"My Walks in Faith"

Human Snake Lesson

Today I sit here, happy. Last week just about this same time, I was confused and wondered if I'd done something so wrong in life that it was time to pay. The pay consisted of my son possibly loosing his life or freedom.

For many years, I'd prepared my son for college. During his teenage years, he went astray. I didn't quite know what to think of this strange behavior since I'd done so much and had done it alone. My son simply decided one day, in his hysterical teenaged mind, that he no longer needed the assistance of a mother, especially her input.

Things got really bad between us. I found myself in constant turmoil searching for how or what went wrong. I put him out to save my daughter the aches and pain of constant arguing and even possibly an unsafe environment. I certainly had had enough and was not going to condone nor put up with such behavior under my roof.

He moved into an apartment building where the rent was based on income. This, as bad as it sounds, is like an open door to trouble. The evening I finished helping him move there, I prayed that he would start listening and would use his God given sense to steer clear of troubles normally caused by low to no income.

As usual, evil lurks in desparity. I helped my son financially as much as I could. It became apparent that I was only enabling his childish ways, stopping him from becoming a man that will take care of his own business. I stopped. He was already too weak. Evil walked right through his door and he let evil in.

I started hearing rumors about his uncuth behavior. I cringed at the very thought of him doing things that would not only hurt him, but others as well. He was in contempt of everything I'd taught him. Although his behavior was mildly boadering illegal, I understood the consequences. I understood the psyche behind 'a little bit' is just a tease, a precursor to more evil ways.

I cringed at the very thought of him going even deeper into the darkness. It seemed that before my eyes, all that I had struggled with teaching him as a single parent, all of my hard work, was down the drain.

There was still a bit of my teachings apparent in him though. He still believed in the good of others. Unfortunately, he couldn't decipher a good Godly person from the devil. I guess all of us fall prey to those at one point or another in our life time.

My son believed that he could change a very questionable character. That he could befriend him and dissuade some of his unruly actions that were obviously deeply embedded, encrusted within this young man's personality. The young man was homeless but not because he could not work, he just had not been guided. My son let him stay at his place where he too was struggling.

Sooner than later, this young man must have seen a sucker in my son and decided to lick him with his evil spit. Since my son's ego would not let anyone tell him otherwise about the young man's questionable character, family input deaf in his ear. Everyone was sad and knew that something bad was going to happen.

It did. My son was in the clenches of evil. It was like watching the devil swoon his victim down into the deep dark holes of hell. His demeanor changed rapidly. I no longer recognized him as the sweet little boy I'd raised.

One evening, my son and his girlfriend came to my house very disturbed about a phone call he'd gotten. My son had not been staying at his place but his evil companion was. The phone call revealed that someone had been shot and that my son's apartment was where the evil deed had spun. Fortunately, there were cameras in the building on each floor.

Of course the cameras weren't that clear and the policeman mistook my son as the villain. They came for him S.W.A.T. team style! I was so hurt and confused. I've watched several shows where some people have served many years as innocent victims. I didn't have money for a lawyer.

I tried to see this situation as what he deserved for not listening to me. That didn't last long. All of us are guilty of not listening to our parents at one point in time or more. I was just looking for a way for this not to hurt so bad.

One day while my son was jailed, I tried to go on with my regular appointments. I realized that I was paralyzed with fear. I had shut down. My eyes would not let me drive any further. I cried like a little baby as a drove to a nearby relatives' house. I didn't get much comfort there.

I was so cofused that I had forgetten what time my appointment was. I couldnt get thru on the phone line and decided to go there anyway. Just as I entered the building, the person that I had an appointment called my name.

God knew that I needed that time to think and worked with me. I prayed even harder. Instead of the music that I'd normally listen to, I played gospel. The next day was the appointed preliminary hearing for my son. My sister and I went.

Nothing was ever mentioned about a shooting or anything else pertaining to that matter. I guess while my son sat in jail, the police were able to view the tape and realized that they had the wrong person. He was released.

That was such a wake up call! He realized the many things I'd told him about selecting friends. He realized that he couldn't play with poisonous snakes without getting biten. He realized that he needed to go to college to get an education so that he wouldn't have to be in those dark and desperate situations lurking with evil to do more evil just to get ahead.

My son told that he would have never thought this young man would do something so stupid. My son said, "Again, Mom, you were right."

God made a way for me, with very little finances, send my son on off to college with his newly enforced life lessons.

Maybe when I thought it was time for him to go to school, which was immediately after high school, God was not finished with him yet. God knows the correct time and place for everything.

Praise God!

Amen.

Sugaree, just one more su-ga-ree time, again...
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