Dare to Be Different (8 page)

“Yes,” Lindsay jumped in, “that battle you’re
talking about, that’s exactly how I feel. But I know that I want to serve Jesus and I want to do what He asks me to, but I worry that sometimes I just won’t be good enough.”

Other students were listening intently, many of them feeling just as Lindsay did.

The youth minister got very quiet as he answered. “Lindsay, the thing is, you won’t be good enough.”

Everyone looked on in surprise. He had basically told her to give up and forget trying, right? She looked at him for a minute while she considered his words, and he waited before moving on. As soon as he saw the dawn of recognition in her eyes, he began to speak again.

“The beauty of being a Christian is that you will never be good enough. You will fail time and time again. If you could have been good enough, Lindsay, Rob, Sarah, Heather”—Steve looked around the campfire and called off each student’s name—”if you had it in you to be good enough for even one day, then you would never have needed a Savior. But thankfully our Father judges us through the blood of His Son, Jesus, if we have accepted Him as our personal Savior.

We aren’t judged by what we do; we are judged by what He did. Our actions are always and only a response to the grace we have been shown, never a way to earn that favor. Does that help? Does it maybe take some of the pressure off?”

Lindsay chuckled. “I don’t know, maybe it adds pressure in some ways … but yes, I see what you’re saying. Our acts of service or the choices we make aren’t because we’re afraid of God and some punishment we might receive; they are because we are in awe of His grace and living for Him in response to it.”

“Yes, Lindsay, that’s it exactly. I think with that said, we can close in prayer. Is there anyone here …”

Lindsay allowed Steve’s closing words to trail off as she looked deeply into the fire and considered all that she had heard.

Chapter 8

“I don’t know if I’m going to Kelly’s sleepover tonight, Mom.” Lindsay peeked at her mom ro guage her reaction.

“What? Really? Why?” Her mom seemed confused because usually there was nothing more that Lindsay would rather do than hang out with her friends. Noticing Lindsay’s discomfort, Mrs. Martin pressed for a bit more information. “Did you girls have a fight or something?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Lindsay assured her. “It’s just that … well … I guess it’s nothing.” Not wanting to say something she’d regret, Lindsay tried to back out of the conversation. Her mom would have no part of that, though.

“Lindsay, what’s going on? You need to be
honest with me so I can help with whatever is troubling you.”

“Mom, it’s just that sometimes the girls sort of teeter on doing things or saying things that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with. Not bad, really, just enough to make me concerned about where it will all lead. I’m afraid of getting sucked into things that would cause problems.” Lindsay squirmed. She felt a lot better after she expressed how she felt, even though it made her nervous. “Mom, I don’t want you to think they’re bad,” she continued, “because they aren’t.”

“No, Lindsay, I know that they aren’t bad. I also know that you are a very good and sensitive girl. It’s a wonderful thing that you are concerned about this. Most people don’t see trouble coming until it’s too late. But recognizing that it’s possible isn’t enough. You have to decide for yourself what your choices will be when faced with temptation.” Mrs. Martin paused to try to read Lindsay’s expression.

When Lindsay nodded, her mom continued. “It’s not enough to know what right and wrong mean. You have to be strong enough to say no to temptation. Temptations will come throughout
all of your life. There is no avoiding them. The problem isn’t being tempted; it’s what you do when you are. Instead of hiding from it and avoiding your friends, it’s better to determine to do what is right and then to be an example of that to the people around you. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, you’re totally right,” Lindsay agreed. “It’s just hard to be the odd one when your friends are having fun. Especially if it means you get teased.”

“Yes, Linds, it is hard. That doesn’t change, even as you get older. But just remember a time when Jesus was teased and taunted by the people He thought were His friends. He didn’t waver or lose His focus, and He gave His life for those very people who were treating Him badly.”

“All right, Mom, I’ll go to the sleepover. I wouldn’t really want to miss it, anyway. I just wasn’t sure what to do.”

“You’ll be fine, Lindsay. I have faith in you.” She reached across the couch and gave her daughter a hug. Lindsay silently hoped that she would be able to live up to her mom’s faith in her.

“I’m here!” Lindsay shouted, coming through the gate in the wooden fence and letting it swing shut behind her.

Sam and Kelly were already in Kelly’s swimming pool and were having a great time splashing and trying to push each other under the water. Before they even had a chance to respond, Lindsay was already taking off her T-shirt and shorts to uncover the swimsuit she was wearing underneath. She set her bag down, laid her clothes across the back of a chair, and took off for the diving board. She walked out to the end, bounced a few times, and then jumped straight in. After a few seconds, her head popped out of the water, and she sputtered until her face cleared. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was assaulted with waves of water being splashed at her. Kelly and Sam were laughing hard as they attacked Lindsay. She fought back but to no avail. They pushed her under and then let her regain her footing.

Laughing and soaking wet, the three girls got out of the pool and went over to the cooler that Kelly had brought outside for them. Each girl
took a soda just as they heard a car door slam in the driveway. Macy had arrived. She came smiling into the backyard, looking fantastic. Her diet had really begun to pay off, and she was picture-perfect in her cute little two-piece swimsuit. “Wow, girl!” Kelly whistled as Macy pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. “You look great. Who are you trying to impress, though? Him?” Kelly pointed at her ten-year-old brother doing a cannonball off the diving board. They all ducked to avoid the splash and laughed at the suggestion.

“Ha, ha, right!” Macy laughed. “But you never know who you might see.”

“I could invite Tyler over for you,” Kelly suggested.

“Hey, speaking of him,” Sam jumped in, “whatever happened after that phone call you made to his house last weekend?”

“Oh … I don’t know …,” Macy coyly responded with a twinkle in her eye.

“Come on. What haven’t you told us?” Kelly demanded.

“Yeah, you’d better spill it,” Lindsay agreed.

“Well, I don’t really have anything to report—
unless you’d call the movie we’re going to go see Sunday afternoon a piece of information.” Macy laughed at their shocked expressions.

“Are you kidding me?” Kelly shrieked.

“You’re the first one of us to go on a date,” Sam pointed out.

“Wow, I am so impressed,” Lindsay and Kelly said at the same time.

“How did you ever get your parents to agree to let you go?” Lindsay wondered.

“It’s an afternoon movie, his mom is driving us and picking us up, and it’s in a very public place. They really didn’t put up too much of a struggle.” Macy shrugged. “Believe me, I’m as surprised as you are.”

“But the important question is, what are you going to wear?”

“Good question, Kelly. I was going to talk to you about that later. I was hoping you’d let me raid your closet since most of my clothes are too big for me now and they aren’t really date-type clothes.”

“Oh definitely! We’ll figure that out later tonight. For now, let’s get to working on that tan of yours.” Kelly’s brother had gone inside, so the
pool was calm and just waiting for them to come back in. They each grabbed a raft and climbed on top to sunbathe.

In Kelly’s room, after they had their fill of sun and water, they decided to find an outfit for Macy to wear on her date. “Let’s see,” Kelly said, digging through her closet, “you have great legs, so let’s go for a skirt or shorts.”

“I think a skirt will look like I’m trying too hard, so let’s try some shorts.”

“Oh! What about these?” Kelly held up a pair of very short white denim shorts with a striped belt. “We’ll find you a supercute top to go with them.”

“There is
no way
those shorts are going to fit me,” Macy wailed.

“I’ll bet they do fit. You’ve lost a ton of weight. Try them on,” Sam encouraged.

Macy tried on the shorts, and they fit perfectly and showed off her toned and tanned legs beautifully. “Great. Now how about this top?” Kelly held up a hot pink halter top that matched the belt. Macy tried it on and couldn’t believe how great she looked. When she came out of the
bathroom with the outfit on, the other girls were absolutely speechless. No doubt about it, that was the outfit for her first date with Tyler—her first date ever.

A little while later, after they had eaten, it was time for their game. “Sam, you’re first. Truth or Dare?” Macy asked Sam.

“I’ll pick Dare,” Sam said with a laugh. She was eager to get things going.

The three other girls left Sam on the floor while they conferred over Sam’s dare. Scurrying back to the circle, the girls couldn’t stop giggling about the dare they’d concocted.

Macy began. “Sam, your dare is to call Pizza Heaven—my brother is working delivery tonight—and order a pizza to be delivered to Stephanie Price’s house.” The girls giggled because Macy’s brother, Zach, had liked Stephanie Price since the third grade. He could barely speak when she was nearby. “Use Stephanie’s mom’s name so that Zach won’t figure out whose order it is until he’s on his way to her house.”

“Okay, that’s easy,” Sam replied. “Wait,” Lindsay said with concern. “Who is going to pay for the pizza?”

“That’s their problem!” Kelly laughed.

“I don’t know.…” Lindsay wasn’t sure she liked that idea at all.

“Oh, don’t be a party pooper.” Kelly shrugged. “Besides, your turn is coming soon enough. I’d be more worried about that, if I were you.” She finished with a laugh.

Sam had the phone book in her lap, and she’d already dialed the phone, so they all got very quiet and listened. “I’d like to order a pizza for delivery.”

“I’d like a large thick-crust pizza, with pepperoni, onions, and anchovies.”

At that, the girls found it difficult to control their laughter. Kelly had to leave the room for a second to compose herself while the other girls listened to Sam’s end of the conversation.

“Actually, can you make that extra anchovies and extra cheese, too? … Please deliver it to 3654 Pennifield Lane. … Yes, that’s right. … Do you take checks? … Thank you very much.” She hung up the phone and rolled on the floor, trying to stop laughing, so she could tell the girls that the person on the phone had told her it would take just a little bit longer since they only had one delivery person that night. This was
great news to the girls since it meant for sure that Zach would deliver the pizza.

Realizing that there was nothing they could do but wait to see if Zach ever tied the prank to them, they moved on with the game.

Macy’s turn. “I’ll take a Truth.”