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1 - Leonard and son Chad: Life Choice |
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Leonard sat in the elders' meeting that Sunday, distracted by the news he and his wife had received earlier that graduation weekend about his son,Chad. That afternoon, his mind raced over the events of the past eighteen years wondering what had happened. This left him feeling embarrassed, empty,and at loss for how to communicate this with his fellow elders.
You see, the journey had begun when Chad was born. It was the best of times and the worst of times. With the birth of their first child, Leonard and his wife, Betty, decided they needed more space to accommodate their growing family. And so they bought a new house which cost them a good bit more than their budget would support. Things were tight for a while; however, in time, Leonard was offered and accepted a management position at work with much more pay, but where expectations were dramatically higher. Leonard was perfect for the job. As a matter of fact, the owners in the firm recognized he was the top producer, and they were more than ready to push many major initiatives his way because they knew he would handle it all with excellence and meet every deadline. But this meant Leonard spent a lot of time at the office.
With Leonard away from home, Betty got involved with some
other ladies in starting a preschool program at church as a ministry to working parents. It was a much needed service and after just one year, there were 50 children in the program. It was a beehive of activity in their church, and Betty was recognized by everyone as being the impetus for its success. She became consumed with the day school and was always working at the building dealing with all the various details associated with running a growing preschool program. During his preschool years, Chad grew up there.
The elementary years were difficult for Chad because all of his school friends were involved year-round in sports, but Chad was never as good so he choose to spend his time playing computer games. Alone after school, Chad drifted into his teenage years being very shy and introverted. During those years he perfected his skills playing war games on the computer.
At church, Leonard and Betty were recognized as leaders because they were involved in everything. Everybody came to admire all of their good works. But silently, their son, Chad, was falling away.
Chad finished high school, but it was a struggle. Leonard and Betty constantly had to stay on him about his grades, but even more, about his choice of friends. They didn't approve of his friends and so he never invited anyone home with him. Rather, just about every Friday night he spent with Tommy. And unbeknown to his parents, Tommy had led him into an alternative lifestyle.
And so on the weekend after graduation, Chad broke the news to his mom and dad. He and Tommy were leaving town. Chad walked away from his parents that day as a complete stranger.
SCRIPTURAL POINTS OF LIGHT
Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 4:1-8; 2 Timothy 4:3-10; Titus 3:4-8; Genesis 13:1-18; 18:19; Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:1-9; 1 Samuel 2:12, 22-26; Romans 1:18-3; 11 Corinthians 6:9-20; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-4:6
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