Space
Station astronaut food doesn't place pizza and pop at the top of the
menu, but it should, thought Sam. Sam almost choked, trying to get
his share of the pizza before his friend Ben, gobbled far more than
his share. If it's possible to inhale pizza, Ben is sure to come
close. Both pizza-eating teens had very few friends. With his orange
spiked hair, it was a little easier to tell that Ben, more than Sam,
had some serious unanswered questions in his life. Ben had tried so
many bizarre things to find meaning, purpose, peace, and love, it
would scare an Army commando.
With
the pizza gone, Sam began telling Ben some of the exciting things,
his silver-haired friend, Gramps (that's Noah Pierson) had been
teaching him. In spite of Ben's orange hair and facial jewelery, he
listened closely to all that Sam was saying. Looking into Ben's eyes,
you could almost see his brain wheels turning. It was almost like
feeding little bits of gasoline into an old car that was trying to
come to life, as the lessons of preparation, others are watching, and
decently and in order were being shared.
Ben's
Bomb Was Dropped!
Mr.
Orange Hair (that's Ben) dropped his bomb with the question, “Ok,
Sam. So what's your poster going to be about? Startin' this imaginary
business, what poster do you think ought to shout to everyone?” In
his heart, Sam was pretty sure that Ben was not saved. Ben had told
Sam once before, he was sure he wasn't saved. He wanted Ben to talk
to Noah as they discussed salvation. The poster in Sam's heart,
warned of Ben's need to be saved and sure.
Sam
decided to make a different poster for now – but he didn't know
what. Ben's finger traced a pattern in the tablecloth and said, “Why
don't you make your poster about the 'decently and in order thing'?
It sounds pretty important to me – especially in this startup
phase.” BOOOM!! The bomb was dropped, with no turning back. Ben's
brain wheels had no intention of keeping this 'business' imaginary.
Ben
continued, “Look Sam. That phrase... er verse, is two-fisted; I'm
thinking 'decently' would mean the AMOUNT or size or speed, or
something like that. The 'in order' thing talks about the DIRECTION
or sequence. Ya hit the ball and then run to FIRST base, not second.”
The
two teens continued planning on the layout for the poster as Sam's
mom came in the kitchen to get a toothpick for something. Without any
words of interruption, she returned to her sewing project in the
living room. She could hardly believe what she had just seen the
teens in the kitchen doing. Through all the struggles Sam had been
dealing with, since his parent's messy divorce last year, Sam seemed
to be finding his right path.
Holding
back tears, Sam's mom closed her eyes and could still see HER SON Sam
pointing Ben's attention to the words in his open Bible. “Let all
things be done decently and in order.”
God
is up to something, whether it's with orange hair, pizza, posters, or
Heaven's promises.
