A Distant Shore by Karen Kingsbury (books for students to read .txt) 📕

in her hand made her certain she wasn’t dreaming. But nothing else about the moment seemed real. Her mother and brother were alive! And they were here, with her, beside her!

God had brought them back to her. And He’d brought her back to Jack. All in one beautiful day. She had no idea how he’d found a pastor here on the Placencia Peninsula, but that didn’t matter. The man looked kind and he had a Bible in his hands.

She reached the end of the aisle, and Daniel put his hands on her shoulders. “I love you, Lizzie.”

“I love you, Daniel.” She hugged him for a long while, and then he sat down beside their mother.

Eliza looked at the woman. She hadn’t changed. Her hair, her face. Just like the images Eliza had imagined every time she looked out at the ocean. Their eyes held for a long moment, and then Eliza turned to Jack.

“I’m Pastor Joseph.” The man smiled. “Looks like we’ve got much to celebrate today.”

You have no idea, she wanted to say. But she only nodded. Somewhere in heaven, she hoped Jack’s parents and Shane had a front-row spot. Because if God could do this, He could do that, too.

The pastor continued. “I understand you two haven’t seen each other for a year’s time.” He shook his head. “I’m sure you don’t have vows prepared. But do you both intend to—”

Eliza raised her hand.

“Yes, Ms. James.” Pastor Joseph looked confused.

“I have vows.” She smiled at Jack and gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “I had all year to memorize them.”

Jack chuckled. “Me, too.”

The pastor nodded. He looked a little dazed. Surely he’d never done a wedding like this one. “Okay then. Lizzie… Jonathan. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman, a covenant ordained by God. Are you two prepared to enter into that covenant now?”

She met Jack’s eyes. They both nodded and said, “Yes… we are.”

“Very well.” Pastor Joseph looked at Daniel. “Do you and your mother approve of this union?”

Eliza’s brother reached for their mother’s hand as he nodded. “We do.”

“Lizzie, you may join your groom.”

“Thank you.” Eliza loved the old pastor. He seemed determined to keep the sense of reverence and propriety even when the wedding wouldn’t take more than five minutes. As if he could tell something very special was happening in his presence.

Never mind that she had only her sundress and bare feet. Eliza might as well have been wearing a gown fit for a queen. And this sandy spot of beach might as well have been a cathedral. She handed her bouquet to her mother and walked to the spot in front of Jack. He took her hands in his.

“Jonathan.” The pastor nodded at Jack. “You may go first.”

For a long time Jack only looked at her, like he was trying to memorize her face, her eyes, everything about this moment. “I, Jonathan Jack Ryder, I ask you, Lizzie James, to be my lawfully wedded wife. When all the world is falling down around us, I will hold you up. And when you can’t see through to tomorrow, I will help you believe.”

He searched her eyes. “I promise to stand by you and pray for you, love you and lead you to God. Again and again and again. And when life gets loud, I’ll remind you that even in the beginning when it was you and me against the world, we were never alone. Because God ordained you for me… and me for you.” He blinked back tears. “I love you with my very life, Lizzie.”

She took her time before speaking. The beauty of his words, his feelings for her needed a moment all their own. Finally she drew a slow breath, her eyes never leaving his. “I, Lizzie Susan James, choose you, Jonathan Jack Ryder, to be my lawfully wedded husband. I will look to you when I can’t find my way, and I will lift you up, if ever you forget the hero you are.”

Tears tried to come, but Eliza refused them. Steady me, God. She was too happy to cry. “I will stand by you whatever life holds, and I will believe that every day together with you is not only a gift from God… but a miracle. I will feel your touch when I’m alone and remember your voice when I’m afraid.”

She grinned at him. “I noticed something when we were working together. When you breathed in, I felt life.” She paused. “And so it shall be forever and ever. Because you will always be a part of me. And I will always be a part of you. Undivided. Forever on this side of heaven… and that side.” She squeezed his hands. “I love you with every heartbeat. I always will.”

Pastor Joseph raised his brow. “I believe those might have been the most beautiful vows I have ever heard.” He gave a single nod. “I will ask the questions, then.” He looked at Jack. “Do you, Jonathan Ryder, take Lizzie Susan James, to be your wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish until death do you part?”

Jack looked to the center of her heart. “I do.”

The pastor smiled. “And do you, Lizzie Susan James, take Jonathan Jack Ryder, to be your husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish until death do you part?”

“Yes!” She had never been so happy in all her life. “I do.”

“Very well… will you two be exchanging rings?”

Eliza hadn’t even remembered the rings.

“Yes.” Jack grinned at her. “We have rings.” He pulled them from his pants pocket and handed his to Lizzie.

“You bought rings?”

“The week after I said goodbye to you in Cancún.” Tears glistened in his eyes, but his smile kept them from falling. “I’ve carried them with me ever since.”

Her ring held a stunning center diamond, as pure and brilliant and bright as their future. It glistened in the Belizean sun with small diamonds on either side of the larger one.