Thatcher at the Calvary Chapel church, where your wife used to attend. I wondered if you would give me a minute of your time.”

  Gene hesitated. “What is this about?” he asked.

  “Well…if you would want to give me some time, I would like to explain it to you, but I would rather do it face to face. Could I ask you to come here to the church?”

  Gene thought about it. It is not that I have a full life of activity here, he reasoned. I can spend the day in this motel room, or I can talk to this man. I might find out something.

  “Yes, I would agree to that. Could you give me a little while?”

  “Sure, Gene. I will be in my office all day; get by when you can.”

  Gene showered and then dressed in his jeans and shirt and headed out the door. The daylight nearly blinded him. It was almost 1 p.m., and by the time he got to the church it was 1:15.

  He felt a little hesitant as he entered the church through the office entrance. A secretary was in the office running off copies on a large copier. “Can I help you?” She smiled at him.

  “I’m here to see Pastor Bud Thatcher?”

  “Oh, his office is right around the corner and down the hall.”

  “Thank you.”

  She smiled at him and nodded her head as she punched buttons on the copier.

  He turned the corner and came to a door with a sign that said ‘PASTOR’ in large block letters. He knocked gently on the door; the pastor looked up and motioned him in. Gene walked into the room, and the pastor got up and came around his desk.

  “I’m Bud Thatcher,” he said, proffering his hand. Bud shook Gene’s hand warmly. “Would you sit down? I talk better sitting down.”

  Gene unwittingly sat down in the same seat Marla had chosen the previous day, and the pastor took the one next to it, rather than sitting behind his desk.

  Gene appraised the pastor. He had a full head of gray hair, and he looked to be about sixty-five years old. Gene could see the years of wisdom in this man’s face. The gentle eyes behind the glasses looked at him kindly, and Gene instinctively liked the man.

  The pastor started from the beginning, and told Gene the whole story, leaving nothing out. He explained to Gene about the cultic church that Marla had fallen into, and about Marla and Dianne bringing this to him. The pastor talked for about ten minutes. He laid the whole thing on the table, and Gene listened to the man intently.

  When the pastor finished explaining, he said, “Gene, I would like to ask you a very personal question.”

  For no particular reason Gene had begun to trust and respect this wise man, so he said, “Go ahead and ask your question.”

  “Gene, do you love your wife? I know this is not a normal question I should be asking, but will you trust me that there is a reason?”

  Gene hesitated then nodded his head, “Yes sir, I do love her very much.”

  “Now I am going to ask you another very personal question. Will you bear with me?”

  Again, Gene shook his head yes. “Has there been someone else involved with you?”

  Gene could no longer look the pastor in the eye, but he answered truthfully. “Yes, there has been, but it’s over.”

  “Gene, this can be fixed, but it’s going to take forgiveness on both your parts. It’s going to take a laying aside of the past. But I tell you the truth, we are all responsible to God for our actions, and we have all fallen short of the glory and truth of God. We all need to repent of our faults and failings to him first, before we can expect to get things straight. Repentance is absolutely necessary before we can expect God’s blessing on our lives, our homes, and our marriages, mine no different than yours.”

  “If we are willing to repent, he will bless us and forgive us, but we must be willing to do this. Would you be willing to give this a try?”

  Gene thought about it for a moment, and he felt the pastor’s words were logical, right, and true. He looked back at his own mistakes: his refusal to attend church with his wife and his weakness in letting Debbie manipulate him into doing something he was ashamed of now. His whole wretched life seemed to be all wrong, as he considered this man’s words.

  “Yes sir, I am.”

  “Why don’t we move into the sanctuary? We can pray anywhere, but I feel that it is a more fitting place for this,” the pastor said.

  Gene nodded his head, and the pastor led him into the sanctuary. On the back wall hung a stained wooden cross, with backlighting positioned behind it. On a large, low stage was the pulpit, and in front of the pulpit was a stand with a large open Bible. Velvet-covered altar benches sat on either side of the Bible stand, and the chandeliers overhead gave off a soft light.

  Gene felt warmth in the large auditorium, even though it was empty except for the two of them. It had been a long time since Gene had been in a church, but he found this place to be welcoming and inviting. Though no words were exchanged, he felt pulled to kneel down at one of the altars. The pastor laid his hand on his shoulder and began to pray for him. Gene felt warmth spread th
roughout his body as the tears of repentance and sorrow came.

  Gene Hayden left the sanctuary that day full of hope and renewal.

  Back in the office, the pastor said, “Gene, I want to impose on you another question. Would you be willing to meet Marla at those altars?”

  Gene wiped his eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop coming. All he could do was shake his head yes. The pastor again laid his hand on Gene’s shoulder and prayed earnestly for his marriage.

  “Would you be willing to let me set up a meeting between you two here tomorrow, around ten?”

  “I was hoping you would say that, Pastor.”

  “Until tomorrow, then.” The pastor shook his hand, and Gene went to his car to drive back to the motel room. He glanced at his watch and was shocked to see that it was already four thirty in the afternoon.

  Bud Thatcher walked into his secretary’s office; she looked up and smiled at him. “I held all your calls. I hope you don’t mind. I just felt that you needed to not be disturbed while that man was here.”