The Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Caught (48 page)

“Stainless flatware,” Chanda sniffed. “Not'ing special.”

“Special ta
me.
And she bought me a shower curtain an' towels an' sheets—all that kinda stuff. But the best thing of all was goin' ta Wickes Furniture and gettin' a real bed for Little Andy, so he don' have ta sleep on the floor when he comes on the weekend.” Becky threw her hands wide. “Y'all have ta come see my place! Not all at one time, though. Ain't
that
big.”

I felt humbled. God was so patient. He could use a little boy's lunch
or
a lottery windfall, as long as we let Him.
Bless Chanda, Jesus.
I wanted to hug her. Maybe later.

All the time Becky was talking, Florida had had her eyes closed and was murmuring, “Thank ya, thank ya, Jesus, yes, I thank ya . . .”

“Flo? ” I ventured. “What's happening with Chris's case? ” She'd better not give me that “relieved” business either. Even if God was at work, she had to be dying with her son in the detention center.

Florida just shook her head. “Jesus, Jesus, that boy sure do need some kind of miracle.” Her eyes were still closed, so I wasn't sure if she was talking to us or praying. “Public defender say they wanna put
all
those boys away for maximum sentence 'cause the perp used a gun. But he didn't fire at anybody, an' he was the only one went into the station. But they sayin' Chris was in the getaway car, so he's just as guilty.” Tears squeezed out of her eyes and ran unhindered down her cheeks, wetting the scar that lined the side of her face. “I jus' gotta thank Jesus for what He's gonna do, because Carl an' me, we feel like we buttin' our heads against a brick wall.” She reached out and grabbed Becky Wallace's hand. “An' I thank God for Becky movin' in. Cedric an' Carla takin' to her real good—which helps a lot, frees us up to deal with this, go see Chris.”

“Flo, the rest of us can help too,” Adele said. “But before we pray for Florida, how 'bout you, Avis? Your girl still in the shelter? ”

Avis nodded, her face a shade of sadness I hadn't seen before this whole mess with Rochelle and Dexter. “She's trying to get an order of protection. And working with a lawyer to get Dexter out of the house again so she and Conny can move back in. But . . .” She shrugged. “It's always harder if you're the one who left.”

“And you and Peter? ” I asked.
Yeah, right, Jodi, just barge on in where angels fear to tread.
“How's all this affecting you guys? ”

Avis turned her head away, looking somewhere beyond the walls of the boxy waiting room. “We're . . . working on it. We did agree to invite Rochelle and Conny to come stay a week at Christmas.” She shuddered. “Just couldn't let my babies stay in a shelter over Christmas.”

So we gathered up a few more prayer requests, laid hands on Florida and Avis, and began to pray. Nony's prayer came straight out of Isaiah 61, the same scripture that meant so much at our last meeting: “Oh God,You came to free the captives and the prisoners, and bring good news to the poor. You have promised to all of us who grieve and mourn that there will be a time of the Lord's favor!”

“Yes,
yes
, Jesus!” Florida cried.

“You have promised a crown of beauty to replace the ashes of our lives! To give us joy instead of mourning, and garments of praise instead of a spirit of heaviness! Oh, thank You! Thank You, gracious God!” A chorus of ragged praise joined Nony's prayer. Nony herself seemed overcome by the scripture she'd just prayed and couldn't speak.

The door of the waiting room opened, then shut. “So quiet you are,” Ruth said dryly. “They can't hear you on the first floor yet.”

She still looked pregnant, though nowhere near as big as she'd been before the twins were born. But she was beaming. “As long as you're thanking the Big Guy Upstairs? —see, Yo-Yo, you've got me saying it now; irreverent she is—might as well add one more. If all goes well this week? We might be able to bring the babies home next weekend.”

Ruth's eyes sparkled like the Christmas lights that decorated the nurse's station down the hallway.
If this were a movie,
I thought,
this is where the background music would swell and take over the scene.
But Ruth wasn't done.

“Home,” she said again. “Home in time for Hanukkah.”

THE FIRST DAY OF HANUKKAH, the Jewish Festival of Lights, was the last day of school before winter vacation. I had a couple of Jewish children in my classroom, so I asked Jessica Cohen and Caleb Levy to tell us about Hanukkah. They stood in front of the class and fidgeted.

“Um, we light a candle for eight nights—” Jessica began.

“No, first tell 'em how it got started,” Caleb hissed.

“No,
you
.”

“OK.” Caleb lifted his chin. “We celebrate Hanukkah to remember the rededication of the holy temple in Jerusalem back in—well, I forget the date, but a man named Judas Maccabee and his little army defeated the big Greek army that had ruined the temple.My dad says the victorious Jews wanted to light the menorah candlestick as a sign that God was back in His temple, but they could only find a little bit of oil, enough for one day. But by a miracle, the oil kept the menorah burning for eight whole days! That's why we—”

“That's why we light a new candle each night for eight days,” Jessica finished. “And eat latkes and play games and get little presents. It's fun. I like Hanukkah.”

Ruth seemed to think it was special that the twins were coming home on Hanukkah. Well, we should make it special. And Caleb's little report gave me an idea . . .

WE STILL HADN'T HAD ANY SNOW TO SPEAK OF—an inch one day, gone the next—but the temperature was consistently below freezing now. Denny picked up Ben and Ruth and took them to the hospital to bring the twins home Saturday afternoon. That gave us Yada Yadas time to arrive at the Garfields' home with our baby presents and Welcome Home signs and rehearse our parts.

We set the Garfields' menorah on a little table so it would shine out the front window when lit. Then we waited . . . and waited. Yo-Yo peeked through the drapes in front of the living room window. “It's already dark. How long does it take to—oh, I think I see 'em. Yep, it's your car, Jodi.”

“Turn out the lights! And open the drapes. OK, now light the
Shamash—
that middle candle.Who's got the matches—Stu? ” I felt a little smug about my newfound knowledge. The
Shamash
was the ninth candle in the middle of the menorah, the one that lit all the other candles.

But as Stu lit that single candle,my throat caught with a sudden revelation: the
Shamash
was like Jesus. Jesus, the Light of the World!—the One who lights up our lives and brings us out of that subtle darkness where we so easily fall prey to Satan's deceptions.
Oh Jesus!
I almost felt like crying.
Thank You for Your light! For the truth that sets us free!

“Shh, shh,” Yo-Yo hissed. We waited in the darkness. Car doors slammed. Footsteps. Then we heard Ruth say, “Ben Garfield! You left the
Shamash
burning! What, you want to burn the house down and leave us homeless? ”

Stifled giggles rippled through the living room. A key turned in the lock. The door opened. Yo-Yo waited two seconds, then flipped on the light.

“Surprise!” we yelled. “Welcome home!”

Ruth, eyes big, fanned herself. “You want I should have a heart attack? ”

“Keep it down, keep it down, will ya? ” Ben, carrying a baby carrier with one of the twins swaddled in blankets, shook his head, but I caught a little grin as he shrugged off his coat and helped Ruth off with hers.

“We've come to light the Hanukkah candles with you,” I said. “This is the second night, so we get to light two candles—one for each twin.Who was born first? ”

“Ladies first!” Ruth passed the bundle in her arms to me. “Here. You want to hold Havah, the
oldest
? ” She tossed a teasing grin at Ben. “Then I can light the candle.”

Did I want to hold her! I was so mesmerized by that pink little face I almost forgot what we had planned to do until I heard my Yada Yada sisters begin reciting the prayer I'd found on the Internet to accompany the lighting of the first candle:

“Blessed are You, oh Lord, our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light.” Faces in all shades of skin color grinned as Ruth lit the first candle with the
Shamash
. “Blessed are You, oh Lord, our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our forefathers, in those days at this season. Blessed are You, oh Lord, our God, King of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season!”

“And we thank You, Father God, for precious Havah,” I added, pulling the blanket down so all could see the little face, her mouth making sucking motions in her sleep, “who is another miracle You have given to Ruth and Ben in this special season.” I looked at Ben. “You want to light the second candle? ”

Ben handed little Isaac to Denny, who looked startled and then bewildered, as if he couldn't remember how to hold a baby. Then his face lit up with an
aha
. Tucking Isaac's feet under his arm, he held the baby's head in his right hand, like a football. He looked at me and grinned.

The group again repeated the Hanukkah prayer. Denny took his cue and added, “And thank You, Lord God, for Isaac, this second miracle, healthy and whole—”

“Yes! Thank ya, Jesus!” Florida said.

“I thank You, too, Jesus,” said a growly voice. Ben suddenly had to blow his nose.

I looked up, startled. Had Ben Garfield actually said,
“Thank You, Jesus” ?

“—and we thank You for the light they have brought into our lives,” Denny finished. “Bless them! And make these children a blessing to all who know them.”

Someone—I think it was Adele—started to sing, “This little light of mine! I'm gonna let it shine! . . .”

Probably not a traditional Hanukkah song, but it seemed appropriate right then. I looked at the faces of my Yada Yada sisters perched everywhere in the compact living room.
Oh yes, Lord Jesus, we need Your light to shine in some very dark places.

As if reading my mind, Florida added her own verse. “Let it shine at the juvie jail—”

The rest of us jumped in lustily. “We're gonna let it shine! ”

“Let it shine at Manna House—” Edesa gave Avis a squeeze.

“We're gonna let it shine!”

“Let it shine for Becky and Andy—” Yo-Yo put in.

“We're gonna let it shine!”

“Let it shine for Uptown–New Morning Church—”

“We're gonna let it shine!”

The tiny girl in my arms squirmed and made a mewing sound as more verses were added—for Mark and Nony, Hoshi's friend Sara, all our children . . .My heart filled with thanksgiving.
Thank You, Lord, for precious Havah and Isaac, Your sign of hope, of Life and Laughter.
And then the final words filled the house . . .

“Let it shine! . . . let it shine! . . . let it shine!”

Book Club Questions

1.
Chanda George
is caught up in the glitter of her sudden wealth. (OK, 'fess up! Most of us have fantasized about Publishers Clearing House showing up on our doorstep with TV cameras and a big check—or a rich uncle naming us sole heir.) What would
you
do with the money if you had such a windfall? Why do you think sudden wealth is not God's usual way of meeting our needs?

2. Is
Chanda
the only Yada Yada who struggles with money issues? Who else does, and why? What money issues loom largest for you?

3. How do you react to
Peter Douglass
(Avis's new husband) telling
Rochelle
(Avis's married daughter) that she can't keep running home? If you were Avis, what would
you
do in that situation? How would you feel?

4. The issue of domestic abuse is large in our society.Why do you think women like
Rochelle
keep returning to abusive spouses? In what way might some Christian teachings create confusion about how to respond? What Christian teachings would be most helpful?

5. Do you know a kid like
Chris Hickman
—talented and has lots of potential, but making poor choices, lacking vision, and heading down a path from which there might be no return? Is this kid on your daily prayer list? How might praying for him or her change
you
?

6. If you've put up with
Jodi
through all five books, in what ways do you see her growing from “good girl” to a real Christian woman? In what areas does she still get caught in Old Jodi responses? What “old responses” catch up with you?

7. Discuss the
lemonade stand
incident. How could something that seemed so positive have an ugly downside? What was the trap Jodi fell into? Have you ever felt “shut out” (like Denny did) in a relationship? If you are married, in what ways does this common trap play out in your own marriage?

8. What lies did
Ricardo Enriques
believe that caught him up in illegal dog fighting? Who are the people God used in his life, and how did each one contribute to Ricardo's redemption? Has God ever saved
you
“by the skin of your teeth” from the consequences of a huge mistake? (If so, take time to do some serious praising!)

9. What presumptions did both
Ruth
and
Ben Garfield
bring to their surprise, late-in-life pregnancy? How did these presumptions create misunderstanding and miscommunication? What common presumptions lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication in your own family? What can you do about it?

10.
Uptown Community Church
and
New Morning Christian Church
have taken the plunge and merged their congregations. What do you think the benefits of such a merger could be? What might be the pitfalls, in spite of good intentions? Does this fictional merger seem too idealistic? Just plain foolish? Wouldn't be interested? Give you hope? Challenge you?