Halfway to forever by Karen Kingsbury

them to echo only in the most private places of her heart.
Lord, I know You can hear me. I have a favor to ask. Please, God, when You see my dad and Alicia today,
could You tell them to pray? Have them pray for Grace. Because I don't believe she's better off in
Oklahoma; I believe she needs to be here with us. And tight now I need my dad and my best f rend to pray
for me. But You see, God, I can't ask them, because they live. in heaven with You. So please, God... ask
them for me, okay? And when You do, tell them I miss them. Tell them I always will.
The idea that she could ask God to give her dad and Alicia
messages was one that always brought peace to Jenny's soul.
Despite nightmares about giant white pickup trucks or a little sister
she might never see again living a thousand miles away, Jenny
drifted off to sleep, resting in the anus of the only One who could
keep her dad and Alicia-and now little Grace-alive in her
heart.
The only One who could make them feel close enough to
touch.
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he next morning, nothing felt right to Hannah. She
waited until Matt and Jenny were gone for the day, poured herself a cup of coffee, and curled up in a deck
r outside. The fog had settled in overnight, and the damp gray
the sea and sky fit Hannah's mood.
When Grace was taken from them, she made a decision to ndle it well, to show the world and her family
how much she'd
hanged since losing Tom and Alicia four years ago. Losing Grace
ould not set her back a year, wouldn't make her turn against
od or renounce her faith. It would be painful, but she would survive.
At least that was the plan.
Instead she'd been short with Matt, distant from the Lord, and
several times she'd canceled her volunteer work at the hospital so she could stay home and clean the
house or take walks along the beach. Of course, she always wound up in Grace's room, straightening her
pillow and dusting her shelves. Jenny was the only one who understood. Poor precious Jenny was
suffering at least as badly as Hannah.
The hot steam from her coffee warded off the chill in the morning air, and Hannah held the mug closer to
her face. She took a careful sip, wishing the hot liquid could somehow burn away the anger and doubt and
bitterness that had crept back into her heart.
She gazed across the water and bit hard on her lip. Why?
207 Why did God bring Grace into their lives in the first place? And why had they agreed to take her? She
was a foster-adopt child, after all. A child with risks she and Matt had agreed up front not to take. The
reason was easy enough. Mrs. Parsons had convinced them. She had told them the chances were basically
nonexistent that anything would disrupt Grace's adoption. And so they'd agreed.
Many times in the past three weeks, she'd mentioned to Matt
that someone ought to do something about the social worker, file
a complaint against her or notify her superiors that she'd reneged
on a promise. How dare the woman bring Grace into their home
and give them time to fall in love with her unless she was
absolutely certain that nothing would stop the adoption.
And what about Patsy Landers? How could the woman call herself a Christian, then without the slightest