Breaking Her Chains (Completed)

Chapter Eight

Bryten's Point of View:

Bryten sat at his office reading e-mails. He was tired this morning. Two days had passed and everything had been going well- he was just tired.

A knock on his door caused him to look up. He wanted to pretend he wasn't there, but he knew he couldn't.

"Come in." he called.

Eva and Kasey entered the office looking very sneaky.

"Bry-Brt?" Kasey called as she batted her long, black eyelashes.

"What do you want and how much is it going to cost me?" he asked.

"It's not going to cost you anything." Eva said as she hopped up on his desk.

"What?" he asked wearily.

"We know you wanted Tinsley to be well rested and to take it easy, but we were wondering if we could all go get our toes done?" Kasey asked.

"Pleasssseeeeee!" both girls begged at the same time.

Bryten thought for a moment before nodding. "If you PROMISE that is all you will do, she can go."

Eva and Kasey squealed out their promises before running to give Tinsley the good news.

Bryten shook his head and continued reading his e-mails with a smile on his face. 'Thank you for your tender mercies Lord." He was still tired and ill, but God had just reminded him to take joy in the simple things.  

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Tinsley's Point of View:

Tinsley looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her deep red hair rested just below her shoulders. Her skin looked much healthier and her bruises had almost healed. The dark circles under her eyes were less black, but still slightly noticeable. She sighed.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well. Psalms 139:14"

"This is my command--be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9"

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.. Deuteronomy 31:6"  Tinsley recited.

"How about "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39" Jacob said as he knocked on the door.

"I like that one." Tinsley said as she thanked him.

"Were you reciting scripture for comfort?"

She shrugged. "Lisa asked me to find a new promise of God everyday and recite it when I felt lonely or afraid. I did it because she asked me, but then I realized I enjoyed doing it and it made me feel better."

Jacob nodded. "I am glad it helps you feel better spiritually."

Tinsley nodded.

"How are you feeling emotionally?"

"Raped." she answered.

"I feel violated, dirty and I would love to do nothing more than just give up. I love your family more than you could ever know, but the pain is so intense." she said as she elaborated more.

Jacob set in a chair beside the door and folded his hands together. "I wish I had the words to say to take your pain away, but I can't. This is part of the healing process and the pain brings healing." he said gently.

Tinsley nodded. "I know; it's just so hard."

"I know Tinsley." he said sympathetically. "I pray every morning and every night for you. This is going to be such a hard road to travel, but I have so much faith in you. I know you don't see it, but you are so strong honey and I PROMISE you this won't last forever.

"I don't see that. I don't see my strength and I am so scared that I am going to give up. I want to so badly." she admitted as her voice broke. She quickly wiped up the rapidly falling tears.

Jacob pulled a hanky from his pocket and walked over toward her. He helped her wipe her eyes and then he set on the bed.

"Tinsley, don't let Satan use this to discourage you. He is causing you to underestimate yourself. Look at it from God's perspective. He see's his child-broken and scared, but still serving him and he is so proud. Love, if you were going to give up you would have already done it." Jacob encouraged.

"You think God is proud simply because I am still trying to serve?"

Jacob nodded. "Honey, I know he is. That is the great thing about God. He loves us from a fatherly point of view, so he is pleased when we try our best. Tell me, do you remember the first time you tried to ride a bike?"

Tinsley nodded.

"Who taught you?"

"My brother."

"How did it go the first few times?"

"I fell... a lot." she admitted.

"What did your brother say?"

She smiled. "Great job Tinsley. You're doing great."

"Why do you think he told you were doing great if you were struggling?"

"because he was proud of my effort."

Jacob nodded. "Just like God. You have every reason to feel pain, to be upset, you want to give up- but you haven't. Why?"

"because I love God and I know- even though I struggle with feeling it all the time- he loves me too."

Jacob reached over and picked up a pillow. "Pretend this pillow will make you rich."

She nodded.

"but I can't get rich from the pillow because I didn't obey God."

She nodded again.

"Now, I am a mean and jealous being and I don't want you to have the riches, so I am going to cover your eyes so you can't see it."

He covered her eyes and Tinsley laughed. "Ok..."

"Is the pillow still there?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Even though you can't see it?"

"Yes."

"The pillow represented God's love and I represented Satan. God's love is always there-just like God, but Satan tries to hide that from us. He knows if he can make us feel unloved he can make us stumble. He hates God's love for us because it empowers us to do great things and it is rich with mercy. He can no longer receive God's love because he was disobedient and thought he could be better than God, so now it is his plan to keep anyone he can from knowing God. " he explained.

Tinsley smiled. "That makes sense!"

"The key to staying strong is KNOWING- even if you don't always feel it- God's love IS ALWAYS there."

"Like the pillow. I couldn't see it, but I knew it was there." 

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Comment "pillow" if you liked the chapter please.

Did I confuse anyone with that metaphor? If I did, please e-mail me and I can try to explain it better.