CHAPTER EIGHT
Homecoming
Late Saturday afternoon, Martin’s mother comes to pick him up. They’d spoken on the phone in the last few days, but Martin hasn’t seen his mother since Wednesday night. Mrs. West hugs her son as soon as she sees him.
“Hey Mom,” Martin smiles at her. He holds her a long time, wanting to communicate his remorse. She smiles at him, blinking back the tears forming in her eyes.
“Where's Dad?” he asks.
“He's at home,” she replies. She wipes a tear from her face. “So how was your week? Did you learn anything?”
“Yeah, I learned a lot about myself. I found out why I get into so much trouble.” Martin continues.
“Mom, I want to apologize to you for all those things I said before.” Martin looks his mother in the eyes. “I didn’t mean any of it. I was angry. I love you and I'm sorry. I’ve given my life to Christ now and I want you to know I’ll do better.”
At this Mrs. West hugs Martin tight. Mr. James already spoke to her about Martin’s conversion on the phone, but hearing it from Martin is even better.
“I'm so glad, Sweetheart!” she cries.
Martin continues, “I also learned a verse that will help me to stay out of trouble.”
“What verse is that?” asks Mrs. West.
“It's Proverbs 3:5-6,” says Martin. “It says: 'trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.”
“Well, I'm glad to hear you're trusting in God from now on,” Mrs. West smiles.
Mrs. West turns to Mr. James, but before she can speak, he holds up his hand, “Martin was very little trouble, and it was a privilege for me to have the opportunity to share the Gospel with him.”
Martin adds, “I'm glad I had this opportunity to hear what Mr. James was saying – what God was saying.” He turns to his mother. “So, Mom, have you made me a homecoming dinner?”
“Well, I baked you a cake,” she replies. “I made dinner, but we couldn’t wait for you to get there to eat. Don't worry though; we left the dishes for you.” They all laugh and, after his mother thanks Mr. James several times and Martin hugs him, they leave.
“Thank you,” Martin says. “For everything.”
“My doors are always open, Martin,” Mr. James replies. Shortly afterward Martin and his mother head home.
When they arrive, Mr. West is outside waiting. “So, tell me about your week?” he asks Martin.
“It was good,” Martin answers. “Mr. James and I did a lot. We repaired a few of the church pews, vacuumed the rugs in both buildings, washed all the windows, waxed the kitchen floor, and raked all the leaves in the front yard. He also taught me how to cook an omelet.”
“Well, tell me all about it inside,” Mr. West replies. “Your mother was so excited about you coming back home that she cooked everything in the house!”
•••
Early Sunday morning Martin gets out of bed and gets ready for church. It’s warm and sunny outside with a moderate breeze blowing. The drive to Upside Christian Church is pleasant. Both Martin and his parents are in high spirits.
When they arrive they are greeted by Mr. James, who walks with Martin to the youth building for Sunday School. Inside the youth building are kids Martin's age; some go to his school, others go to Wellis.
“Hey, Martin! I didn’t expect to ever see you here.” Martin turns to his left and sees Jennifer Smith. She is in two of his classes at school. She is very pretty, and as long as Martin has known her, she's been a chatterbox. She’s talking to Martin a mile a minute, but he only hears her say his name.
“What did you say?” he asks.
Jennifer repeats herself. “I said I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Oh,” says Martin.
“So, what are you doing here?” asks Jennifer.
“Martin is the newest member of our family,” interrupts Mr. James.
“Oh,” says Jennifer. “Well, that's great! I'd almost given up on you, but I never stopped praying.”
Martin raises his eyebrows. “Um. Thanks,” he says. “So, what do you do in here on Sunday mornings?”
“Well, we talk about Monday through Saturday, basically,” says Jennifer. “Were you here Wednesday night? Sunday mornings are something like that. I wasn’t here last Wednesday, because I had to help my girlfriend Tammie with her crazy brothers at the last minute. They were throwing up everywhere. It was a mess!”
Martin shrugs. “Yeah, I was here.”
Jennifer looks at him with concern. “Hey, by the way, where were you last week? I heard you got into a fight but I wasn't sure.”
Martin's bruises healed sometime between Wednesday and Thursday, but the memories are still fresh in his mind. “Well, I did get into a fight last week.”
“Really, with who?” asks Jennifer.
“Johnny Reese, but it wasn't my fau—” Martin stops and corrects himself. “Well, I lost my temper, but I've learned my lesson,” says Martin.
“So, you were suspended?” she asks.
“Yeah, for four days,” says Martin.
“Well,” says Jennifer, “you missed a geometry test on Wednesday and we had a chemistry test on Tuesday.”
“Thanks for the info,” says Martin. “So, how was your week?”
She smiles. “Well, I'm sure it wasn't as interesting as yours, but I guess it was ok.” answers Jennifer. She turns to Mr. James. “How was your week, Mr. James? Did you notice that the second row pew has been fixed?”
“My week was fine and Martin fixed the pew.”
“Oh really?” Jennifer looks at Martin.
“It was just a few loose screws,” Martin shrugs, but smiles.
“Martin's been helping me all week,” says Mr. James. “Now let's pray and get started.”
•••
After service is over, Martin and his parents go home, anticipating a pot roast for dinner when they arrive. “So how was the youth service, Martin?” asks Mrs. West.
“It was pretty good. We talked about turning the other cheek. You know, I never thought about what would happen if I just let somebody hit me. I don't think I can.”
“That's what Jesus did,” says Mr. West.
“Yeah, I know,” says Martin, “but I'm not sure I have the love in my heart that Jesus did.”
“Sure you do,” says Mrs. West. “God is in your heart now, and so is His love. All you have to do is remember that and believe it.”
“I hope you're right,” says Martin.
“You'll be alright,” says Mr. West. “'Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.'“
“I'll try to remember that on Monday,” says Martin. “Right now, I just want to eat.”
Save Me Page 8
