Suddenly

Suddenly Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Button seed

I was ashamed of my financial status and where I came from. I knew that I was a middle class person if anything and my family were average people. When the term end and break up day would arrive I'd be so nervous and tense because I knew that it meant that I had to dress up in normal clothing other than the usual school uniform.

Reece and I had still been working as local newspaper delivery boys which got us way below minimum wage but it was our pocket money and it gave us a start to our savings. We'd save up money for a year to purchase a pair of jeans, shoes or something we wanted.

Christmas meant we'd get a new set of clothes and those clothes were to last us the year. A few months into the year and those clothes were already being worn out a little. That past Christmas I had gotten a blue formal shirt and a cream trouser which our family tailor had fashioned for me. I loved the shirt and pants and wore it everywhere I could but it wasn't the sort of thing a teenage person would choose to wear for break up day at school. It was more a Sunday morning Church sort of outfit.

Other kids would be wearing branded clothing worth huge amounts of money and I would have to remain in the shadows hoping that nobody would see me in my old jeans and T shirt. I dreaded the last day of the semester because of that reason. Church was easy, formal clothing was acceptable and I wore shorts and old Ts to the youth gatherings and the feeding programs so there wasn't any real social pressure. It was school that scared me, even if I were to save up some money to buy something fashionable and new it would take too long.

The Church had organized a field trip in the shape of a visiting preacher from America. Kenneth Copeland was in town, one of my mum's favorite TV preachers and our Church group was going to hear him preach.

It was a Saturday afternoon and it was mid April, the sun was out and it forged the right conditions for a road trip to town. Crowds were gathering from all over the country to get a word from him, people holding on to their last thread of hope needed healing or some sort of direction from God and they all came to get it via Kenneth's preaching.

I loved and enjoyed good preaching and Kenneth was a good guy, his preaching came across as heartfelt and sincere. I did however enjoy the good rallying kind of preaching whereby when I left the building I was inspired or filled with hope. Kenneth wasn't that loud voice or the type of man who would jump around the stage, he was more subtle and gentlemen like. He was the first preacher I watched on TV.

There wasn't any music segment so I felt a bit disappointed because Reece and I looked forward to listening to different bands play. So without any music I sat next to Reece in the auditorium and listened attentively to what the preacher had to say. He was direct and to the point and kept the attention of the thousands of people in the crowd.

The meeting was almost over and they made an announcement for the offering to be collected. I had no money and neither did Reece but I still wanted to sow my seed nevertheless. I was wearing my favorite blue shirt and before the offering basket could reach me, I bowed my head and prayed to God.

From the depths of me I spoke to God. I told Him that I loved Him and that I am His son and that I bowed before Him through His holy name Jesus Christ. In that auditorium, at the moment I asked God to bless me, but not just bless me but to bless me with clothing. I got misty eyed as I prayed, this meant so much to me and thankfully everyone had their eyes closed so nobody saw those desperate tears.

The little seeds we plant always grow into mighty tall trees one day. I didn't have any money to drop into the basket but I held tightly to the tiny button on the left cuff of my sleeve and as the offering basket came my way, I snatched off that button and dropped it into the basket. That little button was my seed, my seed for clothing.

Seeds tend to take a while to germinate, there's a gestation period in all seeds but when the time is right, when the conditions are conducive those seeds start to sprout. Faith is the water that sprinkles on these seeds that we plant. Faith and hope fertilize and feed the seed with all it needs.

I was a firm believer that if I did good deeds then eventually good things would happen to me, it was a comforting thought. I had been working as a paper delivery boy ever since I was eleven, so hard work was something I was accustomed to. I knew that if I had put in the hard graft I would reap the rewards. But faith and hope was a different ball game, it was a game where I had to believe rather than do something physically. I hadn't experienced work like this before, it was spiritual and mental. This was far more challenging than just doing physical labor. There was no give and take transaction here, it was just a matter of belief and the biggest belief got the biggest rewards from God.

I had done my part, I had sown my button and I had believed that my need would be met, pressed down, shaken together and running over, like the scripture said it would. God is a funny kinda guy I felt, He would give you just enough for the day so you'd not forget Him and you'd seek Him the next day for more. He would do stuff that would sometimes blow your mind, things that would leave you asking yourself, "Did God just do that?"

As the days grew closer for the final day of the semester I had quit my job as a paper delivery boy and started to work as an assistant to a local tailor. The wage was much better than the paper route would pay and this new source of income paved the way for me to buy new clothes, just in time for the closure and last day of school.

I wore a pair of blue jeans and boots along with a white T, as I got into school that morning Rick ran toward me telling me that I had to see how beautiful BE looked. I was curious and as I walked toward her, my eyes couldn't keep away, her long hair tossed freely in the wind, she had worn a pair of brown denim jeans with a beautiful T shirt to top things off. She barely noticed me but I fell in love with her sparkly brown eyes and the pinkest lips I'd ever seen.

BE had been talking to her friends and mentioned that they as a family were going to move house to another town and that she might not be in the same school the following year. At hearing about BE wanting to leave I also felt that I should leave and get a new start. I persuaded Rick and Joe to accompany me to apply to another school. Perhaps I was running away from my feelings for her, I didn't know what it was but I was searching for something. It was a bitter sweet feeling that began to give rise within me. I knew that I wouldn't be able to see her anymore, especially not at a new school.

Break up day at school had ended but I just had to go see BE again, a group of us were walking home when I decided to turn back and go to her home. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, when I got to her porch I called out for her. Surely enough she came to the door and I told her that I just came to say my goodbyes, she smiled at me and that's when I told her for the very first time "Elephant Shoes". BE said nothing as she turned sweetly with that beautiful smile fixed on her face.