War Room (26 page)

“I think God has something good in store for you,” Elizabeth said. “And Danielle is praying some specific things for your next job.”

“Is that right?” Tony said, looking in the mirror again.

“Yep. I’m praying that God will give you a job that’s close to the house, that won’t make you travel, and that will give us enough money so we don’t have to move. Oh, and one that will let you stay on our double Dutch team.”

Tony laughed. “That’s being specific.”

“Well, Miss Clara said God likes to answer the specific ones,” Danielle said.

“She said that, huh?” he said.

They pulled up to a stop sign in a residential area and
Elizabeth spotted a car parked weirdly in a nearby lot. The door was open and the trunk popped, and a man in suspenders and dress pants talked on a cell phone. When he turned a little, she saw his bow tie. He gestured wildly as he yelled into his phone.

“Isn’t that Tom?” she said.

“Yes, it is,” Tony said, lingering at the stop sign. “Looks like a flat.”

Elizabeth watched the man, imagining the conversation he was having with whoever was on the other end of the phone. It served him right, being inconvenienced like this. A little part of her was glad he was going through something hard.

Tony pulled past him, then turned left into the parking lot and behind Tom.

“Daddy, are we going to be late?”

“No, sweetie. This is not going to take long.”

“What are you doing?” Elizabeth said.

“Something I’ve been needing to do for a while.” He parked and set the brake, giving her a look that tried to say everything. She couldn’t quite understand. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

Elizabeth wanted to caution Tony
 
—to remind him not to do anything rash. If he tried to hurt Tom in some way, Coleman might reconsider his decision not to press charges. But she didn’t say anything. They were past words about this because Tony had made up his mind. She could tell by the way he slammed the door and walked
purposefully toward the disabled car, toward the man whose name he couldn’t say without flinching a little.

Lord Jesus, will You help Tony right now? Will You give him Your heart and mind, O Lord?

“What’s he going to do, Mom?” Danielle said. She had unbuckled and was sitting forward now.

She wanted to shield her daughter in case Tony did something rash. There wasn’t anyone around. No one could see.

“I’m not sure, Danielle.”

Clara had said all of life was a test about whether or not you really believed God. Every day you had a thousand choices to show God you were serious about following Him, serious about obeying Him, and one of the greatest tests was whether you would seek revenge against someone who did you wrong. Tony had been one to let his anger get the best of him at times. Elizabeth reached for the window, thinking about rolling it down to say something.

Tom wiped the sweat from his brow on his shirt, then looked up to see Tony striding toward him. Tom took a step back, a look of fear on his face. He stepped away from the car as Tony leaned into the trunk to grab something. He came up with the tire iron.

Tony had always believed in working out and keeping himself in the best shape possible. The T-shirt accentuated his biceps. He looked massive compared to Tom, and as he stepped forward, Tom took another step back.

Anyone passing the scene or looking out their window
might have seen a black man with a deadly weapon moving toward a white man. If they had known the backstory, they might have dialed 911, and Elizabeth wondered if Tom would reach for his phone to call for help any second or if he’d just turn and run away as fast as he could.

Tony got close enough to speak to Tom, but Elizabeth didn’t hear any words. The two just looked at each other. Then Tony squatted by the car and began to loosen the lug nuts.

Elizabeth smiled and Danielle strained to see. “What’s he doing, Mom?”

“He’s changing Tom’s flat tire.”

“Who is Tom?”

“He’s a man who was mean to your dad after he confessed what he’d done. He works at the same company. And instead of being mean back, your father is showing him grace.”

Danielle studied her father loosening the lug nuts and then putting the jack underneath and raising the car. He placed the spare on and tightened the lug nuts, then lowered the car and tightened them again.

When he had the tire on, he put the flat in the back along with the tools, brushed off his hands, and walked toward Tom again. The man’s face seemed to have softened
 
—or maybe he was asking the questions that she and Danielle had asked. Why had Tony done that? He could have just driven past and never thought a thing about it.

Tony reached out a dirty hand and Tom hesitated. Then
he took Tony’s hand and shook it. No thank-you. No questions. He just shook it and Tony returned to the car.

“Why did you do that?” Danielle said.

“Because that’s how I want to be treated, Danielle.”

Elizabeth smiled and thanked God for changes of the heart. As they drove past Tom, he was staring at his back tire as if he’d never seen one before in his life. As if he’d just witnessed some kind of miracle. Elizabeth knew he had.

Clara asked Clyde to drive her
to the double Dutch competition and he said he had a meeting in Charlotte that morning and it would be no problem. He shook his head at his mother’s request. “Are you spectating or participating?” He smiled at her and gave her a look that warmed her heart.

On the way they talked about the latest news, what was going on with Clyde’s work, and eventually the conversation turned to her granddaughter, Hallie.

“The other day she wandered into the backyard after school,” Clara said. “I was doing the most powerful thing I can do.”

“You were praying.”

“You better believe it. I hear people say, ‘Well, all we can do now is pray.’ That’s the best thing you can do. So I was praying as I sat at the window and here comes Hallie walking out there in the yard. She didn’t look at me. Kept her back to me. But I’d been praying for a slap week that she’d come to my door, that she’d just pass by without me asking her again, and there she was.”

Clyde stopped at a light and turned toward her. “Did you go out there to talk?”

She waved a finger at him. “No sirree. I didn’t peck on the window. I didn’t holler through the door. I just waited. And I prayed.”

“What happened?”

Someone honked behind them as the light turned green.

“She walked around a little bit like she was waiting for me to do something. And when I didn’t, she came to the window and looked in, like she was concerned about me. I waved and pointed to the door. And she finally walked inside.”

“You would have made a good fisherman.”

Clara laughed. “Maybe it’s age and experience that makes me so patient. Just sitting there and waiting made it her idea to come in.”

“Did you have a good talk?”

“I’d say we had us a good start to the conversation. You can tear down a wall with a bulldozer, but it’s usually better to go brick by brick.”

“I’m glad you’re living with us, Mama. I really am.”

Clara pointed to the gymnasium even though Clyde’s GPS was telling him where to turn. He parked at the front and opened the door for her. “You call me when it’s over and I’ll come get you, okay?”

She found Elizabeth inside and the first thing they talked about was what Tony had done for the man who had treated him so unkindly at work. Clara just about burst out a hallelujah right in that gymnasium. A few minutes later she found Tony, who was stretching and getting ready, and asked if she could have a minute.

“Sure, Miss Clara,” Tony said. “What’s up?”

“Elizabeth told me about the flat tire you changed. Now where did you get the strength to do that? And I’m not talking about the physical strength.”

Tony smiled. “Well, if you want to know the truth, I’ve been praying for Tom. A friend of mine encouraged me to do that, and then I came across the passage in Matthew about loving your enemies and praying for them. It was all over but the tire changing at that point.”

Clara chuckled and shook her head. “That’s a good passage. But it’s a hard one.”

Tony’s eyes twinkled like stars. “You know, when I saw Tom in that parking lot, I knew it wasn’t just chance that we were passing him. He was yelling at somebody on the phone
 
—probably late for a meeting, all frustrated and hot and sweaty.”

“Can’t that man change his own tire?”

“Tom’s not the tire-changing type, if you know what I mean.”

“So when you saw him, you knew it was the Lord telling you to do something?”

Tony nodded. “It’s one thing to pray for your enemy. To ask God to move into his life and bless him. That’s a good start. But it’s another thing altogether when you’re given the opportunity to become the answer to your own prayer. I couldn’t have orchestrated that. And I didn’t tell Tom why I was doing it. I didn’t give him the gospel. I didn’t preach a sermon. I just changed his tire, shook his hand, and moved on.”

“You may not have preached, but you showed him the gospel in action. You showed him what it means to live from a forgiven heart.”

Tony smiled. “I guess I did, didn’t I?”

“God did it through you. And I love what He’s doing. My guess is, down the road, you’re going to have a chance to talk to that man about the reason for the hope you have. I’m going to pray that happens.”

“That’ll be two of us, Miss Clara. Thank you for what you’ve meant to our family.”

She pursed her lips. “You don’t know what your family has meant to me, young man. Now go out there and do some flips for Jesus.”

Tony moved back to his team and got ready for the competition. Clara praised God again for the way He was working.

As the gymnasium started to fill, she found Elizabeth. “A lot of people want to do great things for God. A lot of people want to change the world. I just shake my head when I hear that. God is the only one who can change the world because He’s the only one who can change hearts and minds. Tony didn’t run out and try to do something good for Tom to show him love and forgiveness. He prayed and asked God to do something in Tom’s life. And when he had the chance, he took it. But that only came after drawing close to the heart of his heavenly Father. Sometimes a miracle looks like a tire change.”

“That’s what happened with me,” Elizabeth said. “I didn’t do anything to turn Tony around. I just got close to God and asked Him to work.”

Clara looked out at the teams and found Danielle and Tony. “That little girl of yours will probably do the same thing for you.”

“What’s that?” Elizabeth said.

“She will, at some point down the road, cause you to get on your knees. All children do that to their parents. And when that happens, you remember what I said. Don’t think the problem with Danielle is something to solve. This is God’s way of drawing you to Himself and helping you rely on Him instead of your own wisdom.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” Elizabeth said, smiling. Then her face turned serious. “I am concerned about your house. I’ve had a few nibbles about it, but
 
—”

Clara shook her head. “God is going to bring the right family along. In His timing. Don’t you worry.”

That seemed to calm Elizabeth. Then she cocked her head. “Miss Clara, does God care about sporting events? When we pray for one team to win and somebody else prays for another, how does He handle those?”

“You’re asking me about the nature of God. And that’s a deep subject. There are some people who don’t pray because they say they don’t want to worry God with little things. Lost car keys. A parking spot. Some game you want to win. I believe God cares about it all. If He numbers the hairs on your head and sees every sparrow that falls, He cares about the little things. Because the little things influence the big things.

“When people say they’re not going to pray about such and such, they’re really telling God to stay out of that area, that they can handle things. And that’s dangerous. I’m not saying we need to fast and pray for ten weeks about which toothpaste we buy, but at the same time, God is over cancer and cavities alike.

“Now I don’t believe that God is more interested in who wins than He is in who grows. God wants us to be drawn to Him in the wins and losses. He uses our abilities and inabilities to praise Him. So one player may make a fantastic catch and praise God in the interview afterward. But another player may be humbled by getting beat on that play. Is he any less capable of praising God?
His praise in difficult circumstances is in some ways better because he’s trusting God.”

“So it’s not wrong to pray that Danielle’s team wins?”

“No, I was praying the same thing driving over here. But I was also praying that God would keep working in Tony’s heart and in your family to bring you together. That’s a double Dutch win, if you ask me.”

When Tony walked into the gym
with his family and the other members of his team, the venue had taken his breath away. He knew the organizers would stage things well, but he hadn’t expected this. Bleachers were set up on all four sides, leaving room in the middle for the competition. A sign above read,
Citywide Double Dutch Championship
.

“This place is huge,” Jennifer said.

Danielle’s eyes had gone wide in awe. “Wow” was all she could say.

“This is why I wanted to get here a little early,” Tony said to Elizabeth before she headed to the bleachers. “Give them time to get comfortable with the surroundings.”

“You still going to do the flip?” she’d said under her breath.

“Baby, don’t you worry about the flip.”

Tony stretched and helped the team do the same. Miss Clara came to him and talked and his eyes watered as she walked away, throwing her arms out at her sides and flailing like she was doing some dance of joy. Maybe she was. She had good reason to be joyful.

Trish called everyone together in a corner of the gym for some last-minute words. As she spoke, Tony went to the judges to see what order the teams would compete. Then he hurried back to the group.

“I’m so proud of you for everything that you’ve done, and I can’t wait to see what you guys do out there,” Trish said. Then she turned. “You want to say something to them, Tony?”

“Yeah, thanks, Coach. Listen. I just spoke with the judges. They’ve agreed to let us go last.”

“Yes!” Danielle said, unable to contain her excitement.

“Remember what we talked about,” Tony continued. “We want the last thing they see to be impressive. All right? I know you guys are nervous. Believe me, I am too. But we’re going to take that nervous energy and turn it into rocket fuel. All right? You guys are with me?”

The girls all nodded and agreed.

He put his hand in the middle and they put their hands on top of his. “All right, let’s blow them away. ‘Comets’ on three. One . . . two . . . three, Comets!”

Elizabeth sat next to Clara in the packed gymnasium. She had brought her friend an official Comets T-shirt and the woman put it on over her green collared shirt. There wasn’t an ounce of pride in Clara, and it was fun to see her in action in a group of strangers. She talked with people she didn’t know like they were long-lost friends. She asked questions about kids who were jumping and actually found three people she was going to add to her prayer list before the competition began. This was the life of a prayer warrior
 
—always on duty, always willing to enter the battle.

“So they have two ropes going at the same time?” Clara said.

“Two ropes going in opposite directions,” Elizabeth said.

Clara watched the teams warming up and shook her head. “Whoooeee, that’s some serious hand-eye coordination.”

Family members of the teams fidgeted in the hall and bleachers, talking about the weather. Elizabeth overheard one mother talking about a daughter who had sprained an ankle and was competing anyway.

Elizabeth wasn’t sure how Clara would respond to the competition, whether she would sit and observe or really get into it, but all her preconceived notions of how prim and proper the woman might be went out the window when the teams were announced. She stayed seated until
the Comets were introduced, then stood and whooped for Danielle, Tony, and the rest.

“I like to support my team when I can,” she said, noticing Elizabeth’s open mouth. “Paul says to do whatever you do with all your heart, so I don’t care what it is. Stringing beans, doing dishes, or rooting for my favorite double Dutch team. I try to be all over it.”

Elizabeth shook her head and thanked God for bringing this force of nature into her life.

“Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes,” the announcer said. “Who’s ready for the Citywide Double Dutch Championship?”

The crowd roared and Clara stood and clapped.

The announcer went over the rules for those who were new to the competition and gave instructions to the participants. Then it was time to begin. “Our teams are revved up and ready to go. We’re starting off with the speed round. Here we go!”

“So the speed round is where they just get in there and jump like crazy, right?” Clara said.

“Right. The team puts their fastest jumpers in the middle and they’re timed and awarded points. After that is the freestyle, where they do all the creative moves.”

“And Tony is going to do a flip?”

“How’d you hear about that?”

“Danielle told me to watch for it.”

Three teams competed at the same time, and an official kept track of how many jumps were completed in the time allotment. Elizabeth was amazed at the fluid motion of the
competitors and how the jumpers and those turning the ropes worked in tandem. It was easy to just focus on the girls and boys jumping and forget the two competitors swinging the ropes. Everybody had to be focused and dialed into the action.

“Would you look at that?” Clara said. “I can’t believe how fast they’re going. It’s like they’re just moving their hands
 
—I can’t even see the rope anymore. How can the referees or whatever you call them possibly count how many jumps they make?”

Clara was right. As the participants jumped, they seemed to get in a zone and be able to work together as one person instead of three. Elizabeth compared the speed of a couple teams to the Comets. The official had a counter to click with each jump, and as she watched, she concluded that the Comets hadn’t scored as high in this round as some of the other teams. They would have to overcome that in the freestyle round.

“Time!” an official called out.

Her palms sweaty, Elizabeth looked at Clara. “I think I’m too nervous to watch.”

Clara threw her head back and laughed. “You know you’re a captive audience now! Come on, Comets!”

So many sports segregated male and female, but the double Dutch competition had both. There were more girls than boys but not that many more. The sound of the ropes swirling and the feet pounding the hardwood mingled with the encouragement from the crowd and teammates.

“I don’t understand how the scores for this round and the next round work,” Clara said.

“It’s like figure skating,” Elizabeth said. “The speed round is like the technical round where skaters do specific jumps. The freestyle is like the long program. The teams try to wow the judges with style points.”

“So after the speed round, it’s all up to the judges and their determination,” Clara said.

“Exactly. Tony said he was really glad they were going last so they could leave the judges with a final impression.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Clara said.

When the speed competition was completed, there was a short break. Danielle came over, out of breath and sweating.

Clara gave her a big hug. “I saw you out there jumping as fast as you could! How do you like it?”

“It’s fun!” Danielle said. “I’m still a little nervous about the freestyle, though.”

“You and your coaches have prepared well, I can tell that. And I’m going to be praying for you.”

“That seems like an unfair advantage,” Elizabeth said, smiling.

Clara laughed. “It just might be. But I’m okay with it.”

The announcer called the teams back to the floor and the seven judges took their positions at the scoring table.

Elizabeth hugged Tony before he rejoined the team. “Is God going to help you do that flip?”

“Just you watch,” Tony said.

Tony gathered with his teammates as they watched the first team move to the center of the court. The announcer said, “All right, the speed scores will be added to the freestyle scores. So let’s start the freestyle competition. First up is the Moon Jumpers.”

The crowd went wild for the team in yellow. They had some pretty impressive moves and Tony could see Danielle and the others watching with trepidation. He called them together while the Mustangs were introduced.

“I can see you guys comparing yourselves. You’re watching them do that handstand thing and noticing their speed, right?”

“We’re not as good as they are,” Jennifer said.

“We’re not as fast, either,” Danielle said.

“Did you see what the one girl did?” Joy said.

“Hey, we’re the Comets,” Tony said. “And what do comets do? They rise up and shoot past the earth and leave everybody gasping, right? Well, that’s what we’re going to do. Those teams are good
 
—and they’re fast. You enjoy watching what they do, but concentrate on your routine. Leave the comparing to the judges, okay?”

Trish gave them some encouragement as well and the team seemed a little more at ease.

Tony took Trish aside. “I wonder if we should have asked to go first instead of last. This is killing me.”

Trish smiled and shook her head. “You guys are going to be great!”

The Tigers were next and one of the competitors tried a backflip that was unsuccessful. Tony glanced at the judges, who wrote down something on their scorecards. If they had a perfect routine going, should he attempt the flip? A little doubt crept in. Was he doing the flip because of his own ego? The competition was about the team, not about his personal ability.

You’re trying to show off,
the voice in his head said.
You’re just trying to bring attention to yourself. This is not about you. This is about the girls.

Tony shook off the voice and told himself the truth. He wasn’t going to let anything hold him back. He was created to be there with his family, to be the very best he could be, and he was going to be that for his daughter, his wife, and his team.

When one team did a break-dance move where both jumpers went totally flat on the gym floor, then jumped from that position, he couldn’t help but shake his head in awe. He’d never even thought anyone could pull off something like that, and the way the judges looked at their scorecards, he knew the team had hit a home run. With each team, the tricks and moves seemed to become more complex. The Speed Angels had four guys doing some mind-blowing tricks, spins, and flips. They missed one critical jump, but the performance left the crowd and, presumably, the judges in awe. Tony saw one judge turn to
another and say, “Wow.” He began to wonder if his team had any “wow” in their routine.

The tension mounted as their turn neared. Tony pulled the girls together for one final pep talk. “All right. Let’s leave everything on the court, okay? Let’s go out there and show them what we can do!”

“And now for the final team in our freestyle competition, let’s hear it for the Comets!” the announcer said.

The crowd cheered and the Comets took their places. Tony glanced at Elizabeth, and she gave him a tense smile. He stood back from the others, right at the edge of the floor, and closed his eyes.
Lord, I give this performance to You and I thank You for the energy, for the friends here, and for my family.

The music began, the ropes swung, and Tony took a deep breath. He saw his cue and took off running. What happened in the next few minutes was pure magic. He somersaulted into the ropes, did a high, arching backflip, and landed squarely, jumping immediately in time with the spinning ropes.

The crowd went wild and Tony fed off the energy. He couldn’t really hear individual voices, but he heard a roar in his head and kept an internal beat as his teammates prepared.