Michael had seen what the kids wore at the local middle school, where Elizabeth was in the eighth grade. With his daughter now a teenager, he believed he needed to set a good example. He dressed conservatively these days even though he was just forty. He pulled the sweats above his belly and sighed. Adding to his misery was the humidity of the April day, so he chose a simple white T-shirt, light gray sweats, and a pair of his favorite old sandals. He was beginning to understand why women complained about feeling bloated all the time. He slipped the ring on his finger and rubbed his stomach, uncomfortably aware of how his belly was gaining a foothold over the worn elastic waistband of his pajamas. One look at the ring and they would be sure to leave him alone. He rarely wore it, except when he wanted to prevent any awkward encounters with unattached women. Michael sighed and rubbed it gently against his T-shirt.
He turned it sideways to read the inscription: I’M GLAD I FOUND YOU. There it was at the bottom-a simple gold band. He stared down sullenly into the contents of the drawer and pushed aside a few pairs of socks. A thin layer of dust was across the top, and absentmindedly he brushed it away. I look awful, he thought.ĭisgusted, he retreated to his bedroom and pulled open the top drawer of his worn dresser. His head was pounding from a few glasses of pity wine the previous night, and he noticed a web of inflamed capillaries spreading across the corner of his left eye. “Let’s save each other some time today, Elizabeth. But when they come face-to-face with Judas Iscariot and the condemned Christ himself, Michael realizes that before they can escape Jerusalem, he must experience history’s most necessary and shattering heartbreak-and that pain and loss must happen if Michael is to be set free: to live, love, and reclaim the blessings he has in the present day. It is a dangerous and violent place, where doing what your heart tells you is right can get you imprisoned-or worse-and they are thankful to take refuge with a kind widow. and find themselves in first-century Jerusalem during the tumultuous last week of Jesus Christ’s life. While storing boxes in the basement, they step through a mysterious door. But he’s turned his back on his faith-that is, until the morning Michael and Elizabeth volunteer for a food pantry at their local church. Now he’s raising his teenaged daughter, Elizabeth, on his own and doing the best he can at work and at home.
Michael Stewart has weathered his share of hardships: a troubled childhood, the loss of his mother, even the degradation of living on the city streets. An extraordinary journey back in time shows a struggling single dad that the faith he’s lost is still alive-and stronger than ever.
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