Chapter 13
Nikki took a deep breath as she walked into the back of the church, where the crowd was waiting.
She made her way up the center aisle like a bride meeting her groom. She was certainly anxious enough for it to be a wedding, but there may not be any celebrating when she reached the front.
Small snippets of conversation reached her ears. People were afraid, but of what, she wasn’t quite sure.
When she reached the stage, she turned. “Hey, guys.”
A few people closest to her turned, but most continued with their conversations, so she climbed onto the platform. “Can I have your attention, please?” She waved her arms. A few more looked, but most didn’t until Ty, who was sitting in the front row with his wife Mary, whistled, and the room fell silent.
“Thanks, Ty. And thank you—” She was about to thank them all for coming, but she hadn’t invited anyone. “Thank you for listening. Uh, you’re all welcome to stay as long as you need. I’ll do what I can.” What if they didn’t want to hear from her? What if they were looking for someone else to step up? She watched the door for a second, willing Gideon to walk through it, but he didn’t. “I thought it would be worth asking if anyone had any questions.” Several people spoke at once, and she put her hand up to quiet them. “Why don’t we raise hands so we can keep things civil.”
Several people raised their hands. Nikki pointed at a man near the middle of the group. She recognized him from attending church when she was a kid, but she didn’t know him. She couldn’t even remember seeing him around town.
“Do you know why Gideon cut down the totem poles?” he said.
“Sorry, what was your name?” she said.
“Paul.”
“Paul. I expect that’s a question a lot of you have. The answer is pretty simple. He did it because he needed to.”
A middle-aged woman up the back raised her hand but spoke before she was called on. “People are mad. Furious. A group went after Gideon in town.”
“I know. They’ve settled down.”
“Did he stop to think about the consequences?” someone yelled out, and others joined in. Ty whistled again.
Gideon wouldn’t want her to admit that she was part of the vandalism, but she could still stand up for what she knew was right. “If you liked the totem poles and what they stood for, you should leave. Every time I saw those things, I felt sick. This town used to love Jesus, but it was so easily and quickly led astray. I’m ashamed for us. The Bible is clear about what God thinks about idols, and that’s exactly what those totem poles were. They needed to be torn down. And this, being a place of worship is no place for anyone who would see them rebuilt.” Silence followed, and no one left.
Ty stood and walked up to her. “Do you mind if I say something.”
“Not at all.”
He turned to them. “I want to reiterate what Nikki has said. I, for one, am glad to see those things gone. If you think it was wrong, this is your chance to leave.”
Still no one left.
An older man wearing a baseball cap stood, and a weight dropped into Nikki’s stomach. He was one of the main people who had been outspoken against her dad.
He cleared his throat. “I would like to throw my support behind it as well. From the few I’ve spoken to here, it sounds to me like we’ve all come to realize what’s been happening.” He removed his hat and twisted it. “We made a mistake. I made a mistake. When I think back on how I behaved these last years.” His voice wavered, and he looked down at his hands before speaking again. “I—I’m sorry, Nikki. I’m truly sorry.” Tears wet his eyes. “I see it now. How I treated your dad. I was deceived, but that’s no excuse. I think that’s the reason I was so easily led astray. But God showed me the error of my ways by letting me fall away from him.” He looked around the room. “When I first heard about the totems this morning, all I felt was shame, and I’m asking you to forgive me.”
Several more around the room stood, voicing their agreement in asking for forgiveness.
Nikki found it hard to breathe. The pain she’d pressed down for years pushed up for release, but there wasn’t time.
The room fell silent again. All eyes were on her. “I forgive you. Of course I do.” Although a wariness crept in, and it might take her some time to get to a point where she could let go, she knew she’d have to eventually. “I know my dad never held it against you, even though I always thought he should have. He cared for you all deeply, and this is an answer to a prayer he never stopped praying.” She quickly brushed away a tear. “But ultimately, it’s Jesus who forgives you. That’s why you’re all here now. He’s been calling you back since the day you turned from Him. And I believe He wants to restore this town. We can be a part of that if we can remain in unity.” She noticed a woman named Deb, who was part of her Bible study, put her hand up.
“Deb?”
“Do you really think we can undo what’s been done? What if it’s too late?”
“God would never give up on anyone. Especially not when they cry out to him. We can’t overcome in our own strength, but with God, we can do anything. And I really do believe that God wants this. Fairfax has taken over this town, but with God’s help, we can take it back. ”
“How?” a woman in the third row said. “He owns everything. Even my house.”
“I know. But we can…I don’t know. What we need to do for now is seek God. Coming together like this is good. The Bible says that when we come together in unity, there is blessing. So, I’d say this is a great place to start. Exactly what we’re doing now.”
“Hang on a second.” A broad-shouldered man stood. “This is all very nice and cozy, but someone has to be the voice of common sense here. If we’re not careful, we’ll go all airy-fairy expecting gold dust to fall from the ceiling and fix all our woes. Sure, some people left the church over these last years, but this isn’t biblical times. God’s not raining fire and brimstone on us because we sinned. And I don’t buy in to this idea that our trouble is because of some artwork that the town put up. Sure, it was in poor taste, but sometimes stuff happens in life.” A few voices rose up in agreement.
“Come on, Steve,” Ty said. “That wasn’t just art in the square. People in this town were worshiping it.”
“I never saw anyone bowing down.”
“You don’t have to bow down to something to worship it. My neighbor isn’t spiritual at all, but she told me that every time she’s in town, she goes to the totems and touches them because maybe, just maybe, something good will happen in her life. She’s desperate to believe in something, but she won’t turn to God.”
“So we have a few kooks in the town, so what?”
“There are a lot of us who believed it,” Gunther said. “I always thought of myself as a strong Christian, but I went through some trouble last year, and I found myself looking at those totems and wondering—no, hoping—that they could help. That’s embarrassing to admit, but there are a lot who are like me.”
“Maybe you should stick to speaking for yourself,” Steve said. “But when a stranger comes into town and destroys public property, we should be running him out, not celebrating him.”
“Gideon is not a stranger,” Nikki said. “He grew up here.”
“Yeah, the son of Joey Stone, a real stand-up guy, right?” Steve scoffed. “I remember Gideon when he was a kid. He was nothing but trouble then, and he’s nothing but trouble now.”
Voices of protest began to erupt until a loud voice cut through the noise. “Hey!”
Nikki looked to the back and didn’t know whether to be mortified or relieved. She hadn’t seen Gideon enter and wondered how much he had heard.
“If you guys have something to say to me, here I am,” he said as he walked down the aisle. “That’s half this town’s problem. You guys are experts at talking behind people’s backs. You want to throw me out of town? Here I am.”
“Gideon,” Nikki warned in a whisper. “You can’t leave because of them.”
“What do you expect us to do?” Steve said. “We don’t know anything about you or why you came back here.”
“I came to help my dad.”
“The town drunk.”
“Yes. He is. He has a drinking problem. Which I’m sure is hard for you to understand since you’re so perfect.”
“Oh, here we go,” Steve said, standing up straighter. “At least I don’t have a brother who’s a murderer.”
Nikki grabbed Gideon as the crowd began to argue. She could feel the muscles in his arm flex. Part of her wanted him to teach Steve a lesson, but that wasn’t what they were here for. Not tonight.
“Everyone calm down!” she shouted, but they only got louder. Ty whistled again, and Nikki took advantage of the lull. “You say you don’t know anything about Gideon, but he’s done more for this town in the last two weeks than any of us put together.” She had to push her voice out past the emotion.
“Not for me, he hasn’t,” Steve said.
“He’s helped me out a few times,” Deb said. “I think we should give him a chance.”
“Hang on,” Gideon said. “This isn’t about me or you or any of us. This is about God. If we can’t find some semblance of solidarity here, we may as well give up now. When a town turns from God, men like Fairfax are always ready to move in and take over in the void.”
“That still doesn’t mean we should take your side,” Steve said.
“I never asked anyone to get on my side. I never even asked anyone else here for help. I cut down those poles because I believe that was what God wanted. If you don’t agree, fine. You can get in line. And if you don’t want to hear what I have to say? That’s fine too. But I want you all to know that my plan is not to start a side. I am not standing before you saying you should join my team.” He ran a hand through his hair, and Nikki could see the uncertainty on his face. “I was reading my Bible this morning. Trying to get wisdom from God about the direction I should take.”
“Did he give you any?” Deb said.
“Sort of. In Joshua, I don’t know if you guys know the part where he comes across this big guy who turned out to be an angel of God, and Joshua asks if he’s for them or for their enemies?” He paused while a few nodded. “Do you remember how the angel replied? He said, ‘Neither. I am the commander of the Lord’s army.’ Then Joshua fell on his face and said, ‘I am at your command.’ Well, that’s where I’m at. I’m on my face asking God to tell me what He needs me to do. I’m not here to run the place or tell you what to do. I’m here doing what I’m told. And that’s all any of us can do.”
“I think you’re out of your mind, and I want nothing to do with it.” Steve pushed out of the row and left. Three people followed him, but everyone else stayed.
The room hummed with whispers, but all eyes were on Nikki and Gideon.
“That was good,” she said to him. “Did you really read that this morning?”
“Yeah.”
“Is there anything else you want to say to everyone?”
“Nothing that I can think of.”
But they had to respond. “This has been a very emotional time for a lot of us,” she said to the people. “I think we should all take a day to pray about it. Those who would like to can meet back here tomorrow. But remember. If you’re coming to stir up trouble, don’t bother. You won’t get anywhere.”
No one moved until Ty stood with his wife and shook Gideon and Nikki’s hands. “Thank you. Both of you.” They left and others stood. Some came to the front to say a few words, but the rest filed out.
Once the room had emptied, Gideon crossed his arms and turned to Nikki. “That was unexpected.”
“You’re telling me. I knew there had been a change, but I didn’t expect this.” She studied him for a minute. “You look worried.”
“I am.”
“Why? This is the best thing that could have happened.”
“This is great. But I never came here to lead anyone in anything. I meant what I said. I’m on my face trying to do whatever God tells me to. I’m not trying to lead people.”
“You may not be doing it on purpose, but everyone is looking to you.”
“They shouldn’t. That guy Steve is right. I’m nobody. I have no right to expect anyone here to trust me.”
“You’ve already shown what’s in your heart. You’re willing to do whatever God asks. That’s what these people need. They need permission to act and to trust. Someone to show them the way.”
“I’m not a pastor.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. But even if you don’t feel like a leader, you are one. It’s written all over you.”
“How can I lead when I don’t know what to do? ”
“You already did. Look what happened here. God is moving. That much I know for certain, and people are ready. He’ll give you more when the time is right.”
“I hope so.”
“Before you got here, a man stood and in front of everyone asked for my forgiveness.”
“For what?”
“He was one of the key guys who had been working against my dad. I never thought anything like that could happen.”
“I just wish I didn’t feel uncertain all the time.”
“You may as well get used to it.”
“Your words are so comforting.”
She laughed. “I know.”
A woman entered at the back. Her dark hair hung across her face as she looked at the floor.
“You may have to excuse me,” Nikki said.
“You know her?”
“Yeah. She’s a friend going through a hard time.”
Gideon looked at his watch. “That’s okay. I should get back to my dad. I had planned on bringing him an early dinner.”
“I wish I could have seen him today. I can’t even picture it.”
“I’m still trying to get my head around it.”
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow and whoever else is brave enough to come back.”
“I guess so.”