David's lips were still moist from the passionate kiss Anna had given him as they stood on the sidewalk in front of the Grumpy Gander restaurant. He was fifty-one and she was fifty-two and they had been married for thirty years. But their ages and three decades of marriage had not lessened their physical and sexual attraction for each other. Their bedroom could testify to their frequent amorous activities — and just not at night or early in the morning.

As they walked down the sidewalk holding hands in Mapleton, Indiana, David's thoughts returned to why he had retired and why they were moving from West Virginia back to their hometown. He hoped the psychiatrist was right. He had counseled her for years and over that time had prescribed numerous combinations of drugs to help her overcome her deep depression and heal her scared psyche. David remembered the psychiatrist's terse comments over the telephone, "David, move back to your hometown where the emotional and psychological damage had been inflicted on Anna. This is my last recommendation to restore Anna's health. She can't continue the way she is. She's only getting worse."

The word worse echoed through David's mind and Anna had to pull his hand to keep him from walking out into a busy intersection. He looked at Anna, winked, and said, "Thanks for saving me."

Saving me? No. David was doing his best to save Anna. That's why he took early retirement at fifty-one and moved back to Mapleton, where he and Anna said they'd never live. But he was doing this to save the love of his life. David's motivation that he mentally repeated to himself several times a day was: Whatever it takes to get my Anna back. I'll do whatever it takes.

As they crossed the intersection, David's mind began playing a movie of their lives. David and Anna started dating in high school and were married a few weeks after they graduated from college. David received an engineering degree and accepted an entry-level position with an energy company in West Virginia. David advanced quickly up the corporate ladder during his thirty-year tenure with the company. His career with the company was very lucrative. After the psychiatrist's telephone call, that basically ordered him to move back to Mapleton for Anna's health, he retired, placed their home on the market, threw a few things in their Tahoe, and drove to Mapleton. They were now living in a small motel room. During their daily drives that forced Anna to get out of the motel room, they noticed a wooded parcel of land for sale a few miles outside of Mapleton. They met with the realtor who had listed the property and made an offer to purchase the parcel. They made the necessary arrangements to get a cashier's check to accompany the offer with bank president Roger Taylor IV.

The movie stopped playing in David's mind. He rubbed his brow with his free hand, took a deep breath, and said to Anna, who was holding his hand as they walked down the sidewalk, "We've made a lot changes in the last couple months. Are you all right? Handling all of this okay? If we are going too fast, we can sure put the brakes on. We set our own schedule, you know." He then leaned over and kissed her forehead.

She squeezed his hand, smiled, and said, "Hey. I'm with the guy who took me to our high school prom, got me through my Dad's untimely death, and continually tells me, 'I loved you first and love you the most.' So, I'm fine. I really am. Plus, we're doing what my shrink told us to do."

With those words, she playfully swung their arms, laughed, and skipped a couple of steps.

They continued to hold hands as they aimlessly strolled down the sidewalks of Mapleton. They had no particular place to be or time to be there. As David stepped upon the curb after walking across another intersection, he glanced up and there was Christ Community Church (CCC). Yes, CCC where Anna's pain, depression, and emotional scaring had all begun. In a very true sense they had come full circle.

David thought: Is this really what Anna's shrink wanted to happen? Returning to the scene would be the cure? Everything else he did to help her failed. Will this work? Will it give me back my Anna?

David kicked a shiny piece of red gravel on the sidewalk. It bounced along the concrete before it careened into the church's asphalt parking lot and spun as if it had a life of it's own. David thought: Is this a sign for us that we are just spinning our wheels again as we seek yet another cure for Anna? Or is this worthless piece of gravel being used to lead us back into the life of CCC? It could have just as easily bounced off the sidewalk into the street.

David muttered these thoughts under his breath and squeezed Anna's sweaty palm.

David's gentle squeeze of Anna's hand caused her to stop thinking about all the changes they had been through in the last few months. She had been thinking about their specific changes, but also thoughts about change in general were dancing through her mind. When should people change? Is change good? If so, then why do most people avoid change like the plague? Also, the scripture from Ecclesiastes came to her mind, "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride."

She hoped the changes that had brought them back to Mapleton would bring about a good end for David and her. Also, she smiled to herself when she mentally repeated the last part of the verse, "... patience is better than pride." She and David had swallowed their pride by the very act of moving back to Mapleton. Most of their friends in West Virginia and some of the citizens of Mapleton had heard them say on more than one occasion, "One thing's for sure, we're never moving back to Mapleton!" Now here they were. Not only back, but in the process of buying a parcel of land on which to build a home. They had swallowed their pride — maybe the patience would come?

David's thoughts moved from the piece of gravel he had kicked to the new marquee that stood on the front lawn of CCC. He was impressed by its size. He remembered the old one that was squatty and usually obscured by overgrown shrubs. It was almost impossible to read. Not this one. It could be read driving by at sixty miles-per-hour. It was taller than he was and even wider than it was tall. There in letters several inches high were these words:

CHRIST COMMUNITY CHURCH

Sunday Worship Services and Times Alive and Wide-Awake* 8:30 Traditional Worship 10:30

Wednesday Bible Study 12:00 (Free Lunch Included)

Minister: Pastor Jordan T. Bennett

(* Not for the faint of heart.)

David laughed and said, "Hey Anna, look at this."

Anna turned and faced the marquee. She read aloud the words as a town crier would. "Hear ye, hear ye. The edifice that stands before you is Christ Community Church. There are two worship services conducted inside every Lord's Day. One is at half past eight and the other is at half past ten. Also, for those who are hungry come at noon on Wednesday for earthly and heavenly food. This church presents the preaching and teaching of the Right Reverend Jordan T. Bennett." Before she could read the words on the bottom line of the marquee, she and David were laughing hysterically. She paused, gathered herself, and then in full volume continued, "Those of you who are faint of heart and not friends with change, please refrain from attending the early service for your own good. You won't like it and we don't want to listen to your grumbling."

Now David...