Living Stones (39 page)

“No problem, Tom. We were talking about Najid, learning more about him. Would you tell Ashley’s parents about his contribution to the trip debriefing the other day?”

“Right.” The senior pastor looked from Frank to Dorothy and back to Jim. “Ashley brought Najid to tell his family story as part of
the debriefing since she had visited his family in Galilee. It gave us a sense of who this Palestinian family really is, meeting a member of it in the flesh. Najid told the story of his grandparents’ expulsion from their family home and lands in 1948 and their years of wandering as refugees when no country really wanted them. It was the first time I had ever heard a personal account of what happened. I am still trying to sort this out. That is why we are embarking on a serious rethinking of our position as a church.”

“Do you think Najid told the truth?” Frank asked.

“Everything I know of him seems genuine. I believe he is a true follower of Jesus and has a heart for going back as a reconciler in Israel. You can sense what rings true. We’ve witnessed his genuine faith. He’s a dear brother and a mature young man.”

“Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Tom,” Jim said. Pastor Tom shook Frank’s hand, nodded to Dorothy, and left.

Frank and Dorothy looked stunned. Frank tried to speak, but couldn’t. He could only shake his head as he thought about what these people said about Najid. Jim rose and walked quietly to his desk. He reached for a rectangular piece of wood, with rough bark on one side but finished in a light stain on the other. He turned it around slowly three times and after several silent moments, sat down. He said nothing, but gazed out the window. Ashley’s parents looked at the finished side of the piece and read the inscription: “Judge not that you be not judged.” The room remained silent. Frank sat, head in his hands. Dorothy wiped a tear away.

Frank Wells liked to deal in facts. He could change his views, but only with solid evidence. He recognized they had been set up, albeit lovingly, with Jim inviting all those people to let them know about Najid. Everything they said seemed true.

After a long interval, Frank spoke. “I can see I’ve been too hasty in my judgments about Najid. Actually I’ve been wrong to judge at all. I had no idea who he is or his family. I haven’t removed the plank in my own eye to see the speck in his. I’d like to ask his forgiveness for rejecting him as a young Christian brother . . . if I could.” He stopped, reaching for the box of tissues.

“You can.” Jim rose and went to the door, motioning Najid to come in.

Najid entered, hesitant with each step. He nodded to both Frank and Dorothy and moved tentatively toward them. He eased his hand out toward Frank Wells, who took it and pulled Najid into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry for how I’ve treated you, Najid. I have been wrong about you, and I want to ask you to forgive me.” He released Najid. Both men blinked water from their eyes. Najid nodded and smiled. He tried to speak, but couldn’t.

Dorothy stepped up to him and wrapped his hand in both of hers. “Najid, I’m sorry too, for the way I rejected you in the hospital. You have been a guardian angel for Ashley, and we didn’t know it. I love you for it. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for judging you wrongly. Please forgive me too.” Her voice broke and she swallowed several times. “We’ll try to make it up to you somehow.”

All three sat down, wiping their eyes. Najid exhaled and finally found his voice.

“Where’s Jim?” He scanned the room. They were alone. They began to talk, at first quietly and then more quickly, about Najid’s family and the Wells family. Dorothy asked to hear more of Najid’s family story, and then about his siblings and parents, their work and interests. Both of Ashley’s parents shared a bit of their family histories and their life in Oklahoma. Soon the conversation became so animated they did not even notice the fourth chair had become occupied. Ashley had slipped in silently, listening to the conversation.

Frank leaned back in the chair silently, thinking, while Ashley joined in the conversation with Najid and her mother. Ashley obviously wanted them to accept Najid as her fiancé.

“I know you love Ashley and raised her to have the life that God wishes her to have,” Najid said, breaking a long, silent pause in the conversation. “I have grown to love her too. We have so much in common and enjoy each other’s company so much that I would like to spend the rest of my life with her. Even though I come from the other side of the world.”

Najid took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m just a graduate student on a scholarship right now, and I’m from a part of the world that I
realize you have never visited. I’m a foreigner. So I can understand that you would worry about letting your daughter marry me and perhaps live far away. Who am I to ask for such a wonderful lady to be my wife? You have every reason to question the idea.”

“I admit I did, Najid,” Frank said. “But in the past hour we have learned much about you from third parties who have no axe to grind.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand about the axes.”

Frank chuckled. “I shouldn’t have used that phrase. It means the people who we just listened to, talking about what you have done to protect our daughter, had no selfish reason to tell us anything but the truth of what they observed about you. So we now feel like we know better who you really are. And that is reassuring. I mean it makes us relax about you. So go ahead with what you were saying.”

“OK. I have not asked Ashley to marry me.”

Frank raised his eyebrows and sat up straight in his chair. “I thought you said you wanted to marry Ashley?”

“I do. But in my culture, most marriages have been arranged by parents in the past. Now more young people are making their own decisions, but I would never think of deciding such an important step over the objections of her parents. It would just lead to all kinds of problems. I have thought until now that you would never consider allowing Ashley to marry me. So I didn’t know how I could ever ask you. I was afraid you would say no. But I am willing to wait for Ashley if you think I have a chance. I want to prove to you that I really love her and would care for her for the rest of our lives together.”

Frank looked at Dorothy. Tears rolled down her cheeks. His own eyes watered. “Najid, you have already proven that you love and care for our daughter, even at considerable risk to yourself.”

“You mean that I would actually have your permission to ask Ashley to marry me?” Najid asked, eyes wide and sparkling.

Frank glanced at Dorothy, who wiped her eyes and nodded. Frank began slowly, “We don’t know where in the world you two will be ten years from now or what you might be doing. But we trust Ashley, and now we trust you to take care of her anywhere as you already have here. So yes, Najid, you have our permission to ask Ashley to marry you.” He had a flicker of a smile. “But what if she says no?”

“I’ll take that chance, Mr. Wells. But first I need to go shopping.” He leaped into the air and punched it with his fist. He grabbed Ashley and danced around the room with her.

Ashley broke free, drew a happy face with a wink on a piece of paper, signed it “Ash” and put it on Jim’s desk. She grabbed Najid’s hand and skipped out the door, leading her parents. “I know a great place for lunch now, for falafel.”

“What’s that, Ashley?” Frank asked.

“You’ll find out, Dad,” she said with a coy smile. “I can’t wait to have it again . . . with Najid . . . when we return to the Middle East.”