Tara’s World is a Christian young adult fiction series about how she navigates everyday life issues while trying to uphold her Christian values. This third episode sees Tara going on and going strong.
In the third episode of this Christian young adult fiction series, we see Tara come to a new realization as she grows in her faith. She tries to stay true to her principles and hold herself accountable.
This young adult fiction series is a must-read for young Christians everywhere who are looking to deepen their walk with God.
A New Phase – Episode 3 (Part 1)
Tara got up from her bed where sleep had eluded her. She sat at her reading desk and stared at the standing fan blowing at full speed in the corner of her bedroom wishing it could magically transform into her friend Shelly so they could talk.
She glanced at her mobile phone which read 12.48 am. It was no decent time to make a phone call and she resorted to her thoughts. Tara cherished having a room to herself where she could think without distractions. She loved spending time alone, imagining all the fancy things she would do in the future. How she would marry Chris Hemsworth or how she would be the first female president of Nigeria or maybe the scientist who would discover the cure to HIV AIDS. Today, however, her thoughts towed a different line.
Having attended church so frequently in the recent past, she felt like her relationship with God ought to mean much more than just 3 services a week and an offering every now and then. She was grateful for the salvation of her soul and for her Christian experience so far, but she felt God was calling her to something higher.
Tara yearned for a deeper relationship with Jesus, the type her pastor always talked about. Where her heart would be one with the Father, and she would feel His heartbeat and know what pleased him. She was not sure exactly what she should be doing to have that kind of experience, but somehow, she knew she would have to let go of distractions if she wanted a closer walk with God.
This feeling, that she couldn’t name, that tugged at her heart pulling it towards God, was so real. It was as real to her as the infatuation she felt for Jason. She thought about him then and wondered if he was one of the distractions she would have to let go of, they would be three months together next Wednesday she thought.
Tara was not sure where all these thoughts came from but she just sensed that she was being called to a higher standard than the average girl. Her heavenly father had a need for her heart, and He definitely knew better what she needed to be doing with her life at this point. She pondered over it some more until she eventually drifted off to sleep.
Taking Action
That line of thought remained on her mind when she met up with Jason in Church the next day. She didn’t say anything about it to him though. They talked and laughed, sat together during the service, and walked home together as usual. They talked casually as they walked and he sensed she was quieter than normal.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours,” he asked.
“A lot actually,” she said meeting his gaze
He raised an eyebrow “Care to share?”
“How do I summarize it?” she thought out loud “Ok, let me put it this way. How’s your relationship with God?”
“Huh, where did that come from?” he asked taken aback.
“Hmm, let me see,” she said looking thoughtful “we met in Church and eighty percent of our relationship has happened in church, so why is the question so strange?”
“Good point” he replied smiling as he considered her question. “I would say, my dad is a deacon and I come to church because I am expected to. I am not a saint, but I’m not any worse than the other guy” he concluded.
“But have you ever wanted more than that” she probed
“I know all the things the Pastor talks about, I’ve been around long enough. Where are we going with this?” He asked
“I just wondered,” she said realizing she was not likely getting anywhere with him this evening. She thought to herself that she would bring it up again later and left it at that.
“You have always been the more ‘spiritual’ of both of us,” he said jokingly. “That’s why we work out so well. We balance each other out” he grinned and she smiled back.
She had always known where he stood regarding matters of faith. He had never pretended to be anything other than what he was. He believed in God but had never really claimed to be deeply spiritual. She had been ok with it until now that is. She had taken all the time she spent in church seriously and she took the Word of God that she heard to heart and held it close. However, she could not say the same for him, and she had known all this before they got together. But she had grown in her walk with God and she could see clearly that she was alone in that regard. She did not hold it against him though, it just seemed odd now that she couldn’t share the new experiences she was having in her faith with him.
“You know what? Why don’t you come over to my house tomorrow” he said “maybe we can chase away the blues. You seem to be in a cool mood”
“Sure, I’d love to,” she said and hoped she would get a chance to talk to him again about his walk with God. She really wanted to share that part of herself with him, and who knew, maybe she could get him to take a deeper interest in his faith as well.
Ponder this…
Tara had never been to his house and would never have agreed to visit him before they started dating. That was another personal rule she and her best friend Shelly had. ‘Never visit a guy at home by yourself’. They had kept it all through secondary school and she pondered the rule now. While it still made a lot of sense, she figured she could trust Jason, as he had been no less than a perfect gentleman all the while they had been together.
She was plagued with second thoughts however on her way to his house the next day, so to make herself accountable, she called Shelly and told her she was going to Jason’s house and asked her if she was being careless.
“Well, you are already on your way, so you don’t really want my advice,” Shelly said “Just be careful”. Tara thanked her friend and asked her to say a little prayer for her. She was quite sure of her motive for going to his house. Her main goal was to try to reach him on a personal level, but the sneaky feeling still lingered because she was going against one of their sacred rules.
Jason, ever the gentleman received her with a smile as she entered his parent’s house in a nice neighborhood in one of the estates close to the Church they both attended.
Panicking, she started to say she couldn’t stay long because she wanted to be back home on time to run some errands.
“Relax,” he said “I don’t bite”
“Why do you say that?” she asked with a grin
“Cos you look like you are about to bolt”
“Well, you look relaxed enough for two of us” she replied taking in his tank top and jeans shorts.
They laughed at that and he offered her a soda and showed her to the living room. “My cousin is upstairs if that makes you feel more comfortable, he is visiting from out of town”.
That did make Tara feel better, she had decided in her head that she was going to keep the visit short and straight to the point. She was still not sure she wanted to break off the relationship in spite of her recent line of thoughts. She wanted to bring him along on this deeper journey she had just embarked on with God.
“I asked yesterday how your relationship with God was, but your response was vague” she jumped right in.
“Are we still having this debate”
“Not a debate, just me trying to share what’s been going on with me.”
Then she went on to tell him how she had been discovering a lot more about God from the teachings they heard in Church. How she really felt that God was tugging at her heart and she was studying her bible a lot more lately. She was just excited about the things she was discovering about God and herself and she thought he needed to get in on it.
He listened with rapt attention, and she was happy he was so engrossed.
“You look so cute when you are being earnest” he finally said, teasing and she slapped his arm playfully.
“That’s all you have to say after I just spent almost 10 minutes ‘preaching’ to you?” she said trying to sound hurt
“Hey, don’t blame me, you were beginning to sound like my dad at some point”
This time she picked up a pillow and aimed for his head, and he picked up another one and soon they were in a pillow fight giggling, hitting, and slapping each other with pillows. He fell on the sofa and pulled her down with him. They collapsed on top of each other still laughing and then he kissed her briefly on the lips. She smiled and kissed him back, and he kissed her again, this time longer. Tara took it all in savoring the feeling, but after a while, she felt his hand around her waist pulling her closer to him and alarm bells went off in her head.
She pulled back and told him she had a good time, but she had to leave.
“Are you sure?” he teased “I haven’t even told you any funny stories today” he smiled
“I am quite sure I need to leave now Jason” she said a little firmer this time.
“Sure” he said noticing the change in her tone. “I’ll just grab a shirt and walk you home, be back in a sec” he said and went upstairs.
Tara brought out her phone to text Shelly again and noticed her friend had called her twice. ‘I need to talk to you, I’ll call you when I get home’ she typed and hit send.
Reflection
Jason walked her home and they held hands as they walked. He did most of the talking, and she listened but she was mostly absorbed in her own thoughts, trying to sort through the series of emotions she was feeling.
She liked him a lot, but she sensed their relationship had just crossed an imaginary line that she never even knew existed. He was oblivious to any of the conflicting emotions she was feeling as they walked along. She wondered if she was overthinking things. They had almost crossed a physical line that she was not comfortable with. Furthermore, and most importantly, he was very firm in his thinking and saw no need for a closer relationship with God. How was she going to deal with that?
Follow Tara’s story as it unfolds in this young adult fiction series. Watch out for more episodes every week!
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