A Lily Among Thorns

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚈-𝙴𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃

✞ C E L A I   L a C R O I X ✞

Celai walks to the end of the hallway to Julian's apartment. She knocks on the door and leans against the wall, waiting for him to answer. He opens the door a moment later and he smiles at her as he continues his conversation over the phone. Celai walks in, returning the smile.

This has been, somewhat, the routine for the past month. However, today is slightly different.

Celai tries to walk past Julian, but he quickly pulls her into him by her waist. She tries not to laugh, since he's on the phone, but a small one lets out. Julian stifles it with a peck on her lips and he pulls the phone away from his ear.

"What's the verse of the day?" he asks lowly.

The week after they became an item, God sent Celai to a random page in the Bible and she ended up learning a lesson she'd never forget: James 1:12 "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

Celai had flipped to the page on 'accident' but Julian called it the Verse of the Day and ever since, a habit has been formed out of it. Now, Celai flips to a random page in the Bible every day and trusts that God sent her there.

"Ecclesiastes 9:11, NLT version," Celai tells her boyfriend. "Don't ask me to recite it, though, cus I think it's one of the longest verses in the Bible."

He lets out a small chuckle before releasing her from his embrace and returning to his call. Celai, however, sticks around in front of him, playing with his curly hair. "It's getting long," she whispers to him.

"You gon braid it for me?" he whispers back.

Her fingers slide from his hair. "We'll see," she says and she goes into his living room, kicking off her shoes and placing them beside his couch.

She crashes on the couch and starts watching whatever flashes on the TV. Very quickly, her eyes begin to wander around Julian's apartment. Celai finds it beautiful, and if she wasn't educated on different types of homes, she would have thought he lived in a penthouse. It's huge and she has yet to explore the whole place.

It's just another reason to think where his money was coming from. But she never dwelled on that thought for long; it doesn't matter.

"'The fastest runner doesn't always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn't always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don't always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time'."

Celai looks over at Julian, who has his Bible in his hand instead of his phone. "Huh?" she says.

"Ecclesiastes 9:11." He says the verse again. "It is pretty long. I'm out of breath," he chuckles as he sets his Bible down on the bar.

"I told you," Celai says as he sits at her feet on the couch. "What do you think of it though?"

"It's funny since I'm gonna be preaching on that same exact topic soon. But to answer your question, I don't believe anything is by chance, fate, or coincidence. God does everything with purpose, big or small. However, it's up to us to give Him credit."