Flirting with Disaster (12 page)

I calmly logged off.

Yes, that’s exactly what those forwards were. They promised something good to fake you out and let them in the computer “door.” But once you opened them up and allowed them inside, they let loose all sorts of evil that not only didn’t do good but destroyed all the good inside.

And then I realized, with a still, small nudge to my heart, that relying on lucky forwards and horoscopes and e-promises was exactly the same thing. A Trojan horse to my faith. I’d started relying on everything and everyone else—except God—to do the good I wanted.

I decided to read the real, actual Bible that night, not the one online. I opened up the one I brought to church, and the flyer I’d slipped in a few weeks back fell out. I read it carefully. I looked up the Bible verse.

Then I made a decision.

It was time to pray. I wasn’t going to stop till I really knew I’d heard from God before telling anyone else.

Chapter 23

Sunday at church I worshiped in an amazing way. I learned more about the Lord and was able to honor Him with words both sung out loud and said in my heart. In Sunday school I had a great time with Supriya. Tommy came up to me and told me that I looked great. I think I glowed from the inside out.

My turning point was just around the corner. I felt it. I hoped I would hear it in prayer. But I still kept hearing,
Wait, wait, wait.

I was waiting to hear . . .

Go!

Chapter 24

Monday night I started working on my column. I thought I should begin by looking up the verses I’d used for the last two columns. I wanted to jot them down in the notebook I used to keep track of the questions I’d answered so I didn’t do too many with the same theme. I flipped to the last article where I’d used “God helps those who help themselves.” I thumbed through my concordance.

Nothing.
Nothing?

So I went to the one before that, where I’d used “God works in mysterious ways.”

Thankfully, I found it: Isaiah 45:15. So one out of two wasn’t bad, right? But it struck me then that while God does work in ways we don’t always understand, He never works in ways that aren’t true to Himself. That’s what depending on luck or chance would be—putting my trust in good fortune and not in a good God.

I quickly looked up the other phrase online and instead was directed to a site full of quotes that people think are in the Bible but actually aren’t. Deep sigh.

“Lord, I’m sorry.”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

I knew that now.

I flipped through my Bible and finally settled on Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 as a response to this week’s question. And for an uber-cool coincidence, one of the lines from that passage was also nearly the name of a Taylor Swift song: “Two Is Better Than One.”

Dear Asking for Trouble,

Last year I had a problem. I felt like I was, you know, heavier than the other girls. Not fat. Maybe fat. Depends on who you ask. Anyway, I mostly took care of the problem by making myself ill after eating. I dropped over a stone, and people noticed and complimented me. It felt good. Lately, well, I’m feeling a bit chubbers again. And sometimes there’s that temptation to make myself ill like I did before. Part of me says it’s all right to do it once in a while. The other part says, well, no, it’s not. I can’t tell anyone else about this problem, as you can well understand. What’s your advice?

Sincerely,

Walking a Slim Line

Dear Slim,

First, I want to compliment you for recognizing that you have a problem. If it weren’t a problem, you wouldn’t be writing in, right? But you are much stronger than most other people because you can see what you’re doing wrong. I have to admit that I have made an error. Two weeks ago, in this column, I advised an art student to go it alone. Sketchy advice. I now realize that going it alone is not a good way to operate, and I’m sorry I suggested it. We all need to help others. And we need those wiser than ourselves to show us the way. Please find the courage to visit the school counselor or talk with your mother, an aunt, or a minister. You can overcome this problem for good in a way that won’t make you ill . . . or worse.

Healthfully Yours,

Asking for Trouble

Chapter 25