Hindemayer, the senior pastor, had told him to take as much time off as he needed.
"These things take time, my boy," he had said, placing his big friendly hand on
Jeromy's shoulder. "You just let things take care of themselves, and the Lord will
take care of the rest." His words had sounded trite at first, but the more he thought
about them, the more Jeromy realized that Hindemayer was probably right. He
was beginning to feel a little better already. He decided to take at least a week off
and do some things by himself--maybe go to the zoo, or take in an afternoon
movie, or go for a hike in the woods. Then he'd see how he felt about preaching
the Word of God, or anybody else's "word" for that matter. All he knew was that
there was a little baby and a senile old woman who were going to need to be taken
care of, and he had been chosen for the task.