Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

I needed to learn."
There was a peaceful silence while Hannah waited.
"When I first became a Christian, the only truth God wanted
me to know was that He loved me and had plans for me, good
plans." Jade smiled. "That was enough back then." She paused
and a seagull cried out in the distance. A familiar peace came over
her. "Now I understand that even when life is going along perfectly,
trouble will come. As long as we're breathing, it will come."
Hannah sighed, and her sad smile told jade she understood.
She, better than any woman jade knew, understood how swiftly
trouble could come. Hannah gazed at jenny and Grace as they
carried a bucket of water from the ocean to the castle. "It's so easy
to take the good times for granted."
Jade nodded, feeling wiser than her years. "But we can't afford
to, can we?"
"Never. Every day is a gift all by itself."
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The afternoon slipped away in a blur of play and laughter, and after dinner they all gathered on the deck
except the babies, who were asleep inside. Jade cozied up against Tanner, with Ty on her other side.
There was a chill in the air, but the warmth of Tanner's body made it disappear.
Across from them, Matt moved his fingers over the strings of his guitar. "Tanner and I have a musical
announcement to make." Jade shifted and raised her eyebrows at her husband.
Next to Matt, Hannah grinned. "Sounds important."
Grace was sitting in jenny's lap nearby, and both girls giggled at Hannah's tone. Jenny looked at Hannah.
"This should be good." "We-" Matt kept his face serious and nodded in Tanner's
direction-"have decided to give up law for one year and hit the
road."
"Hit the road?" Ty wrinkled his nose and stifled a laugh. "With what, a hammer?"
Tanner poked Ty in the ribs as he stifled a grin. "Come on now, we're serious. Let the man finish."
Matt tipped his head at Tanner. "Thank you." He winked at Ty and glanced at the group. "As I was saying,
we feel the many evenings spent singing here, for all of you, have prepared us for a career as professional
musicians." He looked at Tanner for support. "Isn't that right?"
Tanner gave a firm nod. "Absolutely."
Matt gave a formal plucking of his guitar strings. "On that note, we thought we'd share our opening song
with you. The one that will-what can we say-" he cocked his head slightly and tossed his hands in the air-
"bring down the house."
"Not while we're in it, okay?" Jade whispered the comment to Tanner but made sure it was loud enough
for everyone to hear. Giggles came from everyone but the men, and jade brought
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her hands to her face, trying to keep from laughing out loud. This was what she loved about the Bronzans.
Not only were they the type of friends who stood by when troubles came-even terrifying trouble-they
were friends who laughed and loved life.
Friends who made life fun.
There was a twinkle in Matt's eyes when he continued. "Fine."
He shrugged in Tanner's direction. "Partner, it looks like the only
way to silence our critics is to sing."