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Inspiring Voices - A. Drayer Wayne

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81 pages

English

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If truth is suppressed, can liberty survive?The Scripture is fairly clear: And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.An angry teenager, A.J. Franklin, battles doubt and confusion, trying to reconnect with his secure childhood. His sister and others try to help him overcome past hurts, at times to no avail.Oh, right, forgiveness! Sure, just like that! Forget it ever happened!No, A.J., I didnt say forget!Searching for the essence of liberty while sifting through societal erosion, A.J. wrestles with the tenets of bondage and liberty. Voices, past and present, tug at his innermost being. Only when he is completely yielded is he able to discern between the two, allowing him to choose the one that sweeps him toward his date with destiny.

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Historical fiction

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Publié par	Inspiring Voices
Date de parution	08 novembre 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781462408108
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0240€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Softer than Velvet, Stronger than Steel

Wayne Drayer

Copyright © 2013 Wayne A. Drayer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Inspiring Voices books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Inspiring Voices
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.inspiringvoices.com
1 (866) 697-5313

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4624-0809-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4624-0810-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013919560

Inspiring Voices rev. date: 11/21/2013

Contents
Acknowledgments
Part One
Family Foundations
Troubled Waters
Alone
Part Two
Bridge Over Troubled Waters
Doubts
A Message From Beyond
A New Beginning
Deep Waters
An Unturned Stone
Cloudy Stream
Part Three
Cleansing Waters
An Old Acquaintance
Traces of Liberty
The Perfect Law
The River Keeps Flowing

Acknowledgments
O beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain;
It would be incomplete to publish this book without acknowledging many contributors.
Above all, gratitude goes to God, the author of liberty. In Proverbs 3:6, we are encouraged with: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
All scripture references are from the King James Version of the Bible.
The rich history of the United States is drawn from credible resources, including encyclopedias, history textbooks, Internet sites, the US Constitution, and the Northwest Ordinance.
The town of Bridges is symbolic, part of the storyline, not an actual place.
Selections from “In the Garden” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” were written by C. Austin Miles and Julia Ward Howe, respectively.
Finally, family, personal acquaintances, and fellow travelers throughout life have offered invaluable insight. The personalities of many of these combined to contribute to the composite of characters in the storyline. As the golden grains of wheat and corn are shielded by the husk and stalk until delivered to the harvest, so the enduring truths of the historical fiction novel are carried and delivered by the storyline.

Part One
We have staked the whole future of our new nation, not upon the power of government; far from it. We have staked the future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments.
—James Madison, “Father of the Constitution,” fourth president of the United States
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
—Proverbs 22:6
So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society.
—John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States

Family Foundations
A . J. huddled with some of his classmates beneath the canopy of Bridges Junior High School as they waited for their parents to arrive. Darkness, coupled with cold, drizzling rain, reduced the visibility offered by dim streetlights. The rain did not bother him. Tyler Renken’s remarks did.
“I should have gotten the lead part,” Tyler grumbled to a friend, “not A. J.”
The friend remained silent and nervously glanced in A. J.’s direction. Tyler continued, unaware how his voice carried.
“The only reason he won the part was because his mom always makes costumes for the play. Every year, it’s the same old story. It’s time for her to cool it.”
Quietness enveloped the group when A. J. confronted Tyler.
“Hey, Tyler, if you have something to say, say it to me. You can rag on me all you want, but don’t criticize my mother.”
“I wasn’t being critical. I was just—”
“Stop! I don’t even want to hear it!”
A. J. saw his mother’s blue Chevy pulling up across the street. With one long look of disgust toward his classmate, he turned and splashed his way to the car.
“Mom, you’ve been crying!” A. J. exclaimed. He quickly closed the car door. “What happened?”
Loretta Franklin put the car in drive and slowly edged out of the circular driveway onto Mill Creek Road leading out of town.
“You don’t look so happy yourself, son. What’s troubling you? Didn’t the tryouts go well?”
“That went okay, but that’s part of the problem.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Mr. Harnel gave me the lead part. Then Tyler was complaining to others that he should have gotten it.”
“Oh, things like that happen, A. J. Some people always try to blame others when things don’t go their way. You just have to shrug it off.”
“I know. That really didn’t bother me. It was what he said next that got me.”
“What was that?”
“He dragged you into it.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. He said the only reason I got the part was because you make the costumes every year—and he didn’t say it very nice! That upset me. We argued. I’m glad you came when you did.”
“You don’t need to worry about that hurting my feelings.”
“But I do! You didn’t do anything to hurt anyone. Besides, I thought Tyler and I were good friends.”
“You always have been, A. J.”
“We probably won’t be after today.”
“Oh, I think you will. True friendship doesn’t shatter easily. Just give it time,” his mother replied.
A. J. studied the rhythmic motion of the windshield wipers as they deflected the rain.
“Do you think he’s right, Mom?”
“About what?”
“About that being the only reason I won the part.”
“Oh, no,” Loretta said, laughing. “I know Mr. Harnel very well. He would not have given you the lead part unless he definitely thought you deserved it. He demands the very best.”
His mother placed her right hand on A. J.’s arm. Her soft voice penetrated his heart.
“Aaron, I’m not surprised you got the lead part.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I’ve known for a long time you have a special gift.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s obvious to me.”
“Mom, it’s been a long time since you called me Aaron.”
“It just seemed like the right thing to say.”
A. J. felt speechless. Why is it that she can make my problems appear like nothing? he thought. This is just like when she used to hold me and whisper words like Aaron , miracle , and special .
“Well,” he said suddenly, “that’s enough of me! You’ve been troubled too. Why have you been crying?”
“Oh, it’s been a terrible day, A. J. I’m sure you’ve heard about our nation’s tragedy.”
“Oh, yeah! Everyone at school was shook up. I’m glad we had the real tryouts last night. This evening we just read through the play together. I don’t think I could have done a good job tonight after hearing that news.”
Loretta turned on the radio in time for the nine o’clock evening news.
“The nation was stunned and saddened today by a shooting in Dallas, Texas. President John Kennedy was struck by an assassin’s bullet while traveling in a motorcade through this beautiful city. A suspect is in custody, a family is in shock, and a grieving nation is in turmoil,” the newscaster reported in a sad, sober voice.
Loretta turned the radio off.
“Do you remember when he became president, A. J.?”
“About all I remember is seeing a man who looked like he had a lot of energy.”
“He was energetic, A. J. He had a heart for our country. It’s hard to believe something like this could happen in America.”
“It’s like a bad fairy tale, Mom!”
“I weep for our country, A. J. We have been so blessed in America, yet so many don’t seem to recognize it!”
She reached for another tissue to dry her eyes and then looked at her son and smiled.
“Let’s talk about something more pleasant until we get home.”
“Okay. How are plans for the big weekend shaping up?” A. J. asked happily.
“Things seem to be coming along fairly well. I’ve still got more food to prepare. Dad is at the high school now helping set up.”
“Mom,” A. J. interrupted, “this celebration is in honor of all the veterans, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, then, I was wondering, why do we have it near the end of November instead of the weekend of Veterans Day?” A. J. asked.
“You know, we used to have it on that weekend. Then one year it didn’t work out to have it on that date, so we postponed it till later in the month. And you know what?”
“What?”
“Almost everyone seemed to like it better. More people were home. Things weren’t so busy. I think the extra time in between seems to tie the calendar Veterans Day to our Veterans Day celebration. It has become the big annual event in Bridges, especially since we’ve added a high school senior to give a speech,” his mother explained.
“That was a good addition,” A. J. added. “I like it.”
“Wait till you see Jessie, A. J. She is really excited about giving her speech.”
“She is so cool, Mom. I can’t wait to hear it. What’s it going to be about?”
“It will be a little different from speeches in the pas