THE THREE MEN LEFT THE COURTROOM. I STAYED BEHIND with Moses and watched the door close behind them. The courtroom became totally quiet. State v. Jones was over. I collapsed on the bench, put my head in my hands, and began to weep.
“What be bothering you, missy?”
The crushing pressure of the past weeks demanded an emotional release. My weeping turned to sobs. I felt the old man lightly place his hand on my back. Several minutes passed before I regained my composure. Thankfully, no one disturbed us. I lifted my head and sniffled loudly. Moses was sitting beside me. I cleared my throat.
“I’ve been sharing your burden for a few weeks. You’ve been carrying it for forty years. I don’t know how you’ve done it.”
Moses nodded. “That be right, missy. I be toting a very heavy load. Just like the big rock that dragged that poor little girl’s body to the muddy bottom.”
I took a tissue from my purse and blew my nose. I looked at the old man’s weathered face. Pure love for him rose up in my heart. I touched him lightly on the arm.
“And it’s time you stopped carrying that load, along with the other loads dragging you down all your life.”
“What you mean?”
I turned sideways so I could look directly into his face. “Jesus gave his life so you wouldn’t have to carry the burdens of the past, no matter where they came from. His burden is easy and light. Give what’s left of your life to him.”
The old man blinked his eyes. “You sound like my ol’ auntie. I know that be true for young folk, but not for an old broke-down fellow like me. Too much done gone by for me to catch up.” Moses looked across the room. “The faces in the water, they be talking to me. They tell me the end of my days.”
“No,” I answered with feeling. “Listen to Jesus. God wants you to look up, not down.”
Moses slowly tilted back his head. After a few moments, there was a puzzled expression on his face. “That be a sweet sound,” he said.
I didn’t hear anything, but my heart understood. “That’s what happens in a court of praise.”
And in a gentle, natural way, the Lord used me to guide Moses Jones to a place of freedom and peace. Our tears, young and old, flowed together as he received the love of Jesus with childlike wonder. The spillover blessed me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. Mama would have shouted in victory. Our celebration, though quieter, was no less triumphant.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked after the last prayer ended.
“I never be more ready.” Moses paused. “And you know what, missy?”
“What?”
“I think you be a lot more than a real lawyer.”
WE LEFT THE COURTROOM and went in opposite directions. It was hot outside, but the heat had lost its power to oppress me. I walked at a leisurely pace. Wisdom adapts to things that cannot be changed, so I took my time returning to the office. The thanksgiving that had bubbled up in my heart while the Lord touched Moses returned. God was good. My mistakes and foolishness hadn’t stymied his purposes.
I arrived back at the office ready to confess my sins to Zach. But he wasn’t in his office, and the attractive secretary who worked for him informed me that he and Mr. Appleby had left for an emergency weekend meeting in Mobile with representatives of a Chinese shipping company. The Chinese company was going to increase its business on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico and wanted a single law firm to coordinate their activities in the United States.
I was a bit ashamed as I admitted to myself that I was relieved he was not in. I dreaded rehashing my embarrassing miscalculation of Mr. Carpenter’s interest in Moses Jones and Lisa Prescott.
“Zach will be making trips to Shanghai if this deal goes through,” the young woman said. “I told him I’d like to stow away, carry his suitcase, do anything to see that part of the world.”
“What did he say to that?”
“Oh, you know how he is,” she gushed. “He pulled on that cute ponytail and smiled.”
“DID YOU GET THE CASE TAKEN CARE OF?” Julie asked lightly when I entered the library a few minutes later. “Joel is going to the cocktail reception at Mr. Carpenter’s house tonight. I want you to meet him, but promise you won’t say anything goofy. I told him you were super-religious—kind of like my cousins in New York—so he won’t be totally shocked.”
“Has he told you to shut up yet?” I asked.
“No, don’t be silly. He’s a great conversationalist, especially for a guy. He said more in thirty minutes than Vinny has all summer. Not that I’m trying to dump on Vinny, but you know what I mean. What happened in your case?”