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"Preacher, thank you for seeing us," said Lucy, settling into the chair across his desk. Her 19 year old daughter was in the other chair, staring down at her lap.
"How can I help you today?" Preacher had a strong and resonant voice that always sounded like he did in the pulpit.
The young woman shrunk into herself. Lucy looked sad and angry, sighed, and said, "I caught her" she leaned forward and whispered "
pleasuring herself
."
"Hmmmm, " he said, regarding the young lady with a slight frown. "How many times have you done this?"
She shifted and mumbled downward, "A few times?"
"Can you tell me what you do when you pleasure yourself?"
She looked up, alarmed, and gave a quick sideways flick of her eyes towards her mother.
"Ah. Sister Lucy, I think it's best if I discuss this privately with....." he trailed off.
"Alice," she supplied. "Of course, sir. I'll wait outside."
With her mother's departure Alice lost some of her pinched look but slumped and looked even more miserable, still staring at her lap.
"My dear sister in Christ," he said gently. "Please meet my gaze."
She slowly looked up, tears brimming over and chin quivering. More tears fell when she met his kind eyes, not at all mad at her. She exhaled.
"Now. Tell me what you do when you pleasure yourself." His voice was kind and soft but it wasn't a question.
She shifted, this time searching for words. "I...sometimes I lay on my back and rub between my legs."
He nodded. Peered over his glasses. Raised his eyebrows.
She shifted again and continued, "And sometimes I lay on my tummy and put a pillow between my legs and rub."
He took some notes, retaining his grim expression, and asked, "Have you ever put your fingers inside of yourself?"
She looked confused. "Where? No."
He gave quick single shake of his head, then met her gaze over his glasses and said, "Have you ever experienced...release?"
She looked more confused. "I don't know what that means."
"Excellent!" he boomed, making her jump a little.
His voice became quiet and gentle again. "Alice. Do you know that pleasuring yourself invites demons into your body?"
She gasped and her eyes flew open.
"Obviously not," he answered for her. "it does. The GOOD news is-"
She looked hopeful as the silence dragged.
"The GOOD news is that there is still hope to remove them. Had you put your fingers INSIDE yourself, or had you experienced
release
, this would be a MUCH more serious situation." He paused again with a hard stare. Her face was a mixture of fear, hope, and tears. He felt a tug in his pants.
"What should I do, Preacher?" She was ready to do whatever it took to get demons out of her body.
"First, you are to go home this afternoon and pray for surrender, courage, and willingness." She nodded. "Spend one hour in prayer. Allow quiet for God to speak to you." She nodded more.
"If the demons stir within you, asking you to pleasure yourself, you tell them NO but maybe later." She looked curious.
"I, too shall spend the afternoon in prayer, seeking guidance as to how to best help you. Then you will stay after church tonight and we will MAKE those demons LEAVE you!" She jumped again at his timbre, and felt relief knowing that he would help her get the demons out.
"Thank you sir, "she said, disappearing into her lap again.
After checking to see that his pants had settled, he stood up and said, "Let us pray." When she started to stand he motioned for her to stay down. Walked around his desk, stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulders. "Sit tall, Sister Alice. The good Lord is proud of you for seeking the help you need."
She straightened up and squared her shoulders. His hands felt warm. Nice. Strong and confident.
"Lord Jesus, we thank you for being in your house today to worship and learn. I am so very GRATEFUL that Sister Alice CAME to me today and was HONEST with me about her afflictions, and I'm MOST grateful that she is HERE, NOW, that we may NIP this problem in the BUD, that she may stay a pure and beautiful soul."
Each high volume word was accompanied by a squeeze, and pure and beautiful soul was accompanied by his hands sliding a liiiiiiiiitle bit down her front, down her shoulders, down her upper arms. She felt warm, safe, loved, and.....her tummy felt funny. She felt the warmth of his hands like an echo down her skin.
In that brief prayer his half lidded eyes searched her chest, the real purpose of his Sit Tall admonition. Like a good Christian young lady she dressed modestly-long shapeless skirts and baggy sweaters that obscured any suggestion of a figure. Upon her sitting tall, his pants tugged again as he saw two small islands
(
more like tips of the iceberg
, a voice in his head whispered)
that promised at least a generous handful each under that sweater.
"Ok, your mother is waiting," tapping her to get up and opening the door, waving his hand for her to go first, and grabbing his Bible to hold over his pants.
Her mother jumped up and walked over to them with a hopeful expression.
"Everything ok pastor? Did you tell her she needs to stop?"
Alice wilted back into herself.
An indulgent chuckle escaped him. "No, Lucy, it's not that simple. I'd like to see Alice for a proper counselling session after services tonight. I can bring her home after. This interview gave me a good idea of what we're dealing with. The good news is, you brought her to see me in time, before this became a MUCH bigger problem."
She beamed. "Wonderful! Alice, can you go wait in the car?" Alice slunk away with her head down. "Really, preacher? It's not that bad?"
"No, Lucy. This is the young lady equivalent of finding and eating all the cookies. They're delicious, why not eat them all? I do believe we can halt further danger."
She sighed with relief. "Thank you so much for taking the time. We're so grateful to you. Her dad left so many years ago, I've been worried about her not having a male role model in her life. I know she looks up to you."
He smiled and squared his shoulders. "Just part of my service, Lucy. But I thank you for your kind words. See you both tonight."
After goodbyes and handshakes were done after services that night, Preacher brought Lucy and Alice to his office.