New Believers Of God

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The following Tuesday, I went to Bible Study like usual.

As always, Hunter ordered us some pizza from the local Domino's, along with a two liter of Pepsi. When it arrived, I looked at Ethan right away since he had given up soda for lent.

"Can I have some water instead?" he asked him.

"Sure." Hunter answered.

The others immediately called him out for that.

"You're lame." said Shane.

"Who wants water?" said Victor.

"You must like the boring stuff." said Daryl.

Nevertheless, Hunter brought him a cup of water and we persisted to eat. Following that, we moved onto the reading.

Everything went about the same as always. Each one of us read a passage like we normally would, alternating through several verses, then discussing the meaning of them. This time in particular, we read from Proverbs 20.

"Children are fortunate if they have a father who is honest and does what is right." I said.

"If you curse your parents, your life will end like a lamp that goes out in the dark." said Shane.

"Don't take it on yourself to repay a wrong." said Ethan "Trust the Lord and he will make it right."

"Think carefully before you promise an offering to God." said Victor "You might regret it later."

"Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways." said Daryl.

It was a pretty quiet evening. For once, the guys had toned down their rowdy behavior and actually kept rather quiet. I was honestly surprised.

After wrapping up, we headed outside and played around while waiting for our parents to arrive, first tossing a football, then holding a game of gaga ball.

Eventually, I went back inside the church to use the restroom. When I was done, I walked past the kitchen on my way to the door again, where I spotted Ethan.

I watched as he pulled the Pepsi bottle from the fridge and poured himself a cup, then took a drink of it.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

Not until saying that did he notice I was there.

"Oh." he answered, startled "I was thirsty."

"You gave that up for lent." I reminded him.

"Oh." he said again "I guess I forgot."

"How could you forget? You asked Hunter for a cup of water earlier."

"It was an accident. I didn't mean to."

That seemed way too suspicious to me.

"I don't believe you." I said.

"What are you getting at Cole?" he asked me.

"You did this on purpose." I answered.

I could tell he was having trouble thinking of a way to debate it any further.

"So what if I did?"

"You broke a broke a promise, that's what."

"Big deal."

"Big deal? It was a promise to God. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Why should it? He didn't keep his promise to me."

That statement completely caught me off guard.

"What are you talking about?"

"When my parents got married, he was supposed to help them stay together, and they didn't. Do you have any idea what that's like. Seeing all these other kids with nice happy families, and me having to split time between mine? Me being the only thing that's keeping them in touch? I have to live with that forever."

I was fully surprised. I simply thought he was doing this out of pure stubbornness. I never would have guessed the real reason was so much deeper.

"He failed me, Cole." he told me "I have every right to fail him to."

While I did see his pain, what he was doing still seemed wrong. At that moment however, I thought back to what Holly had said at CCD. How you don't have to give something up. Upon remembering that, I came to realize this really wasn't that big of a deal. Maybe in a strange kind of way, he had a point.

"I'm sorry Ethan." I told him "I'm sure that must be hard."

"Tell me about it." he replied.

"But you can't blame that all on God. Didn't you listen to what we were reading? Don't take it on yourself to repay a wrong. Trust the Lord and he will make it right."

"It didn't help hearing that stuff either."

Like I had done with Victor at Laurelville, I wanted to make him realize his way of reacting wasn't the right way to go. But it appeared I was having a harder time doing that with him.

"Listen." I said "I might not know what it's like to go through that. But if there's anything I have learned, it's that not everything will always go your way."

He then faced me again with a blank expression.

"It might not seem fair. But that's just life sometimes."

Next thing I knew, he looked down at the cup in his hand and dumped its contents down the drain.

"That's true." he said, "That's very true."

From there, we returned outside, both with a new understanding.

I had saved another friend's faith.