A Just Man

CHAPTER ONE

Thomas Mathews walked down the sandy path. It was the first day of June and hot. The sand burned his bare feet so he was glad to come to the edge of the woods where the ground was cool and there was shade. He took a path to the right, stopped to watch a rabbit scurry away, and then continued until he came to the creek. He sat down, leaned against an oak tree, and took off his straw hat. His freckled face was almost as red as his hair. He took a jar of worms from the pocket of his homemade pants, placed one on the hook of his fishing line, dropped the line into the water, and gave a contented sigh. Fishing was his favorite thing in the whole world.
Fishing was not only fun for him; it was necessary. Many times, if he didn't catch fish, there was no meat for the evening meal. His family grew vegetables, milked their cow, and raised chickens and pigs. They gathered the many fruits, nuts, and berries that grew wild in the woods of eastern North Carolina. Thomas loved everything about the country. He didn't understand how anyone would want to live in town. In the country he felt safe and far away from the conflict between the colonies and England that his father referred to as The Revolutionary War.
Thomas already knew when he grew up, he was going to be a farmer like his father and marry Betty Jane Lewis, who was the prettiest girl for miles around.  Her hair was almost as red as his. Of course, she didn’t know he liked her, but sometimes during church when the preacher was praying and no one was looking, he would sneak a peek at her. Once he even caught her looking back at him.
His second favorite thing in the world was working beside his father in the fields. His father was tall and thin. Thomas thought he had the best father in the world, the smartest and the wisest. Thomas did think his father was too strict. When his father said no, he meant no, end of discussion. He sure did know how to use a switch when he felt that Thomas needed a licking.
Thomas knew that his father loved him and that the spankings were for his own good. Once, when his father used a switch on him, he saw tears in his father’s eyes. When he grew up, he wanted to be just like his father.
Of course, he wouldn’t talk about God as much as his father did. As they worked, his father talked about how God made man and breathed into him the breath of life. He spoke of how everyone belonged to God by right of creation. Then he would explain how Adam and Eve sinned after all God had done for them. There was only one thing in the whole world they were not to do and they disobeyed God. Thomas felt a little uncomfortable when his father talked about sin.  His father’s voice would grow soft as he talked about God’s love for his children and how He had  given the dearest thing he had, His only begotten Son, to die on the cross for their sins. Then he would add, “We are so sinful and God is so good.”
Thomas didn’t tell his father, but he really didn’t think he was so bad. In fact, he thought he was pretty good. When they had a good crop, his father gave God all the glory. It was God who sent the rain when needed, caused the sun to shine, and gave them the strength to work. Thomas thought he and his father deserved a little credit too. They had worked hard.
He fished in the same spot a couple of hours and had only a few nibbles. It looked as if there would be no fish for supper. He decided to try one more spot before going home. He crossed to the other side of the creek on a log. There he found a spot where he had caught a bass once before. He threw the hook in the water and before he could sit down, there was a big tug on the line. The fish lunged and almost jerked the pole out of his hands. Thomas had never had a bite like that before. His father had taught him that when he hooked a big fish to let it wear itself down before trying to pull it in, so he just held on tightly. Finally the lunges became farther and farther apart and weakened. Thomas pulled it in. “Yes,” he shouted. This was a big one. This one fish was large enough to feed the whole family of four.
He left the creek and headed home. As he walked back down the sandy path, it was still hot enough for the sand to burn his bare feet, but it didn’t matter. He whistled as he walked. He stopped at the apple tree, filled his pockets with apples, and stuck some inside his shirt. He laughed as he imagined how he must look. Then he took a shortcut through the corn patch.
 He thought about how pleased his mother would be with the fish and apples. His mother always knew how to make a boy feel that he was important and was quick to praise him when the praise was due. She was also quick to paddle him when he disobeyed.
There was only one thing his mother did that he wished she wouldn’t. Sometimes he would hear her praying, telling the Lord that she wanted Thomas to be a preacher like his grandfather. Thomas didn’t want to be a preacher. He was going to be a farmer.
All in all though, he felt that he was the luckiest boy alive. He lived in the country and had the best mama and daddy any boy could ever have. Yes, all was right in Thomas’s world.  God is good, he thought.
When everything was going well, it was easy to be happy and to say, “God is good,” but what if everything began to go wrong? What if God didn’t answer prayers the way Thomas wanted him to? Could he still say, “God is good?”