Noah gripped the back of the pew as the united voices of the congregation swelled around him in song. He’d made it through the reading from Philippians and the first praise chorus fine, distracted by the curious glances aimed his way and the scent of Elisa’s shampoo to his right.
But now, as everyone settled in—leaving Noah no choice but to do the same—the words of the next hymn pierced the defenses he’d carried for years.
Iwas sinking deep in sin
Far from the peaceful shore
That was him. He knew it as surely as he knew the best bait to use for sea bass. He tightened his grip on the wood beneath his hands.
Very deeply stained within
Sinking to rise no more
Noah might be an avid swimmer, but these past few years, he’d been sinking. The weight of his family’s legacy, the financial stress of the inn, his father’s shame. His own bad decisions along the way.
All of it had tied tight around his ankles and dragged him down.
Sinking to rise no more.
Noah stared without seeing toward the screen, the lyrics of the hymn blurring together. He’d spent so much energy attempting to outrun his family name and attempting to correct his family’s name that he hadn’t accomplished either. So the toxic cycles of denial and resignation continued, churning like a whirlpool, spraying accusations from so many voices over so many years—his mom, Isaac Bergeron, Sheriff Rubart—that he couldn’t even separate them anymore.
He was a Hebert.
He was sunk.
But the master of the sea
Heard my despairing cry
Noah raised his head, Elisa’s clear soprano singing loud beside him.
From the waters lifted me
Now safe am I.
Emotion clogged his throat. His own words from his conversation with Elisa mixed with the rhythm of the hymn. “I catch myself assuming God is like my dad, which I don’t think is true. But then I’m not sure what to think, so I don’t.”
Maybe that was his problem all along. What had they read in Philippians 2? He squinted as he fought to recall. “ThereforeGod hashighly exalted him and bestowed on himthe name that is above every name…”
That was it. He’d been trying to come to terms with his own name rather than focusing on the Name above all Names.
The hymn continued, and he mouthed the words, unable to put voice behind them. Unable to fully believe they could be true.
Love lifted me
Love lifted me
When nothing else could help
Love lifted me
Elisa glanced up at him as the chorus continued. Her delicate brows drew together into a furrow, concern filling her pretty blue eyes.
He offered a smile as she sang, his heart clutching at the words like a drowning man would cling to a life preserver.
Love lifted me
Love lifted me