Chapter 9: A New Life
Lizzie woke up from a deep sleep to the sound of a loud bell coming from the chapel. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the brilliant morning sunlight filtering through the large window in her and Kate's room. Lizzie looked over to Kate's bed. Her eyes were open as well.
The girls quickly took showers and brushed their teeth. They silently made their way to the breakfast table. After Sal's lengthy prayer and their hearty breakfast, Sal pulled aside the new people to tell them where their jobs were.
Sal explained how everybody was separated by groups. Each group was a different color. Each week they were assigned a different task, and the group got one week off during each rotation. The rotations included laundry, house keeping, yard work, meals. And sanctuary cleaning. Lizzie was put in the green group, and Kate was in the yellow group. That week, the yellow had off and green was doing yard work.
Being outside for her job made it easy for Lizzie to sneak off to the garage after lunch. She found a door on the side of the old building. She quietly opened the door and shut it behind her. It was dark and smelled musty. Lizzie wasn't so sure that she had made the right decision by agreeing to meet Derek here. She was starting to get really freaked out.
"Lizzie?" a voice asked, making her jump.
"Yes?" she replied. A light went on, and she was standing face to face with Derek. You scared me."
"Sorry."
"So what are we doing here?" Derek looked at Lizzie, smiled, and flipped the light switch off. The next thing Lizzie knew, she could feel Derek's lips on her own. "Wait," Lizzie said, pulling away. A million questions were still spinning around in her head. Derek flipped the light switch on. "This doesn't seem right that we have to see each other in secret. What gives Sal the right to pair people off? He's interfering with matters of the heart."
"He has special connections to God that nobody else has."
"Back that up with the Bible," Lizzie challenged.
"Uhh. He's sorta like Moses or the apostle Paul. God chose Sal to help us. To lead us out of Egypt, or out of the materialistic life in this case."
"Materialistic? So having this huge mansion, story book church, and that Lexus," Lizzie pointed to the black car parked next to the van in the garage, "Aren't considered materialistic?"
"Did you give up everything and trust God that you would be taken care of at Lamb of God? This is your reward."
"Reward?"
"Yeah. God takes favor in those willing to sacrifice everything. In Mark ten, there's a story about a rich man. The rich man asks Jesus what he can do to inherit eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell everything and follow him."
"I know, but I'm still living richly. I mean where did all of this money come from anyways?"
"A multi-millionaire donated his estate when he joined, and spent what he had left to build the church and pay taxes. Look, you don't need to worry about that stuff. All you have to do now is worship God for the rest of your life. Revelation fourteen seven says, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of judgment had come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.'"
"So you mean I don't have to worry about anything? As in nothing at all?"
"Pretty much. Matthew six thirty-four says, 'Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.' No longer do you have the weight of the world to bring you down. The world is no longer part of your life."
All of a sudden, the burden Lizzie had been bearing lifted off of her. She felt like she could fly. She flung her arms around Derek and gave him a fiery kiss.
Derek look surprised, but quickly relaxed and gave into Lizzie's lips.
As her first week progressed, Lizzie learned the customs that Lamb of God had. Bed time was promptly at sunset, and everybody was woken up by a quick-paced contemporary worship song on an amplified trumpet promptly at sunrise. Sal believed God created night to sleep and day to play, so everybody slept more during the winter and played more during the summer.
Every morning, Lizzie had a half hour to get down to breakfast where Sal gave a quite lengthy prayer over the meal. Lizzie quickly learned that the food was quite exceptional. There were two chefs that had joined Lamb of God a while ago, and they quickly made the kitchen theirs. Common breakfast foods included bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, grits, toast, waffles, etcetera.
After breakfast, everybody went to the chapel for a morning lecture given by Sal. When the lecture was over, everybody went off to do their assigned jobs. At promptly noon, everybody was beckoned by the church bell for lunch and Sal made another lengthy blessing for the food. After lunch was free time until dinner when Sal made yet another prayer. After dinner, everybody congregated in the chapel for a service that lasted until sunset, when everybody went directly to bed.
Free time was Lizzie's favorite part of the day. Her and Derek spent countless hours in the garage making out, and when Derek was busy helping Sal with this and that, Lizzie went to her room and read her bible. She wasn't sure why she was so fascinated by it. Her favorite story was the one where Jesus was tempted by the devil after fasting for forty days and forty nights. She wasn't sure why that story stood out more than the rest, but she quickly learned it enough to recite it without even thinking.
Other activities that several people did during the free time included hiking, praying, meeting in small bible study groups, and doing anything Sal considered glorifying to God.
It had been about three weeks, and Kate and Lizzie were lying down on their beds shortly after sunset. Lizzie was staring at the ceiling, and Kate wasn't asleep, either.
"Lizzie?" Kate asked.
"Huh?"
"Have you ever like somebody before, but wasn't sure what to do because regardless of how they felt about you, their beliefs would force themselves to not pursue anything?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, I've been getting to know Sal, and I think I like him."
"Sal? Isn't he kinda old for you?"
"He went to school with Derek, didn't he?"
"Yeah, but Sal graduated long before him. Derek told me he met Sal when he was a freshman, and Sal was taking a few extra religion classes at WCU part time before starting up Lamb of God."
"So how old does that make him?"
"I don't know. Maybe late twenties, early thirties?" Lizzie had noticed that Sal wasn't the most gorgeous thing to look at, either. He was kind of short. He had non descript brown hair and a very obvious receding hair line. His brown eyes seemed a little bit small for his face, and he had a bump on his already oversized nose. Not to mention, he wasn't the thinnest person she had ever laid eyes on.
"I still like him."
"Well, don't get too excited yet. Derek told me Sal chooses who will marry who after they've been here for a minimum of eight months."
"Oh. Well, thanks for listening. We better go to sleep before we get in trouble."
Lizzie agreed and closed her eyes, slowly drifting to sleep.
The next afternoon, after lunch, Sal pulled Lizzie aside into his office.
"Take a seat," he said, motioning to a chair in front of his intimidating large oak desk. Lizzie carefully took a seat as Sal sat in his large leather office chair on the other side of the desk. "So how has Lamb of God been working out for you up to this point?" The way Sal looked into her eyes seemed so genuine. Lizzie felt like she was the only one that mattered to Sal when he looked at her like that.
"Good so far," Lizzie replied, wondering where the conversation was headed.
"So far? What do you mean by that?" Sal folded his hands together and placed them on his desk.
"I just meant that I've enjoyed myself for the past few weeks since my arrival."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it. And what about your roommate? Is that working out nicely?"
"Yes."
"Has she said anything that would cause, um, concern or, uh-"
"Look, since you seem interested, yes, Kate likes you. But let me make one point here. You are not Kate's type, and I don't think you should pursue her. I know she's a nice girl and very pretty, but she needs a guy that is more easy going and-"
"I didn't ask you for you opinion," Sal interrupted in a strangely pleasant voice. "I asked you a simple question. That's all. Please understand that I know what's best for you, for me, for Kate, and for everybody, and I will act accordingly. I've notice that you've questioned more things than anybody else around here. You don't have to do that anymore. You let me do all of the worrying. You are simply here to worship God without question. I'm here to relieve you of all other burdens. Jesus says in Luke twelve twenty five, 'Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?'"
Strangely enough, Sal's speech did calm Lizzie down. But wasn't it God, not Sal, that knew what was best for her, and Sal was the messenger who told her? Lizzie shrugged it off, though. He probably didn't realize what he had said.
Kate didn't say anything else about Sal, and Sal didn't say anything more about Kate, but Lizzie notice that Kate often disappeared during free time and was appointed to the new position of secretary that Sal claimed had become necessary with all of the paper work.
A/N: This is where the story really starts to get good. So, keep on letting me know what you're thinking. I'm especially curious to know what you think will happen next. For example, what do you think is going to happen between Kate and Sal? And what do you think of Sal?
