A Husband for All Seasons (8 page)

Although he looked forward to seeing Vicky, he wasn't sure he wanted a camper as close as the one that had just pulled in. With all the empty places to choose, why would the owner park right beside his RV?

The fifth-wheel camper was pulled by a pickup truck—neither of them very new. The driver parked, stepped out of the truck and stretched as if he'd been
traveling a long distance. Chad turned from the window to prepare his breakfast.

He poured cold cereal into a bowl, added milk and toasted a slice of brown bread and spread it with margarine. He turned on the television and watched the local news as he ate. After he rinsed the few utensils he'd used and placed them on a rack to dry, he looked out the window and saw his neighbor still puttering around the motor home.

Chad stepped out on the steps and called, “Need any help?”

The man, probably in his sixties, flashed a smile and walked toward Chad.

“I never turn down help when it's offered. But I don't have anything to do now, unless you'll come in for some breakfast and talk to me a spell. I get lonesome traveling alone.” He stuck out his right hand. “My name's Oliver.”

Chad squeezed his hand. “Glad to meet you. I'm Chad.”

Since Oliver hadn't given a last name, he didn't think it was necessary to mention his. He wanted to stay incognito if at all possible.

“I've already had my breakfast, but I'll take a cup of tea with you, if you have some handy.”

Chad closed the few feet between their trailers and bent his head to clear the low door as he followed Oliver inside.

“I don't have anything but decaf.”

“That's fine.”

Oliver motioned Chad to a chair at the small table beside a window. While Oliver ran water into a kettle, put a skillet on the stove, opened a can of frozen biscuits
and put them in the oven, Chad looked over his host and his living quarters.

Oliver was a slender man—one who would never stand out in a crowd. Small-boned and of medium height, his movements were swift and competent as he moved around the small space. Chad studied his face. He had a kindly mouth and his compassionate olive-green eyes brimmed with a compelling, indefinable emotion. Long, thin hair hung over his forehead. He was dressed in faded jeans and a turtleneck sweater that had seen better days.

When he broke two eggs into the sizzling oil in the skillet, the aroma tempted Chad, and he said, “How about frying another one of those for me? That smell makes me think I'm back home in Mom's kitchen again.”

“Where is home?”

“Alabama, but I've been away from there a long time.” Unwilling to talk about his past, even to a stranger, Chad continued, “Where's your home?”

Amusement flickered in Oliver's eyes. “You're sitting in it.”

Chad's expression must have registered his astonishment and concern, for Oliver's eyes crinkled in merriment. “I'm kind of a vagabond, and it's not a bad way to live. Over the past few years I've been in every state in the Union and have met lots of interesting people.”

“But how do you decide where to go?”

“If it's left up to me, I go south in the winter and north in the summer. But I leave it up to the Good Lord to guide me and lots of times He directs me to places I've never heard of. And would just as soon not go,” he added with a humorous glint in his eyes.

Chad decided he was talking too much. He wasn't in a position to give answers about his life, so he shouldn't be asking questions of others.

Oliver set a plate before Chad. It had two eggs, instead of the one he'd asked for, turned over but the yolks still quivery enough to suit Chad. Two golden-brown biscuits were also on the plate. Oliver put margarine and jelly within Chad's reach. Sitting on the opposite side of the table, Oliver bowed his head.

“For Your gracious bounty, we thank You, Lord. Bless my new friend, Chad, and bring peace to his heart. Amen.”

Momentarily Chad wondered how Oliver knew he needed peace in his heart, but he turned his attention to the food that tasted better than anything he'd eaten since his accident. They ate mostly in silence, and when he finished, Chad thanked Oliver for the food and excused himself.

“I'm going hiking this morning. Are you acquainted with the forest? If not, I can give you some information about the trails.”

“This is my first trip to this forest, and I want to look it over.”

“You can hike with me if you want to.”

Chad surprised himself with the invitation. He'd come to the forest for solitude, hadn't he? And already he'd invited Vicky
and
Oliver to walk with him. Still, he was pleased when Oliver agreed to go along if Chad would wait until he could get ready.

The next two days they covered many miles of the forest, and Oliver seemed tireless. In fact, the older man's stamina exceeded Chad's own. Oliver never
asked any questions, nor did Chad, and most of their hiking was done in silence.

Chad called Vicky on Thursday night and asked her to stop in Logan and pick up pizza for their lunch. He mentioned his companionship with Oliver and asked if it was all right if he hiked with them. Still smarting from the heated conversation with her mother, Vicky hesitated to be alone with Chad after her mother's assessment of their relationship. She readily agreed to his suggestion that they ask Oliver to share their pizza and accompany them as they walked.

The next day when they crowded around the table in Chad's small camper to eat the pizza and chocolate cake Vicky had brought, Chad said, “I've been here over a week, and I still haven't learned why part of the park is called Old Man's Cave.”

“Oh, I can tell you that,” Vicky said. “Before Ohio was settled, a hermit by the name of Richard Rowe took up lodging in the cave. He and his dogs didn't do much except hunt as far as I know, but he lived out his life in this area and is buried under the ledge of the cave.”

“After roaming these woods for a week,” Chad said, “I can understand why people wanted to settle here. It isn't any surprise to me that this is your favorite part of Ohio. It was lucky for me that you remembered it so well and steered me in this direction.”

When they were finished, Vicky helped Chad wash the few dishes. “Where are we going to hike today? I want to leave in time to get home before too late.”

“How about to Cedar Falls and back?” Chad asked.

“That works for me.”

“We'll plan to get back in time to have a meal at the lodge before you have to leave for Columbus,” Chad assured her when they set out on their hike.

 

With an overabundance of fathers already, during the week he spent daily in Oliver's presence, Chad realized that he had adopted a filial attitude toward the older man. But at the end of a week, they knew little more about each other than they had at the beginning.

Chad had finally decided that he was strong enough to hike from Old Man's Cave to Ash Cave and back again. When the meteorologist promised mild weather, Chad suggested the long hike and Oliver agreed. They put food and plenty of water in backpacks and set out about ten o'clock, with Chad leading the way and setting the pace as usual.

They stopped in the shelter of a rocky projection overlooking a gorge to have their lunch. They were protected from the keen wind that spoke of winter, but the sun's beacon filtered through the barren tree limbs and warmed the place where they sat. Oliver had talked very little about his faith, yet Chad had sensed that his new friend had a close and abiding walk with God. He felt compelled to talk to Oliver about his situation.

After he ate a sandwich, Chad took a banana from his backpack, and as he ate the fruit, he glanced at Oliver, who sat with his eyes closed enjoying the warmth of the sun's rays on his upturned face.

“Do you know who I am?” Chad asked.

Oliver opened his eyes slightly and squinted at Chad. “No more than you've told me. Should I know you?”

“I thought you might. Are you a football fan?”

Oliver shook his head. “Nope. Never could understand the game. I'm partial to baseball, but I watch some basketball, too.”

He slid across the rock ledge and leaned against the trunk of a sturdy oak growing precipitously close to the edge of the cliff. “I've wondered about you a lot. It's plain you're a healthy, well-educated man and I can't figure why you're wandering around this forest as if you don't have any responsibilities. Most men of your caliber would be working at an important job, probably married and with a family. You have been a mystery to me. Who are you and why
are
you here?”

“Trying to find a purpose for my aimless life.”

He couldn't keep the dejection and bitterness out of his voice, and Oliver cast a speculative glance in his direction. Chad stared into the deep gorge below them and took a slow breath. This was the first time he'd talked about his injury and shattered dreams to someone who didn't know anything about it.

“I started playing football when I was twelve. I loved the sport and from day one my goal was to play on a professional team. I continued playing during my college years. When I was drafted and later hired to play for the NFL, my heart was full and overflowing with thanksgiving to God for helping me achieve what I had always wanted. The first two years were like a dream come true to me. That changed two months ago. Instead of a dream my life turned into a nightmare.”

Chad's throat ached, and the pain in his heart that he thought had eased, surfaced and gnawed at the
fragile thread of optimism he had for his future. The anguish consuming him wouldn't let him sit quietly. He jumped to his feet, wrapped his arm around a slender tree that leaned toward the gorge. How simple it would be to let go and fall—that would end the torment of his soul. Not trusting himself, he jumped away from the tree and back into the safety of the rocky overhang of the cliff.

Desperation in his voice, Chad continued, “During the first game of this season, I received a serious injury. In short—I can't play football again. My future is ruined.”

Chad sensed the compassion in Oliver's heart when he softly said, “I'm sorry. I know how it hurts to lose a dream.”

Briefly Chad sketched the rest of the story. How the accident happened. The startling discovery of his birth. His anger at both sets of parents. The circumstances leading to his friendship with Vicky. His faltering faith.

His uncertain future.

Oliver listened in silence until Chad, spent by his anguished revelation, slid to the ground exhausted. Not a sound could be heard in the forest except the faint rustling of wind stirring the branches of a pine tree clinging to the stony cliff above them.

“If you're a child of God,” Oliver said softly, “and I believe you are,
there is no uncertain future
. Life on earth might be uncertain, but eternity in Heaven is a sure thing. Now I think you should hear my story, which isn't a pleasant one, either.”

“I've hesitated to pry into your affairs, but I'll admit I've wondered about you, too,” Chad said with a wan smile.

Oliver's countenance was serene, as if he had told
this story so many times that it no longer held any anguish for him.

“When I was in my teens, I received a call from God to preach the Gospel. I didn't doubt that the call was sincere. But I went into the army, served four years, fell in love with a servicewoman and married her. We had two children, and although on occasion I remembered the time God laid His hand on my life, I was too busy making a living to answer that call. Ten years ago, I was a successful contractor. Preaching the Word was the furthest thing from my mind.”

Oliver's anguished expression tore at Chad's heart. Oliver shuddered, and Chad reached out his hand, hoping to comfort his friend. But Oliver had closed his eyes and didn't see Chad's gesture. He had shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned forward, weaving back and forth as he talked.

“This is too difficult for you,” Chad said. “I don't need to hear.”

Chad couldn't control his gasp of surprise when Oliver said, “But you're meant to hear it. You
must
listen. God sent me here to tell you my story.”

A
fter a long pause, Oliver continued, “I didn't heed God's call to preach until a tragedy came into my life four years ago. I learned that God didn't expect me to preach from a pulpit like most of his servants. I'm an itinerant evangelist. When I start out on a trip, I never know where I'm going. I follow God's leading, and God always directs me to a place where someone needs me.”

Chad stared at Oliver in astonishment, and hair rose at the nape of his neck when he comprehended the significance of what he was hearing. Had Moses felt this way when God appeared to him and Moses was told he was “standing on holy ground”?

“I was in Indiana six weeks ago intending to go to Arizona for the winter. When I got to I-70, I turned east instead of west. Now, understand I don't have a pillar of fire at night or a cloud by day to guide me like God guided the Hebrews, but God speaks to my heart and gives me directions. I never know when God is going
to tell me to ‘fold my tents' and move on, either. Do you find that hard to believe?”

“No, sir,” Chad whispered.

“Of all the places I could have put my motor home I was prompted to park beside yours. I didn't know why God wanted me to speak to you or what He wanted me to say, but I knew immediately that I was to minister to you.”

“Then you believe God brought us together for a reason.”

“Yes, I believe that. Don't you?”

Chad nodded his head slowly. “Yes, I do. But I don't know how your situation compares to mine.”

“Then let me go back a few years. I had an accident, too. I was traveling with my family along a narrow road in Pennsylvania. An 18-wheeler rear-ended my van and shoved it into the path of an oncoming pickup. My wife and two daughters were killed in the impact and I was in the hospital and rehab for months.”

Oliver paused when two hikers approached. Chad answered their greeting and waited for Oliver to continue.

“I had so many broken bones the surgeons didn't think I would ever walk again. After the death of my family, I didn't have any close relatives and I knew no one in the little town where I was hospitalized, because our home was in New York. But the pastor and congregation of a local church sort of adopted me. They visited me, prayed for me, and I gradually healed both physically and emotionally. When I left the medical facility they provided a small cottage for me to live in.”

Oliver paused to catch his breath and took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes.

“Sounds almost like the story of the prophet Elisha and how God sent someone to provide for him,” Chad said.

“My insurance didn't cover my expenses,” Oliver went on, “and with the added cost of a triple funeral and burial, which I couldn't even attend, I was bankrupt. All I had left was enough to buy the truck and motor home I have now.”

Momentarily Chad wondered if God had sent Oliver to him so he could buy some new traveling equipment for him.

“During those months when I was flat on my back, God finally got my attention. I remembered the time He'd laid His hand on me and I'd refused His call.”

“And you never blamed God for allowing your family to be destroyed like that?”

“Ah, Chad, God didn't send the accident that took my family. It was caused by the recklessness of a man. It's part of human life to suffer trouble. God has never promised that His followers will go through life without adversity. I wish I could tell you that I felt that way all along. But I have to admit that I was a broken man for months, and my thoughts about God were bitter and spiteful. Why had He let my family die?”

Chad had been holding back his tears, but the sorrow in Oliver's voice, which reminded him of his own doubts, caused tears to run down his cheeks.
God, give me the words to comfort him.

“I gradually got over my anger,” Oliver continued slowly, “when I remembered that God had lost a Son—a beloved Son that He had sent to be a Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. If mankind hadn't sinned in the
first place, there wouldn't have been sorrow in the world. But God made humans with a free will—and too often we have made wrong choices. I did.”

Oliver paused and Chad listened to the sighing of the pines around them. He sensed that God's presence had infiltrated this lonely spot making it a cathedral. He lifted his hands in worship as he listened to the rest of Oliver's story.

“I've never been able to read the mind of God—to know why He set me aside for a certain task, but He did. I've been following this ministry for a few years now and God has blessed me in many ways.”

“But how do you live? It takes money for gas, upkeep on your vehicles.”

Oliver stood and buckled on his backpack as they prepared to continue their hike.

“God provides. Sometimes I stay in an area for several months, and I pick up some carpentry work, using the skills of my old contracting job. Also, after I'd been in this ministry for a while, I had an offer for the publication rights to my unique ministry. My story was made into a movie, too, believe it or not. But you might not have heard of me because I wrote under a pen name. I've used the money received from the book and movie in my ministry. I have everything I want.”

Walking back to the campground behind Oliver, Chad noticed that the older man's steps lagged as if reliving his unique experiences had aged him. How strange that Oliver's story resembled his own. If God wanted Oliver to travel the nation to comfort people with shattered lives, then his own situation was not as unusual as he thought.

Chad pondered several questions that were keys to his understanding of the future.

Was he feeling sorry for himself?

Was he running away from God?

If so, what did God want him to do?

When Chad and Oliver parted at the campground, Oliver put his arms around Chad and thumped him on the back.

“God bless you, Chad. God has a great future for you. Don't disappoint Him.”

“You've given me a lot to think about. Have a good night's sleep.”

“You, too,” Oliver said as he stepped inside his camper.

Today's hike had been longer than any he had taken and Chad was overly tired, cold and hungry. He opened a can of soup and popped it into the microwave. He filled a bowl with broccoli slaw that he'd bought at the deli. He shoveled some ice cubes in a glass and filled it with cola.

It wasn't much of a meal but it satisfied Chad's hunger. He took a shower and went to bed, shivering when he heard the wind picking up and stirring the trees around his trailer. Although his mind was full of questions, he went to sleep before he could come to terms with how he could apply Oliver's story to his life. He looked forward to asking Oliver for advice on their next hike.

 

The sound of rain pelting the roof of the camper awakened Chad. He pulled aside the curtain above his bed and looked out on a dreary, misty morning. He slid back under the blankets, but his sleep was over.

He reached for the phone and dialed Vicky's number. When she answered, sounding sleepy, he apologized, “I'm sorry. Did I waken you?”

“No, I've been up for a half hour or so. It's raining, and I can't get enthusiastic about going out. I have volunteer work at the hospital this morning and I go to work at noon.”

“It's raining here, too, and I'm wondering what I'll do. If it doesn't clear up, I may walk in the rain. Or maybe I'll just watch TV.”

“There's a good football game on today.”

“I don't think I'm ready for that yet.” Remembering his conversation with Oliver yesterday, he questioned if he was a coward—running away from reality. Was he also running away from God, as Oliver had done?

“If the weather improves, I may take my bedroll and camp out tonight. I'll have my phone, but there are places in the forest where I can't pick up a signal. So don't be concerned if you don't hear from me.”

“My prayers are with you. I have confidence that you'll soon know what you should do.”

“I'm not sure about that.”

He explained briefly about Oliver's ministry and how he waited on God's leading to know where to go next. “Lorene told me that God wasn't going to give me a blueprint for the rest of my life—that I'd have to learn to walk by faith rather than sight. That's what I have to accept, and it won't be easy.”

“I know,” Vicky agreed.

Wondering again what problems Vicky had to deal with, Chad said, “I won't keep you any longer. But we
need to have a long talk soon. You still haven't leveled with me about
your
hang-ups.”

“Soon, I promise. Be careful if you're hiking alone.”

“I'll keep my phone with me.”

Chad got up and he went through a regimen of exercises to limber the sore joints. Yesterday's steep climb had alerted him to the fact that he still wasn't in the physical condition he had been before his accident. Was the rest of his life going to be tempered by
before
the accident,
after
the accident?

Chad put a cup of water in the microwave and moved to pull the draperies. He became instantly wide-awake, staring in astonishment at the empty lot where Oliver's camper had been. Confused thoughts and emotions rolled through Chad's mind. God had apparently told Oliver to move on. But why couldn't he at least have said goodbye? Chad had contemplated more time with this man whom he'd considered as a mentor. He was angry at Oliver and God for dangling him over a new spiritual possibility and then dropping him.

He removed the cup of water and put a tea bag in it. Seething, Chad stuck a cinnamon roll he'd bought at a deli in the microwave. He took the tea and pastry with him to the living area, elevated his feet in the lounge chair, flipped on the TV and sulked while he listened to the weather forecast that predicted an all-day rain. The pastry might have been cardboard for all the good it did him.

Vicky had put a Bible on the table beside the chair the day he'd left Columbus but Chad hadn't opened it. He picked it up, knowing that he had a problem that could only be resolved between God and himself. Vicky
couldn't make the decision. Oliver couldn't have told him what to do. He had to stop depending on someone else to guide his life.

Agonized over the bitter feelings he harbored against God, and yearning for something to remove the curtain that seemed to separate them, Chad cried out, “God, I'm miserable. What do You want me to do? Tell me. I'm ready. I've given up football. It's in the past, I accept that. Where do I go for the answers?”

The Bible fell open in his hand to the book of Jonah. How could the experiences of the Old Testament prophet shed any light on his situation? He flipped the pages to the New Testament. But he slowly returned to the book of Jonah. It had been a while since he had studied the Old Testament and he read the introduction to refresh his memory.

For hours Chad studied the prophet's life and message, and other Scripture that dealt with humans' attempt to evade God's will for their lives. Burdened by guilt that he had been running away from God during
his crisis rather than
toward
God, Chad clung to each encouraging word as a drowning man would hang on to a lifeboat. When the answer finally came, he shouted and praised God as loudly as he would have cheered in a football stadium.

We walk by faith not by sight!

Chad unfolded his long frame from the lounge chair so stiff he could hardly move. He marveled at the time that had elapsed. Suddenly he realized that he was hungry and lonely. He had to share his newfound truths with someone. Vicky was his first thought, but she was working. His parents? He thought not. Suddenly he wanted to talk to Perry, who had a doctorate in Biblical studies. Glancing at the clock on the stove, Chad saw that it would be noon in California, and he didn't want to interrupt their lunch.

He put a frozen container of lasagna in the microwave, along with two rolls for a quick lunch. He waited impatiently until he thought it was time to call Perry.

So eager was he, Chad's fingers trembled as he dialed Perry's number.

“Hi, Perry. Is this a good time to talk?”

“It couldn't be better. Lorene took Amy to Disneyland today, along with some other mothers and toddlers from the church. I'm home alone, feeling lazy, and eager to talk to you. The sun is shining and our temperatures are in the seventies.”

“Ohio is having steady rain today, and the temperatures are in the low forties. How about trading weather?”

“I wish I could share it with you. Sounds like everything is going well with you.”

“I've had almost two weeks of camping and walking through the forest. It's been a great experience.” He quickly filled Perry in on his improved health and his meeting with Oliver. “After all the years I've been a Christian, I feel like a dunce for needing someone to tell me what I should have known all along. I've been mad at God.”

“Most of us have felt that way when we've blamed God for handing us a raw deal. More often than not it's been our own rebellion that caused the problem, although I don't consider that true in your situation.”

“No, but my childish reaction to the accident was. I've spent the day looking through the Bible for an answer, focusing on the book of Jonah. I've concluded that God has something He wants me to do that no other person can do. I just don't know what it is yet.”

“And you might not know for years,” Perry hastened to say.