Silent Gentle Understanding: Banquet of Forgiveness Trilogy

By E.M. Bennett

Families have problems, and Jandra and her family are no exception. Can they trust the Lord even when things go wrong? Will Jandra learn the real truth behind silent gentle understanding?

Silent Gentle Understanding is about a family who endures real life issues. It is about a family who suffers monumental trials that challenge their faith

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Mar 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887385365

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Banquet of Forgiveness Trilogy

Silent Gentle Understanding

by

E. M. Bennett

Silent Gentle Understanding

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2023 by E. M. Bennett

Cover design by: Natalee Groves

All scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, CA 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-535-8

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-536-5

This book is dedicated to Jesus Christ for

strengthening me to carry on when times were tough.

I especially want to thank my parents, who have

supported me and made this book possible.

A special thanks to:

Lelia M, Rebecca P, and Mark S.

You three encouraged me, prayed for me, and believed in me to trust

God to pen this Trilogy.

I appreciate your friendship immensely!

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Prologue

The past thirteen-plus years have been a whirlwind for the McLain family. Now Jandra is the matriarch of her family. Trent McLain and his younger sister Paisley are the only original family members who still actually have the McLain name. The rest of the women are now married with new last names.

Jandra McLain, now Jandra Sheppard, is married to Neil, her long-time best friend now husband. Neil accepts Jandra’s family as his own, but he and Jandra did adopt a pure-bred German Shepherd they named Jade as their baby. They still have an aging Brucy, their ten-year-old St. Bernard, and Winston, their nine-year-old Rottweiler.

Abby McLain, now Abby Milner, is married to Doug. The man who raised all three of Abby’s children as his own, though none of them took his last name when they finally did marry. Even though they had to deal with Abby’s past relationships, they dealt with them together.

Trista McLain, now Trista Beady, is married to Jared, and they have three children. Two of those children are twin girls. Trista and her friend Audrey have become great advocates for teenage girls facing rape and pregnancy. Together these two young ladies partake in speaking engagements throughout the State of Oregon and northern California.

Wagner and Mary (Meemaw) Andrews, the real patriarch and matriarch of this family, have since gone home to be with the Lord and are missed on this side of heaven daily.

So much has happened in this family that has only brought them closer to God and to each other. They’ve dealt with issues such as violence, rape, prejudice, jealousy, and judgmental attitudes. They’ve worked through anger, fear, and unforgiveness. There were secrets revealed, like Jandra’s prison time and rape. There was Abby’s abusive relationship with Albert that caused her hospitalization with severe injuries. That relationship was toxic and short-lived. It ended in the result of Paisley being conceived, and Albert shot and incarcerated. Two events that Paisley is still unaware of.

There was the Rus Arnold relationship that resulted in the birth of Trent, then years of prejudice. This relationship ultimately ended with Abby and Doug leading ol’ Rusty to the Lord before he passed away. Of course, there were unavoided struggles, like when Trent was in Ethiopia on his first mission trip. That’s when Trent met his wife, Binta, and they were married three times to each other. They now have a child together and live on the Beady property near Trista and Jared’s house and next door to Jandra and Neil’s property.

Yes, this loving Christian family has endured a lot. They all credit their endurance to the grace of God in their lives. They even endured a DUI that caused a teenage Paisley and her friend to suffer a horrible, fatal car accident that landed both girls in the hospital. Paisley recovered with a broken ankle and minor cuts and bruises, while her friend, Amanda Mandel, lost her life.

The DUI was reckless and caused by the two girls being intoxicated over the legal limit. Not to mention they were both underage. This accident was horrific, to say the least. Both families were affected. Especially the Mandel family. But can they all strive together to move forward? Or will it be more of a blow to both families when they discover the truth? The whole truth.

This could be a time of healing or a time of hurt. A time of restoration or a time of division. Not necessarily from each other but from God. Who can repair a breach in the bridge of a relationship of any sort? Each will discover the answer that relates to their personal question.

Chapter One

It was after midnight, and Abby Milner stared at the ceiling as she lay in bed. Doug was slightly snoring as he slept, totally oblivious to Abby’s plight. Abby wondered how or when she would tell Doug about her encounter with Paisley. It happened six months prior, after the funeral of Paisley’s friend Mandy. Abby had never addressed the issue. Nor did Paisley.

Paisley was fortunate that she was only hospitalized with some minor injuries from the car accident and the girls’ intoxication. But Abby needed to blame someone for this. For her, it was clear that she could only blame Albert Aguilar. Abby found it easier to blame him for everything negative that happened in her life instead of accepting her responsibility.

Still, it had been six months since Abby walked into Paisley’s room and caught her daughter with a bottle of booze to her lips. Abby had sworn Paisley would not end up like her father but never told Paisley the father Abby was speaking of was, in fact, her biological father, Albert. A man Paisley didn’t know existed and only met when she was an infant and saw when she was a toddler. Paisley had no real memory of him and never asked about the strange man. A man who hurt and tormented their family, especially when he was drunk. He had also been sitting in a prison cell for over a decade by this time.

Abby tried to pray for guidance, but she felt like her prayers were hitting the ceiling and falling to the ground rather than reaching God’s ears. Paisley, now seventeen years old, had just obtained her driver’s license, a milestone in Paisley’s life that frightened Abby.

Doug continued to snore louder. Abby glanced at Doug and just shook her head. Abby didn’t want Paisley to repeat the accident she had been in with her neighbor friend Mandy that cost Mandy her life in the fatal crash. It was all alcohol-induced, and the image of Paisley drinking after her friend was laid to rest frightened Abby to her core. Yet she didn’t tell anyone about this, so she suffered alone.

Paisley never mentioned it. She acted as if it had never even happened. The longer Abby kept it to herself, the longer she was mentally tormented. In fact, the longer Abby kept silent about Paisley drinking, the more Paisley thought it was no big deal. Abby needed to talk about this, but she didn’t know how to begin or who to talk to. Abby hadn’t seen Dr. Rhonda, her Christian therapist, in over a year and contemplated if she should make an appointment.

Doug continued to snore, oblivious to Abby’s fear and confusion. Oblivious to Paisley drinking alcohol. Oblivious that there was a problem in their house. Doug snored very loudly, startling Abby and causing her to elbow him in his side.

What happened? Doug asked drowsily, being awoken by the nudge to his ribs.

Nothing, Abby replied. You snored yourself awake.

Oh, Doug responded, then rolled over and began to lightly snore again.

Abby couldn’t sleep at all, so she got out of bed. She slipped on her robe and headed toward the kitchen. As Abby approached the kitchen, she saw that the dining room light was on. She walked directly toward the adjacent dining room first and saw Paisley sitting at the table with an open notebook of some sort.

You’re up late, Abby said, taken aback at the sight of Paisley.

I can say the same about you, Paisley replied in her now familiar sarcasm.

Right. I can’t sleep. I have a lot on my mind, Abby answered slowly yet boldly.

Abby was hoping for a response from Paisley. She was hoping for an open door to address her worries and fear about her daughter. But Paisley’s silence was loud and clear. She didn’t want to talk. Instead, she gathered her notebook and pens, then stood up to leave the room.

You don’t have to leave, Abby stated.

I don’t have to, but I am. Paisley grinned, then went back to her bedroom.

Abby started to sob. Alone in the dining room, Abby sobbed uncontrollably and as quietly as possible. Paisley heard her mother’s sobs but wouldn’t go back to her. Instead, Paisley shut her bedroom door and climbed onto her bed. For reasons she couldn’t understand that caused her to feel unsettled, she quietly cried until she fell asleep.

Doug arose several hours later to find his wife asleep on the living room couch. Covering Abby with a crotched Afghan that Meemaw had made especially for Abby years ago, Doug whispered, I love you.

Doug didn’t understand what Abby was going through. He made a pot of coffee as he silently prayed and asked God to help his wife. What Doug didn’t know was that he needed to pray for both his daughter and his wife.

He sat down after pouring himself a cup of coffee. A few minutes later, Doug looked up and saw Abby walk into the kitchen.

Good morning. Was I snoring last night? he smiled and cringed his nose as he watched Abby sit down across from him holding her own cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Yes, but I also had a lot on my mind and couldn’t sleep, Abby confessed.

Anything I can help you with? Doug asked sincerely.

Probably. But I feel like I should figure out what kind of help I need first, Abby said.

Can I help with your figuring that out? Doug desperately asked.

Not just yet, Abby replied.

Maybe you should talk to Dr. Rhonda or your mother, Doug suggested innocently, knowing she obviously didn’t want his help.

Maybe you’re right. I’ll go see my mom, Abby smiled, then squeezed Doug’s hand.

Jandra and Neil Sheppard were woken up by the sharp pitch barking of their newest addition, Jade. Jade wasn’t quite a year old and would bark every time Winston and Brucy stood up. Those two faithful old dogs adapted quickly to Jade. This small German Shepherd was growing quickly in size. But she was all puppy in her playfulness.

I guess it’s time to wake up, Jandra said.

I can smell the coffee, so I must agree with you, Neil replied. He smiled at Jandra with a proud look he gave her every morning when the coffee was brewed due to his brilliance in using the coffee pot’s timer. Neil put on a pair of Levi’s and shoes and then proceeded to open the back door so all of the dogs could go outside. He did his morning routine, which consisted of feeding all of the animals, pets, and wild.

Jandra walked into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. Before opening her Bible, which was part of her morning routine, she noticed the answering machine was blinking the red light that let her know she had a message.

Who left me a message this early in the morning? Jandra spoke aloud. She pressed the button allowing the message to play. The machine noted that the time of the message was 5:30 a.m.

Mom, I’m coming over this morning. I have to talk to you. I’m saying this now so you’ll hear it and force me to tell you. Please make sure I tell you, Abby’s desperate voice said in a panicky-sounding whisper. Jandra played it again.

Was that Abby’s voice? Neil asked as he walked into the kitchen, hearing the message being played.

Yes, it was. Abby sounds distraught about something, Jandra acknowledged.

Well, it sounds like you’ll find out why soon enough, Neil responded as they both heard Abby’s car drive up.

Silent, gentle understanding, Jandra whispered aloud through clenched teeth.

What was that? Neil asked.

Huh? Oh, nothing. Just something I say to myself, Jandra admitted.

"No, Jandra, it’s something I say to you," came the familiar voice in her spirit. The familiar voice that has whispered to the core of her soul for many years now. Jandra answered that voice in her mind.

Maybe one day you’ll explain it to me, she thought as she closed her eyes.

Jandra opened the front door as Abby approached it. The look on Abby’s face was one of worry, sleeplessness, and, ultimately, confusion. Jandra tightened her robe, let out a heavy sigh, and opened the closed screen door.

Good morning, Abby, Jandra said as her daughter walked through the threshold.

Mom, Abby said, then embraced Jandra causing both women to feel unbalanced.

What’s going on? Jandra asked as she led Abby to the couch and sat down with her.

Abby started crying. Neil walked in with two cups of coffee and smiled at Abby as she grabbed one cup.

Thanks, Neil, she said as she wiped her face with the tissue Jandra was handing her.

We heard your message just a few minutes ago. Talk to me, Jandra stated firmly.

Okay, Abby sighed, then proceeded to tell Jandra and Neil the entire story about her encounter with Paisley and the bottle the evening of Mandy’s funeral.

"So, for six months, you’ve been carrying this burden alone? Jandra questioned.

Yes, and her attitude of just dismissing me is weighing on me, Abby confessed.

Is she dismissing you, or are you dismissing the problem? Neil chided.

What do you mean? Abby asked, taken aback by his boldness.

It sounds like you’re the one avoiding the issue, therefore dismissing Paisley from taking responsibility, Neil explained.

Perhaps you should at least tell Doug what’s been going on, Jandra said.

I know I should. I also don’t know why I don’t confront Paisley, Abby said agreeably, feeling beaten.

Probably for the same reason I didn’t confront your anger issues. I felt I was responsible for going to prison, leaving you. But it wasn’t my fault. What was my fault was that I believed the lie that you couldn’t understand. I wasn’t trusting God to help us. Not until you were older and suffering from an injury Albert caused you. It was then that I turned you and myself totally over to the Lord, Jandra admitted.

"That’s funny because I thought you always turned things over to God," Abby replied.

"Oh, I did. I turned things over to Him. It was my relationship with you that I briefly mentioned to Him as I embraced the problem, holding onto it rather than letting it go. When I totally gave you and myself to God, He was then able to