Between the Lines
It’s never too late to do the right thing
May 23rd, 2022
Chapter 10: AFTER – the Rain Cometh the Harvest
Ephesians 3:20, ‘Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power constantly energizes you.’ (TPT)
Today had been a good day, Zachary smiled to himself, and allowed his mind to run back through the sequence of events—the filtered version, he laughed. The uncut one would take too long to think about right now, as he stood in the shower and let the water travel off his back like a duck. It was past bedtime and Mom would holler in 5.5 minutes, just listen. His sister had already yelled at him twice for taking too long in the bathroom. ‘Don’t use all the hot water, Zachareee,’ she’d let his name trail off like a screech because she knew it bugged him. Soon Dad would be beating down the door with an iron fist and that image caused Zachary to giggle—his dad was so sca-wee!
It had been a long couple of weeks! Maybe he was moving on from the effect the days had been having on him. Zachary couldn’t get upset at any other person than himself; he had started all this with suddenly being inconsolably miserable until he found his real parents. He was being driven as if someone else were behind the vehicle called his mind.
It had begun as a little nudge and then became an all-out shoving scrimmage with two very definitive and persuasive sides at war within him. ‘You can’t let it go, man’ one side hollered in one ear, ‘You already picked the scab off the wound, and it is raw and bleeding.’ At the same time, the other side, argued back just as vehemently, ‘Don’t fix what ain’t broken, mate. You might end up with a wound that never heals; see, it’s already bleeding. You gotta let it go. It is consuming you!’ For weeks now this had been railing within him and he couldn’t even get any sleep. He was exhausted. Furthermore, he was having these vicious dreams about the man whose face was in the newspaper as he floated before his eyes and immediately and elusively disappeared again and again. He recoiled at every loud noise around him, had become sullen and explosive—all the old antics Zachary was known for—and his family had been tiptoeing around him and giving into every demand with exasperation written in clear script on their faces. And he had been avoiding Midge. That’s when it became a problem. Zachary’s family counted on her because her work with Zachary had been just short of miraculous.
Finally, Midge stopped taking ‘No’ for an answer and barged in uninvited. She found Zachary huddled in the corner of his closet, what they designed many months or maybe a year ago, called Zachary’s Calm Corner. She knew this is where he’d be if she could just convince his parents to give her a crack at him by herself. A couple hours later and some stubbornness, many tears and some tangled dialogue, Zachary’s pain and purpose lay cracked wide open in front of her and him where they could begin to work with it. She reminded Zachary of God’s great love for him, that he was even alive and capable of thinking and making decisions, because the enemy had wanted him dead, had wanted him ineffective and unusable in God’s plan. She reminded Zachary that what Satan had intended for Zachary’s harm, God was using for his good and for His own glory. They read Genesis, chapter 50, together, so he could be reminded that many others have overcome tremendous hurdles in their lifetime and God was able to turn what Satan meant for destruction and use it for profit.
Midge also reminded Zachary that somewhere he had parents out there, blood family, who had given him life, and even though he had a real family who loved him deeply, perhaps it would help him to gain some closure knowing the full story. Maybe it would be a horrific tale and they hadn’t loved or wanted him at all, but she told Zachary, she suspected, there were a lot more details which took place years ago. It might solve the mysteries keeping him dangling like bait on a line over a lake of questions and doubts that waited to snatch and devour him. Even if what he learned was painful, she believed in him, to be man enough (he puffed out his chest) to handle the truth and deal with it in whatever appropriate manner was best to bring about an ending.
Zachary was so incredibly sensitive and one of the main issues he felt he was battling, he admitted, was hurting his now parents while he pined after his then parents. His eyes swallowed his face and gigantic crocodile tears slid down both cheeks. He looked up at Midge, his bottom lip quivering like a leaf in the wind. ‘What if they let me search because they are good and kind people, and they love me and don’t want to tell me no, but it changes us forever, because I hurt them immeasurably?’ he asked with a whole new round of sobs wracking his shoulders.
Midge was thoughtful for a long minute, and then answered slowly. ‘Zachary, I imagine they have known all along this day would come. In fact, they weren’t surprised that you approached the subject at all a while back. All adoptive parents know, sooner or later—unless they decide not to tell the children they adopt that they are adopted—this discussion will occur. All adoptive parents decide between each other when they feel the child is mature enough and able to understand without negative repercussions. Your parents have been preparing for this day for a very long time, my guess is.’ Zachary dried his eyes. Midge was so smart. It all made perfect sense put that way.
He had heard the story hundreds of times. It was one of his favorite bedtime stories. How he came to be here, with this family. There were large patches and big holes they were unable to fill before they adopted him, but ever since, they had loved him and cared for him and helped him feel secure. They had even put up with his tantrums and mis-demeanors; they’d found Midge for him, and it hadn’t taken anytime at all for them to admit they wanted to know Jesus better so they all could grow up together, they’d laughed. Whatever was good for Zachary, they supported and came on board.
They each cried when it came to the part about the day they got the call when Zachary was placed for adoption. Even his sister cried as if she could remember! His now parents had been told about Zachary, and it had been revealed to them, there were possibly some irreconcilable disturbances about his then parents. They were aware there was a chance Zachary could be adopted and they might be allowed to try. But they’d given up hope as so many times the adoption they had been hoping for had fallen through.
Zachary loved when his mom said emphatically she knew he was meant to be theirs as soon as they had hung up the phone. ‘I loved you before I even saw you, Zachary,’ she would declare triumphantly, and his dad would grin a face-splitting grin, and nod, ‘Yup, you should have seen her, son. There wasn’t nothin’ or no one standing in her way of being your mom!’ There were always little add-ons that glorified the story and they made him smile and feel all warmed up inside. They had fought for him, and they had won. The last thing he wished to do was be ungrateful and cause them to wonder why they had given themselves up for him all these years to end up here. Heck, he had even pondered if his parents—and maybe even his big sister—had wished one of those other kids they tried to adopt before he came along had worked out instead. How horrible if they decided to go find one of those children to replace him! Is that what they’d think about him? he was replacing them?!
Midge guaranteed him that was the enemy speaking in his ear, and she grabbed his hand, pulling him to a standing position, urging him to get it together. ‘Let’s go talk to your parents, Zachary. We’ll never know how this story ends until we do!’ And he gulped, obediently following after Midge.
He and Midge cleared the landing at the bottom of the stairs, and suddenly his parents were before him. His mother looked pained, and his dad couldn’t disguise his worry. He held a newspaper article in his hands which he handed to Zachary. ‘I promised I would return this to you, son. I’m sorry it took so long, but your mom and I wanted to do a little investigating before we officially answered your questions.
‘Zachary,’ and he took a deep breath and simultaneously his mom exhaled the sigh, ‘this is your real father. We suspected it was but didn’t know for sure. To be truthful, we were frightened and disturbed about it since recently you began asking us to help you find your blood parents. You were given to us by God to protect, Zachary, and we take that very seriously. As much as we want you never to have any reason to do something behind our back, we also know our role means we might have to tell you no sometimes, if it isn’t in your best interests.’ Here it comes, Zachary thought, and watched his dad inhale another deep breath which his mother again exhaled.
His mom spoke up then, so quietly Zachary had to lean in to hear her whisper. ‘It must be meant to be, Zachary, and we have good news for you!’ She smiled and tears leapt into action in the corner of her eyes. ‘Your mom and dad are doing well. Really well actually. They were not together for a long time, and both experienced some really painful stuff, but they met Jesus and He changed them—just like He changed us. They are not the same people they used to be, Zachary, and we feel, if you still want to, it would be in your best interest to see if they would like to meet you and get to know you.’ Zachary couldn’t believe his ears; this was too good to be true! Midge pinched his arm and he bit his tongue so he wouldn’t squeal.
His dad took over. ‘The best news, Zachary, is—and you’ll never believe this; we found it hard to believe—we think they live here in this city still; not very far away. So, what do you say, Zachary? Would you like us to help you see if they would like to arrange a time to get together?’
Zachary simply could not fathom his good fortune. ‘S…s…sure, D…D…Dad! Mom! W…wow!’ he exclaimed. ‘Th…th…thanks!’ Maybe it ran in the family, stammering, that is.
Genesis 50:19-20, ‘But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’ (NIV)
Between the Lines is based upon a true story. What does God’s faithfulness truly look like? Is it the same in every situation? He is wholly trustworthy; therefore, there is victory, even if it doesn’t resemble everything we imagined.
