Second Blessing

The organ bellows shrills and groans. Revival at the Damascus Southern Baptist Church has begun. Mildred, sitting in the pew dedicated to her late husband, shakes her head inside and sighs. I was hoping Revival would rejuvenate me this year, but that would take a bigger miracle than the parting of the Red Sea and turning water into wine combined. It's going to be a mess, a complete disaster.

Francis Paul Day, an ex-alcoholic junkie, is the speaker. For Mildred, this is beyond blasphemy. And,...