When You Sing a Love Song - Staci Stallings Page 0,3

up with hell on its side to take us out, we have an option. We have the choice—life or death. We choose.

“No one else chooses for us. We choose. Do we brave the fire alone, or do we take Jesus into it with us? He will not balk at the thought. He’s already been to hell. Hell doesn’t scare Him. Let me repeat that, our hell doesn’t scare Jesus. No matter what is arrayed against you, no matter how hopeless the situation looks, no matter how hot that fire burns, none of that is a deterrent to His love for you. So the question is not about God stopping the bad things in your life, it’s about Him being in them and going through them with you.

“And that changes everything.”

After the service, Charlotte held onto Taylor’s hand so that Taylor really had no choice but to follow them all out. In the lobby, Sarah turned to Taylor and gave her a hug.

“I wanted to thank you so much for inviting us last night,” Sarah said as Taylor absorbed the love that literally poured out of the woman onto her. “We had a great time.”

“I’m so glad you all came. It was fun.”

“Yes,” Sarah said. “It was.” She continued walking a few more feet as her family peeled away from them to go with friends to get donuts. Even Mr. Everett found someone to speak with so that halfway through the lobby, it was just the two of them. “So how are things?” Sarah asked, folding her arms with obvious concern. “I’ve called Greg a couple of times to ask, but he’s so busy these days.”

“I know, right?” Taylor said. “That boy needs to learn how to slow down a little.”

Sarah smiled. “He’s a little like his mom, trying to keep everyone else’s boats afloat.”

Strange, Taylor had never really thought about it that way, but Sarah was right. “Well, I’m afraid this one might be more than he bargained for.”

“I’ve been praying night and day, worried about all of you,” Sarah said. “How is everyone holding up?”

“Oh, you know.” Taylor shrugged. “It is what it is. The depositions are all this week.” She sighed. “I just… I wish it was just me, you know? They’ve all already been through so much. It feels unfair to drag them through this too.”

“Well, that’s life,” Sarah said softly, and her gaze slipped over to her husband as the softest look went across her face. “I think when we love someone, we don’t just get the good stuff. We get all of it. Thinking we can just get the good and somehow sidestep the bad doesn’t work.” She shrugged. “Life doesn’t work like that. Love doesn’t work like that.”

“Yeah, but we’re just friends,” Taylor said quickly, hearing the l-word, and hoping Sarah didn’t have the wrong idea about the whole thing.

“It’s so funny,” Sarah said with a shake of her head, “you kids compartmentalize everything.”

“What…? I’m…?”

Sarah laughed softly. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. There I go again.” She shook her head. “Greg always says I should have been a philosopher or a psychologist. He says he thinks I’m way better with people than chemicals and formulas.” That brought out a shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s right.”

Taylor was spinning through all the new information, but she held onto the one piece that had sent her spinning in the first place. “What did you mean about compartmentalizing?”

“Oh, I just mean everyone puts labels on things nowadays. Like there are rules to how you love who. So, you love your friends differently than people you don’t know or your family. And you love someone you’re in a relationship differently than you love your friends.”

That jabbed into Taylor. “You don’t?”

A breath and Sarah shrugged. “There are some differences, of course. But there are also a lot of similarities. Like respect.” She held up a finger. “I don’t care who it is, if you love them and they love you, there has to be respect. And working through things together, and being there for them in the tough times, and being willing to communicate…”

The feeling she had with Yoli and Lily brushed across her heart, and Taylor had to bat that away. This was Sarah, Greg’s mom. She wasn’t a friend. They hardly even knew each other.

“I think too many times you all have this idea that there are three phases of a relationship. You don’t know the person. You’re madly in love with them. You hate each other’s guts. There’s