August 17 – “Talking with Michael”

We had a great surprise at our home Bible Study group last night.  Anne and Eric brought a young man with them.  Not just any young man.  And not that unusual for Anne and Eric to bring someone with them.  They do that often.  This young man was someone we knew back about six years ago when he was just nine or ten years old. 

Michael was one of the early foster children of Kenny and Lauren, one of the families at Seaside.  They were notified that they were receiving Michael and his little sister one Thursday evening at our home group.  We all jumped into action.  Some went to their house to help get it cleaned and ready.  Some went to WalMart to get diapers and clothes and food.  So from the start Michael was part of our group. 

He had a great memory.  He noticed that there were some structural differences in our house.  He was pointing out details of the house as it was before Hurricane Ike.  He remembered how the church was set up as well.  There were some people he remembered, but he couldn’t come up with names.  And the details about those people really surprised me.  For example, “That one guy who discovered he had a brother he never knew about,” brought to mind Dennis.  I frantically searched through pour photo database and finally discovered some pictures from back in 2006.  There he was, dressed as Mr. Potato Head for our Halloween party.  There were a few others that we got a kick out of.  We especially enjoyed the progression of his hair styles.  He now sports a spiked Mohawk. 

After the Bible study he asked if I could spend a few minutes talking to him.  He wanted some guidance on how to grow as a Christian.  The first thing he said was that he didn’t have a Bible.  The people he lives with now are Jehovah’s Witnesses, so he didn’t really trust what they told him.  He wanted to see for himself.  That wasn’t a problem.  I reached up on the shelf and gave him one of the modern language versions we had.  He wasn’t sure where to begin, so I jotted down a reading plane for him.  And while I did that he talked about how he had always been fascinated by the stories in the Bible and how they all fit together.  He remembered stories that Lauren had read to him about “that one really strong guy who was chained to the wall with all the bad guys and he pushed really hard and knocked the whole place down on them.  I can’t remember his name, though.”  That would be Samson, Michael.  I know, you’re thinking that’s a classic story.  Everyone has heard that one.  Well, he kept going.  “And that one story about the guy who shot the arrow and his friend knew if it fell here he was supposed to keep running and if it fell there he could come back be friends again.”  Good one.  That would be David and Jonathan.  Not so well-known.

Michael and I talked for a good thirty minutes or so.  He wants to come back every week and talk about what he learns.  He said he does so much better with a “one-on-one mentor thing.”  We went through what it meant to be a Christian.  He was sure about that, but he was sad that he never got to be baptized.  We’re looking at a time to get that done.  It was incredibly refreshing to spend time with someone that hungry for Jesus.  Way to go Mama Lauren.  I think one is on you and Kenny.  You only had him for a short time, but you did the right thing while you did. 

Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Father, thank you for watching over Michael for the last six years.  And thanks for bringing him back so we can see how he’s doing.  Guide us as we guide him.  And give some blessing-type kudos to Kenny and Lauren.  They done good.  Amen.