“I can see it,” Morris said, tossing a handful of pistachio shells into the brown paper bag at the bottom of the steps.
Jackson, wide eyed, shook his head. “I honestly can’t.” He leaned forward and breathed out heavily.
A strange silence fell that marked the abrupt mood shift, which now matched the day, overcast and humid. Morris hadn’t taken notice of the heat and heavy air until that moment. Nor had he heard the clanging of the porch ceiling fans, which now sounded like cats brawling in a back alley. He thought of changing the subject, coming up with something to soothe his friend’s offense, but changed his mind. Jackson’s questioning felt condescending, even accusatory. No, he wasn’t backing down from this conversation.
The childhood friends had been out on Morris’s front stoop all morning shelling pistachios, catching up and reminiscing. Their laughter travelled all the way down the block and garnered more than a few glances. Silence blew in without a breeze when Morris mentioned in passing that he and his wife, Jillian, had decided to pull Moshe, their seven-year-old son, out of public school to homeschool him.
Jackson broke the silence. “I don’t get it. Why do you have to be so extreme?”
“I’m not nearly extreme enough,” Morris shot back, tossing an empty shell into the bag at the bottom of the steps.
“You’re not extreme enough?” Jackson said in disbelief. “Man, you’re the only one I know who brings God into everything.”
“I don’t remember saying anything about God.”
“I know you, man. You didn’t say God, but He’s the reason you’re pulling Moshe out of school.”
Morris was calm. “What if He is? Why would that be extreme?”
Jackson was anything but calm. ”Every conversation, every decision, every thought? Come on, man.”
”So what do you suggest? That I should exclude Him, the Creator of life from my life?”
The question rendered Jackson speechless for a moment. “That’s not what I’m saying. It’s just … it’s just …” he stammered. “ … a lot.”
“So, I should exclude Him … because why?”
Jackson turned and stared down the empty street. “That’s not what I meant.”
“But it’s what you said.”
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:10
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.” - Proverbs 3:5-6