The Cross 10

By Ron Freeman

he Cross 10 is the third book in the Rest Area 10 series. While maintaining the central theme of how Christ can connect and change people's lives, it also introduces new characters that change the dynamics and expand the story line with surprising results. No character is immune from Christ's reach into their lives at the exact moment it is needed. No life is left untouched or unchanged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798888324400

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The Cross 10

Ron Freeman

ISBN 979-8-88832-439-4 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88832-440-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Ron Freeman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

About the Author

Chapter 1

Kelly looked at Chad, then to John. There was nothing but love and compassion written all over their faces.

All three stood for a few moments in silence.

Chad moved into his dad and placed his arms around him, buried his face into the neck of his dad, and softly said, It is so good to meet you. I love you.

I love you too, son.

There would be no words or thoughts of regret or things lost to the past. At this moment, the only thing that mattered was what drew them together. Anger did not exist in their emotions and never would.

What had pulled them together would keep them together. Anything that could drive them apart would be left in the dust of where both had come from and where both were headed.

Kelly broke the silence. Please come in. I have heard so much about you. I am so glad to finally get to meet you in person.

The momentum of these moments would be guided by what they knew of each other and their desires to know all they could of each other.

Christ had brought all three to a point in time that was predetermined and preordained. There would be no obstacles they could not overcome, no mountains they could not climb.

Their future lay before them.

Kelly led the way into the house, stopped for a brief moment, and turned to both Chad and John. Tea in the den?

John smiled at them both. That would be prefect. Thank you.

Why don't you two go ahead and go in. I'll put a pot of water on and be in shortly.

They both smiled back at her and turned to walk toward the den.

Kelly walked into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face, knowing that what was alive here was alive here because of Christ. She quickly began making tea for the three of them.

There was an unexplainable sense of excitement in her. Life had come full circle here, and all three were the players on a stage that spanned many years and countless experiences that would be shared, talked about, and somehow relived among them.

How will our conversations begin? What direction will they take? There were so many questions floating around in her mind. She knew there were no immediate answers. She knew their conversation would just begin and flow into whatever direction it needed to move.

The water was quickly boiling. She placed tea bags in three cups and poured the steaming water in as the aroma of the tea filled the room. She grabbed two cups in one hand and one in the other and walked to the den. Father and son were getting acquainted through a discussion about the den and its construction. They looked up from their words, pulled another chair up by the table, and helped Kelly with the cups. We can pull the small table up and set our cups on it. It's one you designed and made, isn't it, John?

Yes, it is. I wanted to make it sturdy, but I also wanted to share some vulnerability with those that would use it. That's why I made the legs the way I did and why I chose the wood I did for them. Strength doesn't arrive to us in size but in the power of the conviction we exhibit in confronting what we are led through faith to conquer. He looked around the room and smiled. That was the beauty of what we did here. This was an expression of our lives, all of our lives, and how Christ had woven them together. I was so thankful to William and Maria in giving me such freedom to explore my thoughts through the construction of this room.

It was cathartic then? asked Chad.

Yes, it was, son. It was a way to release all that was within me. It was a way to rebuild my broken mind and spirit. It didn't happen quickly, but with each step that Christ helped me make, my life began to have new meaning. My thoughts began to reach out for new knowledge, new wisdom in looking at who I was and where I might be going. I will never be able to justify my past before stopping in Rest Area 10, but what I was given was a new understanding of what I could be capable of. And from that standpoint, with the help of others beginning with William and Maria, I was given an opportunity for a new start. Through the construction of this room, I was able to explore, not only myself, but also the world I had come from and the world I was walking toward. It was not a singular approach, but singularly, Christ was able to guide me to a level of thinking that I really had never been able to achieve or maybe didn't care to on my own.

John looked away from Chad and Kelly for a moment to the room, then returned his eyes to theirs. It's difficult to get to a place to experience what we need to when we don't realize that place can exist. He looked at Kelly. So you're the little girl that started all this, at least for William and Maria?

She smiled at both men. I'm one and the same.

Do you remember any of the experience?

She thought for just a second. I remember just bits and pieces. Maybe only because I have gone over and over it in my mind. But there is one thing I will never forget. When the worker brought me the cup of water, and I looked in his eyes, I saw something. I heard something. I was too young to understand any of what was happening in the car. I was slipping in and out of consciousness, but I clearly remember hearing Mom keep telling Dad that Jesus would not let me die. I was His child, and He would heal me. I was never scared. I didn't feel fearful of anything. Then he gave me water from the tin cup, and I looked into his eyes. What I saw and what I felt at that exact moment, I can't even describe. Most of what occurred after that is just a blur. Like I said, I remember bits and pieces.

She looked to Chad and then John. We have a lot of things to talk about, and I know that you and Chad need alone time. But could you explain why you left this town and maybe where you went or ended up? She looked specifically to John. But if you would rather not, I understand.

I don't mind at all, but we could be awake all night.

Chad smiled at them both and laughed a little. I can't think of a better reason to stay up all night.

Chapter 2

John took another drink of tea, placed his cup on the table, and began. I woke up one morning and just believed my time here was over. It was a feeling of completion, a feeling of having been given a task and having completed it. I simply sat at the table, having my morning coffee, and was a little surprised at those thoughts, but I was also very confident that Christ was leading me somewhere. I felt reassured that He was somehow taking me back into my knowledge of agriculture in some form or fashion. I didn't know how or where He was taking me, but I had no doubt that He was. So I wrote a short note to William and Maria, packed my stuff, loaded my truck, and left.

Did you head in any particular direction? asked Chad.

John thought for a moment. I just knew I was supposed to go north. So north is where I went. Anything beyond that direction I knew He would give me.

How long did it take you to find something?

John looked at his son. It took about a thousand miles. There were a couple of stops in between leaving here and getting to my destination, but I did arrive, stayed, and made a home. It's a beautiful place that He prepared for me.

Kelly interrupted. I'm sorry for interrupting.

That's fine.

I'm sitting here, listening to the level of confidence you have in the direction He has given you. All of us sitting here—Chad, myself, and you—got to explore the most significant part of ourselves because of our faith in the direction He has been leading us.

You're exactly right, Kelly. Once we accept His terms for our travel, He lays the direction out before us. The only thing we must do is follow His instruction.

So where did you end up? asked Chad.

Well, I had driven roughly a thousand miles. I stopped in Lander, Wyoming, for fuel and a bite to eat. I had made previous stops along the way but just felt I needed to continue. But when I stopped in Lander, something felt right, something seemed to fit together. So I decided I would fuel up, get something to eat, and just see how the day played out.

Kelly asked, Where did you stop?

Just a small convenience store that had a cafe attached to it. It was one of those situations that made you want to relax, so I fueled my truck up and went inside to get something to eat. While I was drinking my coffee, waiting for my meal, I noticed one of the local shopper magazines on the table, so I just picked it up and started going through it. It was mostly ads of one form or another. One of them just came off the page at me. It was different.

How so, Dad?

Well, it said something to the fact of an elderly couple needing help running their ranch. The ad also said the worker must know he is supposed to be there. But there was no phone number. Just directions to the place.

So you drove out? asked Kelly.

Yes, and what I found was not what I had expected, but then I didn't really know what I was going to find. The thing that I was acutely aware of was that there was a level of confidence of what I was doing at that exact moment. I had a feeling of driving up to meet old friends. Something was pulling at me, an expectation of something about to happen, something just out of eyesight, something around the next corner.

Still somewhat excited with her questions, Kelly asked, What did the place look like?

It wasn't far out of town, maybe ten miles or so. I followed the directions and turned off the highway, on to a ranch road. There was a sign there, but for some reason, I didn't really look at it. I was looking forward to what I might find at the end of the road. I hadn't driven very far, maybe a half mile or so, when I dropped over a bench. I stopped for a moment and looked at the scene in front of me and below me. In the bottoms ran a small river. It kind of meandered through the cottonwood trees. It was a long valley, more than a mile in either direction. There were cattle grazing on the hills above the valley. The hills ran up into a small mountain range. Beyond, not far, sat a modest home, barns, and lodge pole corrals. Both structures were wood sided with a darkened stain to them. I didn't know if it was a weathered look or had been done that way.

Beautiful mental picture, said Kelly.

Oh, it was. The whole scene just drew me down into it. I felt as though I was being drawn into something. Something had attached me to the scene I was looking at. Kind of like a picture in a magazine. It draws you into it. You don't feel as though you're looking at the scene, you're becoming part of it.

Chad looked at his dad and could easily see he was where his thoughts and words had taken him back to.

John shook his head and looked at them both. The small valley rose up behind the house and barn to a small mountain range a half mile or so away.

Sounds beautiful, said Kelly.

"It almost seemed surreal. Anyway, I drove down to the house and could see two people sitting on the porch. I drove up to the house, got out of my truck, and started to say a greeting of some kind, but the lady asked if I drank coffee. I didn't know how to respond, so I just said yes. I walked up to the porch. The man, probably in his eighties or so, got up, stuck his hand out to me, and said, ‘I'm Ben Waters, and the lovely lady getting your coffee is my wife, Ruth.'

I shook his hand and told him my name. Just then, Ruth came on to the porch with a steaming cup of coffee and said, ‘Well, John Todd, it's a pleasure to meet you. We've been waiting for you.'

Chad and Kelly both looked at John with surprise on their faces.

John saw their expressions. "It surprised me too. I looked at both Ben and Ruth and was silent for a moment, but before I could draw a word from my thoughts, Ruth said, ‘You answered our ad. We wrote it for you.'

I was just about to ask why when Ben added, ‘We weren't sure who He would send us, but we knew He would send the right person and that there would only be one to come out here.'

Kelly got more excited from what John was saying. Oh my gosh! What did you say?

"I was trying to break up some of what I was feeling inside and calmly looked around their place and commented, ‘You have a beautiful ranch. It's really quite spectacular. I assume you have a name for it?'

"Ruth answered, ‘We call it the Cross 10.'

I could not believe what she just said. I did not know how to respond. I just felt all of this had been preplanned, that Christ had this all done for me years in advance, and all of what had happened previously to me was simply a proving ground for me. It was a bit overwhelming as I sat there, looking at them. My mind was running a hundred miles an hour in several different directions.

What did you say, Dad?

I settled my emotions down, took a drink of coffee. By the way, I had never had coffee that tasted so good. I didn't have a way to respond. I don't know why I said what I did. Everything they had said in that short amount of time just took hold of me.

What did you say? asked Kelly.

I just quietly asked, ‘Have you ever been to a place called Rest Area 10?'

How did they answer you? asked Chad.

They smiled at me and said, ‘Of course.'

Kelly reached over and grabbed Chad's arm. There is no way we are going to sleep tonight without hearing more. I'm sorry, John, but so much has happened just in the last several months that I just have to hear your story.

She continued. Chad and I have so much to tell you. There is so much that has happened here that has come out of Rest Area 10. When one starts to really think about it all, one realizes that time and space have no bearing on what Christ can do. He gradually erases the factors that can affect us, imposed on us by the world. Distance is no longer a factor. It's simply a moment in time when what happens between two points of travel are the spaces we learn in.

She shook her head, looked away from them to the room, to the drawer containing the notes and letters, and remembered what Chad and she had read to each other. It can be very intense at times when we think about what we are capable of through Him.

John looked at both of them, around the room, then back to them. Christ promised us guidance and counsel, and He always delivers.

Chapter 3

So, to get ahead a bit in your story, that's where you stayed, Dad?

I had to stay. I mean, that was where Christ placed me. In fact, I asked them how long they needed my help. Ben looked out to the tall cottonwoods that lined the river, then to his wife, and responded, ‘As long as you need to stay. This place is here for you. We are here for you.'

Kelly blurted out, Oh my gosh! It just keeps getting better and better!

Chad looked at his