by T. K. Chapin
“You’re right.” Jonathan nodded in agreement, no anger in his words or expression. Tyler was calmed by his brother’s calmness over the matter.
“Okay. So why? Why do you do it, Jonathan?”
He glanced toward the window for a moment as he was silent. Then he looked back at Tyler. “I can go through every invoice and tell you a story with each one, but what good would that really do? The fact is I do feel I have enough money in life, and a few free invoices don’t bother me. I don’t care about the money once my bills are paid and my family is taken care of. After that . . . I just care about helping people.”
“Helping them with designing their buildings?”
“Yes. It’s what I do. It’s my gift to give to the world when I can. Again, I’m sorry I brought your money into the equation. That was wrong, and a lack of thinking on my part. In fact, figure out what you lost and I’ll write you a check.”
Tyler shook his head and a smile broke across his face for the first time that morning since he arrived at the office. “You make it so hard to not like you, brother.”
Jonathan laughed. “Good.”
“No, really, man.” Tyler raked a hand through his hair. His anger had all melted away. “You’re my role model in life. I think God gave me a brother like you because He knew I’d need someone like you.”
“Right back at you, Brother.”
As Tyler was leaving work that day, he received a text. He didn’t expect it to be Olivia when he pulled his phone out, but it was, and she was asking if he’d come over and see her. He felt unsure of what to do. He had just been praying to God earlier that morning to let her go from his mind. Now, here she was, back in his life again. It didn’t matter if he wanted to see her or not because of his plans tonight with the youth group. It wasn’t just a normal Wednesday night service at Crosspoint, but instead, they were all meeting at the church to load up in vans and go out to his house to play games, roast hot dogs, and make s’mores. He thought maybe this was God’s way of saying he needed to invite her. Instead of trying to reply to the text, he called her.
“Hey. I know it’s a long shot, but I figured I might try and it’s too much to text.”
“Oh?” Olivia sounded curious more than she did nervous.
“It’s Wednesday, and—”
“I’m not going to church, Tyler.” Anger appeared in her voice but it didn’t deter him.
“No, no. Hear me out. It’s different. The youth and I are all going out to my house to play games and roast hot dogs and stuff. It’ll be fun. It’s laidback.”
There was a long pause on her end of the phone, then finally, she said, “I can do that.”
“Really?” Tyler’s heart swelled with an overwhelming joy. “I have to warn you, there will be a message from the Bible.”
“You’ll be doing it?”
“Yes.”
“That’s okay too. I really want to see you. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. Meet us out at my place at seven. I am meeting the kids at the church and then we’ll be out.”
As he hung up with Olivia, he could feel the waves lap against his heart with confusion. She had re-emerged from nowhere and gave no explanation to where she had been for the last couple of weeks. Tyler had to fight the urge to text her about it and ask why she had blown him off, but he didn’t give in. Instead, he laid down next to Jesus on the boat. He refused to give into the panic running amok in his thoughts. He didn’t understand why Olivia had vanished for two weeks, but he was going to be grateful that she reached out and trust God through it.
Chapter 22
AS THE KIDS LOADED INTO the Crosspoint church vans, one of the youths, a thirteen-year-old boy named Parker, came over to Tyler in the parking lot.
“What’s up, Parker?” Tyler asked, acknowledging him standing nearby.
“I need to talk to you for a second, Mr. D.”
Turning to one of the other adults, he caught Daisy’s gaze. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to chat with Parker.” She nodded with a curious look on her face before directing herself to the other children.
They fell into step together and traveled away from the other kids and vans in the parking lot. Parker leaned his back against a car and crossed his arms and immediately teared up. “My dad left.”
“What?” Tyler’s heart broke at hearing the child’s words, and he placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You okay?” Compassion flowed through him, and anger that a man could leave his family like that. Not wanting to portray his anger to a child, Tyler kept a poker face as he listened on.
“Mamma said he had to go away for work, but she was locked up in her room all day crying.” Parker sniffled as he wiped his nose with his sleeve.
Closing his eyes to prevent himself from tearing up, Tyler cleared his thoughts and prayed for strength. Then, he got down on one knee and looked Parker squarely in the eyes. “You remember that talk we had a few weeks ago at youth group?”
He shook his head, wiping his nose again as he looked at Tyler in confusion. “No.”
“You remember. The one about trusting God no matter what. You remember that at all?”
“Yeah, a little.” His small nod backed up that he really did remember, urging Tyler to continue on.
“Listen, I know things are tough right now and things don’t make a lot of sense, but you keep your eyes on Jesus, Parker. God is in control, and He is never going to leave your side or let you down. God is the answer to every heartache and every broken spirit. You need to trust in Him. Come on, let’s pray.”
He rested a hand on the child’s shoulder and they bowed their heads. “Lord, I come to You right now with Parker. He’s upset, scared, and worried. Lord, I know You know our hearts better than anyone else, and I pray that You wrap Your arms around this child right now and comfort him. Please help him to find peace, please help him to find a calmness that only You can provide. In Your precious and Heavenly, name, Lord, I pray these things. Amen.”
Tyler looked at Parker. “If you need someone to talk to, you can call me anytime, day or night. You got it?”
He nodded quickly and then leaped forward unexpectedly and hugged Tyler. Fighting tears off, Tyler slowly brought his arms up and put them around the boy. “It’s going to be okay, Parker.”
As they walked back toward the vans, Tyler felt his own preaching to Parker hit his own heart. I know things are tough right now and things don’t make a lot of sense, but you keep your eyes on Jesus. Parker climbed into a van with the other kids. Daisy and Pastor Carson, the other adult leaders, found their way over to Tyler.
“Is he okay?” Daisy asked.
“No, he’s not.” Tyler’s eyes were narrowed on the van, thinking about the heartbreak that little boy was going through at the moment, all because of the selfishness of mankind. Tyler needed to be selfless, and this was a good reminder. Then, he turned to Daisy. “He’s not okay, but he will be.”
The leaders each got into a van and started the caravan out to Diamond Lake and to Tyler’s house.
Arriving a short time later, they all piled out and ran through the yard to the volleyball net he had set up the night before in preparation of the day’s activities. The adult leaders walked in step together to the back side of the house. Daisy and Carson both gave compliments about the property, the lake, and the house. Carson asked, “Why’s the dirt road keep going further on the property? What’s behind that bend of trees?”
“A cabin. It was given to me by an old friend last year after he passed away. Before he passed, he gave me part of his property to build this house. I couldn’t have lived out on Diamond Lake without him.”
“Now that’s the kind of friend to have.” Daisy nodded, peering toward the patch of trees.
Peering over at Jessica, one of the freshmen in high school, he saw her serve the volleyball. Then, Tyler turned to Daisy as they all closed the last few feet to the kids. “She looks pro. Does your niece play at school?”
&n
bsp; “She sure does. Varsity, in fact.”
“Nice.”
Hearing a car pull up the driveway, Tyler saw Olivia’s car coming to a stop behind the vans. His heart began to beat faster, and he turned to Carson and patted his shoulder. “Olivia’s here. I’ll be right back.”
Tyler tried to walk, but it inevitably turned into a run as she got out of the car and adrenaline surged through him. He had to reach her as quickly as he humanly could, maybe even faster, if possible.
Arriving to Olivia, he launched her up into his arms and spun her around. His heart warmed and he loved how it felt to have her in his arms again. He lifted his eyes to her and some of her hair brushed against his face. She peered down into his eyes with a warming smile. They kissed as he set her down, then Tyler gently pushed her hair out of the way and delicately placed it behind her ear. She was back in his life, and he couldn’t help but be happy about it even if things felt shaky in their relationship.
“Oh, how I have longed to kiss you again.” He tilted his head, sensing something off about her. “You okay? It’s been awhile since I saw you last. I was starting to worry.”
“I’m okay.” She smiled, but he could see it was labored. He let it go and decided that she’d talk about it if she wanted to talk about it. “Have you all been here long? I was hoping to meet you out here about the same time.”
“Just got here.” Tyler grabbed her hand, linking his fingers between hers, and led her over to the group. His heart was overwhelmed with happiness, but he didn’t let go of what he had learned that morning in the twilight when he was with the Lord. He wouldn’t be caught in a panic again.
After volleyball, all the kids were hot from the sun and wanted to take a dip in the lake. Everyone changed inside and then headed for the water. Parker, though, was sitting in a chair up on the patio. On his way with Olivia to the water, Tyler noticed Parker and stopped short of the shore.
“What is it?” Olivia turned to see what Tyler was looking at. He was staring at Parker. “Why’s that kid not getting in?”
“He’s going through a hard time right now. His dad left him and his mom yesterday.”
Her eyes stayed fixed on the child. “That’s so sad.”
“Yeah. He told me back at the church before we loaded up in the vans. I think I’m going to go talk to him again.”
Olivia touched Tyler’s chest and shook her head. “Let me? I know I’m not a dude or a youth leader, but I know about a hurting heart. When you’re in a place like that, you just need someone to be there with you. There doesn’t have to be a lot of words going on.”
“If you’re sure you want to do it.”
She nodded. “I do. You go hang out with the other kids. I’m not really dressed to swim anyway.”
“Okay.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek and then booked it down to the water to join the others. He kicked off his flip-flops and threw off his white V-neck on the shore and then entered the water quickly, following up with a dive in to cool off from the heat. The cold lake water plummeted his body temperature in an instant and he exploded to the surface.
“Whoa. That is refreshing!” He laughed and wiped the water from his face. A few of the kids laughed and then Carson worked his way through the water and over to him.
“She looks like she’s pretty good with kids.” Carson nodded toward the house where Olivia was sitting with Parker. Tyler turned and saw her. It was nice to see Olivia in this kind of light, and it made Tyler desire her all the more.
Tyler agreed with a nod.
“Hey, Mr. D. Can we play Marco Polo?” Tyson, one of the youth, asked. All the other kids agreed they wanted to play also.
“Yep. I’ll be Marco. Ready? I’m going down.”
He went down beneath the surface of the water and counted off ten with his hands above the water. Then he came up, eyes clenched.
“Marco . . .” He moved around the water carefully, paying attention to the water moving around and the light sound of giggles. He laughed. Tyler loved the youth group and he couldn’t imagine his life without the kids being a part of it now. When he first started serving at Crosspoint at the end of last summer, he had never expected he’d fall in love with not only the kids, but the church family as a whole.
Hot dogs were a hit, then after that, it was right on to the s’mores as night began to fill the sky. As the teens munched on their treats and sat on a log that Carson and a youth had dragged out of the woods, Tyler went inside the house to grab his Bible. As he was walking through the kitchen, heading for the sliding glass door to go back outside, Olivia entered.
“Hey.” Her voice was soft, gentle, and a pleasant interruption to his plan at the moment.
“What’s up?” He couldn’t help but smile at her. This was turning into a perfect occasion.
“Where are we all sleeping?”
“There are sleeping bags in the vans. Just haven’t pulled them out yet. It will be girls at Chet’s cabin and boys here at my house. That cool?”
“I’m cool with that. My mom was fine with watching Molly overnight. I just got off the phone with her.” She shrugged and smiled. “I don’t know how much I am okay with being away from my little girl, though, it being the first time.”
Acknowledging the big deal it was to her, Tyler set his Bible down on the counter and came closer to her. Bringing his hands up to her arms, he gently touched her and peered into her captivating eyes. “It’s going to be okay. You trust your mother with Molly, right?”
“I do.”
He caressed her arm. “Then let it be. I know it’s a big deal, but you have to trust God.”
She blinked.
Tyler retracted inwardly, bringing to fact within himself that she didn’t acknowledge or believe in God. “Oh, right. Sorry, I’m in God-mode hardcore right now.”
Her gaze landed on the Bible, and when it did, she smiled. Tyler thought for a moment that maybe, just maybe, she was starting to believe. He clung to that hope in the moment. All she had to say, though, were three simple words in response. “I see that.”
“You’re going to hang out and listen, right? You don’t have to, but you never know. You might like it.”
“I planned on it. I just wanted to steal one more kiss from you.” She leaned in and kissed him. His heart warmed, knowing that she’d be willingly listening about God for the first time since he knew her.
He smiled. “You can steal those anytime. I won’t mind. Let’s go back out.”
“Okay.” She grabbed his Bible and handed it to him.
They walked outside and the kids were all about done with their s’mores and were now drinking their sodas and waiting for the talk.
“Let’s pray and then we’ll dive into the Word of God.”
He stood in front of the fire, facing the children who were opposite him. The adults were nearby, sitting in lawn chairs. The fire was crackling from the new log someone had added to the fire, and hot embers and ash floated up into the starry night sky above the fire pit.
Bowing his head, Tyler prayed aloud. “Lord, thank You. Thank You for this group of wonderful, talented, and smart teenagers. Thank You for all the fun we had today. Help us now to open our hearts to Your Word and to learn from You. Help me to get out of the way and for You to minister to Your young people. Amen.”
Tyler opened up the Scriptures and read aloud.
“Psalm 119:105 states, ‘Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.’ This is the verse we’re going to stay in tonight for our talk. Let me ask you something. Do you have the lamp of God lighting your path in this world? Take a moment and think about it.”
Tyler closed the Bible and paced in front of the fire, then he stopped and pointed to the fire. “God’s light is bright like this fire. It illuminates the space, and with it, we are able to see where we’re going. In this life, you will face many tribulations. It happens to everybody. People will let you down. That new girlfriend or boyfriend you have? A let-down. Guaranteed. You see, the thin
g is, there’s a part of ourselves that only God can satisfy.” He was quiet for a moment as he surveyed the young people’s faces. His gaze stopped on Parker. “I’m preaching to myself too, right now. We all go through difficulties and darkness . . . and the only way we can get through those tough times and not be stuck in the dark is when we let the light that only God can provide guide us in everything we do.”
Leaving the fire pit and patio, Tyler went off into the darkness of the yard and turned toward the kids still at the fire. He peered up at the moon, then back at the children. “Ignore the moon for a second. Listen, when I’m trying to walk without God in my life, it’s like I’m falling all over the place because I can’t see where I’m going. It’s dark. When I’m walking with the Lord, though . . .” He came back onto the patio near the fire. “When I’m walking with the Lord, I can see clearly. And you know what?” His gaze landed on Parker again. “Sometimes, even with the light, we can’t understand what’s going on in our lives, but we can trust God when everything else seems a mess. He is our guide through this life. He is our everlasting light. He knows everything and loves us and will carry us if we let Him.”
Chapter 23
OLIVIA EXCUSED HERSELF FROM THE group after Tyler closed the message with a word of prayer. She didn’t need to use the restroom, but she did need the space for a moment. Inside Tyler’s bathroom in his house, she flipped on the light, shut the door, and locked it. Then, peering into the mirror, she looked at herself. Was she lost and in darkness like Tyler had spoken about in his message to the kids? Was she walking without the lamp of God? She felt okay, well, kind of. She was a good mom and was close to getting her certificate for dental assisting.
A knock came on the bathroom door moments later, startling her. She walked over to the door.