Chapter 30

Crisis of Faith 2

"What do you do when the person who you saved the best part of your life for is no longer there?"

Kelly Monroe had been angling for a story, and she had assumed she had it with Pastor Brewer and his new teen center. At first, all it consisted of was a feel good puff piece that would get buried between the obituaries and want-ads. She needed sensation. She tried to needle the good hearted shepherd asking if his new facility was merely a ploy to get more parishioners in their pews, and therefore more money into his own pocket, but alas no such luck. She did find, for a man of God, the preacher sure had a bite as he let loose his temper at her accusation.

It was even better when she found out the man's own son was missing. She could picture the headline now, "Beloved community pastor neglects his own son." The scandal would rocket her article to the front pages.

She couldn't have expected what had happened next. Not only did the pastor storm off the fetch his wayward son, but he was involved in a terrible car accident that killed the driver of the other car. The driver's identity? His own flesh and blood, his beloved son.

Oh what a juicy headline she had now! Kelly Monroe would get her byline in the paper in the biggest typeset she could find. She had thought the preacher would be a no show to his own son's funeral, the reporter blending in with the others in her simple black dress. There was talk of his instability and rumors that he would leave the church. What man could go on after losing his only son?

A hint of remorse bit at her. It was her article that the man was so adamant that his whole family be present for, and her pushiness didn't help with his stress levels. Kelly tried to justify that Pastor Brewer could have canceled the article. Sure she would have posted something unseemly, but the news was news. The man's sermon on forgiveness and mercy further unsettled her.

With the revelation that the young son was counseling a girl out of suicide, and the same reason for the father's tardiness to the funeral, the journalist was resolved.

A proper article, unbiased towards any evil. A new teen center opened by a loving pastor, its opening day marred by tragedy, but there was still some good that came out of the terrible day – a life had been saved.

It was what Luke would have wanted her to do.