22
When Jennifer turned in at Maplewood Community Church, she noticed Lee was unusually antsy.
While they rolled through the parking lot his right heel tapped out a snappy rhythm on the floorboard. “Just so you know, nothing weird goes on at the church. No rattlesnake handling. The people are really nice. You’re going to feel right at home.”
“I’m sure I will.”
Good grief, he’s more nervous than I am. Oh yes, he’s the worrier—or what was it—the man with concerns? At least they’re thoughtful concerns. I can handle that.
She centered the car on her target parking space, pulled in and cut the engine.
Lee tried to open her door, but she stopped him. “C’mon, Lee. I’m geek girl. You don’t have to do that to impress me.”
“At least give me your arm so I can escort you.”
“I guess geek girl can handle that.” She restrained her response to a smile, but she nearly burst out laughing watching the confident, reliable man—the man who saved her life during several, danger-filled moments—become so frantic over making her feel comfortable.
When they approached the front of the building an usher at the sanctuary door turned to greet them. From his expression she concluded he was one of Lee’s friends.
“Well hello, Lee and hey, it’s the two celebrities.”
“Jim, this is Jennifer. I found her in a cave out by Iron Mountain. Jennifer this is Jim Williamson, a personal friend. A guy who holds me accountable for my behavior.”
“Accountable? Lee, are you sure you really want to account for all the things you do?” She didn’t give him a chance to respond. “Well, Jim, I should tell you this caveman clubbed me and dragged me here to church this morning.”
Jim gave her a warm smile. “I’m sorry, Jennifer. We take them any way we can get them. Welcome to Maplewood Community Church.”
Jennifer noticed Lee’s friend tap him on the shoulder. After they passed Jim, she caught a glimpse of him standing in the doorway with two thumbs-up. That was good. Someone close to Lee, someone he trusted, approved of her.
It seemed to Jennifer as though every eye in the building were on Lee and her as they made their way to a seat midway down the aisle. There were more brief introductions to people who seemed sincerely friendly—people who weren’t pretentious—people Jennifer felt drawn to though she had just met them.
When the worship leader took his place to start the service Lee whispered to her, “This guy likes the old hymns. That’s probably all we’ll get today.”
“Maybe I’ll like them, too. By the way, I notice we’re back to whispering again.”
“Only for the next hour.”
The first hymn started. As the lyrics displayed on the overhead screen Lee sang them.
She studied the words to this old hymn.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock.
The hymn reminded her of their experience on the chimney wall. The context of the cleft in the song was different. God led her to the cleft on the cave wall that saved her life. In the song God hid a person’s immortal soul in a protected place, and then covered it with his hand. A soul protected forever.
God saved her mortal body and Lee’s, too, by hiding them in the cleft. But how much more secure to know one’s immortal soul was covered by the hand of God for eternity.
Eternity. An indescribable concept the mathematical symbol, the lemniscate, couldn’t really convey. A symbol for the incomprehensible. Was the infinite, eternal God also incomprehensible?
Mathematics seemed so precise to her. Mathematical propositions were so provably true and correct she hadn’t really thought how imprecise mathematics became on the fringes. The precision was lost until somewhere along the edges nothing was enumerable or computable. There, only an Infinite Being could possibly make sense of things. He would have to reveal the infinite things to finite human beings in a way that made sense to them. If He didn’t they would never understand.
Why had she never thought about this before? So that’s how God became comprehensible to people.
He reveals Himself. Is that what He’s been doing with me?
The mysteries she probed with her algorithms all the way to the mathematical edges—where Turing machines never halt—where formal grammars lack the ability to specify—where recursive functions perform another recursion and that without end—beyond all that was computable, comprehensible, and enumerable, God was barely beginning. He extended infinitely beyond the edges to—
Jennifer shivered as an overpowering sense of awe overtook her. Beyond all she explored there was God. One could only reach Him by God reaching out. She knew without a doubt He was reaching out to her and she wanted to respond.
The first song ended and another began. Still thinking about the message of the first song Jennifer remained humbled and awestricken that a few simple words from a song, capturing only a tiny fraction of God’s revelation to human beings, could so surpass any knowledge she could acquire on her own.
She prided herself on being someone who could do everything by herself and relying only on herself. The last thirty-six hours proved her self-reliance to be mostly self-deception.
She needed Lee in the cave and he needed her. But they both needed God to make it through. Maybe that’s how life was supposed to be, consisting of vital relationships between people, and between individuals and God. That would be far better than trying to make it through alone.
The song service ended and the pastor walked to the podium.
“It’s only two weeks until Resurrection Sunday. We’ll probably get some kind of message about that,” Lee leaned close and whispered.
The pastor was a soft-spoken man, but he spoke firmly and with great conviction. His subject was a set of claims Jesus made about Himself. Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, the Life, and also the Resurrection.
Pastor Nelson clearly explained each concept he introduced. “The Way” was an exclusive claim.
Jennifer had no problem with that concept, because truth was, by definition, exclusive. Like a correct mathematical answer, all other answers were wrong.
As for the Truth, the pastor’s explanation surprised her. It seemed strange that truth wasn’t embodied in a mathematical equation or a philosophical argument.
“I am the Truth,” Jesus stated. Truth was a living person.
Jennifer could see clearly if someone relied on the wrong source for truth they would miss everything that mattered. If she missed Jesus she would miss the very thing she held in the highest regard, the truth. When she said in the cave she could see the light and it was wonderful, she knew Whom she needed, but she didn’t understand His nature, or how to reach Him.
Prayer, yes, they prayed and God heard them.
But “The Way” was Jesus. He was the missing ingredient she needed in order to reach God. But knowing this still left her wondering how she could bring Jesus into her life.
The words Pastor Nelson spoke next made her gasp. It was far simpler to accept Jesus than she imagined. A person needed to place their trust in Him and recognize Him for who He was—rather, who He should be for Jennifer, her Savior, and the Lord of her life.
She felt as if Pastor Nelson was speaking directly to her.
“If you believe God is prompting you to accept the Way He has prepared for you, that is, Jesus, I am asking that you answer His prompting by walking down here and meeting me. I will have someone meet with you and answer any questions you may have so you can leave here today knowing you have eternal life through a relationship with God made possible by Jesus Christ.”
An African-American lady with a deep, rich, contralto voice began singing. The song, like the pastor’s message, pulled gently, but persistently on her heart and mind.
Should she resist? She had neither the means nor any reason to do so. She hooked Lee’s arm and pulled him close.
“I’m going up there now.” She pointed to the front.
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“When we climbed out of the cave what did you mean about seeing the light?”
“I meant I was ready to do what I’m about to do.”
He smiled. “Then go. Do you want me to come too?”
“This is a personal decision so I think I should go alone.” She paused.
But afterward, she would never have to live life alone again. “But…I think I want to talk to a lady when I go up there.”
“It’s our policy. A lady always talks to a lady. Looks like you’ll be talking with Mrs. Raugust. You’ll like her. So go.”
****
As Lee watched her walk to the front of the auditorium he recalled her revelation yesterday that God was already working in her heart. He remembered her revelation this morning that she loved him.
What was unfolding in their lives was incredible.
He sought words to describe what God was orchestrating. When the words came, they brought a smile to his face.
Jenn, I do believe God set you up…just like Howie set us up.