Chapter Twenty-Two:

The Rewards of God's Work

            "Is this seat taken?" a man whispered behind me.

            Focusing my attention away from the front of the church where the choir was well into its third song and into the aisle, I saw Dr. Nelson standing along the side.  "Not at all.  It's great to see you."  I said, shaking his hand.  "I didn't know you came to church here." 

            Jamie, who had been standing up front with the choir, had noticed his entrance, and gave a low wave as she sang.

            He waved back.  "Actually, this is my first visit here.  After our chat a few days ago, I realized that I couldn't keep on hiding forever…"

            "That sounds familiar…"  I nodded in agreement.  "The thing is we can't hide, no matter how hard we try."

            Reverend Sullivan stepped up to the pulpit and opened the service with a prayer.  It was only then that I fully grasped the magnitude of what Dr. Nelson had said.  "He's here after 'our chat'… wow…"  I had never thought that anything that I said or did could have that kind of affect on someone.  "It wouldn't surprise me if it was Jamie… I mean, she's been in church her whole life, could probably quote entire chapters of the Bible verbatim if needed, and always had a special word for people… But me? … Thanks for choosing to use me."

            Hearing that he had gone on to the announcements, I sighed.  I knew full well what was next. "There was no going back now… Mr. Harvey had even put it in the church bulletin.  Lord, why don't they just post a big billboard right in front of the house?  Not that I'm giving you any ideas.  Don't get me wrong… I'm actually getting excited about this, but there's something to be said for starting small…"

            Judging from the applause and the pats on the back I was receiving from people behind me who I had never spoken to before, I realized the announcement had been made.  "That was painless… Ok… maybe I spoke too soon…"  As I looked around, all eyes were on me.  "Well, at least they're smiling…" 

Following the exaggeratedly loud applause, I found my parents two rows back.  "What a great locating device…  Glad to see that they're trying not to embarrass me."  When my dad had heard that Reverend Sullivan was going to introduce me to the church as the new youth pastor, he chuckled, telling me, "Reverend Sullivan, saying good things about my son, in a church no less?  I'm there." 

There was definitely some truth to those words.  "Now that I think about it, this is the first time that he has spoken about me during his sermons since the cement factory incident where he had advised that everyone 'Pray for the lives of the others involved who are clearly not on the path of righteousness.' … My how things have changed…"

I was adrift in thoughts that morning.  When I finally pulled myself back to the present, I realized that Reverend Sullivan was just finishing up the sermon.  "I thought I would close today with Romans 5:5.  The verse grew rather poignant to me yesterday.  'This hope does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.' …"

"You have yet to disappoint me, and I'm confident now that You never will.  You've given me an eagerness, an excitement to see what you have planned for me next…" 

The sudden group of gasps, amen's and thank you Lord's coming from the room drew me from my thoughts.  Reverend Sullivan stood with tears in his eyes, and I instantly knew he had shared about our miracle. 

            My mind retreated to the following afternoon when we had revealed the good news to our parents:

On his way out, Reverend Sullivan had stopped, and gave me a hug, whispering, "Now that's the way to take care of my daughter," in my ear.

I'll never forget the look on his face when I quickly replied, "It goes to show that even the unplanned parts of our lives are definitely within the Lord's plan, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it certainly does."  His eyes had grown misty.  "Let me tell you something Landon.  You never stop learning."

Later that afternoon, Mrs. Hunter, Eric's mother, dropped by.  "Landon, I meant to talk to you this morning after church, but by the looks of the crowd of people gathering around you and Jamie, I could tell you would be there for some time, and I thought the last person you would want holding you two up was little old me…" she began to ramble as soon as I had opened the door – without even a simple 'hello'.  She was always on the go – something which was clearly evident in her rapid, drawn-out speech.  "You remember Rachael, don't you?" 

Eric's sixteen year old little sister stood just behind her mother, looking like she was about to die of humiliation.  "It's Rach," she said, addressing me.

"You know I've never been fond of that nickname, Rachael.  After the 19 hours of labor I went through to have you, the least you could do is keep the name I gave you."  She said, turning towards her daughter.

Rach just rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, Landon, I was hoping you could talk to Rachael, for a few minutes."  Mrs. Hunter continued, returning her attentions to me.  I couldn't help but chuckle at the emphasis she placed on the name as she quickly glared back towards her daughter.  "I'd really like to see her coming to youth group on Tuesday nights."  Before I could even reply, she had entered the house and was heading towards the kitchen.  "Oh Jamie, what are you doing washing dishes in your condition?  Don't you know you're supposed to milk this for all it's worth, Honey?"

I laughed as I heard Jamie try to explain to no avail that we had been doing them together.

Rach was still standing on the porch, so I grabbed my jacket and stepped out to join her.  "Do you always like to stand out in the cold?"

"If it gets me a few seconds of quiet, yes."  She glanced up at me and smiled.

I took a seat on the front step.  "I see your mom in church almost every week.  How come I never see you with her?"

"I went a few times, but she had to constantly keep making sure I was still awake, which didn't make her too happy.  She finally told me that if I didn't find it important enough to remain alert during the service, than I shouldn't bother going… so I haven't."  She took a seat down next to me.  "All day she's been talking non-stop about you, and how I really should start going to youth group." 

I detected a touch of sarcasm in her voice, so I dished it right back.  "How dare she talk about me?  She's a married woman!"

            She laughed, relaxing a bit, but she soon grew serious.  "So tell me, what's the big deal about this 'God' anyway?"

            "What's the big deal?" I repeated, caught off guard by the sudden question.

            "Yeah, I mean, everyone is always talking about He is so great and stuff… but I just don't get it.  And I know full well about some of the stuff you and Eric pulled.  If you've somehow found some value in Him, I'm curious to know what it is."

            "'Don't worry about how or what you should speak, for you will be given what to say at that hour.' Matthew 10:19."  I pondered my response for a few seconds before responding.  "Do you have a job?"

            "You had better not be changing the subject on me…" she warned.  "Yeah, I help Mr. Riley with his ice cream shop downtown during the summers.  Who do you think has been giving you extra scoops the past two years when you've came in?  It's nice to see you've noticed."

            "Not notice an extra scoop of chocolate chip mint?  Of course I've noticed, Rach.  I just thought maybe you had forgotten to count when you scooped them, and I didn't want to correct you…"  I winked at her.

            She glared at me before conceding into laughter.  "Sure…"

"When you work, do you take your breaks?  Do you ever take days off?"

            "You bet I do," she scoffed.  "Fifteen minutes every four hours, and I'm not about to spend my entire summer asking 'one scoop or two' since I do count."

            "Well, the great thing about God is that he doesn't."

            She looked at me questioningly.  "Doesn't count?"

            "No," I chuckled as I continued.  "God is over-worked and under-appreciated.  If the labor unions had anything to say about it, he would have long ago been taken care of.  You see, when everyone else is busy with their own lives and problems, God is always there, always listening, always looking out for you – even when you don't ask him to.  He never takes a break, never has days off, and is on duty 24/7."

            "How can you afford His overtime?" she asked, looking me straight in the eyes.

            "A chance to be a part of your life is all he asks… the rewards of God's work are all yours."

            The front door opened, and Mrs. Hunter rushed out.  "Rachael, we need to be going.  I need to swing by the grocery store to get some milk and then we need go get your father at work."  She was already halfway down the driveway.

            Rach stood up and followed after her, no doubt well-used to it.  Pausing, she turned around.  "Tuesday's at 7:00, right?"

            "You got it!"

            Jamie stood staring at me at the front door, stunned, as I returned inside.  "What did you say to her?  Mrs. Hunter was convinced that nothing was going to get through to her."

            "You want me to reveal my secrets?" I questioned through my grin.  "Well…" I sighed, placing my hands on her lower back and rubbing my thumbs in small circles as I began to recount the conversation.

            A few minutes later, I started to feel Jamie head toward the living room.  I kept my hands in place, momentarily pausing to ask, "Mind if I follow?"

            She tilted her head and smiled.  "You keep rubbing my back like that and you can follow me anywhere…"