Free God's Not Dead 2 by Travis Thrasher Page A

always making so many good ones,but it’s a bit much to all take in. Erik says something and stops all the serious stuff by making people laugh.”
    A server comes by and asks if she can take Legend’s plates. His multiple plates. With a mouthful of food, he simply nods and watches as they are taken away.
    “I think you were hungry,” Amy says.
    “Free food sure does wonders.”
    “Truth does even more.”
    Legend gives her a slight smile that shows he doesn’t know what she’s referring to. There’s some type of apple crisp on the plate he’s working on now.
    “How’s the apple thing there?” she asks.
    “Great.”
    “Good. Now, Legend, listen to me.”
    He stops chewing for a moment.
    “But swallow,” she says. “Please, swallow. I don’t know the Heimlich.”
    “The what?”
    She has to force a smile. Clearly it wasn’t this kid trying to debate the existence of God in the middle of history class.
    For Legend, heaven happens to be an endless supply of greasy, fatty food. And for Erik, history class happens to be an avenue for making the other students laugh a lot.
    “Aren’t you going to eat?” Legend asks.
    “Oh, I think you’re eating enough for the two of us,” Amy says.
    “You’re missing out.”
    The strange thing about Legend’s comment is that Amy finds herself replaying the words a few hours later. The young guy who seems to have a fine career ahead of him sampling fried foodsactually made an impression. She’s thinking not so much about what happened in class but more about what he actually said.
    “You’re missing out.”
    The boy might never live up to his name, but he has a point.
    Amy knows she’s missing out a lot these days. Deep down, if she’s being honest, she blames the cancer. It scared her and made her seek help, and the only person who could help   —the only person she believed could help   —was God. She just wonders now if he was really there in the first place. Did she become weak and suddenly run to the first thing she could cling to?
    The posts she used to write making fun of Christians had several underlying beliefs. One thing she used to firmly believe is that faith is for the weak. Those who don’t have confidence in themselves often turn to some kind of mythical higher power to give them a faux sense of security.
    But you know that’s wrong.
    A dozen names and faces come to mind. People who are the furthest thing from being weak. Look at the Robertsons. Look at the guys in the band Newsboys, whose concert last year had been such a turning point in her life. The pastor in California named Francis Chan, whom she met only after ripping him online. A businesswoman she recently met, a politician, parents of quadruplets.
    Amy never considered herself weak either. Until realizing she had cancer and discovering she was really, truly alone in this world.
    She sees other people’s lives being lived out on her phone through the smiles on Instagram and the kid videos on Facebook and the witty thoughts on Twitter and she knows she’s missing out just like Legend said. She’s missing out on living a life. At least in her former cynical world, she had others around her. Even if theywere a self-centered boyfriend or a pretentious set of girlfriends, they were still people she called friends.
    Give her another chance.
    This time Amy actually decides to listen to the voice that has been saying this for months. She finds the number and calls again. The voice mail she knows she’ll get comes on.
    “Hi, Mom. I know we didn’t end things too well last time we spoke. I just   —I’m sorry. Can I see you sometime? Not to argue or to preach at you or anything. It would just be nice. Let me know. Thanks.”
    There might be a thousand things Amy is missing out on. Her mother   —regardless of the painful story surrounding her   —shouldn’t be one of them.

14
    I’M WONDERING HOW in the world they fit this massive conference table in this room when I realize