by Jodi Woody
Daffyd and Bryce had been busy while the girls were enjoying their lunch. They had contacted the lawyer to check up on their special project. Daffyd had also asked Bryce to take a look at all of his recording contracts, looking for a way to make changes without hurting any of the other parties involved. After several hours, Bryce said that it was all pretty solid. He admitted he wasn’t an expert at business law and suggested that Daffyd allow his own lawyer to handle it.
“I am still not sure exactly what I want to do…I am just speculating,” said Daffyd.
“Have you had a change of heart?” asked Bryce.
“I guess maybe a little, after all the questions that came up explaining things to Samantha and Seanna, it has started bothering me more than usual. Honestly, it has always bothered me a little. Over the years I guess I got calloused about it all. I don’t want to jump into anything. I am just looking at my options,” Daffyd explained.
“Well, I am proud of you. Maybe you are growing up,” Bryce teased.
“I figured you might be getting tired of parenting me,” Daffyd teased back. “Well, I think I better take a nap. Can you run the tray from lunch down for me?”
“Yep, I’ll clean up the kitchen before Samantha and Seanna get back. Then I think I will get the grass mowed. It’s starting to look like a jungle. Plus I love Leal’s mower. It’s more like play than work!”
The girls came home to find Bryce on the big mower with protective headphones on making big swaths in the ankle high grass. He gave them a big wave and Seanna gave him a thumbs up. They quickly unloaded and put everything away. Samantha went up to change and checked on Daffyd. He was sound asleep. She put away the things that needed to go upstairs and headed back down. Seanna was on Bryce’s computer by the time he came in. He went to the sink and filled a huge glass with water, downing it like he would never get another drink. Samantha grabbed some work gloves and was going to head out to the garden when Seanna called her over.
“Mom, I got an email from the school…” she said.
“Well, what does it say?” asked Samantha.
“It’s from the financial aid department. I wonder what it’s about.” Seanna pondered.
“Open it and see,” said Bryce from the sink with a big grin.
He was standing facing Seanna at the bar and silently thanked God for allowing him to witness the whole thing. He had assumed that she would be getting a phone call, but now days everything seemed to be handled by email.
“Oh…my…word…” she whispered.
“What Seanna?” Samantha leaned in to read over her daughters shoulder.
“I got another scholarship…Mom it says that it is a ‘full ride’. I won’t have to pay for anything. It even covers my room and board!” she exclaimed. She was totally in shock.
“Is that true? Is that what it means?” Samantha looked to Bryce.
“I’ll come take a look, but yeah, usually that’s what it means,” he answered coming around to look. “Let’s see, yep, right here it says full tuition, room and board, and even your books are covered. Wow, Seanna you must have impressed somebody!”
Suddenly she jumped up and grabbed her mom, laughing and crying at the same time. They jumped and hugged and before he knew what hit him, they had grabbed him and propelled him around with them.
“Who won the lottery?” yelled Daffyd down from the top of the stairs.
“Well I guess I did!” Seanna shouted back.
“She just got a full ride scholarship!” said Samantha.
“Well we did just pray about that didn’t we, Sea?” said Bryce.
“We did, thank you Jesus! Now I won’t have to worry about Mom. Wow, what a surprise. I thought that all my applications had been reviewed. Talk about just in the nick of time,” she just could not stop smiling.
“Seanna, your Dad would be so proud of you,” she said quietly.
“Yep, he sure would.” She smiled and gave her mom a hug.
Bryce looked up at his uncle and Daffyd gave him a slight nod and a wink. Bryce had never been so proud of his uncle. Daffyd slowly came down the stairs and joined the group. He took a look at the email, confirming everything that they had just read. He gave Seanna a sideways hug with one arm around her shoulders.
“I think this is cause for a celebration. What did you girls bring for a treat?” he asked.
“I don’t even remember. I can’t really think straight right now,” answered Samantha.
“I can find something! You guys all sit down,” offered Bryce.
Seanna had to re-read everything a couple of times. Samantha kept patting her daughters hand and smiling. Daffyd and Bryce just enjoyed their joy. The rest of the afternoon went quickly. Bryce fixed sandwiches again, and they all sat around the table talking and joking until bed. As Daffyd retired for the evening, earlier than the others, Samantha reminded him that they were having roast beef for lunch after Church. He turned and smiled at her, and allowed Bryce to help him up the stairs. Lord, he better keep his end of the deal.
Chapter 15
Baby Steps
Samantha got up early Sunday morning to get the roast in the oven and get the potatoes and carrots cleaned, pealed and in the pot. She prayed the whole time that Daffyd would be feeling well enough and be inclined to go to church. She finished up in the kitchen and hurried upstairs to get dressed. Her options were much smaller this week, only having brought the one dress. She went for a pair of nice jeans and one of her dressier summer shirts. By the time she headed downstairs, Daffyd was coming out of his room. He also had on some dark jeans and a light weight cotton dress shirt. Both were a little big, but he was definitely not in his pajamas.
“I see I am just in time to accompany you down the stairs,” he said.
“Yes, you are,” she gave him her arm and didn’t mention church.
Bryce and Seanna were both downstairs finishing up some juice and muffins. When Samantha nonchalantly asked Daffyd if he would like some tea before they left for Church, Bryce choked on his last swallow and Seanna absentmindedly gave him a pat on the back. Both were staring at Daffyd as if he just grew a new head.
“I think I would just like a small glass of juice, if my nephew hasn’t spewed the rest of it all over the counter. Bryce, do you think you could load up the wheel chair for me? As much as I hate it, I don’t want to tire myself out on the way in and out of church.”
“Um…sure, I’ll get right on that. Seanna, could you give me a hand? That thing can be a bear to get into the car. Should we take the limo, so you can lie down if you need to?” Bryce asked.
“I think we’d better. Thanks.” He answered.
Seanna jumped up to help Bryce, and Daffyd just shook his head and chuckled.
“Did you see their faces? Priceless, poor Seanna two shocks in just as many days and Bryce almost choked himself.... Good thing they’re young and have strong hearts!” he continued to chuckle.
“Well, you have to admit, it is a big deal. How long has it been since you went toc?” Samantha asked.
“Too long…I’ve gone to the odd service, mostly at holidays over the years. But I think it has been about six years since I have been in a church, not counting Gareth and Elizabeth’s funeral.”
“Thanks for coming,” she said.
“You do have that pot roast in the oven, right?” he teased.
“Pot roast, what does that have to do with church?” she teased back. Daffyd just raised his eyebrows and looked at her.
“Maybe there does happen to be a pot roast in the oven, and possibly a strawberry rhubarb crisp for dessert. Of course yours will not be alamode,” she said.
They made it to church and got Daffyd situated. People came and introduced themselves and made him feel welcome. It seemed that Trisha and Leal had said very little about their employer and Bryce even less about his uncle. Daffyd smiled and nodded, but obviously was feeling a little anxious. Samantha remembered what he had said about his previous anxiety attacks and sat down next to him
. Daffyd grabbed her hand and held it like a life line. Soon the service started. Daffyd let go of Samantha’s hand and sang with the others, following the lyrics on the overhead to the songs he was not familiar with. Several heads turned when Daffyd sang, and Bryce puffed out his chest with pride.
The assistant Pastor gave announcements and he reminded them that they would be holding an all night prayer vigil beginning that evening. When they passed the offering plate, Daffyd threw in a big bill without batting an eye. He was more relaxed during the Pastor’s simple message on hearing God, and applying His word. Samantha would occasionally glance his way out of the corner of her eye to see his facial expressions. Though sometimes he looked a little perplexed, most of the time he was just attentive. She on the other hand had issues trying to pay attention being so concerned about what Daffyd was thinking. Finally she just told herself to pay attention and left him in God’s hands.
While the Pastor was giving his closing and opening up the altar for prayer, Daffyd asked Bryce to go and get the wheel chair out of the car and wait at the bottom of the steps. By the time the last person was prayed for Bryce was back in time to help his uncle to the car, hiding his disappointment at finding him in the pew and not at the altar. Heading straight to the car they didn’t get a chance to talk to anyone. They could see that Daffyd was taxed. Soon he was lying in the back, and they were on their way home.
Bryce drove and Seanna sat up front with him. They chatted about the prayer vigil. Seanna had never taken part with one before and asked him what it was for. He explained that it was a night to pray for whatever was on the hearts of the people. They would have a big bulletin board where people would tack up their requests and their praise reports, and during the course of the night, people would take shifts praying for whatever was on the board. They both agreed it was something they wanted to do. Samantha sat in the back and listened to their conversation, keeping watch on Daffyd.
When they got home Daffyd decided to change into his pajamas and just lie down on the couch until lunch was ready. He insisted on having roast beef. As he took another cat nap, the rest changed into more comfortable clothes and got lunch on the table. Seanna helped her mom get the crisp in the oven and soon the smell of dessert brought Daffyd to the table. They had an enjoyable meal, and it seemed that they all had an unspoken agreement not to grill Daffyd about Church. They simply ate and chatted as if there was nothing special about the day.
The kids excused themselves wanting to get a hold of someone at the Church to see about the meeting that night. Daffyd thanked Samantha for a great meal, and she thanked him for going to Church and they both left it at that. The kids were back shortly and told them that they had signed up for the ten to midnight shift. They were used to staying up late so they didn’t think they needed to sleep before. Samantha offered to clean up so the kids could head out to the pool, their favorite place in the afternoon. Daffyd wandered out to watch them, sitting under the umbrella, while Samantha did up the dishes. As soon as she was done she donned Trisha’s straw hat and grabbed the gardening tools to go and work in the garden.
When she had been at it for about an hour, Seanna came over to let her know that Bryce was taking Daffyd upstairs to rest, and she was going to put on some clothes and help her mom. While Samantha pulled a few weeds and hoed around the potatoes she thought of Richard.
If he had been raised like Daffyd and his brother, would he have been different? I know that being gay is a choice, not something that you are born into. What happened in Richard’s life that caused him to choose that lifestyle? Obviously his family hadn’t had a problem with that, but they did have a problem with his becoming a Christian. He may have never ventured into that life had he had a sound Christian upbringing. But then, look at Daffyd. His brother was raised in the same house, and he became a missionary and raised Bryce in church, while Daffyd chose a completely different life and turned his back on God. Look at me for that matter. I was raised in a Christian home, granted a legalistic one, but still I grew up with the Word of God. I still chose to sin and, for a season, also turned my heart away from God.
If I had never met Richard, would I have ever turned back to God? Or if I had never had premarital sex and gotten pregnant would I have stayed in that legalistic Church and raised my children the same way. All the bad things in my life seem to always come out better in the end. I have had to lean on God to help me out of messes that I didn’t know how to fix. Though our marriage wasn’t perfect, or all I had ever dreamed, it was what got me into a good Church and led me back to the Lord. Seanna had a good father, who loved her very much and did the best that he knew how to parent her, when her own father couldn’t step up to the plate. Maybe God will turn all of Daffyd’s problems around for his good. People’s lives can change. Richard and I are both proof of that.
Seanna found her mom hoeing away with a look of concentration on her face. “Those must be some serious weeds?” she teased.
“All weeds are serious. They’ll choke the life out of the good plants if we let them,” countered her mom.
Chapter 16
What a Night
Later that evening after dinner and a rousing game of Monopoly, Bryce got Daffyd settled in for the evening. Samantha decided to read for a bit. The air was nice outside, so she brought her book out to the patio. The kids stopped by to let her know they were leaving and Bryce left the pager with her just in case Daffyd needed anything while they were gone. The two of them were just as excited as if they were going to a college ball game. Samantha was proud of them walking to the garage with their Bibles in hand.
After reading for a while and deciding that popcorn sounded good, she threw a bag into the microwave, and plopped a couple of tablespoons of butter in a cup. While the corn was popping she rummaged around until she found the honey. She poured it into a big bowl and then melted the butter, stirred in the honey and drizzled it over the hot popcorn. As she was heading back outside Daffyd buzzed her. She grabbed the bowl and her book and went to see what he needed.
“I knew I smelled popcorn!” he said as she came in.
“Is that why you paged me?” she laughed.
“Actually, no, but if you are inclined to share, I wouldn’t object.”
“I am pretty good at sharing, but I have to warn you, I put honey in the butter,” she said.
“No way…” he looked at her with wrinkled brows.
“Yes…there is honey on the popcorn…”
“That is just the way I like it. Trisha and Leal think it is gross, Bryce will eat it. But he’ll eat just about anything, though he prefers it without the honey. I think I have finally met someone who is as weird as me,” he said.
“No offence…but I think that it would take more than liking honey on my popcorn to make me as weird as you,” she teased.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Hey, I can’t share with you way over there. Come and sit on the bed and we can put the bowl between us.” Samantha looked uncomfortable and just sat there.
“What, you think I can’t control myself, that I might try to seduce you over a bowl of popcorn?” he said sarcastically.
“No, don’t be silly…” she said still not getting up.
“Maybe you don’t trust yourself. You are so into the anemic, anorexic, bald cancer ridden man that I am, you’re afraid you won’t be able to keep your hands off…” he joked.
“I think I can control myself,” she said dryly as she stood up and got on the other side of the bed.
At first she was stiff and uncomfortable, but after a few minutes of sharing the popcorn and munching away, she relaxed and propped a few pillows behind her, mimicking Daffyd’s posture in the bed. Before long the bowl was empty and they were wiping their hands on some Kleenex that was next to the bed. Samantha then remembered that Daffyd had paged her and there was a reason other than popcorn for her being in his room.
“So what was it you wanted when you buzzed?” she asked.
“It really was the
popcorn…but now that you are here…maybe you can answer a few questions for me…”
“…ok” she said.
“What kind of church were you raised in? Was it like where we went today?” he asked.
“In some ways it was. We had the stained glass and the building was quite similar, but the Church I was raised in was very legalistic,” she answered.
“And what do you mean by that?”
“Well… they spent a lot of time telling us what we shouldn’t or couldn’t do. We heard all about sin, and little about redemption, or how to live above our own flesh. I don’t remember hearing very much at all about God’s love or forgiveness. Altar calls were sort of a ‘turn or burn’ thing, never a ‘come home to a loving Father’,” she explained.
“Is that why your parent’s wrote you off when you got pregnant?” he said quietly.
“Yep, I’m pretty sure that they just didn’t know how to forgive me. I tried contacting them a few times over the years, even sent some pictures of Seanna. They never wrote back. I still pray for them. It has to be a hard life to live in bitterness and regret and not allow the freedom of forgiveness to work in your heart.”
“So when did you discover this ‘freedom’,” he asked.
“After I met Richard. He was going to a smaller Community Church. They were big on love, almost to the other extreme. There they didn’t teach much on sin at all, or living righteous, just God loves us. There I finally gave my heart to the Lord. I had accepted Jesus as Savior as a child, but I had never let him be Lord of my life, do you know what I mean?” she asked.
“I think I do. I was raised in a great Church. They taught us all about the sinful nature of man, and God’s plan for redemption. I guess I did the same thing you did. As a kid, I asked Jesus to come into my heart, pretty young. But over the years I just went through the motions. I never allowed anyone other than myself to be in control of my life. I wanted things my way.”
“Once when I was about thirteen, we had a guy come to our Church, he was supposed to be a Prophet or something, and he told me that God had a call on my life. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I am not sure if I was just scared or angry. From that day on, I shut myself off to God and just did what I wanted. I was still a pretty good kid until high school, but after a while I guess I just gave into the world.”
