Faith

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After the news reporter left, Joe called Rick and Mari over to him. When the two scientists approached him, he said, "I really hate to do this, considering you are single parents and you just lost your work in the lab and the side of the lab that you work on, but I'm going to have to let you go."

"Let us go? Why?" Mari asked.

Joe sighed. "This isn't an easy thing to say, as I know you hold your own beliefs and convictions dear to you. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, but you weren't interviewed by the reporter so you could preach."

"We weren't preaching, sir," Rick protested. "I was just trying to explain why I am able to keep going after the fire."

"And I was just agreeing with him," Mari added.

Joe sighed again. "I'm sorry, you guys," he said. After that, he walked away.

Rick and Mari looked at each other, clearly worried. Rick was a single father, and Mari was a single mother. Didn't Joe understand that it was hard enough to be a single parent, let alone a single parent without any way to financially support their children? Even if he was an atheist, couldn't he have the compassion to look at it from their point of view? Mari started to cry, and Rick put his arm around her. He pressed his other hand against his forehead. Ashlyn and Emmy looked at their parents sadly.

That night they all went back to Mari and Emmy's house. It was cold outside, and they'd been standing outside watching the burned-up building for quite a while, so Mari made hot chocolate for everyone while Rick built a fire in the fireplace. They each wrapped blankets around their daughters, and then Rick took Ashlyn onto his lap when he sat down on the couch, and Mari took Emmy onto hers. They just sat in silence, Rick and Mari deep in thought, until Ashlyn asked, "Daddy, are Emmy and I going to have to live somewhere else until you guys find jobs?" she asked.

"Of course not, sweetheart," Rick said. "Where would you get that idea?"

"Because when you don't have a job, you can't make money to take care of us," Ashlyn said.

Rick hugged Ashlyn tightly and kissed her forehead. "Baby, I promise you that we're going to find work again, and nobody's ever going to take you away from us."

"That's right," Mari said as she gave Emmy a big hug and a kiss. "You girls have nothing to worry about. We're not going to stop looking till we find another job."

Ashlyn and Emmy were happy with those answers. They snuggled on their parents' laps, and soon the warm fire put them to sleep.

Mari looked at Rick. "Rick, I know the economy is anemic right now. It could be hard to find anything really soon," she whispered. "Not that I'm afraid that we'll lose our daughters, but what if it takes us a while to find another job?"

Rick softly cleared his throat. "You're right," he said. "It is tough, but I know God will help us find another job. Let's pray right now." He and Mari both silently prayed that Jesus would help them find another job, and as they prayed, Jesus put it on each of their hearts to open their own lab where they would work together.

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