excerpt from Just as I Am

We cycled through the verses, plodding along in a weary rhythm, until all the penitents were spent and glassy-eyed, and the pastor was left alone at the front, hands moist and well-wrung. The preacher raised one hand to the rafters, pinched his eyes closed tightly and tilted his head towards the ceiling, thanking the Lord for those of the flock who had been lost but now were found, and we stood stock still, frozen in place, until the booming release, ‘Amen!’”