Faith: Chapter 6

The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.
- George Eliot

Gabe sat in front of the computer screen, staring at his own reflection. It had been four days. Four days he had spent here in Central America and not with his friends where he truly felt he needed to be.

He had prayed, just like he promised Missy he would. He prayed without ceasing, and still no answer came. At least no answer he could discern. Phone calls had also dwindled, though he understood that Missy didn’t intend to give daily updates - he would have liked them. E-mails were more frequent from herself and Alex, but Gabe couldn’t bring himself to read anything just yet. He wanted an answer.

“God, why am I here? How long should I stay?” he asked, willing the answer he wanted to be the one he heard. He wanted to leave immediately, regardless of the week and a half more he was scheduled to be there.

The answer came in a breath this time.

“Until I release you.”

Gabe opened his eyes. Though his heart didn’t agree, and the Lord’s answer didn’t make sense, he forced himself to be obedient. God had His reasons. Gabe knew he didn’t have to understand them to obey.

“Hey,” Christian greeted from the doorway of the office.

Looking up, Gabe smiled. Christian was filthy. His light blue jeans looked permanently brown and had grass stains on the knees. His ragged tee shirt looked like it had definitely seen better days and was stained with paint thinner and paint. His hair had road dust in it.

“Why don’t you go shower?” Gabe asked, even though he knew.

Christian shook his head. “Jorge and I don’t get along very well…” he shuddered at the thought of the hideously large spider, and the way it always darted at him for invading on its territory.

“Take him out,” Gabe said easily.

“I can’t kill Jorge!” Christian looked horrified.

Gabe laughed, despite his own heaviness. “I didn’t mean take him out, like kill him. I meant move him.”

Christian shook his head. “Cheyanne and the girls will all wonder where he went. And there’s no way I’m touching him. He doesn’t like me.”

Stepping into the room a little further, Christian leaned against the wall. “So, how’s your friend?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know yet,” Gabe admitted. “Last I heard she was doing better. Still not great, but recovering.”

“That’s good,” Christian nodded. He never asked for a name or for details. Gabe appreciated that about him.

“Yeah, it is,” Gabe confirmed.

“Could you give her a message from me?” Christian wondered, digging in his pocket. “Your friend,” he clarified, seeing the confusion on Gabe’s face.

“Sure,” Gabe answered, feeling somewhat surprised, though it wasn’t all together out of character for Christian to do something like this.

A piece of notebook paper was pressed into Gabe’s hand. Before he could open it, or say thank you, Christian was out the door.

Curious, Gabe unfolded it and read:

“FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU,” DECLARES THE LORD, “PLANS TO PROSPER YOU AND NOT TO HARM YOU, PLANS TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE. THEN YOU WILL CALL UPON ME AND COME AND PRAY TO ME, AND I WILL LISTEN TO YOU. YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME WHEN YOU SEEK ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART. I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU,” DECLARES THE LORD, “AND WILL BRING YOU BACK FROM CAPTIVITY…”
- JEREMIAH 29:11-14

IN FAITH AND LOVE,
CHRISTIAN BRODY, AGE 17, (GABE’S FRIEND FROM THE CR TRIP.)
P.S. I’M PRAYING FOR YOU.

Gabe folded the paper again and tucked it into the pocket of his jeans, vowing to remember it, and show Belle the original message whenever he got back home.

Opening his email, Gabe instantly saw one from Alex, and clicked on it.

To: “Gabe Sanchez” Sanchez.Gabriel@hotmail.com
From: “Alexandra R. Craig ARCangel@hotmail.com

Gabe,

Hey. You’ll be glad to know things are looking better. The emergency group thing was pretty crazy though. Everyone took it hard, especially Greta - Belle’s friend. I hung out with her for the most part. So now everybody knows.

You’ll be happy to know that our girl is seeing visitors now. Maria has been in to sit with her quite a bit, and both Jared and Mikhail have been to see her in the past couple days. She’s been moved to the main floor. So that’s good. She wanted Mikhail to tell all of us that she didn’t mean it. She’s messed up about everything, and confused. But she’s on meds now, and talking to someone about everything, to make sure she’ll be good to go home. Sherry thinks she might be out in a couple days. So that’s awesome, but seems a bit quick. Oh, Mikhail made her smile, though! I forgot what he did, but that’s definitely a good sign, huh?

Kenzie says you’re thinking about coming back early. Just hold off on anything at least until you run things by the Lord, and Brent and see what’s up. I know you will.

I am doing all right. My parents are back from South of the Border… Don’t know how I feel about that. My dad’s still the same as ever. “Why don’t you do something else?” “Why are you wasting money on something that isn’t going to take you anywhere in life?” Blah, blah, blah. He seems to have forgotten that I’m paying my way, with scholarships etc. He doesn’t have to do anything. But that doesn’t matter to him. At least he’s not all about my scar or my surgery anymore. I think I can handle anything, if that’s the case. Did you know Greta didn’t even ask? About my scar I mean. She’s got to be the only one on the face of the earth. Oh, guess who else we saw? Ryan! He came to the emergency meeting, because I guess, Elise called him. He looked good. Anyway, sorry about all my rambling. I’m stopping, I promise.

I pray you are doing well. I know it’s hard to be away at a time like this, but remember that God is in control, and He knows what He’s doing.

Alex

Gabe barely paused before hitting reply:

Alex,

I’m so glad to hear that everything is improving! Not to worry, I’m here until the Lord releases me.

Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know what’s going on. I’ve been going crazy here at the lack of information. My team has been praying for Belle, though I haven’t given any details, or her name, since Brent and a few other people might know who she is. I don’t know if she’d want those kind of details relayed to my mission team, so they just know I’ve got a friend in trouble, and they have been really good about taking time every day to pray for her.

My friend Christian (Christian Brody - you might know him from church - quiet, home schooled)… Anyway, he just came and asked about Belle and gave me the most amazing verses to give to her. I’m going to give her the original message when I get back, but it’s amazing that he got this verse and he wants me to give it to her.

I’m so glad she’s seeing visitors and that Mikhail got a smile out of her, though. That made my day. Please keep me updated. I’ll be sure to email Belle myself, too, so whenever she’s up to it, she’ll check her email and have a message from me.

Sorry your dad still doesn’t understand you very well. That’s hard. I’ll continue to pray for y’all’s relationship, though. If I’ve learned anything so far, it’s that God is a big God, and He can melt even the hardest hearts into putty.

Greta seems cool. I’m glad she didn’t comment on your scar, because it’s good for you to view yourself apart from it. To know that it doesn’t define you. I know you do know that, but it’s got to be hard with so many people asking about it first thing. Tell Ryan I say hello, if you see him around soon.

Anyway, I need to wrap this up. Keep me updated though! I love you, girl. Be good.

Love,
Gabe

Saying a small prayer, Gabe opened up a new message, and began typing:

To: “Belle Sutton” SuoSoleBella@hotmail.com
From: “Gabe Sanchez” Sanchez.Gabriel@hotmail.com

Hi, my beautiful sunshine,

I know you hurt and are in a lot of pain right now. I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve been through. But know that I’m praying for you, and I’ll be home soon. I think you are very strong, and you will get through this. Either way, downfalls included, you are still amazing. You’re still my friend, who I love and care about so much. I just want you to know that. Write me anytime. If you don’t know what to say, that’s okay. What’s making you sad right now?

Gabe

P.S. Christian is praying hardcore for you. I didn’t give him your name or any details, but just know he’s on his knees for you every day, and so am I.

Gabe hurried to finish up, so he wouldn’t be reprimanded by Brent again. There had been a lot more of that happening in the last few days. He doubted he would be asked to be a part of any team Brent was leading anywhere ever again. But that was okay.

Just as he was about to close his email, Gabe saw a new message in his inbox. Unfortunately, it wasn’t from Belle, Alex or Missy.

To: “Gabe Sanchez” Sanchez.Gabriel@hotmail.com
From: “Julia Michelle Hayes” jmhayes4Jesus@yahoo.com

Hey Gabe,

So I’m sure you’ve heard by now what’s going on. Crazy, huh? I can’t believe Belle would do something like that. I’m just glad that Sherry found her when she did. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened. You always think you know the people you grow up with, but this is just one of those times that proves no one really knows anybody. I mean, there’s Belle running around like Little Miss Perfect on the outside, when inside she’s messed up. I feel so bad for Sherry having to deal with all this. We should remember to pray for her, and Belle, too, of course. I’m going to bring it up at practice tonight.

God bless,
Julia

Closing his eyes, Gabe signed out of his email account. He should have known better than to read a message from Julia before going to do any work.

--

Kenzie came into worship practice late.

Even though she had been working for several months now, it was still difficult for her to maintain a schedule and be places on time. Luckily, she’d managed to get to her job on time every day, otherwise she really would have been fired. Things other than work were still hard to maintain, though. Like this.

If anyone had asked her a year ago, Kenzie would have told them there would be no way she would still be on the worship team. Sure it had been awesome in the beginning, but Kenzie felt sure the magic would go out of it, and she would move onto something else, like she usually did.

But she had stuck around. Even with Julia on the team, it was a great time. Kenzie was learning way more than she ever had with the stupid band she’d been a part of. She cringed, remembering how Rick and Jock had tried to come through her line every day she worked and steal stuff. They were such jerks. She had reported them, and now they were officially banned from that particular location. Kenzie was grateful.

Setting her coat and gloves down on a pew, Kenzie went up with her music binder, ready to apologize for being late, but the sound of hushed voices made her stop short.

“What’s going on?” she asked their pianist.

She looked up with tears in her eyes. “Oh. We’re praying for Belle Sutton.”

Kenzie’s stomach dropped to her knees. “How’d you know about Belle?” she asked.

“Julia suggested we pray for her and Sherry. When we asked for specifics, she let us know. It’s so awful.”

Forcing herself to join the circle and pray, Kenzie tried to concentrate on God, and His ability to heal Belle. When the prayer was over, however, Kenzie got a hold of Julia, and she excused the two of them.

In the hall, she cornered Julia. “What were you doing?”

“You know we were praying. Why? What’s the big deal?” she asked, crossing her arms.

Kenzie glared. “The big deal is, did you ever stop and think whether or not Belle wanted her private business talked about? Or Sherry?”

“If it was so private, Mikhail and Missy wouldn’t have seen fit to hold a meeting just to let us know about it.”

“We’re her friends, it’s different.” Kenzie countered, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.

“And they’re people on the worship team. I figured the more people praying, the better chance we have to get her back on the right track.”

“And as usual, you’re wrong!” Kenzie exclaimed. “That’s a very private matter that you’d want to get permission before sharing. Mikhail talked to Sherry before talking to us. Did you?” she challenged.

“No, but it’s not like I was just saying it to gossip. We were praying for her,” Julia defended.

“Do us all a favor, and ask Sherry or Belle before you decide to share their personal pain with every person you see.” Kenzie said angrily.

Hurrying back inside the sanctuary, she grabbed her coat and gloves, and pushed her way out the door. Kenzie knew they would all wonder where she’d gone, but she didn’t care.

On the way home, she drove too fast, but it didn’t matter. Kenzie was in her driveway before she remembered she had left her song book on a stand. Reaching up to brush the hair out of her eyes, she tried to pretend she didn’t notice that a long time ago her vision had blurred, and she had started to break down.

--

The next day, Gabe knew he needed to tell Brent about what he had heard from God. Gabe knew better than to act on impulse, to just pack and go, but he knew he needed to be ready whenever God did give the okay.

Brent always had a lot going on. He was always busy and always seemed stressed, but Gabe knew this was important and that it required the leader’s attention. He found Brent during their free time in the afternoon.

“Hey. Can I talk to you?” Gabe asked. It felt strange to ask a question in English. If he asked one in Spanish, though, Brent would just look at him funny. That had happened a lot, even though Brent was fluent, too.

“I suppose. What do you need?” Brent was busy getting together all his dirty clothes to wash. This was the first opportunity he’d had since arriving, and he wasn’t going to let it pass him by. Brent hoped this wouldn’t take long. He looked at Gabe expectantly.

Taking a deep breath, Gabe began. “Listen. So you know I’ve got a lot of stuff going on at home?”

Brent nodded shortly, spying a pair of his shorts underneath a bed. He used a broom handle to snag them.

“Well, I’ve been asking God about heading home early.”

Brent straightened. “And when were you going to ask me?”

“I didn’t say I’m definitely going. So far, God has just said I’m here until He releases me. But I just thought you should know that. Because when I get the go-ahead, I plan to go.”

“You know, being homesick is like telling God you don’t want to be here,” Brent said critically.

“I disagree,” Gabe said simply. “Respectfully, I disagree.”

“Well,” Brent shrugged. “I can’t stop you. But I hope you know how the church is going to feel about your doing this. I doubt you’ll be accepted as part of a team again,” Brent said gravely, hoping to change Gabe’s mind.

“That’s up to God,” he said evenly. Then, “Do you want any help?”

Brent blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Do you want me to wash those, so you can relax? I don’t have anything else to do,” Gabe offered.

“I guess,” Brent agreed, sounding bored. “Thanks.”

So while Brent left to go into town by himself, Gabe did laundry. He knew the situation wasn’t ideal, but he also knew he was called to be a servant. Not just to the staff, the construction workers and the children, but to his team as well.

As he washed and dried dirty shirts and shorts, Gabe was reminded of how God regularly restored the minds and hearts of His people when they came to Him in faith.

He remembered being a witness to Belle’s decision to accept Christ when she was a first grader. She and her mom had only been coming to church a few months.. He remembered how serious she had looked, walking forward with the crowd mostly of teenagers.

Gabe had made his own decision at home, as a toddler. But he remembered watching Belle when he was in the fourth grade, going forward with so much certainty. She had been tiny then, looking more like a toddler than a six-year-old, but she had been bold.

After praying by herself, she had waited patiently for an elder or pastor to finish with what they were doing and pray for her. But they had all been busy. By now, Gabe’s curiosity had been sparked, and he had edged closer to the front to hear what was going on.

Finally, when she saw the pastor finish up with the person they were ministering to, Belle had gone up and pulled on the sleeve of his suit jacket.

“I want you to pray for me.”

Gabe shook his head as he heard the washing machine finish. He knew that despite everything, Belle still had that core of strength inside her.

He wondered if she knew that for the last twelve years, he had admired her. He wondered if she knew how many lives she had touched just by being who she was created to be.