So where is he now? (Ch 7 pt 4)

“What was he doing?”

“I don’t really know, probably replying to a discussion board forum response, but I sat down on the floor Indian style and asked him, ‘I am sorry I was so upset last night, I over reacted and was tired, but now I just really want to know what is going on with my husband.’  He said he was fine, he had just been studying some things in revelation and was excited about the website”

“Lynnette, I was concerned the other day when you were sharing those things about the website and the Holy Spirit, now I am spooked.

She doesn’t want to worry her mother in law more, but she can’t help but continue. “Steven got up and seemed ok, but very passionate, which I didn’t see anything wrong with. I was seeing him as being given compassion from God to reach out to the atheists and skeptics and I want to be supportive. One odd thing, on the way to church he was saying he wished that someone would have shared some of these things with him when he was a young, questioning Christian and he cried.  Cried…it was a passionate cry.  We went on to church and at church, during Sunday school, I was called out to take care of Kaden.  While gone, he and some other guy got into a bit of a dispute. Steven told me about it later when I asked what the tension was between them. He said that he was wrong about something to do with the holy spirit in the old testament and felt stupid and embarrassed when he was corrected.” 

 

“So where is he now?” Steven’s mom asks with fear in her voice.

“I don’t know, I keep thinking I am going to get a call from him and haven’t. I think I should go get him from work in a bit.”

“Did anything else happen Sunday?”

“We had a good family oriented afternoon. Steven took the older boys to the park and I stayed with the baby while he slept. Steven apparently did speak to some other people at the park though, I don’t know about what, but Zander shared that daddy talked to some other daddy about God. They came back home, brushed and flossed their teeth, read books and were very excited to have daddy continue reading The Hobbit. Oh, goodness, it is almost 5:30 now, I am going to go up there to his work, I have to pick him up anyway.  I need to see what is going on.”

Ann firmly states, “You call me and keep me updated. Don’t worry about time. I will be up tonight, at least until I hear from you. O.K.”

“O.K., I will call you later. I might wait until I know that he is distracted and call you.  I don’t want him to feel weird about me calling you or anything, but I will make sure I call.”

“No big deal. If you need to, just call and say it’s ok and you can call me tomorrow. I will understand.”

“No problem, I am sure I will call you tonight.” Lynnette gathers up the boys and with her wet, unfixed hair, without make-up and bare-foot takes the 1.8 mile drive to Steven’s work. 

Do you need me there? (Ch 7 pt 3)

Lynnette shares with her mother in law what has happened, trying to not show her rising panic. 

Ann responds, “You’re scaring me, do you need me there?”

“I don’t think so. I am just a little worried and wasn’t sure who I could talk to. He’s your son, so I thought you to be a good choice, you wouldn’t think badly of him. I know God has been talking to him and I shared with you that he has been in a personal revival. I have felt like I was a tag along for it, but I don’t know that I’m ready for this. He has taken it to work. I don’t know what that will mean.” Ann sits and doesn’t really respond except with a listening noise, so Lynnette continues. “I guess I should tell you that when I got home on Saturday night, I walked in and everything was as it was when I left. The house appeared as though nothing had been moved.  Almost as though he hadn’t even eaten anything.  The only thing I had requested of him was to have the playroom in order where the boys could play in it and feel at home. It was in total disaray.  I was upset and showed my feelings of hurt through anger.  None of my concern was expressed to him. I didn’t share that, just my hurt and anger.  I was tired.  He stayed up and straightened the playroom while I went and got ready for bed and fell asleep.”

            “He didn’t finish the painting?” Ann asks.

“It didn’t look like he did anything, if so, it was very minimal. I think he was engulfed in studies and the discussion board the whole time I was gone. That’s not all of it. When he picked us up from the airport, we were hungry and went to Taco Bell. Rylan and Kaden were asleep and the rest of us were ready to get home so we went to the drive thru.  Steven ended up getting out of the car and going and spending a half an hour with some homeless guy that he felt he HAD to talk to.”

“What?” Ann said digging for more.

“Yeah, we had just gotten home and he took off and went off with some other guy.  Anyhow, on Sunday morning, early when I had gotten some sleep. I woke up and he was asleep in the playroom on the floor where he had cleaned some things up.  I left and went to take a shower. When I came back with a towel wrapped around me, he was at the computer typing away. I have never seen him typing so quickly before, didn’t know he could.”

While the boys are throwing pillows around (Ch 7 pt 2)

“We have been studying the book of Revelation at church and we have been studying together some things on it as well, but nothing out of the ordinary for Steven and I.  No weird, hooky, spooky stuff, if that is what you mean. We have always been a part of Southern Baptist, very normal churches.”  Lynnette is trying to figure out what is going on, but also wants to reassure his employer that Steven is not a part of any odd cult or anything.

“Steven seems to be way out there and is rambling on about the millennium as well as some dimensional stuff.” Todd says

“Yes, he has been studying some dimensional theory, but he was doing that while I was gone to Texas.  I don’t know much about…what it was exactly.” Lynnette says with uncertainty and fear in her voice.

“Right now he is in with the chief financial officer. John believes he knows someone who can help Steven. I don’t want you to worry, the rest of us were talking and we just thought you might be able to help us figure out what was going on.”

“I’m sorry Todd, I don’t know how to help you, but I am very worried now. I will talk with him when he gets home.”

“Let us know if you find anything out o.k.”

“No problem, Todd”

 

Over the next couple of hours that Lynnette is supposed to be calling families, she begins to panic. ‘ This can’t be good’, she thinks.  ‘He is in with the CFO.  Why would he be talking to them.  This doesn’t make any since.  What is he doing?’  At this point, Lynnette is pacing the house getting herself worked up and the kids are going out of control, but she doesn’t really notice. ‘He’s been interested in a lot of things that he wants to check out, but you have to make a living to be able to afford to dig in to anything you are interested in.’  All the while, the boys are throwing pillows around at each other and they have taken food in the living room, dropping crumbs as they eat.  For some reason, they thought the rule, ’keep the food on the tile‘ didn’t apply today.  Lynnette, in her troubled state realizes she is out of control as she impatiently awaits a call from Steven. She turns on another movie for her boys, who are surprised that they did not get in trouble, then runs away to her only place of complete solitude. At this point, she didn’t care to stop the boys from their breaking of the rules and the baby is asleep in his crib so everyone should be safe. Standing in the exceptionally hot shower for May, Lynnette is talking at God, she can’t seem to stop and just listen.  She is thinking the worst at this point, but knows that God has been moving in both of them. “What is going on?  We have to be able to live?  What do you want him to do?  I know we have been studying a lot and you have been revealing lots of things to both of us and it has been very enjoyable, but what is this?  Now, we can’t work.  His work is asking me if he is diabetic and I am supposed to be working myself.  What are you doing? He can’t focus, can’t work.  He asked for the day off without pay after the day is more than half over?” After getting out of the shower, she calls and speaks to Steven’s mom. 

He did What? (Ch 7 Pt 1)

It’s been a tiring day for Lynnette as it is the beginning of the last week of school.  As a teacher, the last week is particularly draining.  Parents want to get last things in and the teachers want to get their last work samples to determine final grades. As a virtual school teacher, Mrs. Crawley has to depend on the parents to provide all the data necessary for reviewing her students’ progression. 

She hasn’t had the most patience as she struggles to complete her job for the day and her children are not cooperative with nap time.  Lynnette believes that they feel the pressure mommy feels because of her demeanor with them.  Amidst giving up on naps and deciding to turn on a movie for “rest time” so she can make the last few calls needed, the phone rings.  Lynnette sees that the caller id says “Steven’s work” so she answers excited to hear from her husband.  It always gives her a boost in energy to hear from Steven during the day.

“Hello”

“Hi Lynnette, how are you?” The man on the phone doesn’t sound like her husband and she is confused and says hello one more time.

 

“Hi, this is Todd from the human resources department.” The man says in an awkwardly slow and calming tone.

 

Hesitantly Lynnette responds, “OK, is something wrong with Steven?”

“Well, I don’t know.  I called to talk with you, he just came up to speak with me and now he is in with the CFO.”

            “CFO?” Lynnette says with surprise and continues in more rapidly., “Why is he talking to the CFO. What is going on?” Lynnette realizes that she sounds a bit aggressive and tries again. “I am sorry Todd, I have had a bit of a busy day with work and I don’t believe I have met you before. You caught me a little off guard and I am sort of confused.”

 

Todd pauses and then begins questioning Lynnette. “Is Steven a… diabetic?”

“No… not to our knowledge?”

“Hmm… we are all trying to figure out what is going on with him and this was a possibility.”

“Why, what do you mean?” she says with a concerned voice.

“Steven has been unable to concentrate today and was distracting his co-workers as well; he decided to come up and ask to take today off without pay.”

“Oh… Really?”

“Has Steven told you that he uh…has been hearing the Holy Spirit talking to him?” Todd apprehensively asks.

“In a manner of speaking, yes; but why would he be talking to you about it?”

“I asked him why he felt he needed to take the day off, and he said that he has been hearing the Holy Spirit talking to him and he has had trouble shutting it off. He really didn’t want to shut it off and thought he should take the day off without pay.”

 

Todd pauses, but Lynnette doesn’t say anything. He can tell she is listening, so he moves on.“When I asked him to share what he meant, he began talking about a variety of revelations he has received from God. Enlightenments…Has he shared any of these with you?”