Greg Myskill leaves his position as an assistant pastor in a church in Boston with his family to take up a position as a senior pastor in Enterprise, Alabama. While his wife Ruth is excited about the move, their daughter Jessie is not happy about leaving the bright lights of Boston.
Jessie initially finds it hard to make friends but she then becomes friends with Anna Dabrowski, the daughter of Enterprise’s boxing coach. While on a visit to the gym, Jessie is introduced to Peter Carver, the local bad boy and an aspiring boxer. Jessie begins a secret relationship with him even though she is aware Anna has a crush on him. Their relationship ends up with unfortunate consequences for her and her family.
Years later, Jessica is dealing with the possible unravelling of her marriage and the rebellious behaviour of her elder daughter. A chance encounter with Anna brings with it a rush of hurtful memories. Jessica rebuffs Anna’s attempts to rekindle their friendship as she still hurts from the past. Can Anna’s love break down the wall around Jessica’s heart? And can Jessica ever bridge the gap between herself and her parents or God?
Greg Myskill leaves his position as an assistant pastor in a church in Boston with his family to take up a position as a senior pastor in Enterprise, Alabama. While his wife Ruth is excited about the move, their daughter Jessie is not happy about leaving the bright lights of Boston.
Jessie initially finds it hard to make friends but she then becomes friends with Anna Dabrowski, the daughter of Enterprise’s boxing coach. While on a visit to the gym, Jessie is introduced to Peter Carver, the local bad boy and an aspiring boxer. Jessie begins a secret relationship with him even though she is aware Anna has a crush on him. Their relationship ends up with unfortunate consequences for her and her family.
Years later, Jessica is dealing with the possible unravelling of her marriage and the rebellious behaviour of her elder daughter. A chance encounter with Anna brings with it a rush of hurtful memories. Jessica rebuffs Anna’s attempts to rekindle their friendship as she still hurts from the past. Can Anna’s love break down the wall around Jessica’s heart? And can Jessica ever bridge the gap between herself and her parents or God?
CHAPTER 1
December 2001
Jessie ran towards the opposing goal, using her hockey stick to control the ball.
“Jessie, pass.”
Raising her head, she noticed Gwen, one of her teammates’ waving her hand and calling for the pass. She flicked the small round object to her team mate and watched as the other girl hit it with all the force she could muster. They both watched as it flew in the air and went past the goal keeper and into the net. Shortly after it hit the back of the net, the final whistle blew, signifying the end of the end of the game.
Jessie and her other teammates ran toward the goal scorer even as the people on the bench ran on to the pitch. Soon, everyone was on the pitch, hugging each other and piling on the goal scorer in celebration of the goal.
Even as other girls jumped on top of the pile and crushing her underneath their weight, Jessie ignored the discomfort. She always felt happiest when on the hockey pitch, playing with her teammates.
A few minutes later, the coach’s strident whistle broke up the celebratory mood. Shortly afterwards, all the girls were gathered in a circle around Freida Andersen, the coach of the girl’s hockey team in Riverside High. “Great game girls. Great goal Trudy. And that was a lovely pass, Jessie. I loved the tempo you all played that game. It was fast without being reckless. I want us to maintain that tempo during the game at the weekend. I would like us to dictate the tempo of that game and let them adjust to us. We also need to be aggressive.”
Jessie stood beside Trudy Gage, her hand resting on her friend’s shoulder as they stood listening to their coach. “So, we continue with practice tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’re going to watch videos of our opponents and see what we can learn about how they play and bounce ideas around about how to neutralise them. We’ll see tomorrow.”
As they walked off the pitch, Jessie walked up to Gwen with Trudy in tow. “Great goal Gwen,” she said as she patted the other girl’s back.
Gwen smiled. “Thanks. I really couldn’t have scored without that pass from you.”
“Thanks,” Jessie said.
“Congratulations on another great goal Gwen,” Trudy chimed in.
“Thanks,” Gwen said smiling. “I really love playing with you girls. I know I’ve been playing hockey for a long time and I’m supposed to have improved but I really feel as if I play better with you all.”
“We all feel the team plays better when you play,” Jessie said honestly. “We’re all glad you transferred here.”
“That’s true,” Trudy said nodding. “We do play better. I really think the team will go far in the state championships this season.”
“I hope so too. You girls are like family I’ve always wanted to belong to and I hope we all get to win something together,” Jessie said as she grabbed both girls into a group hug that lasted a little bit longer than normal. She hoped they hadn’t noticed the catch in her voice.
Around thirty minutes later, was Jessie climbing into the back of the Gage’s Toyota Sienna. “Good afternoon Mrs. Gage.”
“Hi Mum,” Trudy said as she climbed into the front passenger seat, throwing her backpack behind her onto the backseat, narrowly missing Jessie. She proceeded to sit with her leg on the seat.
“Hi Jessie,” Marion Gage said smiling at Jessie in the rear-view mirror. She turned to look at her daughter, the smile gone and one eyebrow raised. Getting her mother’s message, Trudy removed her feet from the car seat. “Hi Trudy. How was practice girls?”
“It was great Mum,” Trudy said. “I and Jessie were on the same team. You should have seen the pass she gave Gwen, another one of our teammates, to score.”
“That’s nice Jessie. How do you guys feel about the team this year?”
“I think we have chance of going as far as the state championships this year,” Jessie replied. “Some other girls like Gwen have come in who’ve made us really competitive this year.”
“That’s great. How are your parents, Jessie?”
“They’re both doing great Mrs. Gage.”
The conversation flowed until the car stopped in front of the Myskill’s driveway. Jessie got out of the vehicle, dragging her bag after her. “Thank you so much for the ride Mrs. Gage.”
“Don’t mention it. Please say hi to your parents for me.”
“I will Mrs. Gage. Bye Trudy. Bye Mrs. Gage.”
“Bye Jessie. See you tomorrow.”
Jessie walked up the short driveway, opening the door with her key. She had closed the door behind her and was on her way up the stairs to her room when she heard her mother’s voice. “Jessie? Is that you?”
“Yes Mum, it’s me,” she replied sighing as she removed her feet from the first stair and turned in the direction of the kitchen. Walking into the kitchen, she was surprised to see both of her parents sitting down at the table in the middle of the room nursing cups of coffee.
“Sit down Jessie. How was practice?” Ruth Myskill asked her daughter as she pulled out the chair next to her own.
Jessie sighed as she walked to the refrigerator and brought out a can of orange juice. She sat down at the table beside her mother. She opened the can and took a sip of the contents. “It was great Mum. I’m surprised to see both of you at home by this time. I thought you’d be at Aunt Macy’s place discussing costumes and Dad would still be at work.”
Greg cleared his cleared his throat. “Jessie, there’s something your mother and I wanted to tell you. Actually, it’s mainly me but it’s really both of us.” Greg cleared his throat again. “You know what I mean don’t you?”
Jessie removed the can from her lips and placed it slowly on the table in front of her. Alarm bells seemed to go off in her head. She wasn’t exactly sure but it seemed as if her father sounded nervous. “Not really Dad. What exactly do you mean?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The thing is, you know how I’ve always believed that being a pastor is what I was called to be and do. So, you see the thing is there’s this church in Enterprise, Alabama. They recently placed an advert in the newspapers, asking people to apply for the post of senior pastor. I applied and your mother and I went for the interview a few weeks ago. I received a letter today from the board of trustees of the church and they’re offering me the job of the senior pastor.”
Jessie smiled at her father. “I guess congratulations are in order Dad. I might not understand the whole God thing but I’m happy for you.” Then something occurred to her. “If you’re taking the job, that means you and Mom would have to leave Boston and go to this Enterprise place to pastor this church, right?” she asked softly.
“Yes,” Greg said, nodding slowly. “It would mean that we would all have to go to Enterprise,” correcting his daughter.
“I can’t leave Boston now. My friends are all here. Then there’s the hockey team. We have a great chance of going far in the state championships this year.”
Her mother tried to soothe her. “I know this is a shock to you but your father and I have discussed it and we think it’s better we all go together.”
“Why wasn’t I included in this discussion? Every time, it’s always the same. Five years ago, God spoke to Dad and he quit his job at the bank in Vermont but I didn’t get to have a say about whether he should or not. He’d discussed it with you and so it was okay. Do you know how much I suffered while he was “waiting on God” for the next instruction and didn’t have a job? What I had to do without?” Jessie winced. The recollection of the things that happened then still brought pain.
“And then just when I was getting used to our reduced circumstances, God spoke to Dad again and he had a discussion with you and we moved to Boston. Every single time God speaks to Dad, it seems I have to be the one to suffer and make sacrifices, either by leaving my friends or having to go without food or clothes. It’s no wonder I think your God is out to make me suffer. He seems to be all about suffering and inconvenience. And I always end up feeling like some sort of outsider in my own family because I don’t believe in the things you do and you refuse to see things from my perspective.”
“Besides, why do I have to go with you?” Jessie asked, her voice rising. “Why can’t I stay here with Uncle Drew and Aunt Macy?”
“I’m really, very sorry for all the things you’ve had to go through or if you think we don’t consider you when we make decisions. We do. We’re your parents and your mother and I considered the idea of you staying with Drew and Macy but you’re our daughter and your mother and I prefer we all stay together as a family,” her father said trying not to raise his voice.
“Family? Are we really a family?” Jessie scoffed. “It’s more like a dictatorship. You and Mom simply do what you like and I’m supposed to just follow along when I’m going to be the one to suffer. I’m going to have to leave all my friends and go to some strange place. When we left Vermont, I thought we were going Boston to stay. I guess God had other plans.” The sound of her chair scraping the floor as she stood up filled their ears. “You get to chase your dreams and I have to suffer for it. I hate both of you so much right now,” she said looking at her mother. She turned to fix her gaze on her father. “And I hope they sack you,” she spat out. She turned and ran out of the room.
“Jessie, come back here and apologise to your father,” Ruth said. She made to get up and go after her daughter but Greg held her back by grabbing hold of her hand.
“Let her go. She’s angry and she needs to calm down.”
“That’s no reason for her to disrespect you and say she hopes you get sacked,” Ruth said, struggling to break out of his grip.
“In her way, she’s hurting and she’s lashing out, especially at those she thinks are the cause of the hurt. Just leave her for now.”
Ruth sighed, her arm going limp as she gave up on the idea of going after her daughter. “Okay.”
“Let’s talk about the job. I’m sure you know if I take the job, you’re going to have a lot on your hands with the women and children’s ministries and other things.”
“Really?” Ruth said smiling walking into her husband’s embrace. “Tell me more.”
Jessie slammed the door of her room as loudly as she could and jumped into bed. The whole thing was so unfair. Just when things seemed to be looking up and she was enjoying herself, God seemed to have come along again to spoil her fun and inflict pain.
A quarter of an hour later, Jessie had begun to calm down. She realised she owed her parents an apology for her outburst but she still couldn’t understand why she had to follow her parents wherever they went. She was an adult for crying out loud. She really wanted to stay in Boston and not go to some town she hadn’t heard of in Alabama. She loved her parents but she didn’t really understand the whole God thing or why she had to tag along on their adventures. Even as she drifted off to sleep, she promised herself she was going to convince her parents to let her stay in Boston.
Lost But Found brings to light the life of a young woman who is brought up in a Christian home but takes exception to Christianity.
This young woman, Jessica Myskill, equates serving God with inconvenience and
believes the relationship her parents share with God need not involve her. This is
seen in the way she lashes out when her father announces he was led by God to
move to Enterprise, Alabama to be the senior pastor of a church:
Every single time God speaks to Dad, it seems I have to be the one to suffer and
make sacrifices, either by leaving my friends or having to go without food or
clothes. It’s no wonder I think your God is out to make me suffer. He seems to be
all about suffering and inconvenience. And I always end up feeling like some sort
of outsider in my own family.
All through her teenage years, and way beyond that, Jessica holds tight to her convictions of God and lets it colour her every decision, including how she chooses her friends.
It takes a few decades - and a need for peace in life's storms - for her to realize that in addition to having everything else, she needs God. Towards the end of the book she acknowledges:
I can’t say I understand it all but I want to know God. I want to have that peace
and contentment that [my parents and my friend] seem to have. I want to find
God for myself and not have people tell me about him.
The story cruxes at the point where the true meaning of love is brought to light. As C.S. Lewis says, "love is not an affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person’s ultimate good as far as it can be achieved."
The Author, Ayoade Oluwasanmi, shows us that high or low, in abundance or in
want, we need God. This book is an invitation to try God for one's self. It left me grateful for my own walk with God, and I would recommend this book to anyone seeking a light, romance-peppered read about finding God.
by Ubamara Ezenobi
For The Christ A Poet Team