There Must Be Something More

31 | Newfound Faith

"Did you tell your parents you're a believer now last night?" Meredith asked as soon as I approached her locker.

"I tried to," I sighed, "they were too busy to talk to anyone but their clients."

She pouted. "That's too bad... but maybe you could invite them on Sunday."

"I hope so," I said. I tapped my sneaker on the marble floor and stared at it. The truth was, as much as I wanted to do it, I was afraid of how they'd react. What if they'd hate my newfound faith and force me to leave the church? It'd be over before it began!

"You look stressed," Meredith said, looking at me weirdly. She turned her back on me and started to grab a loose leaf notebook. Her long, brown hair was hung low, and I thought she looked different. But she still wore her usual flannel, high-waist jeans, and boots.

"What if my parents don't like it that I became a Christian?" I asked.

Meredith shrugged. "Well... what if they do? You don't know what the future holds. And even if they don't, you didn't receive Jesus into your life because of your parents or anyone else. You did it because you're willing to."

"What if they force me to leave the church?" I asked, worry warping my chest. The thought was scaring the heebie-jeebies out of me already. I ran my hand through my hair as Meredith turned to me with a wide smile that reassured me everything was going to be alright.

Now that I believed what she believed, does that mean I have that kind of smile now too?

She gave me fist-bump on the shoulder. "Then Samuel and I are going to be with you to go through it. Where God guides, He provides. That's why Pastor James said no one should ever travel this world alone. Especially the children of God."

I smiled. "You make everything sound so easy."

"When you know the Lord is in control, wouldn't you too?"

"Good morning," Samuel said as we turned to see him with a big wide smile he used to never give anyone. As the school president, he had a lot to handle, and smiling must never have fitted in his hectic schedule.

"Somebody looks fairly happy," Meredith giggled. She gave me a glance, and I smiled.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Samuel gushed. He spread his arms. "I just received the greatest gift of all. The gift of eternal life in Jesus. Why wouldn't I be? I think I'd cartwheel my way to school everyday just knowing my eternity is all set."

"Have you told your mom and dad?" I asked.

"Yeah," he cast his eyes down the ground. He looked at us warily. "Guess not everybody could be happy for you."

Meredith smiled and patted the guy's shoulder. "We'll be with you every step of the way, Samuel. We're in this together. Besides, we've got the King of kings and Lord of lords to back us up."

Samuel closed his eyes and smiled. "I know. Thanks, Meredith."

I smiled, feeling peace in my heart. No matter what happened, I needed to do the right thing for the Lord. I need to trust Him that everything's going to be alright no matter how things look, because He is always in control. 

"Well, things doesn't stop there, though," Meredith said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"We need to spread the gospel like I did for you two. We need to let people know of the treasure we found."

She gave each of us a wad of colorful sticky notes.

~~~

I grabbed Meredith and Samuel and pulled them behind the lockers. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I scanned the halls for two specific people who might be nearby.

Meredith and Samuel filed in beside me.

"Are we playing hide and seek?" Meredith asked, "because not a lot of people are participating."

"You guys seen my friends Amanda and Calum?" I asked.

"What do they look like?" Samuel asked.

Meredith shook her head. "Why?"

"Well, they might come and talk to me and try to get me to do the stuff I used to do. Trust me, ever since I knew about the Lord, I started feeling guilty about them and I didn't know why. And now that I do, it's going to be extra harder, right?" I said, slowly hyperventilating.

Samuel looked at me warily and rubbed my back. "Whoa, big boy. Take a breath. What's wrong with you?"

"I can't go back to the things I used to do. Not anymore, dude. The guilt will kill me," I said.

Meredith smiled. "It's not just guilt anymore, Charlie. You don't want to disappoint the Lord."

I nodded. 

Meredith looked out. "Well, you can't avoid them forever. Plus, if you do, they'll think Christians are a bunch of snobs who avoid everyone who doesn't believe like they do. And that's not who we are," Meredith said. "In Matthew twenty-eight verse nineteen, it says: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

"That means we shouldn't avoid unbelievers, we should just avoid what they do. We should tell them of God's love and see if they're willing to accept it or not."

"And if they don't?" I asked.

"Then you don't have to stick with them anymore, but that doesn't mean God stops giving you chances to try again. People have their seasons of salvation. They might not accept the gospel now, but one day, they might. In Ecclesiastes three verse one, it says: For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven."

"That's kind of... confusing," I said. Samuel nodded in agreement.

Meredith smiled and patted my shoulder. "I learned from my parents a long time ago that we'll always have questions and doubts. That you struggle with them is proof that your faith is working on you. God is making your faith more real everyday. He's preparing you for something."

"So what do you think I should do?"

"Well, you just have to tell them."

"What if they laugh and tell me I'm not cut out for it or I'm lying and stuff? Believe me, they know the things I've done."

"Then tell them God has already forgiven you of all of that and you're on your way to change," she said. "That's how you believed me, right? After telling you about Him and my faith, you didn't believe till you saw me do it myself."

I smiled. "I'm so glad you're here."

Samuel chuckled. "Glad I could help." He said sarcastically. Meredith and I laughed.

~~~

"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages," Amanda said, putting down a bowl of mashed potatoes beside my plate. "Try it. I asked the lunch lady to make it extra special. Maybe that will remind you about our friendship. Remember? Nine years ago, I was crying in the sidewalk because my dad wouldn't let me have mashed potatoes, and you and Calum saw me and brought me two bowls from your own homes. That's the very first day we met and became friends."

I smiled. "I remember."