Cody's pocket with a girl's name and phone number on it. He would just say, "Yeah, I guess she stuck that in my pocket when I was putting my guitar away. You can throw that away, it's not like I'm going to call her or anything."
Jenny thought a child would change things, so she got pregnant, and Cody seemed to slow down a little at first. But soon after the baby was born, Jenny's post-baby body in sweatpants, feeding a screaming child, seemed to be less desirable to Cody. He was a rock star after all; he could have any woman he wanted. One night after a show, a stunningly attractive reporter asked him for an interview for a story she was doing on local musicians. She was a little older than a typical groupie, and much more confident. As she plied Cody with questions over drinks, her casual flirtations and bedroom eyes got the better of him, and he asked her if they could continue the interview somewhere less noisy...
When Cody didn't come home, Jenny tried calling the bar. She was told he left hours ago with a woman reporter. Upon hearing the bartender describe the woman, she knew why Cody wasn't home.
When Cody finally walked in the door, Jenny was waiting up on the couch.
"Did you have a good time?" she asked.
"I was just out with the guys," he lied.
"That's funny, because I heard you left the bar with some hot reporter three hours ago."
"Baby, I..."
"Get your stuff and get out, we're done."
"What about the baby?" Cody questioned.
"Maybe you should have thought about that three hours ago..." she finished.
Cody didn't say anything else, he grabbed some clothes and personal items and left. The next day Jenny filed for divorce and soon moved back in with her parents.
But that was years ago. Jenny has since gotten remarried and had a few more kids. She married a businessman who is active in his local church and adores both Jenny and her daughter from Cody. Cody has grown up too; he sees his daughter every weekend now and doesn't drink at all. He gave up playing the guitar shortly after the divorce and hasn't picked it up for almost 10 years. Working as a shift manager in an office supply store now, Cody stays mostly in the computer section. Despite still drawing attention from the girls, he hasn't had a real relationship since Jenny left.
As the memories of Cody and Jenny drew Mark’s attention to his old friend, he pressed the phone icon on his steering wheel.
“What number?” the computer voice requested.
“Cody Lane...” Mark enunciated.
“Dialing… Cody Lane...” came the reply.
After a few rings, a man’s voice answered, “Hello.”
“Cody,” Mark smiled “how’s it going man?”
“Hey, Mark,” Cody answered. “Good, kid. And you?”
“Ah, you know, I was thinking about the old days,” Mark began. “Watching you play guitar back then… I never saw anybody play guitar like you, you have a gift.”
“Had a gift you mean,” Cody replied, “It’s… been a while.”
Mark pressed, “I know it’s been a while, but I’m sure if you picked up a guitar it would come back pretty quick. Hey man, you want to get together sometime and jam?”
“Um,” Cody hesitated, “you’re welcome to stop by, but you know I’m not really into guitar anymore. I figure when you abuse God’s gifts, He finds someone else more worthy to give them to…”
Mark took a deep breath and continued, “I don’t think that’s the way it works Cody. God gives you gifts to complete His purpose, I believe you still have those gifts and you still have that purpose. You know if you ask, God will forgive you, right? Why don’t you come to Renaissance this Sunday?”
“I’m sure God would forgive me,” Cody said, “I’m just not sure about your preacher.”
“Because he’s Jenny’s brother?” Mark asked. “As a Christian, he’s called to forgive just as God forgives. He’s a senior pastor for Pete’s sake; if he can’t forgive after 10 years then he needs to rethink his calling.”
“I know kid,” Cody replied, “but I think it would just be weird showing up at his church of all places.”
Mark pulled into his driveway and put the car in park, but stayed on the phone. “Well first, it’s not his church - it’s God’s. Second, you can go to any church you want, but the Bible is pretty clear about being in a local body of believers. Cody, you’re concentrating on the past and your mistakes. We all make mistakes, but as long as you’re above ground, I believe that God still has plans for your life. You’re not going to be a part of them though unless you’re spending time with Him.”
“I know,” Cody admitted, “I know.”
“Listen,” Mark closed, “why don’t we meet for lunch next Thursday and just talk, it’s been too long. How about the new burger joint over by St. Matthews? Say… 11:30?”
“Yeah, okay kid,” Cody agreed, “see you then.”
Mark pushed the phone icon on his steering wheel again to disconnect the call, then turned his engine off and thought for a moment. He looked up at the sky through his windshield and said out loud, “God, I know you have plans for Cody’s life. Will you please open his eyes and help him see? Will you soften his heart and the heart of Pastor Jerry? I see the potential for something great here, but it’s not going to happen without your intervention.”
With that, Mark went into his house to unwind and tell his wife about the day over a cup of decaf. He hoped to get to bed a little early tonight, tomorrow would be busy. Of course, every day would be busy now leading up to the Christmas service.
VERSE 2
(The Williams Boys)
Brian and Brad Williams were used to having nice things. They had grown up working on their grandfather’s farm, so the nice things they were accustomed to were things like guns and trucks. They didn’t really have use for things like suits and expensive watches, but it wasn’t because they couldn’t afford it. They were quintessential rednecks, and proud of it.
As the older brother, it was Brad’s job to keep Brian out of trouble. As the younger brother, it was Brian’s job to make Brad’s job as difficult as possible. Still, as big and rough farm boys, there weren’t too many men of any age who could stand up to the Williams boys in a fight. And that was a good thing, because the Williams boys were no strangers to trouble.
Like most of their family, Brad and Brian attended church growing up, but like most of their family, church was a social - not spiritual - endeavor. Sure, they were baptized by the time they left second grade, and sure they attended youth groups and lock-ins, but for some reason their Christianity never ‘took’ from a lifestyle perspective. Fighting was just one of their passions; others included drinking beer and chasing women.
In his defense, Brad was much tamer than Brian. Having a daughter seemed to give Brad a different perspective on women specifically, and life in general. Whenever he got into an argument with his wife, he thought of his daughter and it compelled him to work things out. While Brad was prone to flirt with other women, it never went any further than flirting with him. His drinking tended to be a lot lighter than Brian’s as well, partially because somebody needed to be able to drive home.
Brian on the other hand, was chaos incarnate. He drank like a fish, cussed like a sailor, and more than one unwed mother in the county was attributed to him. Getting married and having children didn’t seem to slow him down either, possibly because he had two boys and tended to see things with a ‘boys-will-be-boys’ mentality. Brian’s wife only suspected what Brad always knew: Brian was married on paper only.
Of course, being in church on Sunday was different. Having been brought up under the premise of church as a social event, the boys knew that you put on your ‘Sunday best’ every week. And that expression didn’t just refer to clothing. In fact, Brian would whip his boys in front of everyone if he caught them misbehaving in church. While many in the congregation had heard
rumors about the Williams boys, no one with any first-hand knowledge attended church. That is, except for Justin Stallard - and he wasn’t telling anyone. Justin and Brian were the same age and had grown up together.
In fact, when Justin’s parents were going through their divorce, he leaned heavily on Brian. And as Brian was dealing with his own demons, the two often drank together. Justin worked a couple of summers on the Williams farm, and when you’ve worked all week on a farm and get paid in cash as a high-schooler, there are only so many things you can do with all that money burning a hole in your pocket. While Brian invested in trucks and guns, Justin invested in guitars and pedals. But they both drank away a fair portion of their paychecks.
As adults, both Brad and Brian got married the same year. Brad’s wedding was a big gala event, planned out months in advance following a year-long engagement. The bride was radiant and the groom was nervous, but it was a beautiful wedding and everyone from Renaissance attended. Brad’s father was an elder after all, and well known in both the church and community.
Brian’s wedding was a little different. No one was aware that they were even engaged, and the wedding was obviously thrown together rather abruptly. It was difficult to see the bride’s ‘baby bump’, but it was there. And anyone with any math skills at all could count and find that the number of months between the wedding and the birth of their first child was closer to six