Luke nodded. “Exactly.” How many times had he heard that before? He looked at Dayne. “There have been a few movies on the subject. God’s Not Dead, for instance.”
“Right. Film is a powerful tool.” Dayne looked at his wife, Katy, and then at the group. “I have an investor who approached me yesterday looking to put money into a film defending religious freedom. I’m searching for the right story.”
Luke chuckled, but the sound was more sad than humorous. “We need to have lunch, Brother. I have far too many stories.” He looked at Peter. “Back to your question. The people suing are often atheistic legal groups, brain trusts whose intent it is to wipe religion—and the Christian faith in particular—from the landscape of America. There’s a dozen of these groups now, and more all the time.”
Reagan sighed. “The suing isn’t just being done by those groups now. That’s where it gets crazy.”
“She’s right.” Luke felt the gravity of the situation. “Now it’s school districts suing teachers for mentioning God. Parents suing schools for allowing such a mention.” He hesitated. “Like I said, it’s out of control.”
The conversation shifted to the U.S. Supreme Court and the seats that would no doubt be filled in the next few years. Luke and his legal team had talked about that at length lately. “For now, things are better with the Supreme Court. But honestly, there could come a time when churches will gradually be outlawed in the United States.” He looked at his family. “And it could happen in our lifetime.”
Brooke looked doubtful. “How could that happen? The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.”
“Simple.” Luke gave her a sad look. “The courts have been interpreting that very clause to read freedom from religion. As if belief in God were a dangerous or bad thing for culture.”
His dad shook his head. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Studies have shown that faith is what keeps a society like ours working. It’s the difference between a productive people living in the providence of God Almighty and . . . well, anarchy.”
Another breeze washed over them and Luke exhaled. He didn’t want to keep talking about this. Today was a time to celebrate. Still, it was important everyone understood that their rights truly were in jeopardy. “Here’s how close we are to losing our churches.” Luke made eye contact with his siblings and their spouses and then his father and Elaine. “The government would simply analyze the beliefs of a given church. If those beliefs line up with the Bible, then they could very well be determined to be hate speech in today’s climate. Churches would be considered hate groups in the eyes of the government. They’d lose their tax-exempt status first, and then they’d lose their ability to meet.”
Reagan raised her eyebrows. “Isn’t that crazy?”
“And those conversations in coffee shops where people are afraid to say the name of God out loud aren’t helping.” Ashley leaned forward. The issue clearly troubled her. “Once people stop believing in their rights, those rights are a whole lot easier to take away.”
“That’s exactly it.” Luke nodded. “Anyway . . . there’ve been lots of cases, and all of them have dealt with situations that would’ve never made it in front of a jury even a few years ago.” He paused. “That’s how quickly this whole religious freedom thing is changing.”
The kids came running back, all of them laughing and out of breath. Some of the older kids had the little ones by their hands. Tommy was out in front, holding up his phone. “We did it! We beat our record!”
Hayley raised her arms in the air, her face bright with childlike joy. “We asked God to show us the way, and that’s just what He did.”
Luke smiled to himself and let the scene wash over him. No one had ever told Hayley not to talk about God in public. In fact, no one had ever told any of the kids that.
Help me to be like them, Lord. The silent prayer came from Luke’s heart. Let me keep the faith of a child. And let me keep the prayer of a child. Hayley’s words echoed in Luke’s soul. We asked God to show us the way, and that’s just what He did.
As the group cleaned up their picnics and loaded the baskets and pumpkins they had picked into their cars, Luke couldn’t help but think about his job. No matter how difficult the cases, Luke was grateful.
If things got bad enough, he would just remember Hayley’s prayer. And Luke would ask God to show him the way. And that’s what God would do. He had to believe for such a time as this, while he was blessed to be a religious freedom fighter.
While there were still religious freedoms left to fight for.
6
In her new life, the one without Wendell Quinn, the same crazy thing happened to Alicia Harris every morning. Today was no different. Alicia opened her eyes and in the bleary line between night and day she literally could see the man she still loved. As if Wendell was standing before her. His kind brown eyes would look into hers and she would feel the way she did whenever she was with him: Safe. Loved.
Whole.
And in the dream she was sure she was talking to him in his office. Talking about how they might have a future together and . . .
And then the reality hit. The way it did every morning.
She rolled onto her side and stared at the alarm clock.
Her life no longer included Wendell. The world of Hamilton High was behind her. These days she worked at a different high school, across town, and she only kept up with Wendell through the Facebook pages of her former co-workers.
Since their breakup, Alicia had not once looked into Wendell’s kind eyes. She hadn’t once walked into his office and talked to him about her fears, hadn’t felt his arms safe around her. Hadn’t dreamed with him about a life together.
Other than when she slept, her days with Wendell were, and always would be, part of her past. A million miles from the here and now.
Alicia sat up in bed and took a slow breath. The panic attacks had been gone for months now. Nothing in her new life triggered the anxiety. Just two Xanax a day and her doctor was happy with her progress. “You seem to be doing fine,” he’d told her at her last appointment.
But her aching soul was another story. Why, God . . . why do You let these dreams happen? I’ve asked You, please . . . take him away from me. Won’t You do that? She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. She hated that she was so weak, that she was prone to anxiety. Hated the disorder with everything in her. But she couldn’t change it. Some days she wondered if her life would be better if she’d never met Wendell Quinn.
At least then she wouldn’t have to suffer the heartache of losing him.
Alicia opened her eyes. The thing was, Wendell thought Alicia had broken up with him because of the Raise the Bar program. But that was only part of it. She leaned back against the headboard and remembered that awful day once more. The one when she came home from Hamilton High with a decision to make.
She remembered every detail. How she had warmed up a plate of food and checked messages. That’s when she noticed she had a second message from Jack Renton. In the two minutes it took to listen to his voice, Alicia had yet another reason to walk away from Hamilton High and Wendell Quinn.
Alicia closed her eyes and Jack’s words came back to her again. She didn’t have them memorized. Over the past year, she had done her best to forget them. But his evil intent remained, ingrained on her heart, forever etched in her mind. Jack had told her he was tired of waiting, tired of playing nice. She would be his one day soon. Period. If that meant getting rid of people in the way, so be it.
Jack’s final words had been chilling.
“I’ll have you, Alicia, or no one will. I’d rather spend the rest of my life locked up than see you with someone else.”