Chapter Five – Wednesday
I wake up the next morning feeling somewhat different. I’m not sure what happened while I slept, but for some reason I feel a lot better about things and the way my life is going. After getting a few boxes unpacked, I worked on my homework and finished the synopsis, and did the reading for the American Government class, and then went to bed. I was thinking a lot about what Karl and I talked about, all about how God and the devil are at a constant battle for everyone’s soul and how silly that seemed. This morning it doesn’t seem to be so silly after all.
After taking a shower and getting dressed I go out to the kitchen, pour a bowl of cereal and some orange juice, and join my dad at the kitchen table.
“Well, how did you sleep last night?” my dad asks.
“It felt good to sleep in my old bed again,” I tell him, “but I woke up feeling a little different.”
“How so?” he asks.
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” I tell him, “but you remember what Karl was telling us about Jesus and how he loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with us? Well, that seems to make a whole lot of sense this morning.”
“I know what you mean,” he says. “I kind of feel the same too. You know there has been a vacant feeling in my life I’ve tried to fill with other stuff. Family, my job, my marriage, and nothing seems to make me feel complete. Maybe Jesus or God or something is what I’ve been missing in my life,” he explains between bites of cereal. “I think maybe we should visit Karl’s church Sunday.”
“Karl invited me to something called Renewal tonight,” I tell him. “It’s something for junior and senior high school kids.”
“You should go then,” he encourages. “Maybe I can call Carol and see if she would like to go to dinner while you and Karl are at the church.”
“Are you finally starting to feel better about mom?” I ask.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t think I’ll ever feel better about what your mom did to me and the family, but I’m starting to think it’s time to move on and get on with the rest of my life. Life is too short to carry that kind of burden forever,” he explains.
“That’s good. Maybe Carol could help you out,” I offer. “She seems to be a really nice lady.”
“Yeah, and the more I think about it Karl is a pretty decent kid, he says. “He would even make a good recruit after cutting his hair and getting rid of all those piercings.”
“I hope you won’t try to recruit him, dad,” I say. “He really needs to go on to college and keep helping his mom.”
“You know Bill, that’s not the way the recruiting business works, at least not with the Coast Guard. The main thing I do is weed out people who want to join the Coast Guard for all the wrong reasons, and let only the best get in,” he explains, getting up from the table he rinses out his bowl and cup and puts them in the dishwasher.
“I never thought about that,” I say. “It sounds almost like what some churches do,” I remark.
“What do you mean?” he asks.
“I don’t know for sure, but it seems like some churches want only the best people to come to their church, and aren’t willing to accept people who look like Karl, or people who have a rough past like you or mom being divorced,” I say.
“You’re probably right,” he says. “I guess that’s one reason why there are so many different churches in the world, so everyone can find the right place just for them. What kind of church does Karl go to?” he asks.
“I’m not sure what kind it is, but Karl says it’s a Bible believing church, and they welcome everyone, no matter what,” I explain, as I finish my cereal and chug the remaining orange juice from the glass. I go to the sink and rinse the bowl and place it in the dishwasher with the glass.
“Well, we’ll find out tonight,” he says. “For now we better get going. I’ll drop you off on my way to work,” he offers. “Can you ask Karl for his mom’s phone number and text it to me so I can call her later?” he asks.
“Sure,” I tell him as I grab my book bag and follow him out the door.
During the ride to school my dad and I sit silently lost in our thoughts. I’m thinking how the day will play out and how I have to get to the library to print off the homework for English, and how I want to read ahead and see how the book goes since I might not have time this evening to do much reading. Before I can think of something else my dad pulls in front of the school and tells me, “Have a great day.”
“You too,” I tell him as I jump out of the truck. “See you later.”
My dad waves as he drives down the street and heads to his office. I turn and go into the library and since it’s just past 6:30 the place is pretty empty. I find a PC and sit down and get the thumb drive with my homework assignment on it out of my book bag and stick it in the USB slot in front of the PC. For some reason it takes forever before the USB device is recognized by the Windows operating system. Maybe because it’s a Mac USB drive, I think. I open the device and double click on the homework file, and after a few seconds a message pops up saying Windows cannot open the file since the file is corrupt. I look around to see if I can ask anyone for help, but no one is around. I go to the front desk where a librarian is working at a PC and ask, “Can you help me with a PC problem?”
“I can try, but I’m not the best person with computers,” she says. “What kind of problem are you having?”
“I have a Mac and I saved a file with a word processor and Windows is saying the file is corrupt,” I explain.
“What is the suffix of the file?” she asks.
“I think it is .odt. It was created with Apache Open Document,” I tell her.
“Let me Google it and see what I can find,” she offers. After a few seconds, she replies, “I found a web site where you can convert the .odt file to a .doc file so it can be read by Microsoft Word.”
“Fantastic,” I exclaim. “Thanks so much for your help.”
I return to the PC and find the web site and convert the file and after about ten minutes I’m able to open the file with Microsoft Word. I’ll have to remember to tell Karl about that problem when I see him. I get the homework assignment printed out just as Karl comes into the library.
“Hi Karl, I just finished printing out the homework assignment,” I say.
“Sorry I’m late, I kind of had some problems this morning,” he tells me.
“What happened?” I ask.
“Remember I told you about being bullied before?” he asks. “I ran into one of the kids who used to bully me and he wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“What did you do?” I ask.
“The kid was standing on the street corner and wouldn’t let me walk by without giving him some money. I tried walking past him but he wouldn’t let me pass. I never punched a kid before, but something just came over me, and I just couldn’t stop myself from hitting the kid in the face. I finally stopped when his nose started bleeding and he ran off.” Karl says, looking really concerned for the kid.
“That is so funny,” I say. “Something similar happened to me when I was in middle school.”
“What happened?” Karl asks.
“I punched the kid in the nose and he ran off crying. The kid never bothered me anymore. My mom hooked up with the kid’s father a year or so later, and now she is planning to get married to the guy.” I tell him.
“Wow, I hope the kid doesn’t get me in trouble,” Karl worries, “I think I might have really hurt him.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell him. “You know you were in the right to do what you did, you were only defending yourself.”
“Let’s work on your homework,” I say, “I have to show you a problem I ran into when I tried to open the file on this PC, and how I resolved it.”
Karl gets the thumb drive out of his backpack and hands it to me. I stick it in the PC and after a few minutes it reads the device and shows the files. I tell K
arl, “Before we can print the file we have to convert it to a Microsoft Word document by going to this web site.”
I go to the web site and Karl watches as the file is converted and eventually I’m able to open the file with Microsoft Word. “The Apache Open Office software and Microsoft Word aren’t compatible,” I say. “This is how we make them compatible.”
I get the file printed out for Karl and we walk out the library and head towards the main building. “Karl, my dad asked me to get your mom’s phone number. He wants to call her and ask her to dinner tonight,” I tell him.
“You’re kidding, that is so funny,” Karl says. “My mom just mentioned this morning how she thought your dad was nice and how she was praying that he would call her.”
“I can’t believe it either, but he was telling me he thinks it’s time to get on with life,” I tell him.
Karl tells me his mom’s phone number as I text it on my iPhone and send it to my dad. “He thinks it’s cool to go to your church too,” I say.
“Did you still want to go to Renewal tonight?” Karl asks.
“You bet, my dad was talking about taking your mom to dinner while we are at Renewal,” I tell him.
We get to English class just as the first bell rings. Mrs. Baker is standing at the front of the classroom and greets us as we enter the room.
“Please turn in your synopsis first thing,” she says.
Karl and I take our seat as other students carry their assignments to the front of the class and place it on the teacher’s desk. Just before the second bell rings, Kelly hurries into class and sits in front of me. She turns and smiles, as I take the assignment and put it on the teacher’s desk.
“I have your papers from yesterday,” she says. “When I call your name, please raise your hand and I’ll give you your paper.”
She calls my name and I raise my hand, and she hands me my paper. On the paper in red ink are several marks and corrections, but in the top right hand margin is written a large letter A, with the words “Good Job!” next to it. I smile and turn to Karl and see him smiling too. He shows me the large A on his paper too. On his paper next to the grade is written the word “Excellent”. I wonder if everyone else got good grades on their paper, but as I scan around the room I don’t see too many other people smiling.
“Overall I was quite pleased with the quality of your work, however a few of you need to refresh your punctuation and grammar skills before you are ready for college level work,” she explains. “With all the advantages you have these days with word processors, spelling and grammar checking software, I should not have to see so many misspelled words or misplaced commas,” she tells us.
Mrs. Baker then proceeds to write on the white board the words: there, their, they’re and asks, “Who can tell me the difference in these words?”
For a few seconds no one in the class dares to offer an explanation fearing they may get the answer wrong. Finally, Kelly raises her hand and explains the difference in the three words. Mrs. Baker goes on to talk about the book To Kill a Mockingbird, and asks if anyone had any problems with yesterday’s assignment. One of the students sitting in the back, a girl with long brown hair and acne on her face, asks what a synopsis is. Mrs. Baker explains it is simply a summary but she wanted us to use our resources to figure that out on our own. “When you get to college next year you won’t be spoon fed your assignments like you are in high school,” she explains.
The rest of the hour she talks about the book and tells us the meaning of different things in the story. I’m thinking that is exactly what I found on the Internet when I Googled “synopsis of To Kill a Mockingbird”. I wonder if she gets her lesson plans by Googling. At the end of the class she tells us to read the next five chapters and to write a synopsis for tomorrow. The bell rings and she dismisses us from the class.
I won’t bore you with all the details from my other two classes, since it pretty much was the same as it was yesterday. Except in Driver’s Training I had to sit in class and listen to the teacher lecture. Once class was over I wanted to get the next five chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird read so I could finish the synopsis, and of course we had a reading assignment from American Government too. I told Karl I would see him later since we were planning on going to Renewal later at his church. I hurried home and it only took about an hour or so to finish reading the next five chapters, then another hour to write up the synopsis. The reading for American Government took about an hour too. I really like getting my homework done right after school so I won’t have to worry about it later and then I can just have the rest of the day to myself. You can call me obsessive if you want, but at least I’m not staying up until midnight working on homework. I am really looking forward to going to Renewal too. It should be a nice way to meet some other kids and also learn some more about Jesus.
I know all about Jesus from Christmas and stuff I hear on TV, but I have never really read the Bible or had any desire to learn more about him. Once after talking to a kid at school about his church I found a Bible and read part of it but it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I think my parents are pretty much nonbelievers in church, and I’m not sure if they even believe in God and Jesus. They never really talked about the Bible or Jesus or church before, and I never really asked them about it. Growing up in Topeka there was a crazy guy from a Baptist church who used to stand on street corners with signs saying Fags Burn in Hell, and a lot of other hateful stuff. This really gave me a bad impression of the whole church thing.
Karl told me about a Bible app I could get for my iPhone. I checked on the App Store and found one for free and downloaded it. It’s called YouVersion and comes with a whole bunch of different features like reading plans, and a bunch of different versions. I’m not sure what the difference is in the versions, but I found one called New International Version, and liked the way it read. I started reading from where the app opened in the book of John, and learned a whole lot of stuff I never knew about Jesus. I was really fascinated to read about Jesus after hearing all the different things I had heard about him. Some kids I knew in Topeka went to church and told me about this guy who could save me from my sins and keep me from going to Hell. I had no idea what sins were or whether there really even is a Hell.
After reading the whole book of John I browsed around the app and decided I should start at the very beginning and read the book of Genesis. After a couple of hours of reading Genesis I learned all about sin and how God created the world to be perfect but Satan deceived man and introduced sin into the world. I had a lot of questions about all this. Like why did God put a forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden when he knew Adam and Eve would be deceived, and why God allowed Satan into the world? I sat and thought about this for quite a while. After a while I kind of figured it out on my own after reading a little bit more. I don’t know if my thoughts about this whole thing is correct or not, but I kind of think God allowed Satan in the world and put the forbidden tree in the garden because he wanted man to have a choice of following Him or following Satan. God doesn’t want man to be forced to follow Him or Satan, but provides man with the option. We can either choose to follow God and be given eternal life with Him, or we can follow Satan and be separated from God for eternity. In either case, we make the decision ourselves. If someone doesn’t believe in God or Satan and thinks after they die they just die and that’s it, they have chosen to follow Satan.
This was quite an epiphany to me. All of a sudden I understood the whole meaning of life and why I was put here, and why everything thus far in my life happened the way it did. A little later my dad came home from work and changed out of his uniform and put on his normal every day civilian clothes, jeans and a collared t-shirt.
“I called Carol and I’ll take you and Karl to church and then Carol and I are going out to dinner,” he tells me.
“That sounds great,” I exclaim.
“I’m not sure whe
re to take her or what I should wear,” he says.
“What you have on looks fine to me,” I offer, “Why don’t you let her decide where to eat?”
“Yeah, I guess that would be the best thing to do since I have no idea what kind of food she likes or what kind of restaurants are here in Boise,” he says.
“The church thing starts at 6:30, but I have no idea what time it gets over,” I tell him.
“I told Carol I would pick her up sometime between 5:30 and 6, so we should have time to get you and Karl to the church before it starts. You can call me when it’s over,” he says.
“I’m really looking forward to going to Karl’s church,” I say, “I read a little bit of the Bible today and want to learn more.”
“I’m glad you are exploring the Bible and everything, but you need to beware of false teachers and crooks who use religion for their own gains,” he tells me.
“Do you remember that guy in Topeka who used to stand on street corners with those signs?” I ask.
“Yeah, I think people like him give religion and church a bad name,” he tells me.
“How would I know if someone is a false teacher?” I ask.
“Well it’s pretty simple, if what they are teaching is not Bible based, then it’s not from God,” he explains. “For example, the guy in Topeka says on his signs that God hates fags. We know that isn’t true since the Bible tells us God loves the person but hates the sin.”
“I guess a person would have to know the Bible pretty well in order to know whether what someone is saying is based on the Bible,” I say.
“Yes, that’s true. That’s why it’s very important for a person to read the Bible and know what it says,” he tells me.
“Why didn’t you ever take us to church before?” I ask.
“After I had that bad experience when I was a kid I never wanted to get involved with a church again. Besides, after I met your mother and she didn’t like church either, we just never went. It kind of became a habit of not going. That doesn’t mean I lost faith in God or stopped believing in Him or quit reading the Bible. I just never went to church,” he explains as he sits in the chair putting on his shoes.
“I wonder if it’s really that important to go to church?” I ask.
“For some people I guess it helps them to associate with other people at church to keep their faith strong, but I never felt that way about church,” he says. “When I was on the ship we had some strong believers who shared their faith and had Bible study together, but we never did go to church. Well, I guess we better be on our way,” he says, as he stands up and takes his keys from his pocket. “We don’t want you to be late for church.”
We go out and get in the truck and head over to Karl’s place.
“How are things going at school?” he asks as he turns onto the street.
“Everything is going good,” I reply, “I think I’m going to like school here.”
“Have you met any more kids, other than Karl?” he asks.
“Just this one girl who invited me to her church Monday. Karl tells me she is a Mormon who wants to be a missionary,” I reply.
“Well, there is really nothing wrong with being a Mormon or a missionary for that matter, but you need to know what their church is all about,” he says, “You have to put on your shield and your armor.”
“Why, is there something wrong with their church?” I ask.
“I had an experience with a Mormon guy on my ship and he tried to convert a lot of people,” he explains. “After I looked into it I discovered a lot of what they believe isn’t Bible based.”
“That’s the same thing Karl said about it, but he didn’t tell me anything specific,” I respond.
“Well for one thing they still believe in temple ceremonies. If you read the Bible Jesus destroyed the temple on the cross and he rebuilt it in three days,” he tells me.
“How did he do that?” I ask, not knowing the Bible I wasn’t sure what this meant.
“When Jesus died on the cross He destroyed the barrier that separates man from God. He took on all of the sin of the world, and when He was resurrected He became the bridge between man and God. We no longer need the temple or anyone else to intercede on our behalf, since we have Jesus,” he explains while we wait for the light to change. “All we have to do is believe in the resurrection of Jesus and ask him into our heart, and we are saved.”
“Do you think if one of their believes isn’t Bible based their whole church isn’t right?” I ask.
“I’m not so sure about that. There’s a lot more about the Mormon religion that isn’t based on the Bible. That is just one example,” he answers. “If you want to know more, we can talk about it later.”
The light turns green and we turn left and then make a right into the trailer park where Karl lives. We park outside his mobile home and my dad gets out of the truck and walks up to the front door as Karl and his mom walk out. I get out of the truck and sit in the jump seat behind the passenger seat. Karl gets in and sits in the jump seat behind the driver. My dad opens the passenger door for Karl’s mom and Carol gets in.
“Hi Bill,” Carol says, “It sure is nice of you to go to church with Karl.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I tell her.
My dad drives out the trailer park and gets back on the road we just turned from before realizing he doesn’t know where he’s going.
“Am I going in the right direction?” he asks.
“At the light here you want to turn to the right and then head towards downtown. You need to get in the left lane and turn left before getting downtown,” Carol responds.
My dad and Carol talk a little and Karl and I are quiet in the back listening to the adult conversation.
“How are you liking Boise so far?” Carol asks my dad.
“I really like it so far,” my dad answers, “But I really haven’t had a chance to see a whole lot or meet many people.”
“I’m sure you will soon enough,” Carol responds. “You should go to church with us Sunday and I’ll introduce you to a lot of really nice people.”
“I’d like that,” my dad says, as he drives through the heavy rush hour traffic.
“Maybe after church I can show you guys some of the sights,” Carol suggests, adding, “there isn’t really all that much to see.”
“That will be fun,” my dad exclaims, “What time does the church start?”
“Karl and I usually make it to the 9:30 service, but there’s a second service at 11:30 too,” Carol answers.
“I think we can make it to the 9:30 service. Why don’t we pick you up a little bit early and we can stop somewhere for breakfast,” my dad suggests.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Carol answers. “You want to turn left at the next light and then turn right down there beyond the apartment buildings.”
My dad pulls into what looks like an office park, with a number of single story buildings and small parking lots in front with short trees lining the street. He passes several buildings before I see the sign that says The Pursuit.
“Is this it?” I exclaim. “It sure doesn’t look like any church I’ve seen before.”
Karl responds, “Wait until you see inside. It isn’t like any other church.”
My dad stops and he opens the back door for Karl. Carol opens the door and I climb out the back.
“I’ll call you when we need a ride,” I tell my dad.
“Okay, have fun,” he says as he climbs back into the truck.
I follow Karl into the building where we find a bunch of other kids standing around in the lobby. Most of the kids are standing in small groups talking, and a few kids are standing alone off on the sides of the room. Karl sees a guy standing alone he seems to know and approaches him.
“Hey Karl,” the kid says.
“Hi Jeff, I’d like you to meet my friend Bill,” Karl says as I follow him a couple of steps behind.
“Hi, I’m Bill, it’s nice to meet you Jeff,” I say extending my hand as Jeff grasps it.
“You must be new here,” Jeff comments, “I could tell by your accent.”
“Yeah, I just moved here from Boston,” I remark.
“Welcome, it’s good to have you here,” Jeff says.
“How’s your week been?” Karl asks Jeff.
“It’s been pretty decent,” Jeff replies, “It sure is a good feeling to be a senior this year.”
“Jeff goes to Capital High,” Karl tells me. “It’s a school on the west side of town.”
“Why did you move to Boise?” Jeff asks.
“My dad got transferred here with the Coast Guard,” I reply.
“The Coast Guard? I didn’t realize they have a Coast Guard in Boise,” Jeff jokes.
“He works at the recruiting office,” I explain.
“Gotcha,” Jeff responds. “I always thought if I were going to join the military I’d want to join the Coast Guard. Not that I’d want to join the military.”
Karl explains, “The military has a lot to offer some kids, but I guess other kids have other options.”
“I didn’t mean to say anything bad about the military,” Jeff says, “But I’m just not the type to be told what to do all the time, if you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” I tell him, “I don’t have any intentions of joining the military after seeing the way my dad’s life has been. I’ve been thinking seriously about Boise State next year.”
“Me too,” Jeff says. “I figure I could get a part time job and work my way through school.”
“That’s my plan exactly,” I agree.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Karl interjects. “I’m keeping my options open.”
An old guy announces they are ready to get started and everyone needs to go into another room off to the side of the lobby. We follow the crowd of kids into a room where a bunch of chairs are arranged in a large semi-circle. I count roughly about 25 kids, both guys and girls, ranging in age from about 14 to 19. Most of the kids are dressed in summer clothes, shorts and t-shirts, and are wearing flip-flops or tennis shoes. Everyone sits down and the old guy sits down in the middle of the semi-circle.
A younger guy with a guitar stands up and starts playing and starts to sing. The words to the song are projected on the wall over his head, and everyone starts singing along. I’ve never heard the song before, but the words are all about Jesus and how he loves us all. After we finish signing the song, the guy with the guitar introduces the older guy who he calls Pastor Dave.
Pastor Dave stands up and starts talking, “Tonight I want to tell you about a time when Jesus healed some people,” he says. If you have your Bible, open it to the book of Matthew, chapter 9,” he instructs.
I get my iPhone out and launch the Bible app I downloaded earlier to find Matthew Chapter 9.
“Who would like to read the first two versus of chapter 9?” Pastor Dave asks. After no one volunteers, I raise my hand and say, “I will.”
I start to read, “Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.’”
“Okay, that’s a good place to stop,” Pastor Dave says. “Now I’ll try to explain what’s happening here. First, Jesus returns to his home in Nazareth and some guys bring a paralyzed man out for Jesus to heal. Jesus is amazed by the man’s faith and forgives the man his sins.”
Pastor Dave looks around at all the kids and pauses for a few seconds before continuing. “Who would like to continue reading the next few versus?” he asks.
A younger girl with red hair and freckles volunteers and begins reading, “At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!’”
“Okay,” Pastor Dave says, “that’s a good place to stop. Let me tell you what blasphemy is all about. When someone insults or doesn’t show respect to a holy person or thing they are blaspheming. To the teachers of the law what Jesus was doing was considered blasphemy since only God can forgive a person of their sin. Who would like to read the next couple of verses,” he asks, and a young kid with long blond hair begins to read.
“Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up take your mat and go home.”’
Pastor Dave says, “Okay, lets stop there for now. I want to tell you here that Jesus is telling the teachers of the law that he has authority to forgive sins since he is the Son of God, and to prove this he tells the paralyzed man to get up and walk. So if anyone ever should doubt who Jesus really is, all they have to do is read this verse and they will know Jesus is the Son of God. I’ll read the last few verses,” he says and holds his Bible up and begins to read, “Then the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.”
Pastor Dave pauses for a bit, closes his Bible and holds it in his left hand, bows his head and prays, “Lord we thank you for your word and for your son Jesus and all the wonderful things He has done for us, and we ask now that you will keep us safe and go with each of us as we depart into the world carrying your message to all the world. In Jesus name we pray, amen.”
The guy with the guitar stands up and starts playing and the words to another song are projected and everyone starts to sing. After the song is over Pastor Dave starts talking again.
I kind of felt a little strange while Pastor Dave is talking, but don’t know why or what was causing it. Maybe it was something I had eaten earlier that wasn’t agreeing with me. All I knew is I felt a little different. Pastor Dave started to tell us some other stuff that I didn’t quite hear since I was deep in my thoughts, but I think he said something about Baptisms Sunday, and to bring a change of clothes if we want to get baptized.
After Pastor Dave is finished talking Karl and I wander outside where we see Jeff talking to a couple of girls. I was about to call my dad and let him know we were ready to be picked up, when Jeff came over to Karl and asked him if he wanted a ride home. Jeff was going to give the two girls a ride home too, and was going in our direction and thought we would like to come along.
“I should call my dad and tell him we got a ride home,” I tell Karl.
“Okay, but hurry up, Jeff’s leaving pretty soon,” Karl says.
I call my dad but he doesn’t answer his phone and I leave a message instead. Then I hurry and follow Karl to where Jeff and the two girls are waiting.
“Hi, I’m Bill,” I say to the two girls.
The girls look like they are a little younger than us -- maybe sophomores or juniors -- and they are both cute with long brown hair and nice smiles.
“Hi, I’m Tina and this is my sister Jody,” the taller girls says.
“What school do you go to?” I ask.
“We go to Boise High,” Jody answers. “I’m a sophomore and Tina is a junior.”
“Cool,” I say, “I just started at Boise High this year.”
“It sounds like you’re from somewhere back east by your accent,” Jody says.
“Yeah, I moved here from Boston,” I reply.
We all pile into Jeff’s Honda Civic. Karl and Jeff ride in front, and I ride in the back with Jody and Tina. I sit behind the driver’s seat next to Tina, and Jody is on the passenger side. We all struggle to put on our seat belts. Tina reaches behind my back to find the latch for her belt and I feel her hand on my lower back. We are on the main highway heading towards downtown. Karl and Jeff are talking in the front but otherwise it’s silent. Suddenly my iPhone rings and I reach in my pocket to get it out and answer it. ??
?Hello,” I say into the phone.
It’s my dad returning my call. He says they are still eating and will head back to Carol’s when they are finished and I should wait there for them. I tell him okay, and say bye.
Tina asks, “Who was that?”
“It was my dad,” I tell her.
“He sounds nice,” she says.
“Yeah, he’s a pretty good old guy,” I say.
“What does he do?” she asks.
“He’s a Coast Guard recruiter,” I tell her.
“Way cool,” Tina exclaims, “If I were to go in the military I’d want to go in the Coast Guard.”
Jody comments, “I’m not even sure what the Coast Guard does, but I guess they must guard the coast.”
I kind of laugh and say, “Yeah, that’s about right Jody.”
“Actually they do a lot of law enforcement, search and rescue and aids to navigation,” I add.
“Wow, that sounds like way more fun than the Army or the Navy,” Jody says.
“I’d rather go to college next year than join the Coast Guard,” I say, “but the Coast Guard has been pretty good for my dad.”
“I really haven’t figured out what I want to do yet,” Tina says. “I’d like to teach school, but I’m not sure about college.”
“Teaching school is cool,” I say, “I’m not so sure about college either, but I know I want to continue my education so I can get a good job. I was thinking I’d work part time and go to college and pay my own way.”
“I guess if there’s a will, there’s a way,” Jody says. “At least Tina and I still have a coupe of years before we have to decide on something.”
Jeff turns off the main street to a back street leading to Tina and Jody’s place. He pulls into a trailer park with a bunch of newer looking mobile homes lined up tightly along a paved street. Cars are parked in spaces between the mobile homes. He pulls up in front of a mobile home with all the lights on and stops the car.
“Thanks for the ride,” Tina and Jody sing out to Jeff.
“Any time ladies,” Jeff replies.
“It was nice meeting you,” I say, “I’ll see you at school sometime.”
“It was nice meeting you too,” they both say as they get out of the car and close the door.
“See you later,” Karl says from his open window, as Jeff puts the car in gear and drives away.
“Those sure were nice girls,” I comment.
“Don’t be getting any wild ideas Boston boy,” Jeff says. “Those girls are not the kind to put out,” he says.
“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” I say.
“What? Are you still a virgin, Boston Boy?” Jeff questions.
“Yeah, I’m still a virgin,” I tell him, “there isn’t anything wrong with that.”
“I was just joking,” Jeff says. “It’s okay if you still haven’t had a girl yet. To tell you the truth it’s really no big deal.”
“Like you know all about it,” Karl says.
“Well, I’m just saying I’m a little more worldly than you two,” Jeff responds irritably.
“Why do you even go to the church if your mind is in the gutter?” Karl questions.
“I know I’m just a poor sinner,” Jeff answers, “but some of those girls at the church are mighty fine, and they get my mind to be lusting after their tight little bodies.”
“I’ll pray for you Jeff,” Karl says. “You know that is just the devil playing tricks on you.”
“What do you mean Karl?” I ask.
“You know how God and the devil are constantly at battle for our souls. That’s one of the tricks the devil uses to pull you away from God,” Karl explains. “God created sex to be between a man and a woman after marriage, but the devil says it’s okay to do it before you get married.”
Jeff laughs and says, “Is that something the Bible says, or is that something Pastor Dave at church says?”
Karl gets really serious and sounds like Pastor Dave at the church, “You really need to read your Bible more, Jeff. That is the only way you will know what is from God and what is from the devil. You know the devil speaks a bunch of lies and half-truths. The devil makes you think having sex is okay as long as you use protection and you love the girl. The Bible speaks the truth, and God clearly says to save sex for marriage.”
“I wonder why that is?” I ask Karl.
“Good question, I was wondering the same thing,” Jeff says.
“Well, I think God loves us so much He wants to protect us,” Karl explains. “You see sex is very powerful, and God wants us to experience it fully by saving it for marriage. Because only within marriage will we be able to fully experience it the way He intended.”
“I get it,” I say, “kind of like at Christmas time when we get a special present. It’s all wrapped up nicely under the Christmas tree and we are all excited and can’t wait to open it.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of like that,” Karl says, “but a thousand times better.”
“I think I want to open the present way before Christmas, but if I do there would be no surprise on Christmas day,” I say.
“Exactly,” Karl exclaims, “that is exactly what happens when we experience God’s gift before marriage.”
Jeff suddenly screams out, “You guys are a bunch of homos if that’s what you think.”
“I hear the devil speaking through you Jeff,” Karl says jokingly. He places his hand on Jeff’s head and says, “be gone demon.”
We all break out in laughter and the tension of the serious talk about God and sex dissipates for a few seconds. The light changes color and Jeff proceeds through the intersection when suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see a truck heading directly for us on my right side. The impact hits the car and spins the car in the opposite direction, as the sound of air bags exploding and the crashing of metal and breaking of glass drowns out any other sound. My head jerks to the side and I hit the car door. Luckily my seat belt is secure. After a few seconds I reach for the door handle, step out of the car, and walk away from the wreckage. I can’t see Jeff or Karl behind the air bags, at first. Slowly the passenger side door opens and Karl steps out from behind the air bag. A few seconds later Jeff opens the door and steps out. Everyone looks okay, just a little shaken up.
The driver of the truck jumps out of the truck and runs over. She’s a young woman, probably in her mid to late twenties. She is sopping hysterically. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she screams, “I didn’t see the light change.”
We hear sirens and cars honking, as we stand dazed in the middle of the intersection. An older man comes up and asks if we are okay, and tells us we should sit on the sidewalk and wait for the police. Eventually the police arrive and ask us all sorts of questions. I pull out my iPhone, call my dad, and say, “Dad, we’ve been in a wreck, but we are all okay.”
After the police arrive the girl who hit us is tested and fails the sobriety test. Jeff has to take the test too, but of course he passes it. The police are concerned about the car catching on fire since the gas tank was punctured during the crash and gas was dripping from the wreckage. A fire truck came and sprayed water all over the wreckage. A guy from the fire department came over and checked us out for injuries, but there wasn’t anything wrong with us, other than being a little shook up. A couple of tow trucks came and hauled away the wreckage. Poor Jeff was concerned about not having a car, but Karl and I tried to console him by telling him the insurance will pay so he can get another car. After about an hour or so the police asked if we need a ride home. When I talked to my dad he said he’d be waiting for us at Carol’s and to call him if we needed a ride or anything. The police took Karl and me home in one car and Jeff was taken in another police car. We were thankful no one was injured seriously in the crash. If the truck had struck just a few feet closer to the passenger side door where Karl was sitting I’m sure he would have been seriously injured. As it was we were lucky it didn’t c
atch on fire and that I was sitting on the other side of the car.
When the police dropped us off at Karl’s house I follow Karl in through the front door and my dad and Carol are sitting on the couch just talking like nothing much happened.
“We got a ride home by the police,” Karl says. “I think I’d like to be a cop some day. “
I get out my iPhone to show Carol and my dad some pictures of the wreckage I took. He looks at the pictures then says, “Boy that was some awful wreck. I’m surprised you walked away from that one.”
“At least the car did its job and protected us pretty well,” Karl says. “If it wasn’t for the airbags I’m sure we would be banged up pretty bad.”
“I was riding in the back seat on the driver’s side and didn’t feel the full force of the crash like you did on the passenger side,” Karl says.
“Are you guys feeling okay?” Carol asks.
“Yeah, we are fine. Just a little shook up,” I say.
“Well, I guess we better get home and get to bed,” my dad says, “we all have a big day tomorrow.”
“Thanks for dinner. I had a wonderful time,” Carol says to my dad, giving him a big hug, “let’s plan something for Friday night.”
“Okay, I’ll give you a call tomorrow.” My dad replies.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” I tell Karl.
“Yeah, bright and early.” Karl says.
My dad and I walk out, get in the truck and head home. The evening is warm and I roll down the window for some fresh air.
“How’d you like the church?” my dad asks.
“It was pretty nice,” I say, “I think I’d like to get baptized Sunday.”
“What’s the hurry?” my dad asks.
“Well, I was thinking how the crash tonight might be kind of a message telling me life is fragile and you never know when it will end,” I reply.
“You’re sure right about that,” my dad responds, “our days are numbered and our life can be taken at any time.”
“I was wondering about something else,” I say.
“About what?” my dad asks.
“About sex.” I say. “I was wondering when you first had sex?”
“Well, the first time was with your mom before we were married,” he says hesitating to say when.
“What did you think the first time?” I ask.
“Well, I felt a little guilty because I wasn’t married, but it felt pretty good because I was really in love with your mom and it really made me feel special,” he answers.
“Is that why you and mom got married?” I ask.
“The thing that really sealed the deal was when she told me she was pregnant with you. I knew I had to do the right thing and get married, even though I was only eighteen and she was my first really serious girl friend,” he answers.
“I can’t imagine myself being in that situation at my age,” I say, “you must have been a lot more mature than me at my age.”
“Not really,” he replies, “I was probably less mature than you are right now. You really have a lot going for you. I’m really proud and amazed at how you handle yourself. You’re self-motivated and get your homework done without being told, keep your room picked up, and help out around the house.”
“I guess mom taught me to do all that stuff,” I tell him, “she used to say if I didn’t take care of myself, nobody else was going to do it for me.”
“She did do a good job raising you and your sister,” my dad says, “I have to give her credit for that. I was never around much the last few years.”
“Do you think you should have waited until you were married to have sex?” I ask.
“Looking back I often wonder how different my life would be now if I hadn’t had sex when I did. I might not have ever married your mom or had you as a son,” he says, “I think all in all everything turned out for the best, but it wasn’t always that way.”
“Did you ever think of doing anything differently?” I ask.
“Sure. Your mom talked about getting an abortion, but I wouldn’t let her do something like that,” he says. “I firmly believe in the sanctity of human life and that life begins at the minute of conception. I think if I had it to do over again I would have waited until we were married.”
“What about now?” I ask
“You mean should I wait now, until I get married to have sex again?” he asks. “That’s a tough one. I think ideally I should wait until I get married again, if I ever get married again, but it sure would be hard not to have sex ever again. It’s one of the best things in life. I’m a little sour on marriage right now though, but sex is one of the best things about being married,” he tells me as we drive into the parking garage of our building. “I think I’ll try to wait,” he finally says.
“I think I’m going to try to wait too,” I say, “I really want to experience the best that God has for me.”
We take the elevator up to the apartment and my dad unlocks the door. It’s late and we are both pretty tired. “Good night, dad,” I say, “see you in the morning.”
“Good night,” my dad says.
I go into my room, take off my clothes and get into bed. While I try to get to sleep I say a silent prayer and thank God for protecting me, and ask for His guidance on what to do about church Sunday -- whether I should get baptized or wait.