Reclaiming Charity (The Potter's House Books Book 21) Read online

  Shaped by Love

  Book 3

  By

  RECLAIMING CHARITY

  The Potter’s House Books

  Shaped by Love

  Book 3

  © 2019 by Marion Clair Ueckermann

  This book is a work of fiction set in a real location. Any reference to historical or contemporary figures, places, or events, whether fictional or actual, is a fictional representation. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  eBook editions are licensed for your personal enjoyment only. eBooks may not be re-sold, copied or given away to other people. If you would like to share an eBook edition, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Scripture taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

  Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

  Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA), Public Domain

  Cover Art by Marion Ueckermann: www.marionueckermann.net

  Edited by Ailsa Williams.

  Cover Image ID 113675052 purchased from Depositphotos © Subbotina

  Sunflower ID 33819345 purchased from Depositphotos © Ksena32

  Contents

  Newsletter

  Reclaiming Charity

  Praise for Reclaiming Charity

  Dear Reader

  Dedication

  Glossary

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Scripture References

  Thank You for Reading!

  About Marion Ueckermann

  Titles by Marion Ueckermann

  Newsletter

  If you’d like to receive information on new releases, cover reveals, and writing news, please sign up for my newsletter.

  Reclaiming Charity

  Some artworks appear chaotic, but it all depends on the eye of the beholder.

  Brody and Madison Peterson have the picture-perfect marriage. Or so it seems. But their teenage daughter Charity knows only too well that that’s not the case. Frequent heated arguments—the bane of artistic temperaments—have Charity pouring out her heartache and fears in her prayer journal.

  When Madison makes a career choice that doesn’t fit in with her husband’s plans for their lives or their art gallery, disaster looms. The end of their marriage and a bitter battle over Charity threatens.

  What will it take for the Master Artist to heal old wounds and transform their broken marriage into a magnificent masterpiece? Could Charity’s journal be enough to make Brody and Madison realize their folly and reclaim their love?

  Praise for Reclaiming Charity

  Sparks fly in Marion Ueckermann’s novel, Reclaiming Charity, a book that keeps you guessing from start to finish. With real-life characters and attention-grabbing situations, as well as some good old fashioned mid-west charm, the plot rolls along to a satisfying conclusion. Not to be missed!

  ~ Jan Elder, Author of the Creek Series

  This story really tugs at the heartstrings. There is a great sense of relief when the only thing that could ever give Brody a sense of being loved and accepted comes to him via his sister. There is hope for the Brody’s of this world!

  ~ Ailsa Williams, Editor

  This is a true masterpiece, woven with threads of grace, forgiveness, trust, enduring faith, and God’s relentless love towards us! It tackles the difficult and deep issues of fear, rejection, abandonment, and feelings of being unworthy of God’s love. Deeply moving, with broad strokes of trusting in the skill of the Master to finish the canvas of our lives, and brushed with the gold thread of hope that He will truly remake the messy situations into a good and beautiful picture. With the stroke of her pen, Marion has created another masterpiece, where Charity may indeed be the greatest!

  ~ Becky Smith

  I really love the quote at the beginning of this book: “Some artworks appear chaotic, but it all depends on the eye of the beholder.” Chaotic is what Charity felt her life was. Her parents appeared to be creative loving people, but sometimes that creative spirit leads to chaos. If it wasn’t for Charity’s faith and hope in God, plus her prayer journals, she might not make it.

  This book deals with trust and faith issues, as well as, marital and family dynamics. These are all major issues which are currently creating havoc in our society. Marion Ueckermann is a very gifted author and she has taken these issues and woven a beautiful story of healing. She also paints a touching story of how God can take the blank or messed-up canvas of our life and turn it into a masterpiece.

  I highly recommend you read this book because I know it will touch your heart!

  ~ Marylin Furumasu, MF Literary Works

  A compelling inspiring story about Faith’s (Restoring Faith–Book 1) brother Brody being transformed by the Master Artist. Marion Ueckermann’s well crafted, emotional story has this avid reader coming back for another page turning read. The reader is immediately drawn into Brody and Madison’s marital discord which evokes sympathy for their teen daughter Charity, who daily pours out her heart in a prayer journal. Imagery has the reader visualizing the beauty of Cottonwood Falls, the art scene in New York City, unique paintings, dazzling fashion, and scrumptious cuisine. Foreshadowing alludes to the cause of Brody’s deep rooted issue of anger, turmoil, and abandonment. Life can be messy and some artwork appears chaotic; but the Lord, the Master Painter, can make everything beautiful in its time.

  ~ Renate Pennington, Retired English, Journalism, Creative Writing High School Teacher

  Marion Ueckermann has written another must read! When a character is so well written that I simply want to grab hold and shake them, well that’s a winner in my book!

  We can all let life and past hurts get in the way of God’s best for us, but when Brody has kept a secret for so long that it threatens the very people he loves most in the world, he is faced with a choice.

  Madison has a charmed life with her husband and daughter, if only she and Brody didn’t argue all the time…ah, but making up?!

  Charity is the sweetest of 16 year olds who loves God and her parents with her whole heart. I loved every moment of this beautiful journey!

  ~ Paula Marie, Blogger and Book Reviewer at Fiction Full of Faith

  Reclaiming Charity by Marion Ueckermann is a marvelous contemporary Christian novel. Within the novel there is a marriage in trouble. Marion Ueckermann pulls no punches. She shows the ups and downs of a relationship which has very high highs and very low lows. The fallout reaches a teenage daughter who at times seems wiser than her parents. The reader feels her pain as
she would hate to have to choose between them.

  Once again Marion Ueckermann has created characters that are easy to identify with. They are not perfect but realistically flawed. Marion Ueckermann does not present us with fairy tales but with stories of gritty issues that may affect us. She shows that life is not always smooth but that God is always faithful.

  ~ Julia Wilson, Book Reviewer at Christian Bookaholic

  Early wounds leave deep scars on our children. Sometimes they curse the next generation as well. Marion Ueckermann weaves a masterful story of hurt and healing, demonstrating anything is possible with God, even the healing of deep wounds and keloid scars. This is the final story in her planned Potter’s House series. But there is one more story to be told. I look forward to convincing her to write an epilogue novella.

  ~ Judith Robl, JR’s Red Quill Editing, Author of As Grandma Says

  This was awesome, amazing book full of laughter, tears, and most of all God’s love, forgiveness and redemption. The best part of the book was reading Charity’s prayer journal. I highly recommend this book to those who love Christian fiction with a strong inspirational message.

  ~ Linda Rainey

  A story that came close to my heart as I resonated with Madison and Brody in so many ways. Marriage is most precious, but it’s hard work. Learning to overcome the ups and downs is a valuable lesson of marriage that Marion has taught so well through this story. A page turner that reflects on God’s love, mercy and grace for us all.

  ~ Sharon Dean

  Dear Reader

  Life can be messy,

  not a pretty picture at all.

  Sometimes the erratic scribbles of existence

  can make you feel more Picasso than Picot.

  Stay firmly fixed to the Master’s easel

  because God is not finished

  painting your portrait.

  And never, ever forget that you are

  His masterpiece!

  Be blessed,

  Dedication

  For Karen…

  A Masterpiece in the galleries of heaven.

  We will always miss you.

  Glossary

  Barrel roof : A roof or ceiling having a semi-cylindrical form

  Cheval mirror : A full-length mirror in a frame in which it may be tilted

  Compass rose : [Navigation] A circle divided into 32 points or 360° numbered clockwise from true or magnetic north, printed on a chart or the like as a means of determining the course of a vessel or aircraft; a similar design, often ornamented, used on maps to indicate the points of the compass

  F0 : Gale tornado, wind speed 40-72 mph

  French easel : French easels are for the traveling artist. They contain a sketchbox, an easel, and a canvas carrier in a smaller package. The sketchbox holds paint supplies and a palette. The legs and canvas arm on a French easel collapse for ease of travel. French easels are excellent for painting outdoors.

  GDL : Graduated Driver’s License

  Glamping : The activity of camping with some of the comforts and luxuries of home

  Impasto : The laying on of paint thickly, painting technique [Italian]

  Madder : Any plant of the genus Rubia, especially the climbing R. tinctorum, of Europe, having open clusters of small, yellowish flowers; the root of this plant, formerly used in dyeing; the dye or coloring matter itself; a color produced by such a dye

  Mammatus : Meaning “mammary cloud”, is a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud, typically cumulonimbus rainclouds, although they may be attached to other classes of parent clouds. Name derived from the Latin mamma (meaning “udder” or “breast”). [Wikipedia – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/]

  MCI : IATA code for Kansas City International Airport (originally Mid-Continent International Airport) is a public airport 15 miles northwest of downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri

  Nascar : The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock-car racing

  Prestissimo : In as fast a tempo as possible (Music)

  TLC : Tender loving care

  What God has joined together,

  let no one separate.

  ~ Mark 10:9 (NIV)

  Chapter One

  Wednesday, June 8, 2005

  ARTISTS ARE recluses, Madison Peterson’s husband, Brody, often joked, but their move to the tiny town of Cottonwood Falls had offered their daughter a slower, safer, more innocent way of life. Madison had to admit that despite growing up in the fast lane—a New York socialite for a mother and her father a Wall Street banker—like Brody, she herself was somewhat of a recluse. She didn’t like crowds. Their handful of friends suited her just fine.

  Then again, she was an artist too.

  At first, the transition had been tough for Madison—she’d been used to a faster paced life—but as the years rolled into each other, she grew to love living in rural Kansas. Now, she wouldn’t trade it for anything. The wide-open spaces, the Flint Hills where fields sloped gently this way and that, and the stars that shone brighter in the heavens. Not to mention all the great venues not too far in any direction for the artist to seek out. It would take a lot to drag her away.

  “Not much longer, Charity honey. I promise.” Standing at the edge of their backyard overlooking farmer Thorpe’s wheat field, Madison dipped the number two Winsor & Newton round brush—perfect for the finer features of her daughter’s face—into the blob of rose madder tint she’d squeezed onto her palette. She mixed it with a touch of white. Perfect. Exactly the right color for Charity’s rosebud lips.

  Humming softly, Madison swirled the sturdy hog bristles in the oil paint, then lifted the brush. Charity’s beautiful face smiled from the large canvas as she reached for a bright yellow sunflower in a field of gold, her long, reddish curls blowing gently in the afternoon breeze. Wow! I could not have chosen a better pose or setting for this piece of art. And right here in our own backyard. With the sun’s rays falling on Charity’s white cotton dress, the painting radiated summer, which, thankfully, was nearly here.

  Even though the fields were green, not quite ripe for harvest, when she’d put the first dabs of oil to the canvas, Madison had opted to paint them in the golds of harvest time now before her eyes. The sunflower, too, was an adjustment she’d made to the actual visual she painted from—the tinier wild sunflowers that graced the Kansas roadsides throughout summer not yet in bloom when she’d started the artwork.

  Madison released a satisfied sigh at her handiwork. She’d been busy with this portrait for weeks now, a birthday gift for her baby, and she was almost done. In the nick of time too. The paint would barely have sufficient time to dry after she added the final brushstrokes today.

  Sweet sixteen next Saturday—how had that happened? In a blink, Charity had morphed from a babe in diapers to the beautiful young woman standing in the field behind their home. There was no doubt in Madison’s mind this sweet sixteen would arrive with a never been kissed. Oh the sweetness of Charity’s innocence—long may it last.

  A smile tugged. Madison felt sorry for the boy who did try to kiss her daughter one day. Charity was as pure as they came—her heart belonged to Jesus, she always said. And for that, neither Brody nor Madison could take credit. That was all Faith’s doing. From the time Charity had given her life to God at the tender age of eight during a visit to Brody’s sister in Colorado, Charity had insisted on going to Sunday school every Sunday morning—whether her parents came to church with her or not.

  Madison and Brody went on the odd occasion, but not often. They just weren’t…church people. Besides, they did some of their best work on the weekends. So while Charity was learning about Jesus, they’d busy themselves packing paints, canvases, and easels into the SUV, ready to head on out the moment Charity emerged from Sunday school.

  Some days Madison envied her daughter. Charity had an inner peace that neither she nor Bro
dy had been able to find.

  As did Faith and Brody’s younger brother, Tyler. There was just something different about them. These Christians.

  Maybe sometime she’d need to give this church stuff more of a chance.

  Still, Madison couldn’t help wondering whether Charity would’ve turned out so perfect, so unblemished, had they stayed in New York. Could her faith have protected her as much in the city?

  Perhaps there was method in her husband’s madness in moving them from the Big Apple to live in this sleepy hollow.

  Charity’s laugh drew Madison’s attention from the artwork. She looked up from behind the easel in time to see her daughter lose her pose as she toppled sideways.

  “Honey, you need to stand still.”

  Charity righted herself, scrunching her nose. “I’m trying, Mom. It’s Baxter. He’s jumping up and tugging at my dress.”

  Madison lowered her gaze to see a flash of cream between the sheaths of wheat.

  “Baxt—? How did that dog sneak out of the house?” Madison pursed her lips. She was beginning to think that giving in to Charity’s pleas to get a puppy for her birthday had perhaps not been the wisest decision she and Brody had made. But the Golden Retriever pup was sooo cute, even she couldn’t resist him.

  The bouncy early birthday present and the painting weren’t the only gifts they’d planned for Charity. Their daughter knew about the artwork—obviously, as she was posing for it—but Charity wouldn’t see it until her party. Madison wasn’t sure if she was more excited to see the look on Charity’s face when they unveiled the canvas or when they handed over the keys to the spanking new VW Beetle—new-shape—the color of Dorothy’s brick road in the Land of Oz.