The Promise of Jesse Woods (41 page)

She was leaning forward with her chin in one hand, listening intently.

“What I’m saying is, I make a lousy savior. And I’m ready to leave that to God. To start over with him.”

She nodded. “That’s a great way to put it.”

“I’m not saying this to get you to change your mind about us. I’m not trying to rescue our relationship. I wanted you to know that what you said made a difference.”

She let me walk her down Wells Street, back to her dorm, telling me along the way about her classes and a difficult situation with a roommate. I thanked her for dessert and started to leave.

“Matt?” she said.

I turned.

“I can tell. There’s been a change. I’m really glad for you. It feels like a breakthrough.”

I smiled, then laughed, and then I put my hands over my face and couldn’t stop the tears.

“Was it something I said?” she said.

“No, you made me remember something good. Something someone used to say.”

She hugged me and I walked home with something burning in my chest, something white-hot and real.

Six months later, on the Cubs’ opening day, the smell of spring in the air, I received a letter from my mother in her usual scrawl. She told me about the latest in the community, the deaths and events that felt distant. My relationship with my parents had opened a little and there was even talk of a family reunion that summer, with Ben returning with his wife and family.

Tucked into the envelope was a clipping from the
Herald-Dispatch
.

Jesse and Earl Turley, of Dogwood, announce the birth of their son, Matthew Richard Turley, at 8:15 a.m. April 2, 1985, at St. Mary’s Hospital. He weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces, and was 21 inches long.

I closed my eyes and brought back that summer again, tasting the watermelon and hearing the clicks on the CB and breathing the dust. Those days would always be part of me, and so would Jesse and Dickie and Daisy Grace. All the hurt and pain and longing and loss and joy began in the summer of 1972. And life had come from it. And I gave thanks to God for new seasons, new hope, and the promise of Jesse Woods.

Acknowledgments

I
F
I
WERE
TO
ACKNOWLEDGE
everyone who had a part in this story, it would be a book in itself. I suppose I should thank the 1972 Pirates and the 1984 Cubs to begin with. Loss has a way of bringing good but painful stories.

I owe a debt to Grace, my maternal aunt I never met. She was the inspiration for Daisy Grace and died during a diphtheria epidemic in the early 1920s. She would toddle into the field near my grandparents’ house and pick daisies for her mother, who always acted surprised when she returned to the house. My mother still puts daisies on her grave, though not as often as she would like.

Mrs. D. Wilson taught English at Milton Junior High and provided my first summer reading list. Eighth grade, as I recall. It was that summer I read
To Kill a Mockingbird
. Life never returned to normal after that.

A relative who shall remain nameless uttered the immortal line “Mommy made me all the whipped cream I could eat.” I’ve been waiting for just the right time to put it
in print. Also, it was my uncle John who asked how much I weighed each time he saw me. I wish I could sit with him again and hear that question or play a game of Rook with him and Uncle Willy and my father. I miss their laughter and wisdom.

My mother plays a special role in this book, as does my father. He was never a pastor but he had the heart of a good one. My mother taught me a love for words by modeling a love for reading and classical music. They have such broad shoulders on which to stand.

I will also thank my brothers for scaring the stuffing out of me when I was younger with stories of the Mothman, monsters, Area 51 Martians, flying saucers, and such. They were model rocket aficionados and I learned to duck and cover from them.

Thanks to Bud Voreland, Charles and Fran Bright, Beth and Dave Calvert, and Brad and Jeanne DeVos for their mentoring, modeling, and love. And to the congregants at the First Evangelical Free Church in Hurricane, West Virginia, who suffered through my song leading for a season.

Sarah Rische, Karen Watson, Stephanie Broene, and Shaina Turner at Tyndale made this a better book than I could write. The best friend a writer ever had is a good editor, and I have a bushel basket full. As always, I am in your debt.

My family puts up with a lot while I write. That’s my excuse for being distant and in some other world much of the time. They are the best part of me and keep me
grounded. So to my children and my wife, Andrea, a wagonload of thanks for understanding even when you don’t.

Finally, to the God from whom all blessings flow and his Son and the Spirit, I give thanks. May praise flow back to you for anything good that comes from this story and the truth and grace contained herein.

About the Author

C
HRIS
F
ABRY
is a 1982 graduate of the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism at Marshall University and a native of West Virginia. He is heard on Moody Radio’s
Chris Fabry Live
,
Love Worth Finding
, and
Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman
. He and his wife, Andrea, are the parents of nine children. Chris has published more than seventy books for adults and children, including the recent bestselling novelization
War Room
. His novels
Dogwood
,
Almost Heaven
, and
Not in the Heart
won Christy Awards, and
Almost Heaven
won the ECPA Christian Book Award for fiction.

You can visit his website at
www.chrisfabry.com
.

Discussion Questions

1. Is there a particular year or season that was pivotal in your own life, as the summer of 1972 was for Matt? What was so important about that time?
   
2. When he calls with news of Jesse’s engagement, Dickie says Matt owes it to Jesse to go back. Do you think he was right? Would you have counseled Matt to return to Dogwood? Why or why not?
   
3. Matt, Dickie, and Jesse bond partially because they are all outsiders in Dogwood society. How does being on the outside shape each of them? Can you think of a time when you didn’t quite fit into a place or a group of people? How did it affect you?
   
4. Throughout the story, Matt highlights moments that he believes changed his future: He turned left his first day in Dogwood and saw the horse, eventually leading him to Jesse. He held on to his camera in the woods rather than dropping it. And on one fateful night, he followed Jesse instead of staying behind. How do you think each event would’ve changed if he’d made a different decision? Was Matt right to think of these as turning points?
   
5. Describing his parents, Matt says, “I rarely saw them march together in my teenage years. Instead it was a push-pull, teeter-totter parenting method that left me disoriented, wondering which to trust and who was really on my side.” Where in the story do you see Matt’s parents demonstrate this dynamic? In the family you grew up in, what roles did your parents play? Did they “march together,” as Matt wishes his parents would’ve?
   
6. Why did Matt’s parents object so strongly to Jesse? What were they afraid of?
   
7. This story gives us several examples of the influence of fathers on their children—through Matt, Dickie, Jesse, Gentry Blackwood, even Earl Turley. What similarities do you see between each kid and his or her father? How have Matt’s conflicted feelings about his father colored his view of God? Did you agree when he told Jesse, “We’re all like our daddies”?
   
8. Mr. Lambert, one of Matt’s teachers, saw and channeled Matt’s talents when few others seemed to appreciate them, and even when Matt is an adult, his encouragement is “like water on a parched ground.” Is there someone who has played a similar role in your own life, as a mentor and champion? What did that person’s encouragement mean to you—and if he or she is still in your life, what does it mean now?
   
9. Both as a teen and as an adult, Matt is frustrated by his dad’s dealings with Basil Blackwood. He believes his dad should stand up to Blackwood, while his dad says, “I think trying to get along with him and keeping peace is one way to show I’m taking God’s Word seriously.” Whose perspective do you agree with? How might things have been different for Calvin Plumley and his family if he’d stood up to Blackwood from the beginning?
   
10. One important theme in this book is that human beings make lousy saviors. In what ways does Matt try to play this role? Has there ever been anyone in your life you wanted to “save”? What happened with that relationship?
    
11. How important is it to always keep your promises? Do you think it can be true that, as Jesse said, “some promises cancel others”? Or are there good reasons for breaking some promises? Can you think of any examples?
    
12. What did you think of the story’s ending? Did all involved make the right decisions? What do you imagine the future holds for Matt?
    

TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS IS CRAZY4FICTION!

Fiction that entertains and inspires

Get to know us! Become a member of the Crazy4Fiction community. Whether you read our blog, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or receive our e-newsletter, you’re sure to get the latest news on the best in Christian fiction. You might even win something along the way!

JOIN IN THE FUN TODAY.

   
www.crazy4fiction.com

   
Crazy4Fiction