Page 137 of Faking the Shot

Zac waited, but the dude refused to say more. So he pushed into the quiet break. “You could pray for her, you know.” He might’ve seen in Ainsley’s most recent post that she’d gone to Thetis Island again. Maybe to escape this latest scandal, more likely to see her aunt. What a hard time for them all.Lord, be with them.

Drew huffed, looked away.

They reached their vehicles, but Drew didn’t move, as if he had things to get off his chest.Lord, is this an opening from You? Help me know what to say.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“What part?” He’d said many things.

Drew shrugged.

Oh, this was one of those conversations. Zac leaned against his Porsche, crossed his arms, lifted a brow and waited.

Drew swore, then glanced away. “I used to believe in God.”

“I know. Chris said that once.” He added more softly, “Why did you stop?”

“My sister got sick. She, uh, died.”

“Drew, I didn’t know. I’m really sorry that happened.”

Drew sucked in a deep breath, gave a long exhale. “Anyway, it felt like God wasn’t real, didn’t care, and I couldn’t be bothered with Him when He didn’t seem to bother with us.”

What could he say? Words seemed so useless. “Hey.”

He pushed off his car and wrapped Drew in a hug, just long enough to let that guy know he cared, not too long so it got awkward.

Drew dragged his palms across his face. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

“Because God is on your case.”

Drew shook his head. “You need to stop saying that. Because I think He is.”

“He loves you, man.”

“I mean, I want to believe it, and I see you and Chris, and I know others like Mike Vaughan and even Brent-flippin’ Karlsson are Christians, but sometimes it feels too risky. Like, what if I start following Him and He lets me down again?”

Lord? Some help, please.“Were your parents believers?”

“Yeah. They never stopped.”

“Why do you think that is?”

He shrugged. “I guess they needed a crutch.”

“Do you think I need a crutch?”

“Well, obviously you do.”

“Is it a crutch to want to find peace? To find purpose? If it is, then I guess I’m okay with that.”Lord, touch his heart.“Drew, I don’t really think it matters what terminology you use. The fact is that all of us have trials, we all go through times when life sucks. And we can either go through it alone and struggle, like I did for so many years, thinking I knew it all, or we can ask the God who made us to guide our steps and trust that He’s got our lives in His hands.” He scratched his jaw. “Was your sister a believer?”

Drew nodded.

“You wanna see her when you die?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then you need to get right with God. Confess your sins, ask God to forgive you, and let Jesus be your Lord, the One you follow day by day. It’s probably more complicated than that, but that’s what I’m trying to do.”

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