Chapter 2: Give me Faith
Eli started to walk up to the stage when he stopped and turned around. He looked at me and said, "Wanna come?" He held out his hand and I grabbed it. I stood up and we started walking toward the pastor. I clinched onto his arm thinking about all the things that could go wrong.
"You seem more nervous about this then I am" Eli joked. I tried to force out a laugh but nothing came out of my quivering mouth. When we both got up to the pastor he held the microphone up to Eli. Eli looked at me and I began talking.
"He, uhh, He...Uhh...Wants to-. He doesn't understand the ways of the Lord and wants to…y'know. Learn?" Eli laughed at my embarrassing stuttering and then spoke.
"Yea, I'm an Atheist." He smiled sweetly but you could see the sarcasm in his eyes. I had forgotten we were even in church but right as Eli had said that everyone in the room gasped and you could hear people murmuring.
"Why would he even come to church?"
"Who does this guy think he is?"
Eli smiled proudly and then looked at the pastor. The pastor looked annoyed and angry at Eli but began whispering. After a while I realized he was Speaking in Tongues. He turned to me and said, "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart…"
Eli's smile was wiped from his mouth when the pastor said that. The pastor then walked away. I said,
"Eli, Let's go."
"Alright." Eli whispered back. He seemed depressed. We got to the hearse and he drove me to my house, before I went inside I asked him if he was all right.
"I…am…so…confused." Eli stated and then turned his head to look at me. "Right as I told that guy I was an Atheist I felt…uhh. Uhh…like a chill go through my body. And then when he said the thing about "evil snatches what's left in the heart" It freaked me out!" I stared down into my hands and then whispered. "God's trying to tell you something … Eli." I looked at him, "And you're not listening." Eli looked at me. He looked super sympathetic. Almost like he was sad.
"Your spiritual life doesn't begin until God speaks to you and you finally decide to listen." I whispered.
"Well … How exactly do I listen?"
"I don't really know how to explain it! It's just…Well…I don't know! I'm sorry Eli. If you're interested in God I'd be happy to help you but I can't explain it! You have to put your faith in him yourself! You can't just ask a person and expect your life to unfold."
"I'll look into it." Eli said. I got out of the hearse and waved goodbye. He said, "See you later," And then drove off.
I stood out in the front yard for a while, trying to figure out what had just happened. Does Eli all of a sudden have faith? After just one day of church? Wow, or, maybe he's just questioning it, seeing if it's real or not. I went inside then and sat on the couch and thought for a while to myself. I took a glance at the clock at it was already 12:30. I had been here thinking about everything for about 40 minutes. Wow. I stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. I grabbed a glass from the dishwasher when I heard my phone ring. It sounded really loud and it pierced my ears. I jumped at the sudden sound and dropped the cup, it shattered into thousands of pieces that I jumped over to grab my phone.
"Yes?" I said, grabbing a broom and a dust pan.
"Clare, I want to…." I heard him fiddling around with pages and then something dropping, it sounded like a book. "…come to church with you…next week. If that isn't too much to ask. Sorry I kind of made a big thing out of atheism earlier. It was stupid. And I should knock it 'til I try it, right?" I swept the glass of the cup onto the dustpan and let Eli's words soak into my mind.
"Duh, you can come to Church again. If you wanna learn about God be my guest."
"Good. Cuz I do. Even if it does piss me off, or….anyone else off."
"Alright Eli. See you soon." I clicked off the call and threw away the shattered glass into the trashcan. I thought about Eli. What if he really does have faith in God? He could finally understand my ways and beliefs. I hope he continues this attitude. It makes me happy that he wants to learn.