VENICE POV
*** Kring kring kring ***
I woke up because of the alarm coming from my phone. I checked the time and immediately stood up when I saw it was already seven in the morning. Shocks, the call time for ministers in the church is at eight-thirty. I grabbed my clothes from my chair and immediately went to the bathroom to take a bath. It is a relief that preparing my clothes the night before I leave has become my hobby, so it is less hassle for me in the morning.
After thirty minutes, I had already finished preparing myself to leave the house. I only took bread from the pantry and immediately ran outside the house to get a cab. I was glad a tricycle appeared without any passengers, so I hopped in immediately. I asked the driver to went straight to the church even if the tricycle fair was expensive because it was a special ride. But it is better than I arrived late at the church.
“ What happened to you? You look haggard,” Grace asked me when I entered the church.
“ I woke up late. Since I did not want to be late, see what happened,” I replied.
“ Oww, well, you are still beautiful,” Grace encouraged me.
“ I do not have any coin, Grace,” I said, which made the two of us laugh.
Grace and I talked about random things for a few minutes before I went to the restroom to fix myself. When I exited the bathroom, I saw Bryan walking towards my direction. I immediately pretended that I was searching for something in my bag until he passed through where I was. It has been two days since the bonfire session and two days since I started avoiding him. It will be better this way for us.
The worship team was almost completed when I returned to the session hall. So I put my bag down on my chair and went to the stage.
“ Good morning ,” I greeted them energetically.
“ Good morning, Ven,” Monica greeted me back.
“ Morning, you arrived early,” Axcel commented.
“ I always arrive early,” I responded.
“ You are the best,” Axcel jokingly said. I hit him weakly because of it.
After a while, Bryan arrived, so we started our practice. My part now is being a tambourine dancer. Monica and I have been training to become tambourine dancers for the past six months. Still, today I will dance alone since Monica is the assigned worship leader. While I was in the middle of dancing, I could not help but reminisce about what had happened before I became a Christian.
After some time, I did not exactly know what time. We have already finished our dry run. I sat down in my chair, too exhausted. I realized it was really hard being a dancer because I am moving all my body parts, but it is all good for the glory of the Lord.
“ Here, “ I heard Bryan’s voice. I turned around and saw him holding a glass of water, giving it to me. Even though I had second thoughts, I eventually took it.
“ Thanks,” I sweetly thanked him.
Bryan just nodded and left me to go to Axcel. I secretly smiled because of his gesture. He is really an ideal man from all angles. I am really praying that he will find a woman for her even if I am not the woman destined for him.
“ Hey, what happened?” Monica suddenly asked. It was when I realized that I was holding my chest. I immediately removed it and faked a cough.
“ N-nothing,” I stammered while answering her question.
“ Are you sure? You made me nervous,” Monica worriedly asked.
“ Yes, I am fine. I remembered something,” I told her while smiling to assure her that I was really fine.
“ Are you really sure? Maybe you are feeling something strange? It is too hot here,” Monica asked.
“ Yes, I am fine. Do not worry too much,” I assuredly told her and stood up to do some stretching.
After a while, our ministry head announced that we should prepare because the service would start in a few minutes, which made me nervous. This is my first time dancing alone since I am usually with Monica or Ivy.
“ They are not your audience, focus to God,” I heard Bryan’s voice behind me. I turned to him, but he just passed through me and went directly to where the guitar was. I tried to calm myself down by letting out a heavy sigh. After a while, our service started.
BRYAN'S POV
After the praise and worship, we immediately went down the stage. While walking downstairs, I could not help but look in Venice’s direction. I am just amazed at how God moved in her life. Suppose I would reminisce about the first time I saw her a couple of months ago. In that case, I could say that the Venice that danced earlier is too different from that girl.
“ Who are you looking at?”
I almost jumped off in shock because of Axcel’s tapping on my shoulder. I turned to him while frowning.
“ I am not looking to anyone. Why are you surprising me?” I asked him while frowning.
“ Don’t me, Bry,” Axcel replied, so I punched him weakly.
“ You are talking nonsense. Let us go. Let us sit on our chairs,” I told him and started walking towards my chair. After the testimony, our pastor went to the pulpit and started preaching.
“ Today, we will talk about growth. Did you know that we are not meant to be stagnant? We need to grow in all aspects of our lives,” our pastor said.
VENICE’S POV
I am currently listening to our pastor’s preaching in a serious manner.
“ Who is in love here? Raise your hand. Woah, no one, thank God. But you know, if you are in love during this season, do not focus on that. Focus on your growth.” Our pastor firmly said, which made me lower my head.
“ Sometimes, we are too occupied with the thought of having the right one that we tend to forget to be the right one first, Amen? “ Our pastor added.
“ Amen! “ the congregation said in unison. Oww, that hurts. Our pastor’s word penetrated me. Our pastor did not warn me, so I could not dodge her words.
“ Listen, I knew a story. There is a couple, and they know God together. They joined the church together, but as time goes while they were serving, they realized that it was not yet the right time for them since they were still youths. And after realizing it, they decided to end their relationship. You know, when they were asked why they did that. They answered, if growth requires growing apart, let thy will be done.” Our pastor sentimentally said.
“ Sometimes, we became stagnant. We could not grow because we were too focused on something not helping us grow. You know, being in love is a meaningful feeling, but remember, love knows how to let go. Those who truly love someone were not selfish, especially if that is for their growth,” our pastor emphasizes, which really penetrated deep down my soul.
I do not know why but those words really stayed in my mind. I was seeking the Lord on what He wanted me to understand from those words.
“ Hey, you are staring nowhere,” I came back to reality when Monica shook my shoulder. Our service had ended, but those words kept running through my mind.
“ Are you really okay?” Grace worriedly asked.
“ Yes, but I am not feeling that well,” I admitted.
“ Really? Let us go, we will send you home,” Monica said.
I simply nodded and followed them. While we were walking, I saw the shadows of us five. However, Bryan’s shadow is separated from us, which cringes because we are walking side by side with each other. I closed my eyes, but when I opened them again, our shadows were already on the same side. This is weird!
“ Lord, what do you want me to know? “ I asked in a low voice so they could not hear it.
TO BE CONTINUED!