Grayson's Great Love

Grayson's great love Grayson Gideon Thayers was a wealthy man that came from the wrong side of town. He had always been determined to have enough money to never have to go hungry again. His parents weren't poor but they still never seemed to have enough money for food at times. He was one of six children and he was the youngest of the children. There were 4 boys and two girls. Hand me downs were all he ever got and although he has was thankful for what he had, he still wanted a new pair of pants like his older brother always got at the first of the school year. Grayson was fifteen when he got his first job mowing lawns. Five dollars a lawn and sometimes he would mow five or six a day after school. With his new found income he could afford to buy his first new pair of jeans in his life. From there he turned his little after school job into a big business. He went to college and got a degree in business. Which he then used that degree to give his business a name:Grayson's great lawns,lawn care where we truly care. And by the time he was twenty three years old he had made a hundred thousand dollars. Grayson was so busy making money that he forgot that he needed people and God in his life. He had been brought up in the church but had seen so much hypocrisy that he was turned off from it. He just wanted the people in his life that were employees,or to use to climb to the top. Now he was 40 years old and had no family of his own. No,children for himself and no grandchildren for his parents. He barely talked to any family members except during the holidays. He was sad and alone. He had also forgotten how to pray. He thought that he was immortal!!! That was until he met Daria. Grayson would learn a life's lesson that would change his whole life tonight. Now that Grayson Gideon Thayers was about to come face to face with someone ready to do whatever it took to get the money to get his fix. Jameson Henderson was a 25 year old man that had been hooked on cocaine for the past year now. He was higher than he had ever been and wanted to keep that high going. Jameson had found a gun behind the dumpster where he had been sleeping next to for about a month now. Jameson's sister Rose was older and she had been trying to find a rehab program that would work for both of them. The only problem with this situation is that that person has to want help before they finally would accept it. Rose Marie Henderson was Jameson's oldest sister, and she loved Jameson more than any of the others because he was like her own son, more than just her little brother. She had spoiled him more than the others as well. So,he thought that no matter what he did, he could get away with it. Rose will come to my rescue,but what he was about to do he could never come back from. There was no way that Rose could save him this time. He was going to have to be saved by a higher power than himself and Rose put together. Rose was a Christian and believed that there was no such thing as chance. God always brought people into our lives for a reason. She believed that God was love and without love the world would stop going round. So,when you run into that person pay attention because when you serve the least of these you could be serving God with a pack of hot dogs or just a drink of water. As the 4th of July weekend approached everyone was getting ready for the party that the town of Fredericksburg threw every year. You could feel the excitement in the air. It was like electricity anticipation of the fireworks and the show that would be put on. They had one of the best fireworks shows ever seen in the state of Virginia. People would come from other states just to see it. With the planning people would get cash from the banks so that they could get food and souvenirs from different vendors around the square. Grayson was no exception to anyone else that he would have cash on hand for just that reason, but it would also be the reason that Jameson would pick him to rob. Grayson had a date on this night, something he didn't usually do on a night like this. When he saw Daria he was head over heels in love instantly. Daria Blake was a petite woman with Auburn hair with brown eyes. She made his heart skip a beat like no one had ever had before. He couldn't wait to pick her up and spend time with her. Grayson was like a teenage boy going on his first date and that happened every time he picked her up for a date. Daria and Grayson had just started dating, he thought that he'd never find anyone. He had given up when he ran into her and spilled coffee all over her beautiful new dress at the coffee shop. Which was just down the street from his office.He stopped there all the time but he had never seen her before. As Daria was on her way to an interview and had no time to go home to change made her upset. As she tried to get the coffee out of the dress she was mumbling something under her breath. When she looked up to see hazel eyes that pierced her right through the heart. She was shocked at this moment and didn't know what to say. She was a Christian and knew right away that this was no accident being in this place at this very moment was right where she was supposed to be. Grayson looked down into those dark brown eyes and fell the minute he saw them. He offered to buy her a new dress after Daria explained where she was going. She told him that she couldn't do that. He insisted since it was his fault that she had the coffee on the dress anyway. They had only been on four dates but they both seemed to know that they were meant to be together. Grayson who never went to church any more, had started going with Daria the following week. He felt better than he had in years and he knew that it wasn't just Daria making him feel that way. But tonight would put that new found feeling to the test. As he walked out of the bank he had the nagging feeling that there was something wrong. He didn't know what it was that was making him feel like this but Grayson just pushed it away. Mathew 5:39; But I say to you,That ye resist not evil:but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law,and take away thy coat, let him have your cloaked also. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said,Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. 41 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. Grayson would come to understand all these verses in time but right this very moment he didn't understand why they were coming to him right now. He was thinking about the sermon that they had heard last Sunday. But it never occurred to him that it would be revealed to him why until later this evening. He went home to get ready for tonight's festivities Fredericksburg made it a weekend long event on the fourth. The fourth and Christmas time were their biggest tourist events of the year. He had planned on making sure that Daria got to see the whole thing from top to bottom. Daria had just moved into town from Lynchburg,Tennessee. She had moved here to start a new life. Daria was getting over a break up when she had seen the add,for a job at the dispatch office for the police department in Fredericksburg. She was ready for a new chapter in her life. Grayson, just happened to be at the right place and time to run into her quite literally at that moment in time. She would play that scene over in her mind and laugh when she realized how upset she had been in that moment until she saw those big hazel eyes that had turned a type of blue gray at that moment. It was an aha moment that struck her like lightning. Then when they started talking on the phone and he asked her to go out with him,her heart leaped for joy. Grayson had given her his name and number so that he could get the dress she was wearing dry cleaned, since it was his fault that she was going to her interview covered in coffee. This was their fifth date and she couldn't decide what to wear. But then for fun she decided to wear the dress that had started this whole thing. Little did she know what was about to happen this weekend. This dress would signify something totally different in a matter of minutes. All of the sudden the verse from Jeremiah 29:11 came to her: For I know the plans I have for you' Declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,Plans to give you hope and a future. She wasn't sure what God was doing but she knew that there was a future in it. God gives us clues and shows us the way to walk if we're just willing to truly listen, even if we don't quite understand at that very moment what's going on. She finished getting ready and walked out the door. She was meeting Grayson at the festivities and she didn't want to be late. Rose was getting her youngest son ready to go to the fourth of July party that the town was putting on. She had bought a little baseball outfit for him. He had grown so much in the last couple of months he was going to be six months old in just a few days. She didn't want to see him all grown up just yet. Rose had two boys and two girls. Jackson was 8, Gena was 6,and Blake was 4, and the youngest was Brady. He was a little bit feisty and he made her laugh even harder when he would giggle. She could tell that he was going to be the trouble maker in this bunch. Rose just wanted to savor the seasons that all her children were in. They could all make her feel like tearing her hair out but she wouldn't trade any of them for anything. Her husband Jon Stewart was a handsome man that had made her laugh from the first date. He was tall with blond hair and blue eyes and she was average height with black hair and green eyes. She was a little chunky after having Brady but Jon didn't seem to mind all that much. She was only two sizes bigger than when they had met but she wanted to get back into her old jeans so she was exercising and eating right. Which meant that they all were going to eat better. But this weekend they could splurge on some junk food and it wouldn't hurt anything. Everyone was excited because Jon had a booth at the front of the festivities this year. He was also going to have someone help him run it so that he could also spend some time with the family. Navaya was one of his oldest sister's kids and she had just turned 16. She was ready to run the booth because she had been working for the restaurant for a year now. As soon as she turned 15 she asked for her worker's permit and got it. So,she knew how everything ran and how to cook everything as well. Jon did give her a cook just to make sure that everything went smoothly. Howard was 17 and had been working as a cook on the weekends for the last two years. He was reliable and trustworthy. Both of them went right to work getting everything ready for the opening of the booth. Jon was overseeing everything when Rose called to him from the front of the booth. He walked out and said give me just half an hour and I will be right with you. Jon had taken over Jodi's Place when she was ready to retire. Jodi Edwards had been in business for over 20 years when she had decided that she was ready to retire and spend time with her husband Kevin. They had decided to go on a cruise around the world. So,she talked to Jon and gave him the opportunity to buy her out. Jon talked to Rose and they made the decision together to talk to the bank about a loan to buy the restaurant. Jodi was happy knowing that her business would be taken care of by family. That had been 6 years ago and the restaurant was going stronger than ever before. Jon and his wife Rose had become like her own children. She had watched them from the first time they had met to catering the wedding. They were perfect for each other,they weren't just husband and wife they were best friends. That's what you need in a mate,not just someone who is just there; but someone that has your back.