Free The Kingdom Land by Bart Tuma Page A

that was fine with him.
    It was because John knew his own past that he said a
prayer for Erik as he drove away. John’s healing had come quickly
and his transition to the life of Fairfield short. He didn’t know
if the same would be true of Erik since Fairfield had already
formed their opinion of him. Besides, John had the wounds of
several years at war. Erik’s wounds were a lifetime of abandonment.
It might not be as easy for Erik. A hardened heart is harder to
heal than a mind damaged by the images of war. War is terrible, but
a heart is life.
     
     
     

Chapter Seven
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    T he drive
from Fairfield to the Cooper’s farm took twenty-five minutes. The
drive always seemed too long and tedious to Erik. At the same time
he had driven the route so many times that his mind responded to
every chuckhole and dip in the road without any conscious
awareness. It was a good time to continue his thoughts. There were
still many questions, but they seemed to all come from the last
statements John had made: “Christ loves you. He loves you more than
you know.” He thought of the past when he drove this road with his
dad.
    He remembered the usual times of quietness. Although
they were both in the car there would be no conversation. There was
a certain comfort in knowing his dad was there, but he also wished
they could actually talk. The topic of conversation wouldn’t be
important. Just to be recognized would be nice. As the fields of
grain and occasional farmhouse passed the windows, Erik never knew
how to take the silence. Was his dad just not a talker? Were his
thoughts of his work all too consuming? Was Erik just a kid who
didn’t warrant comments or concern?
    Typically, Erik had avoided these thoughts whenever
they crept into his mind. Today, as were many things, was
different. The thoughts of his dad still stung. His questions were
still many, but now there was another reality. Now he knew that
there was Someone who cared. God cared for him, and as he spoke
with John, John also seemed to care. What John said made sense.
Maybe his dad hadn’t ignored him out of indifference. Maybe his dad
was so caught in his own despair and sense of abandonment that it
was impossible to reach out to a kid.
    He also thought of his mom. This hurt was deeper than
that which he felt towards his dad. He remembered her abandonment.
He had never found an answer to how anyone could be so cold hearted
as to simply leave her child. Even after the talk with John, the
feeling of brokenness toward her existed. The only reason he knew
there was a difference today was that he continued to think of her
instead of quickly wiping any thought of her away.
    John had mentioned the love and forgiveness of Christ
was meant to be extended to others through his followers. John had
explained that since Christ had forgiven him, Erik would have to
forgive others. John said that people could and would hurt you, but
that you needed to depend on Christ for His healing power.
Regarding his mom, this wouldn’t be easy.
    It wouldn’t be easy, but Erik began to see it as a
necessity. It was a necessity, not because John had talked about
forgiveness, but because his mother was his only tie to a real
family. He could talk about forgiving his dad and carry out that
process, but that would all happen to an empty stage. His mother
was alive. She was someone he could stand in front of and begin to
show how Christ had changed him. She was alive and real and, to
make his move to Christ tangible, it only made sense that this
would be the starting point. He didn’t know how successful his
attempt would be after so many years. As the pickup left the
blacktop and entered the gravel road for the last six miles to the
Coopers, Erik formulated a plan to start that process.
    But then his mind switched to the Coopers. He had
always known they cared. They had always tried to show how much
they cared. At the same time it was hard to accept their