Leap of Faith Read Online Free Page A

she put on a tomato, onions, and the lettuce before she smashed the bun on top. “For some reason, I pictured you as a vegetarian.”
    Zoe grinned. “I was for most of my life. That’s why I now eat beef as much as I can. But only the best!” With that, she took a huge bite out of the hamburger.
    Zack laughed at the sheer enthusiasm. “Do I detect a trace of rebellion in your tone?”
    She paused over her hamburger, thinking carefully. “Maybe a little, but mostly I’m just sorry for things not said. I lost my parents two years ago in an accident.”
    “I’m sorry, Zoe. I didn’t mean to dredge up bad memories.”
    “You didn’t dredge them up.” She hesitated, as if she wanted to say more but with a little shake of her head, she went on. “For the most part, I had a good life. My parents were very loving. They were just free spirits. My dad hated rules of any kind. He was obsessed with freedom. He never saw that true freedom lies in complete obedience.”
    “What do you mean?”
    She finished chewing her most recent bite before she answered. “Putting your life in God’s hands allows you to be your true self.”
    Zack frowned. “Be in someone else’s control so you can do what you want. I’m not sure I see how that’s possible.”
    “Neither could my dad. That’s why he spent his life chasing something he never found.”
    Her words struck Zack hard. Was that what he was feeling? Did he know in his heart he was chasing something that would never give him true contentment?
    “Why didn’t he do it? Why couldn’t he just put himself in God’s hands?”
    She squeezed a pile of ketchup by her french fries. “Well, first you have to have a relationship with God. You have to know Him and His words. You have to talk to Him and most importantly, you have to learn to listen. My dad was usually pretty busy telling everyone else how things should be.”
    This time Zack was certain about her tone. “I thought you said you had no resentment.”
    She sighed. “I didn’t when I was younger. Not until I got older. My dad couldn’t quite forgive me for not buying into his dream world.”
    “You didn’t like living in communes?”
    “Cooperatives. My dad preferred the word cooperatives. It wasn’t bad. For the most part, I loved it. I had lots of friends. I learned how to work with others, and I always saw the fruits of my work. I didn’t reject the lifestyle so much as my dad’s single-minded pursuit of personal freedom. He refused to see how much it hurt others, especially my mother and me.”
    “Sounds like he was pretty selfish.”
    “I started to question our lifestyle. I loved the concept of serving others, living in peace with our surroundings, but I knew there was more than what I was seeing.”
    “Is that when you started sensing God’s presence?”
    She glanced at him, a surprised look on her face. She smiled and Zack wondered how such a simple thing could light up his world.
    “Yes, it was. When I finally put a name to my feelings and realized that God is our Creator, I started going to a little chapel down the street with some of my friends. We walked almost a mile and never missed a Sunday or a Wednesday meeting. When I learned how much God loved us and sacrificed for us, I knew I’d found the truth…real love and total freedom. God was the reality my father had been seeking all his life. I couldn’t wait to share my faith with him. I thought he’d be so excited.”
    She fiddled with her french fries. “Instead, he lost his temper. He called me naïve and foolish and railed against God and the restrictions of religion. He told me if I continued to go to church I’d have to leave.”
    “All I had felt from God was love,” she said, shaking her head, “That’s when I knew my father’s search had just been an excuse for self-indulgence.”
    “What about your mother? How did she feel?”
    A half-smile flitted over her lips but she didn’t raise her gaze to meet Zack’s. “My