Echoes of Faith| The Healing Hands of Rosa Mae| Flash Fiction

 

The Healing Hands of Rosa Mae

When a panicked knock pulls retired midwife Rosa Mae Sutton back into service, she steps into more than a childbirth—she walks into a broken family's silence. In the hush that follows new life, God’s grace speaks louder than shame ever could. —scroll down to begin.

Rosa Mae Sutton had hands that once caught near every baby born in Calvary County—brown, calloused hands with fingers steady as prayer. These days, they mostly stayed busy in her garden or folded in her lap during Sunday service at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist, third pew from the back. Folks called her "retired," but Rosa Mae never saw it that way. You don’t retire from being a servant. You just get quieter at it.

Since her husband Calvert passed last spring, the house had been too quiet. Some mornings she still reached across the bed before remembering he wasn’t there. But grief, like rain, came and went in its own season—and Rosa Mae had learned to let the Lord carry what she couldn’t.

So when whispers about young Lena Johnson started circling—sixteen, belly round, no ring, and no name for the father—Rosa Mae didn’t join the chatter. She passed the offering plate on Sunday and the potato salad on Wednesday—and kept her mouth shut in between. Folks said it was “a family matter.” Rosa Mae knew better than to poke at sealed-up wounds. Truth came when it was ready.

The rain started around suppertime, soft and steady on the tin roof. Rosa Mae stood at her stove, turning catfish fillets, the smell of cornmeal and cayenne in the air. The Mississippi Mass Choir hummed low from the radio.

She had just set the cornbread in the oven when she heard the knock—sharp and hurried. She paused, wiped her hands on a dish towel, and made her way to the front door.

She opened the door to Evelyn Johnson standing on the porch, soaked near through. Her white blouse clung to her shoulders, hair frizzed at the edges, and her breath came fast like she’d run the whole way. Rainwater dripped from her elbows.

"Evenin’, Evelyn,” Rosa Mae said.

Evelyn hesitated, chest rising and falling. “It’s Lena,” she said. “The baby’s comin’. Early.”

"How far apart are the pains?"

"I don’t know. She’s screamin’ and cryin’. Doctor Mays is in Jackson. We tried callin’ twice. Chester’s out of town, but on the way back."

"And the ambulance?"

"Too far. Weather’s slowed everything."

Rosa Mae nodded. "Come in out the rain. I’ll get my bag."

Evelyn hesitated, then stepped inside, shoulders slumping. Rosa Mae reached for her old satchel, folded a towel, and grabbed the little jar of anointing oil beside the salt.

"Lord," she murmured, "guide my hands like You always do."

The rain hadn’t let up by the time they pulled into the Johnsons’ gravel drive. Rosa Mae climbed the front steps with careful steps, her bag in one hand, her Bible tucked inside. The porch light flickered above them, casting soft halos in the mist.

Inside, the house was filled with the sharp, high-pitched sounds of a girl in pain.

"Mama!" Lena’s voice came from the back room, raw and afraid.

Evelyn winced. "She’s been like that for near an hour. I tried to help, but she don’t want me near her."

Rosa Mae gave her a long, knowing look. "That baby’s comin’ whether y’all are ready or not."

She stepped into the bedroom where Lena lay twisted in sweat-soaked sheets, face red, curls stuck to her forehead. The girl’s eyes met Rosa Mae’s—and panic softened.

"Miss Rosa Mae..."

"I’m here, baby,” she said, setting her bag down. “Ain’t no need to be afraid now."

Lena groaned as a contraction stole her breath.

Evelyn lingered in the doorway.

"You gonna help or hover?" Rosa Mae said.

Evelyn blinked, then stepped forward, grabbing a towel.

"Good," Rosa Mae said. "Let’s bring this child into the world."

Thirty minutes later, Lena cried out, bore down, and with Rosa Mae’s steady hands guiding the way, a baby boy entered the world—red-faced and squalling, lungs full of life.

Rosa Mae wrapped him in a towel and handed him to Lena, who sobbed as she cradled him against her chest.

Evelyn stood frozen, her breath hitching, tears caught behind her eyes. Her whole body trembled—but she didn’t move.

The baby had quieted now, swaddled and sleeping in Lena’s arms, his breath soft as rain against her chest. The storm outside had eased to a drizzle, tapping the windows like a lullaby. The room, once filled with cries and chaos, settled into a hush—the kind that followed holy things.

Evelyn stood at the edge of the bed, hands trembling, eyes fixed on her grandson like she didn’t know whether to reach or retreat.

Rosa Mae packed away her instruments. Without turning, she said softly, “I reckon the paperwork’s already filled out.”

Lena’s head snapped up. “What?”

Evelyn stiffened.

Rosa Mae turned to face them. “For the adoption.”

Silence.

“We were tryin’ to do what’s best,” Evelyn said, her voice tight.

Lena’s eyes welled. “You never asked what I wanted.”

Rosa Mae folded her hands. “I ain’t here to tell y’all what to do. But I’ll say this—every baby I ever caught came into this world carryin’ purpose, planned or not.”

She looked at Lena. “You love him?”

Lena glanced at her newborn son and grinned. “With everything I got.”

“Then the Lord’s already given you what you need to start.”

Evelyn’s mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again.

“You think I’m hard,” she said suddenly. “But I was you.”

Lena frowned. “What do you mean?”

Evelyn sat down. “I was sixteen. Pregnant.  Your grandmother made me marry a man I barely knew. I lost that baby.”

She looked at her daughter. “I wasn’t mad at you. I was scared. Scared you'd go through what I did.”

“You could’ve told me,” Lena whispered.

“I’m tellin’ you now.”

Rosa Mae stepped forward, placed a hand on both their shoulders.

“The enemy loves secrets. But the Lord? He works in the light.”

She glanced at the baby. “He ain’t just a burden. He’s a blessing. Proof that even after we mess up, God still sends new life.”

Evelyn reached for the baby. Lena let her. Evelyn kissed his forehead and closed her eyes.

Rosa Mae picked up her bag.

“You leavin’?” Lena asked.

“Mmhmm,” she said with a smile. “Y’all don’t need me now.”

At the door, she paused.

“Don’t let fear raise that child. Let love do it. Let the Lord do it.”

She stepped into the clearing night, stars breaking through the clouds. Behind her, the soft sounds of a family being made echoed like an old spiritual hymn.

🕊️ An Echoes of Faith Story

When secrets stayed hidden, grace brought them to light.

Echoes of Faith: A Father's Revenge|When God Says “Vengeance Is Mine” | Flash Fiction

A Father's Revenge

He thought justice had failed. With his daughter gone and her killer walking free, David Rourke carried nothing but anger — and a plan for revenge. Yet at the edge of a choice he could never undo, God whispered a different word: peace. Let A Father’s Revenge speak to your heart — scroll down to begin.

No grass had yet taken root in the fresh dirt covering Isabella’s grave. David Rourke’s fingers trembled around the stems of flowers meant for his daughter’s graduation day. When the satin ribbon untied itself and fluttered down onto the soil, he couldn’t bring himself to retrieve it.

He had promised not to cry today. He failed, like he had failed every promise since the sirens, the phone call, the sterile hospital light that said too late.

The courtroom verdict replayed in his mind—the polished wood, the polished lawyers, the polished boy. Ethan Jacobs, eighteen, private school blazer, jaw trembling, parents flanking him with checkbooks and silence.

“First offense,” the defense attorney said smoothly. “Ethan is a young man who has shown genuine remorse. We recommend community service and supervised probation.”

The judge’s gavel fell, and David felt each word like a physical blow. His daughter was in the ground, and her killer would walk free with nothing but an apology and a slap on the wrist. He wouldn’t let it go. Ethan Jacobs would not escape what he had done to Isabella. Not while David was alive.

That night he lay awake while his wife, Susan, breathed softly beside him. He heard their twelve-year-old son, Robbie, tapping at his video games down the hall. In the dark, anger ticked like a clock he couldn’t stop. A plan began to form: watch Ethan Jacobs… and then make his move.

It wasn’t hard. The Jacobs family lived behind gates that recognized wealth more than people. David parked down the street and waited. He watched Ethan laugh too loudly with other boys. He watched him “serve” community service, dusting picture frames that already gleamed.

David’s chest tightened as he watched Ethan’s smug smile, his eyes gleaming with arrogance and privilege.

—

At dinner, Susan asked him to say grace. David stared at the untouched food on his plate. When she reached for his hand across the table, his fingers curled into a fist.

“I can’t thank God for anything anymore,” he muttered, pushing back his chair. The legs scraped against the floor as he left the table.

On Sunday Susan tucked a folded card into his pocket before church. Later, sitting alone in the back pew, he opened it. Romans 12:19, written in her careful script. Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

“Then why didn’t You?” he whispered to the empty sanctuary.

—

Three weeks after the verdict, David’s plan finally took shape. He parked across from the charity shop and waited until dusk settled like ash. Through the windshield, he saw Ethan emerge, jingling keys as he locked the glass door.

Alone. No parents. No lawyers. Just the boy.

David’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. This was the moment. He eased the truck to the curb, rolled down the window, and spoke the words that sealed it:

“Get in.”

His grief had no blueprint, only a raw hunger for consequence. David eased the truck to the curb and rolled down the window. “Get in,” he said.

Ethan froze. “Mr. Rourke? What are you—”

“I said, get in.”

Ethan slid into the passenger seat, his fingers trembling against the door handle. “Mr. Rourke, I’ve been trying to find the right words since… I keep saying sorry but it gets hollower every time—”

“Don’t,” David snapped.

The truck rumbled past the edge of town to an old hunting shed, the door hanging on one hinge. Inside, dust floated like neglected prayers. David flipped on a bare bulb and pointed to a chair. Ethan sat, breathing too fast.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Which part didn’t you mean, Ethan?” David cut him off. “The vodka shots? The keys in your hand? The red light you blew at sixty?” His words fell sharp as broken glass.

David’s gaze caught on a rusted tire iron hanging from a nail on the wall. His fingers closed around the cold metal, testing its weight.

Ethan’s eyes filled with tears. “I never meant to kill her.”

David’s phone vibrated against his thigh. He pulled it out. His thumb hovered, then pressed his wife’s name.

She answered instantly. “David?”

“I’ve got Ethan Jacobs,” David said, his voice so low it barely carried through the phone.

The words hung in the air like a suspended breath.

“Where are you?” Susan asked.

“At the old hunting cabin. Off Miller Road.”

“David, listen to me. Whatever you’re thinking—don’t. I’m on my way. Just… wait for me.”

When he hung up, Ethan whispered, “I think about her every day. I pray for her. For you. I know that doesn’t fix it—I just… I can’t give her back to you.”

“Prayer?” David barked. “Don’t spend God like pocket change.”

The urge to lash out pulsed under his skin like a living thing. He tightened his grip on the tire iron.

“You think your prayers mean a damn thing to me?” His voice was low, dangerous. “You took everything from me. And all you have to offer are empty apologies and useless prayers.”

Twin beams of light sliced through the cabin window. Minutes later, the door creaked open, and Susan stepped inside. Her face was pale in the bulb’s glow, but her voice was steady. Without a word, she sank to her knees.

“David,” she said softly. “I know how you feel. I miss her too. I’ve been kneeling there in my heart for weeks. But this is the edge. One more step and you don’t come back.”

“This is justice.”

“This is revenge,” she replied. “And it doesn’t cure grief—it breeds it.”

David looked away.

Susan’s voice threaded through the silence: “Beloved, avenge not yourselves… for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” She didn’t shout. She laid it down like a bridge. “David, you are not the judge. You are the wounded. Let God be God.”

The mirror caught his reflection—a stranger gripping the tire iron. Jaw clenched. Eyes wild. He saw Isabella, too, in the kitchen doorway, the way she’d say Dad? like a question and an answer at once.

“Sir,” Ethan whispered, “I can’t fix what I broke. But don’t let this take you too.”

The tire iron slipped from David’s hand. It clattered to the floor like a confession.

Susan rose, dust on her knees, and placed her palm over his pounding chest. “Give it to God, David. This fury, this need for justice—it’s not yours to carry.”

A dam broke in David’s chest. He moved to Ethan, trembling, and untied him.

David pulled out his phone again. “There’s been a kidnapping incident at the old hunting cabin,” he told the dispatcher. “No one is hurt. Send officers.”

—

Several months later, David stood before the bench, hands clasped tightly at his waist. The judge leaned forward. “The court recognizes that grief can drive us beyond our own boundaries. Given that Mr. Jacobs has declined to press charges, I’m ordering two hundred hours of community service.”

David carried that sentence like a stone that grew lighter with time. He spoke at victims’ groups, not telling people what to do, only what had almost been done. About a cabin, a verse, and a God big enough to carry vengeance without becoming it.

One afternoon he visited Isabella’s grave. Grass had finally pushed through the soil, stubborn and green. He set wildflowers down and straightened the ribbon.

“Vengeance is His,” David said aloud, voice breaking into something like peace. “And by His grace, I choose to live.”

When he turned to leave, he thought he could almost hear Isabella’s voice again: "Be at peace, Dad."

🕊️ An Echoes of Faith Story

Sometimes surrendering vengeance is the first step toward peace.

Echoes of Faith: When Healing Begins| Flash Fiction

When Healing Begins

His world had gone silent without the master he once guided. Her world had gone dark after the blast that changed everything. Yet in God’s timing, loss met loss—and love found a new beginning. Walk into When Healing Begins and let this story of faith and second chances speak to your heart—scroll down to begin.

 On the cool tile floor of Freedom Paws Training Center lay stretched Bartley, a Golden Retriever with his head resting on his front paws. Above him hung his harness, its edges worn smooth from years of use. Two months ago, that same harness had fit snug around his chest while he guided Mr. Lewis Connors through crowded sidewalks and between grocery store shelves. Bartley could almost still feel the gentle pressure of the man’s hand, could almost hear the whispered praise that always came when they safely reached a crosswalk: “Good boy, Bart.”

But Mr. Connors had made his final journey without Bartley. In those last weeks, the familiar scent of illness had thickened the air of their home until one morning, even that was gone, replaced by the hollow emptiness that only death leaves behind.

“I know, buddy. You miss him.” Trainer Mark knelt beside Bartley, scratching behind his ears.

Bartley remained motionless, his dark eyes fixed on the door, as if still waiting for Mr. Connors to return.

Across the kennel room, a young Labrador bounced on his paws, tail whipping the air as his trainer approached with a leash. Bartley remained still as stone, his body a monument to what he had lost.

Mark clipped a lead onto Bartley’s collar, coaxing him gently to his feet. Bartley obeyed. He walked down the hall to the training yard, went through the motions, but his heart wasn’t in it.

“He misses Mr. Connors,” one of the other trainers whispered.

“Yeah,” Mark said.

Bartley lowered himself onto the grass, nose pressed against the earth. He didn’t know what came next. All he knew was that the hand he trusted most was gone, and the world felt unfamiliar without it.

—

Elena Morris gripped her husband’s arm as they stepped into the Saturday farmers’ market in downtown Bethesda. The air smelled of roasted coffee and fresh bread, voices rising in a cheerful hum. She tilted her chin up, determined to keep her smile steady.

“I told you I don’t need a babysitter,” she teased.

Michael chuckled, giving her hand a squeeze. “I’m not your babysitter, Elena. I’m your husband. Big difference.”

Vendors called out their specials, the clatter of crates and shopping bags blending into a confusing din. Elena’s dark glasses shielded her eyes, but inside her chest the familiar ache pressed tight. She wanted to feel normal again. To stroll a market with her husband like she had before Kuwait—before the blast that stole her sight.

“Let’s get those peaches you like,” Michael said. “Stay here a second while I grab them.”

Before she could argue, his arm slipped from hers. She shifted her weight, trying to steady her breathing. Easy, Elena. You’re fine.

But then the crowd swelled. Someone brushed her shoulder, another bumped her hip. The voices blurred together, too fast.

“Michael?” she called, trying to sound calm.

No answer.

Her pulse quickened. She turned in place, hands out slightly, but each shuffle of footsteps sounded like it was coming for her. She tried again, louder. “Michael!”

A woman’s laughter rang out nearby. A child cried. Elena clenched her fists. “God, please… don’t let me lose it here.”

Then a hand touched her shoulder.

“I’m right here,” Michael said, his voice breathless. “I was two steps away. It’s okay.”

Elena swallowed hard, relief and frustration tangled together. “I wasn’t okay. I couldn’t see where you went—I couldn’t see anything.”

He steadied her, but his own voice shook. “That’s exactly why we can’t keep pretending.”

She stiffened. “Pretending what? That I’m blind? I already know that.”

“That you don’t need help,” he said gently. “You do, Elena.”

“I have God. I have you. That’s enough.”

Michael hesitated, then leaned closer. “Maybe God’s already sending you help—you just don’t want to admit it.”

—

That evening, Elena sat stiffly at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped around a mug she hadn’t touched. Michael leaned against the counter, arms folded, while their daughter, Ashley, hovered nearby with worried eyes.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Elena said. “What happened today was nothing. I lost track of you for a second, that’s all.”

“A second was too long,” Michael replied. His voice was calm but unyielding. “You were scared. I was scared. We can’t keep doing this.”

Elena’s jaw tightened. “I’m not going to some school for the blind. And I don’t need a dog following me everywhere like I’m helpless. Weak.”

“Mom,” Ashley said softly, “it’s not about looking helpless. It’s about being safe.”

“God is all I need.” Elena shot back.

Michael’s shoulders sagged. “Elena, God also gives us tools. Doctors. Training. Even service dogs. That doesn’t mean you’ve failed—it means you’re willing to live.”

Silence filled the kitchen. The hum of the refrigerator seemed louder than usual.

Finally, Ashley spoke again, her voice carrying a quiet authority that startled her mother. “Mom, sometimes the hand God extends to us has paws.”

The words settled between them like a stone dropped into still water. Elena didn’t answer, but she couldn’t shake the echo of her daughter’s faith.

—

Two days later, the Morris family stepped into Freedom Paws Training Center. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant mingled with dog shampoo. Elena’s hand rested lightly on Michael’s arm, her cane tapping once against the tile before she folded it up, refusing to use it inside.

A trainer with a warm baritone voice approached. “Welcome to Freedom Paws. I’m Mark Daniels. You’re the Morris family, right? I’ve been thinking about your situation, and there’s a particular dog I think you should meet.”

Mark led them down a corridor lined with kennels. Elena listened to the symphony of animal sounds—the click of claws against concrete, excited yips, playful growls—until one noise separated itself from the others: a deep, sorrowful exhale that seemed to carry the weight of loss.

“Here,” Mark said, his footsteps halting. “I’d like you to meet Bartley.”

Elena strained to catch any sound from the kennel. “I don’t hear anything.”

Mark hesitated. “He’s grieving. Bartley’s last owner, a gentleman named Mr. Connors, passed away a couple of months ago. They were together for seven years. He’s one of the best guide dogs we’ve ever trained—sharp, steady, obedient. But he’s been lying low since his partner died.”

Ashley lowered herself to the kennel floor. “Hey, Bartley.”

A soft thud reached Elena’s ears—Bartley’s tail, breaking its stillness against the concrete floor.

Mark’s voice softened. “That’s the first time he’s lifted his head for anyone in days.”

Elena swallowed. “So he’s… broken too.”

“Not broken,” Mark corrected. “Just waiting for someone new to trust.”

The click of nails against concrete broke the silence as Bartley stood and approached. Elena held her breath when something warm and damp touched her palm—his nose, testing her scent.

Michael squeezed her shoulder. “Feels like he’s choosing you, Elena.”

Her throat tightened. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

Her fingers sank into Bartley’s fur, warm and solid beneath her touch. The ground beneath her feet no longer seemed to shift like desert sand—here was something real to hold onto in the darkness.

—

When the leaves began to turn, Elena found herself falling into step with a different life. She counted paces down the corridors of the Moore School for the Blind, Bartley’s harness firm in her grip, his body telegraphing each threshold and curb before her foot could find it.

At first, she’d hated the thought of being here. Now she realized it wasn’t defeat—it was training for a different kind of strength.

Each night, when Bartley’s warm weight settled against the side of her bed, Elena’s fingers would find his ears, and her whispered prayers included his name now. The emptiness he carried from Mr. Connors matched the darkness she navigated daily. In the quiet moments before sleep, she felt it—how two incomplete pieces could somehow make something whole again.

Together they moved forward—Elena’s darkness and Bartley’s grief weaving into a path neither could have walked alone.

🕊️ An Echoes of Faith Story

Sometimes the path to healing comes on four paws.

Echoes of Faith| Not Without| Flash Fiction

 

Not Without

After years of carrying her family alone, Eboni James faces the looming darkness of disconnection—both literal and spiritually. But just when she thinks God has forgotten her, her light breaks through in the most unexpected way. Let the story speak to your heart—scroll down to begin.

In Little Rock, Arkansas, rain tapped gently against the bedroom window as Eboni James sat cross-legged on the edge of her bed, a stack of unpaid bills spread out before her. The electric bill was overdue. Again.

She pressed a palm to her forehead, whispering a prayer she was too tired to finish.

From the living room, her children’s laughter echoed like sunshine through a storm. Seven-year-old Micah was probably turning their worn-out sofa into a superhero launch pad while his younger sisters, Kenzie and Lila, played dress-up with old scarves and plastic tiaras. They didn’t know the power might go out tomorrow.

Eboni smiled faintly. Thank You, Lord, that they still have joy.

Her phone buzzed.

Toni. The name made her pause—Toni always knew when something was off. Still, she answered, forcing cheer into her voice.

“Hey girl.”

“E! You are not going to believe this,” Toni bubbled. “Deacon Ray asked me out.”

Eboni blinked. “Wait… Deacon Ray? With the always-starched collar and the bass solo during ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’?”

“That’s the one. He wants to take me to that new jazz spot off Main Street. I nearly dropped my keys in the baptismal.”

Eboni chuckled. “Well, look at you—First Lady in training.”

Toni laughed. “Stop it. But are you good? You sound… tired.”

Eboni swallowed. “Just a long day.”

Toni didn’t press. “Alright, I’ll call you after the date. Pray I don’t  make a fool out of myself.”

“You’ll be fine,” Eboni said softly. “You always are.”

When the call ended, Eboni stared at the ceiling. Toni had been her best friend since they were twelve—saved the same summer, baptized the same Sunday. Toni was louder, flashier, and always honest.

Eboni hadn’t told her what was going on. She couldn’t. Toni had her own problems. And there was pride—yes—but also something deeper. Eboni was the dependable one. The one who held everything together. The one who once believed God wouldn’t give her more than she could bear.

She looked up toward heaven, her voice barely a whisper. Lord… I’m not asking for more. Just enough. Then she glanced back at the bills, the weight of each one pressing against her chest.

Ten years ago, she stood beside Thomas James in Mount Olive Baptist—the church she’d grown up in. He was her high school sweetheart. After graduation, they got married. Thomas headed to medical school, and Eboni became a wife, mother, and breadwinner.

She worked as a nurse’s aide in local nursing homes and picked up double shifts when needed. She didn’t mind. It was for their future—the one they had prayed for.

And then, everything changed.

Thomas graduated. For a little while, they were on top of the world. But within a year, it all unraveled. One afternoon, he came home and told her he was leaving.

“I didn’t mean for it to end this way,” he said, tossing clothes into a suitcase. “I appreciate everything you did for me.”

“You appreciate me?” she snapped. “I worked my fingers to the bone to get you through school—and this is how you repay me?”

He lowered his eyes. “I know. I feel bad.”

“You feel bad?” she repeated. “What about me? What about the kids?”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I want more.”

And he got more—another life, another woman, another child.

Eboni loved her children, but this wasn’t the life she had envisioned. But she still had the church. It was the only anchor she had—the only place she felt loved and safe.

The next day came with gray skies and a chill in the air. Eboni stood at the stove, stirring a pot of beans, when the doorbell rang. She opened it to find Toni standing there with a bag of groceries and a wide, unapologetic grin.

“From that smile on your face,” Eboni said, “the date with Deacon Ray went well.”

Toni beamed. “It was perfect.” She walked inside like she lived there.

Eboni closed the door behind her. “Tell me everything—and don’t leave out a single detail.”

Toni launched into the play-by-play, giddy as a schoolgirl. Eboni listened, smiling when she could, but the looming disconnect date sat heavy on her heart. She had two days to come up with the money.

A quiet pause settled between them.

Then Toni’s voice broke the silence. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle,” Eboni said.

“That’s not what I asked.”

The silence stretched. Finally, Eboni exhaled. “The power’s about to be shut off Monday. I was going to pay it after payday, but… there’s no extra money to stretch.”

Toni’s expression softened. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to be someone’s prayer request,” Eboni whispered. “I didn’t want to need help. I just… wanted to be okay.”

Toni reached for her hand. “You are okay. You’re faithful. You’re still standing. But even Moses needed someone to hold up his arms.”

Eboni laughed through the lump in her throat. “Don’t make me laugh. I’m already embarrassed. Since Thomas left, I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck. I’m tired, Toni. I don’t see a way out.”

Toni leaned back, arms crossed. “That’s not the Eboni I know.”

“It’s me today.”

“What about you?” Toni asked gently. “Have you asked for help? You always try to carry everything by yourself. You didn’t even tell me.”

Eboni looked away. Toni was right. Pride—and fear of what people might say—had kept her silent.

That night, after the kids were asleep, Eboni found a quiet moment in the hallway outside their room. She leaned against the wall, listening to their soft, even breathing. For a few seconds, she let the tears fall—silent, grateful, and exhausted.

It happened on Wednesday, just as scheduled. She came home from work, juggled her purse and keys, and flipped the light switch.

Nothing.

Her breath caught. She tried another room. Still nothing.

The power was off.

Why would God let it happen? She had prayed, tithed, stayed faithful—even when it hurt. She had believed a door would open. But no miracle came.

Later that evening, Toni arrived with a bag of takeout. “Thought I’d spoil the kids tonight,” she said, cheerfully unaware.

Eboni almost turned her away—ashamed of the dim rooms and flickering candlelight—but Toni was already stepping through the door.

She froze in place. “E… Today was the day, huh?”

Eboni fumbled for words. “No, I… I just didn’t want to turn on the lights. Trying to keep the bill down.”

Toni raised an eyebrow. “You’re the best liar I know. And that’s saying something.”

Eboni gave a weak laugh, her shoulders sagging.

Toni set the food on the counter and pulled her into a hug. “You’re not alone. Keep the faith. Now come on—let’s eat dinner and get to church. The kids are going to want their coloring sheets.”

Eboni had completely forgotten it was Wednesday night Bible study. She wiped her eyes and nodded. “Right. Bible study.”

An hour later, Eboni arrived at Mount Olive Baptist just in time to prep for her class. She greeted a handful of children, passed out coloring sheets, and began a lesson on Jesus calming the storm—ironic, she thought, considering the one still brewing in her life.

She was too focused on her students to notice the whispers in the hallway… or the pastor slipping a folded note into Toni’s hand.

It wasn’t until later that night, after the kids were tucked in and the house was still, that Eboni opened her email and gasped.

Five hundred dollars had been deposited into her bank account via Zelle.

There was a memo attached:

The Lord put you on my heart. Let Him carry you this time. —With Love, Your Church Family

It was enough to pay the electric bill, refill the pantry, and put gas in her car.

Eboni sat at the kitchen table, overwhelmed. The tears that came this time weren’t laced with shame—but with relief. She didn’t feel embarrassed. She felt seen. Held.

Later that day, Toni dropped by and found Eboni humming in the kitchen.

“You look lighter,” she said, sliding into a chair.

“I am,” Eboni said, turning from the stove. “You know what that money meant to me. Don’t try to deny it—I know you were behind it.”

Toni grinned. “I won’t. I knew you weren’t going to ask for help, so I talked to Pastor. He took up a collection after Bible study.”

Eboni nodded, her eyes softening. “Then I’ll be sure to thank the congregation on Sunday.”

That night, after the kids were tucked in, Eboni lingered at the dining table with her Bible. The same one she had opened again and again, even when answers felt far away.

It fell open to Psalm 37—her lifeline.

“Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken…”

She whispered the words like a vow—not just for herself, but for every woman walking her own dark hallway, wondering if God still sees.

🕊️ An Echoes of Faith Story

For every woman walking her own dark hallway, wondering if God still sees...