Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
I had told Maudra I wanted to sleep in, that I didn’t feel up to getting ready for the church’s morning service, but promised we would go that evening.
That was true, in part. I really didn’t want to face everyone in church with Jed for the first time all at once.
I thought there would be fewer people at the evening service.
Plus, we hadn’t had the house to ourselves since Wednesday.
Jed had been excited to go, but when I reminded him no one would be in the house for a couple of hours, he quickly gave his support to my plan.
It had been a beautiful morning. We opened the curtains in our room.
During the night, it had begun to snow; the storm seemed to only be getting stronger.
Jed lived for Christmas, so he was immediately excited from the moment he looked out the window, instantly hoping we would have a white Christmas this year.
Our little room was drafty and had gotten cold during the night.
By the time we decided to get out of bed and get ready before Maudra came home for lunch, we were both breathing hard and covered in sweat, the windows streaked with dripping condensation.
I began to regret my decision as I tried to keep my eyes open during Pastor Thomas’s sermon that evening.
We could have gone to the morning service and waited until this evening to have the house to ourselves.
It would have been much more enjoyable to listen to Tyler teach than hear Pastor Thomas drone on and on.
The weather had continued to worsen during the day.
I’d forgotten how much harsher Midwest winters were than those in the Rocky Mountains.
The humidity made the cold biting and everything so much icier.
When the time arrived to go to the evening service, several feet of snow had fallen, and the roads were completely iced over.
Maudra had called Donnie to come pick us up in his truck, so the four of us crammed into the front of his cab and held on as even his massive ton of steel slid over the roads.
Donnie and Jed laughed and hollered the entire way, seemingly reverting back to childhood.
Maudra and I were silent as we prayed to survive.
I must admit she handled it more like a man than I did.
There was more than one instance where I yelped and squealed with fright as the truck fishtailed around a corner.
This always sent Jed and Donnie into hysterics.
More than once, my terror prompted Donnie to steer into the curve and send the truck into complete circles.
I had forgotten how much Donnie loved to drive in the snow.
He would come get me before I was old enough to have a license and take me out four-wheeling in the snow.
I was always surprised when he brought me back home alive. This evening was no different.
Due to the road conditions, we arrived at church about fifteen minutes late.
Part of my plan was successful; most of the church was empty, as only the truly determined were willing to chance the storm.
Even though we were late, Donnie made us traipse through the sanctuary to join Mandy in the second-to-front row.
We missed the singing, which was always my favorite part.
Pastor Thomas was speaking about how Christians of the world needed to be separate from the world—a theme I had heard him preach no less than thirty or forty times.
Not to dress in the same fashion as the world.
Not to listen to secular music. Pastor Thomas even preached against country music, which had always made several of the church people upset.
Despite myself, I was somewhat impressed by his willingness to continue to give messages that were guaranteed to anger many of his parishioners.
Tonight he seemed to be more fixated on Christians challenging each other to live purer, more separate lives.
Not to only focus on remaining different from the nonbelievers who didn’t go to church, but also separating ourselves from those within the church family who claimed to have a relationship with Christ but yet live their lives no differently than the rest of the secular world.
Tonight he branched off onto topics varying from the dangers of allowing your children to own iPods and other personal devices that made it harder for a parent to monitor what they were listening to and watching, to the hazards of interracial dating and marriage.
He said he didn’t feel like it was a sin as many preachers of the past had taught, but it was fraught with complications that would make it hard for a marriage to last. That it would rain down struggles for the children of such unions, truly belonging to neither race, and set them up to be victims and targets of racism and discrimination.
No matter what his belief, I wondered why he would even bring it up.
Over 95 percent of the three thousand people who lived in town were white. How was it an issue?
To be fair, it wasn’t his typical sermon, at least from what I remembered before I moved away.
I wondered if he was feeling the pressure of turning his power over to Pastor Bron and was trying to fit in every warning and admonition he could before he stepped down.
His sermon was disjointed and jumped from point to point with no cohesion.
More than once, Jed looked at me with wide eyes, unable to believe what he was hearing. I’d visited his church in Seattle when we went to see his family and was blown away by the difference. “Told you,” I mouthed.
I even noticed Donnie and Mandy give each other odd glances from time to time. Apparently, this sermon was different than even the ones he had been giving lately. Occasionally, I would hear Maudra click her tongue or whisper a “Well, for Pete’s sake,” under her breath.
After what seemed like hours later, I realized I had stopped listening long ago. I was lost in thoughts of what to do with Mom on Christmas when I realized Pastor Bron now stood in front of the church and was speaking. Jed elbowed me in the arm. “He’s beautiful!”
“I told you.”
“He’s Mandy’s dad?”
“Yeah.”
“No wonder she’s so cute. He spoke this morning? You made me miss him so I would have to sit through this idiot tonight?”
“Shut up and listen.” I gave him a dirty look. “You weren’t complaining this morning. Just consider it paying it forward.”
Pastor Bron looked even more startlingly good-looking and modern standing next to Pastor Thomas.
His muscular physique made the other man appear a hundred pounds heavier than he already was, which was quite a feat.
Pastor Thomas was wearing his ever-predictable, too-thin, too-tight shirtsleeve button-down; Tyler a black corduroy jacket and thin leather tie.
“Thank you, Pastor Thomas.” For just a split second, I could see Tyler try to figure out how to positively spin the sermon.
He apparently decided to just jump over that formality.
“Many will miss your sermons when you step down in a few weeks. I am glad you will still be with our church family and I will have you as one of my elders.” I was going to have to remember to give him a hard time for lying in front of the entire church.
Pastor Thomas took a seat on one of the benches behind the glass pulpit, and Pastor Bron turned his attention to the rest of the church.
“I stepped outside a little bit ago for a few moments.” I was willing to bet it had been for more than a few moments.
I would have rather been out in the snow too.
“The snow has stopped, so you should have an easier time making it home, but please be careful. It’s still icy.
While I hate to do it, I think I will cancel our tradition of going to Pizza Hut after our evening service.
” I noticed Pastor Thomas’s lips tighten.
“While very few things are better than fellowshipping with my church family over pizza, I don’t think it is worth risking losing some of our congregation to a wreck.
So, if you will let me, let’s shake it up a bit.
After Pastor Thomas’s sermon this coming Wednesday evening, we are going to have a decorating party directly after the service, getting the church beautiful and in the holiday spirit.
Mandy has already been coming up with some new ideas of ways we could decorate the sanctuary.
” I glanced over at her beaming face and wondered if she realized that would not be good news to most people.
Ever since I was a kid, we decorated the church the exact same way every year.
Of course, with the new addition to the building, maybe those traditions had changed.
“So, for those of you who are up for it, please stay after on Wednesday. We will get the church ready to celebrate Christ’s birth and then gather again at Pizza Hut, weather permitting.
Of course, if you choose not to participate in the decorating, you are still more than welcome to eat with us after.
Please let those know who were not able to join us this evening due to the inclement weather.
And with that, may you have a blessed week, and be aware of God’s presence in your life until we gather again.
You are dismissed.” He clapped his hands in a final, cheerful manner.
The congregation sat stoically still, an air of uncomfortableness filling the room, all except for Jed who started to stand up but quickly realized that he was the only one.
Even I realized Pastor Bron’s error. I was surprised to realize how ingrained in these traditions I still was after all these years.
Tyler looked perplexed momentarily, but before he could remedy the situation, Pastor Thomas was back at the pulpit.