“What verbal abuse?” Stephen said. “I know her stepfather, he’s kind of like me. He likes to tease.”
“Didn’t she ever tell you that she hates it when he teases her?” David asked. “See, she sort of confided in me one day when we shared a psychology class in college. She said she never felt she could tell him how she hated his teasing her without embarrassing her mother. So she would sort of grin and bear it,” David explained.
“Well, we’ve discussed her family many times, but,” he paused as if remembering.
“What is it?” David asked.
“Now that I think about it, every time I mention her stepfather, she either changes the subject or gets an attitude. Whatever the case, I’m at my wits end. I’ve apologized until I was blue in the face. I don’t know how much more of this I can take. I didn’t marry her to be miserable and I’m not sleeping in the guest room for the rest of my life. It’s gotten ridiculous. I’ve been there a month. How long can a woman hold a grudge?” he asked throwing his hands up in the air. “I work around a lot of beautiful women and I’m not perfect, so I think she’d better come around to her senses or-”
“Stephen!” David yelled out in the guest locker room. “She’s not just holding a grudge. Can’t you see her problem is deeper than that?” he said, as he felt the anger swelling up on the inside.
“Well, I’m not a trained psychologist,” Stephen said curtly.
“This has nothing to do with being a psychologist. Can’t you see you’re under attack?” David asked.
“What do you mean by attack?” Stephen asked dumbfoundedly.
“Let me ask you this,” David answered. “When was the last time you and Myra prayed together? Not in church but in your home?”
Stephen looked puzzled and was quiet. He stared at the tiled ceiling then looked at the freshly mopped floor. He shook his head in shame when he declared “I don’t know that we’ve ever really prayed together,” he said with shamefacedness.
“Would you do me a favor?” David asked. “Don’t make any sudden decisions about separating, even if she insists. I’m going to seek the Lord for a remedy to help. You have got to start praying too!”
A tear rolled out of the corner of Stephen’s right eye as he grabbed his friend and hugged him. He then quickly left the locker room.
CHAPTER TEN
The alarm didn’t awake David the next day in time for his morning prayer. Loud voices and the sound of shattering glass caused him to sit up with a sudden jerk. He couldn’t make out clearly what was being said, but he did recognize the voice of his new neighbor. Obviously the apartments were designed so that their bedrooms were just opposite one another. The walls weren’t thick enough to control sound. He slowly got out of bed and headed for his prayer room. He really was beginning to love the idea that God was waiting for him each morning, precisely at five o‘clock.
David kneeled down at his altar and began giving thanks to God for so many things, especially those he had experienced the day before. The noise grew louder from the next apartment, but he ignored it and continued to give thanks. He then heard an eerie sounding shriek that followed with sobbing. He grabbed hold of the altar and prayed for that couple. He prayed as if their very lives depended on his prayer. Soon after, the sobbing ceased and David prayed for other couples. He prayed for Stephen and Myra and he prayed for Keith and Darlene Smith. He felt he was battling the very forces of evil through his prayer, but he would not release the horns of the altar until he was satisfied that he had gotten through. About an hour later, he left the prayer room and slept lightly for two hours before getting ready for Sunday morning service.
The church service was quite lively on this first Sunday of the month. The choir seemed more inspirational than he could ever recall. He looked around the sanctuary and noticed that others were also being blessed. He noticed there were more unfamiliar faces than usual. The church announcer approached the microphone.
Welcome to the church where Jesus is Lord. We’re so excited that you have joined us for Family and Friends Day,” she said. David tuned out everything else that was said after she mentioned family and friends. Where had he been? This was the first mention of that special day that he could recall. Had he known, he would have insisted on being together with his mother and sister. He had not seen them yet, this morning. Perhaps they were in the balcony. He began to feel uneasy. He was hoping that this wouldn’t be a big deal throughout the service, because he didn’t care for discussing his family right now. A visiting minister stood in the pulpit and talked about how wonderful family life could be. He reminisced his own childhood and familiarized the congregation with the discipline he learned from his parents.
David just sat there and wondered what planet this visiting man of God could have come from. His description of family life sounded closer to the Norman Rockwell picture on the office calendar than anything close to the realities of the day. David got up to leave, right after the offering. He felt he should find his mother. He slowly walked down the aisles toward the door, looking in the section where she usually sat. There was no sign of her attendance. He asked the usher who knew her well, if she was there. The usher said she had not seen her, so he left it at that.
David walked outside the main sanctuary into the church lobby. Someone was coming through the outer door carrying a large bouquet of flowers. It covered their whole face. He knew they couldn’t see to open the door so he offered to get it for them. It was only after he opened the door to the sanctuary that he saw that it was Rose. The bouquet she carried said ‘Family of the Year’ on a yellow ribbon. They stared at one another for a few seconds, yet time seemed to stand still. She then thanked him politely as she went through the door to carry the flowers to her father, who would present them as he always did to the family he felt deserved it.
David drove straight to his mother’s home. He knew he would be early for dinner. That was alright with him. Perhaps she wasn’t there, but at church after all. He just wanted a refuge, even if she wasn’t home. He had a key.
When he arrived, there was no visible sign of her car unless of course it was in the garage. He entered through the side door and there she was dicing onions in the kitchen.
“Hi Baby, you’re early,” she said. “Didn’t you go to church?”
“Oh I went to church alright,” he said. “But I couldn’t find my mother, so I left.” “Oh I knew it was going to be a rather long service because of Family and Friends day,” she said. “So I decided not to go. Steph and I did some cleaning that had been put off for various reasons,” she explained. David decided to change the subject. He knew his mother well. If she didn’t go to church today, it was because it was too painful. She had never put housework in front of her church attendance. He wanted to spare her any further embarrassment.
“Steph and I got a lot of cleaning done,” his mother said, as she sautéed the onions in a skillet. “There’s a pile of things in the family room. If you want any of it, take it. Otherwise it will be put out for the garbage man.”
“Uh oh,” said David. “This sounds serious. I might have to rescue some high school trophies,” he said, loud enough to be heard throughout the house.
“Steph’s not in her room,” his mother said. “I sent her to the store to get ice cream.”
“Oh,” David said, quite amazed by the stuff on the den floor. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a large brown paper bag. “I think I’m going to rescue some of my college books,” he said.
“Yea, clutter up your own home,” she teased. He grabbed three books, two of them were psychology and one was English. Then his eye caught a large white book that had been well preserved. It was kind of bulky and had a few snapshots hanging out of it. It was his parents’ wedding album. A chill went up and down his spine. He didn’t open it. He just put it in his grocery bag and continued to look for other hurtful treasures. It wasn’t necessary to discuss it. He heard the door opening and saw Steph enter with a small bag.
&nb
sp; “Alright, I’ve got ice cream,” she said. “Now we can get on with dinner.”
“Not until I rescue all of my high school and college memorabilia,” David teased.
“Well, look what the wind blew in,” she said.
“And I’m just in time to save my precious heirlooms,” he rebutted.
“Huh!” Steph, laughed. “You didn’t want that junk when you lived here. Now all of a sudden, you’re inseparable. Let’s see what you rescued,” Steph said, walking toward him.
“No way,” he said closing the bag. He pulled the keys from his pocket and headed for the door. “I’m putting these in my trunk now, so no one can reclaim them.” When he returned, his mother announced that dinner was ready and they ate in the dining room.
Dinner was a rather sobering experience. He avoided discussing church so he wouldn’t have to bring up their theme. He couldn’t talk about Rose, that situation was on hold; and he couldn’t ask how the two of them were getting along because it was rather depressing. His mother asked about his job, so he discussed non-personal situations from his clients that he thought she’d find interesting.
David was exhausted by the time he arrived home. He pulled out his Bible after he prepared for bed. With only the light from the lamp on his night stand, he began reading a familiar passage. “Think it not strange when you are tried with the fiery darts of the wicked one,” it read. Shortly afterward, David’s head fell to the side in deep sleep. He was restless and woke up at 2:00 a.m. He thought if he drank some water it would help him rest. He was awfully thirsty, as if he had been in a warm place. He had been dreaming. But he couldn’t quite remember his dream. He picked his Bible up and found the passage that he had been reading earlier. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep again. He continued exactly where he had left off. A barking neighborhood dog must have awakened him. The clock showed 4:15 a.m. He reached over to turn out the light that had been on all night and turned over to continue his sleep. He jumped suddenly when the alarm went off. His right fist was clenched tightly as if he was grabbing something. He opened it. There was nothing there except a small part of his sheet covering. He was perspiring and felt as if he’d been traveling all night. Then he remembered. It was that recurring dream. He shut off the alarm. There was no need to write this one down, he had done so before. He faithfully made his way into the prayer chamber. It was beyond a necessity. It was urgent.
He was thankful after work that day that he didn’t have to tell anyone about his weekend. What was there to tell? His life was going through a crisis, and only God could see him through it.
Although he knew he should call first, he didn’t bother. After work, he drove directly to Aunt Tillie’s and again arrived during the dinner time. He felt bad about interrupting her at meal time and coming empty handed. A few blocks away he had passed a peddler selling pecans. He wasn’t sure if she liked them or not. He arrived, parked the car but didn’t get out of the car. After pondering, he restarted the engine and went back to get her a bag of the fresh nuts. This would buy him enough time to keep from interrupting her dinner. Inside the building, residents seemed to be returning to their apartments. The receptionist instructed him to proceed to Aunt Tillie’s apartment. He thought he heard talking when he knocked on the door. He knew that many elderly left their radios or television sets on for company. He was bracing himself to present the pecans when the door opened. He felt rather embarrassed to find Rose on the other side of the door.
“Are those for me?” she asked, looking at his extended hand with the present.
“Just kidding,” she said as he stood there feeling silly. “Aunt Tillie, David’s here,” Rose said, sounding like an announcer.
“Oh I know honey, he just rang me,” she said. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to go running out of here,” Aunt Tillie continued.
“Me run? I wouldn’t do that, Aunt Tillie. That’s David’s specialty. Besides I was here first,” Rose said in a teasing way.
“I’m sorry,” David said apologizing to Rose, “I didn’t plan to interrupt your visit. I didn’t know she had company. I can come back another time,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t take him up on his offer.
“Oh, it’s alright David,” Rose said with a smile. “I was just about to leave any way.”
“But you don’t have to Rose, really. I should have called before coming,” he said apologetically.
“No, I have choir rehearsal,” she explained as she put on her jacket. “I was just checking up on my favorite lady.”
“I don’t know what I would do without you baby,” Aunt Tillie said. “Be sure to give my love to the family.”
“Can I walk you to the car?” David asked.
“That’s not necessary,” Rose said. “I parked very close to the door and I’m sure Aunt Tillie is ready to visit with you,” she continued.
He was about to put up an argument, but Rose held up her hand to stop him. “Please David,” she insisted. “It really is ok, we can talk some other time.”
“You promise?” he said. “Sure, she smiled. “I always keep my promises.”
He wasn’t quite sure how she meant that last statement, but he stepped aside. He watched her as she went down the long corridor and around the corner. He then came inside and shut the door.
“I can always come here and feel peaceful,” he admitted to Aunt Tillie as he handed the nuts to her. “Thank you baby. I’ll save these for a special occasion. How have you been resting?” she asked.
“That’s just it, Aunt Tillie. I haven’t gotten much rest lately. You remember the dream I told you about, before I left last time? I’ve had it several more times in bits and pieces. It always ends up the same way,” he said.
“The Lord really dealt with me on that one, baby,” she said.
“You mean you’ve gotten an answer?” he asked.
“Oh yes,” she said. “I knew this was urgent. What the Lord has shown me is marvelous in my eyes. Repeat the dream to me baby and I’ll tell you what God spoke to me, late in the midnight hour.”
“Whenever I would go to sleep,” David said, “I would show up in the dream in this land where there is a long line of young children. They are headed up a mountain. There are adults standing sort of on the side lines. When they get up this mountain I see smoke and flames. Then an adult sort of coaches them to go through this horrible fire. Most go through against their wishes. Others are so young and trusting, they have no idea where they’re being led. Then I can hear the screams of the children once they are led into this horrible flame. I can’t really see if any of them are coming out. The smell of the place and the horror is too much for me to witness. I usually wake up at this point.”
“David,” said Aunt Tillie. “I hope you can bear what I’m about to tell you. I kept praying to the good Lord for an answer. He kept telling me the same thing. I really didn’t understand it at first. He kept saying Ahaz. Well I didn’t know what Ahaz had to do with it until I read and I read some more. Listen to me closely, baby. Ahaz was a wicked King. He was more wicked than nearly all the Kings of Judah that disobeyed God. He was so wicked that he even sacrificed his own sons. That’s right. He caused them to pass through the fire.”
“But what has that got to do with my dream?” David asked sincerely.
Aunt Tillie reached over to the coffee table and grabbed her Bible. She pulled out two sheets of paper with notes scribbled on them.
“I asked that very same question. I said, Lord I want to know exactly what you are saying. I don’t want to error when I deliver your word. This is what He told me. “Parents who divorce without justification, cause their children to pass through the fire,” she said reading directly off the paper.
“Wow!” David exclaimed. “That’s really deep.”
“There’s more,” said Aunt Tillie. “The long line of children you saw in your dream, were children of divorce. The adults were their parents who were leading them to be sacrificed. You see baby, there’s more to di
vorce than two people going separate ways. The reasons behind the divorce, are the very things that make it a sin in the eyes of God. In the Old Testament Ahaz sacrificed his sons to serve and appease other gods. He did it in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. You see, to follow after idols, a sacrifice must be made to keep the gods from being angry. You have to know what these gods represented, in order to understand the sacrifice of children. There was Baal in many forms. The name Baal means lord. He was considered a fertility god. He was higher than the other heathen gods. If he conquered the other idol gods in war against him, there would supposedly be seven years of fertility. If he failed, then seven years of drought. So they wanted good crops and cattle. This was their prosperity. I looked in my Bible history books and found that a great number of bones that were dug up in Ben Hinnon Valley years later, belonged to young children. They were found in the valley along with parts of statues that were idols. The idols like Ashereth and Tophet represent lustful pleasures and things that temporarily satisfy the flesh. The children of divorce have been sacrificed for what appears to be prosperity and pleasure. Men and women have become lovers of themselves more than lovers of God. God hates divorce, but do people care? If they think that they can get more pleasure for their flesh by going their own way, they will sacrifice their children in the name of anything.”
“But aren’t there cases where divorce is allowed?” David asked sincerely.
“Sure there are baby. Jesus specifically talked about those cases. Those are the people who can get in the face of God and say Lord I don’t really have a choice. I tried the best that I could. This marriage is destroying me. But I’m here to tell you that not many people have said that in the face of God. He knows if they are divorcing for selfish reasons. If there are children involved, they had better be sure that they have the permission of God to divorce. He is angry when the innocent children are led to the sacrifice, in the name of the god of pleasure.
Eating the Fruit of Lies Page 7
