My Wonder Studio

Tom came into my office, which was on the business’ premises with my desk parked by the window that overlooked the stables and most of the comings and goings. I was careful to monitor the work habits of my employees, and I was a hard taskmaster. In those days I would have most likely been regarded as a veritable Scrooge, should the character have already been invented. I did not observe Christmas in full, being Jewish. Was I married? Yes. I had a hardy, but faithful little wife who I dearly loved and two children at that time, a boy and a girl.

Tom. He was a skinny, pale fifteen-year-old seeking labour, standing in my office clutching his cap against his chest in the manner typical in today’s movies depicting those times. Very respectful, punctuating his rather common speech with “yissir”!

I offered him the minimum, for which he was grateful, and I put him on the most menial of tasks under one of my subordinates. Tom began as barely what you would have called a stable hand.

Why did I hire him? I had inherited a deeply suspicious and guarded nature that granted no one the virtue of doing things without selfish motive. Everyone had an “angle,” as you say nowadays, and Tom’s motive would have been his near poverty; an easy one to spot and to manipulate. But I had another reason to hire him; I liked the boy. Why? Something in his face that would have been difficult to explain at the time. Now I see that it was a sparkle and sincerity in his eyes, along with an eagle-eyed awareness that made one feel uncomfortable sometimes, or at least me, when they met mine. Yet I felt as if I knew him.

Let me say a little more about eyes, his in particular, because in retrospect I can see what it was that made me trust him, although I was unaware of it then. Now I say that the discomfort I felt when he looked at me was occasional, and it was due to my sense of shame in the face of his ... purity? Innocence? Those aren’t the right words. Compassion, maybe. Plain love, for want of a better word, and really there is no better.

The sad part which still causes me chagrin is that at first I treated him terribly, cruelly, taking an almost sadistic pleasure out of snapping at him and yelling at him from my office window, shaming him in front of the other stable boys who would join me in my sport, to which he would utter nary a peep. That infuriated me, doubling my shame back on my own head.

Nevertheless, I observed him when he knew no one was looking. Besides speaking gently to the horses, workmates, and customers, he was attentive to details. If something, such as a bale of hay, was out of place, he would straighten it and sweep the loose straw around it. He would pick up litter, move a plank with a nail sticking up that could cause injury, and much other suchlike attendance would he do. Most of it unnoticed except by my watchful eye.

But ... my suspicion “kicked in” as you say. I thought he knew! So, I called him up into my office one day and told him I had been observing him and asked him if he was aware of it. He told me no, of course not, although he did say that the other boys had warned him that “Stocky” doesn’t miss a single thing from his office window. That struck me as odd, as for the most part the other workers’ diligence paled against Tom’s, and I told him so. I asked him why.

“I already have Someone watching me all the time,” he said.

I asked him who, and he said, “God.”

Then he asked me if I believed in God. I told him of course I did. He then asked me why I didn’t observe Christmas, and I said it went against my beliefs. He asked me to explain, and I closed the conversation by dismissing him. But I thought about his answer. In fact, I lay awake sometimes thinking of it, and wondered about that unseen, all-seeing Eye. I mused on my own suspicious observance and even attributed the same characteristics to the Almighty.

“How would I like to have me watching me?” I came to ask myself one night and felt a terrible pang of shame, so much so that I asked the same of Tom the following day: “How would you feel if you knew you were watching you?”

He chuckled at my question, and said it was very thought-provoking, but he said he didn’t know. He would only hope he would be pleased at what he saw.

“And what about God watching you?” I asked him.

Tom replied that he would find that infinitely more preferable as God would grant him more mercy than Tom would himself.

I was shocked at his answer; I felt it was almost presumptuous. I asked him what on earth gave him that idea.

“Because I love His Son,” Tom replied.

Despite my surging resentment of his answer, I asked him to explain. He thought for a few moments. I’ll try to put his explanation in Tom’s words as close as I can remember.

“If you had an only son very dear to you, Mr. Stock, and a beggar ruffian came by the gate one day and began talking with him, and as a result, so loved your son that he changed his ways and would come by every day just to talk with him, how would you see the beggar? Would you not overlook his rags, his past and even his present failings?”

As Tom spoke, I was picturing my very own son, and his “parable” was crystal clear. I thanked him for his insightful answer and dismissed him. I said no more to him on the matter, but from that day forth, I ceased from hurling abuse at him and castigated any that would. Furthermore, at the first sign of a promotional post opening in my business that would suit him, I secured it for Tom. His diligence followed him along with his development of wise, shrewd, and above all, thoughtful handling of customers, which needless to say soon motivated me to promote him to senior partner in the business.

As stubborn as I continued to be, it took a while, maybe five years, for me to humble myself and even confess to Tom that I’d reconsidered the fact that God had a Son and that I was even speaking to Him on many an occasion, especially during a sleepless night. The wonderful thing was the sense of release I experienced upon making this admission and the happiness I felt at seeing Tom’s reaction.

Tom, dear Tom.

“You’re right, Mom.” Adele had been training for nearly two years, with a goal to one day participate in international competitions, and she was now one of the best on her team. Although these years had not been without their difficulties and sacrifices, she felt a sense of personal accomplishment.

After her early morning run, Adele rested on a park bench and thought of what her mother had said to her. Back at home, she told her mother, “Thank you for helping me get moving this morning even when I didn’t feel like it.”

“Well, you have persevered with this tough program, and you are succeeding,” said her mother. “That is commendable.”

Adele thanked and hugged her mother, then bounded out of the door for the gym to train with the rest of her team. While she and the other five girls on the team were waiting for their coach to arrive, they noticed a new girl standing near the doorway. She looked about fifteen and was dressed in the team’s training outfit.

“Team, I’d like you to meet Lina Colwich,” the coach said when he entered the gym. “She recently transferred here from another team. Please take the time to get to know her and make her feel welcome.”

Intrigued, the rest of the team stood silently assessing the newcomer. This was the first time someone had joined the team in over a year. The coach blew his whistle, and all attention turned toward warm-up exercises and drills.

At the end of practice, Adele decided to strike up a conversation with Lina. She was hesitant, as Lina was older than her and had seemed confident during practice. Mustering up courage, Adele approached her.

“Hi, my name is Adele.”

“Well, I guess you already know mine is Lina,” the girl answered with a quick smile that welcomed friendly conversation

“What brought you to our team?” Adele asked.

“My dad recently transferred for work,” said Lina. “This is the only team in the area that is at the level of competition for which I’ve been training. The adjustment with the move has been difficult, and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about a new team as I was with my previous team for over five years.”

“I'm sorry if we didn’t seem more, umm … welcoming initially,” said Adele. “We haven’t had anyone new join the team in quite a while. I guess we’ve gotten comfortable with our crowd. Anyway, I’m glad you can join us … and see you at practice tomorrow, right?”

Lina smiled. “Right!”

A few weeks later, Adele’s mother told her, “Your coach called and asked if we could show up at the gym a little earlier tomorrow for practice. He wants to talk to you.”

Early the next morning, Adele went to the gym. Lina was waiting too.

“Good morning,” said the coach. “I'm sure you're both wondering why I asked you to come in early.”

The girls nodded.

“A talent scout will be attending a competition—a five thousand meters race—that I would like both of you to participate in. I’ve talked with your parents, and they have agreed to your involvement, but the final decision is yours. Both of you have impressive times, and you’ve been consistent in your improvement, but if you want to participate, your training schedule will be more rigorous for the next few weeks. I’m confident you’ll continue to progress.”

Adele and Lina looked at each other in astonishment at this unexpected but exciting news. A talent scout’s presence at a competition was overwhelming, and Adele wondered whether anything would come of it. While she enjoyed running and always did her best, she was one of the youngest on the team. By the time the coach finished explaining about the competition’s training regimen, the rest of the team began arriving for practice.

When practice was over, Adele sat silently on the bench. Lina interrupted her thoughts. “Hey! What’s up, Adele? You seemed a bit distracted today.”

“Um, I guess I’m still trying to wrap my head around the upcoming competition.”

“Me too. But we’re in this together, right? If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

Adele mustered up a smile “Thanks, Lina. I’m glad we have each other. I'll see you tomorrow.”

And the great day finally arrived! Adele was nervous, but that did not diminish her excitement about the event. The coach came up to her along with Lina. “We'll have to get to the track early,” he said. “We can do a few laps and preparatory stretches to make sure you are warmed up.”

Lina did not respond. She was feeling unwell. Unbeknownst to the coach, she had sprained her ankle during practice the day before. It had not hurt her much, so she kept the injury to herself. Now it was hurting more than it had yesterday.

“Is your ankle all right, Lina?” the coach asked as they began their warm-up exercises. “It looks as though…”

“Huh? Oh! Yeah … it's fine.”

Coach wasn't so sure. He called the doctor over to look, and the doctor said the sprain would take at least a week to heal. “Additional strain on it now could increase the injury and even cause permanent damage,” he said.

With the race set to start in a couple of hours, there was no way Lina could compete.

“I know you must be disappointed,” Coach said. “But your well-being is more important than this race. There will be other opportunities.”

Lina nodded and bit her lip in disappointment, but beyond her own disappointment, she knew Adele needed her support.

“I’m so nervous,” Adele whispered to her once the coach had gone to confer further with the doctor. “I was relying on doing this with you. I don’t know if I can do it on my own.”

“Of course, you can. You’ve been training hard for this; we both have. So go out there and show them you can win!”

“But I wasn’t expecting to be doing this alone.”

“You’re not alone, Adele. We’re all here to support you. Whenever I’m nervous at a competition I block out all the crowds, the other racers … in fact, just about everything. I remind myself that I run because I enjoy it, and I’m excited to see how I can do this time around. Praying brings me calm and helps me focus too.”

“Thanks, Lina. I’ll remember that.”

Adele found a quiet corner, closed her eyes, and focused on her love of running and prayed for the perseverance needed to complete the race. Soon her pre-race jitters faded, and she felt confidence take over her mind as she positioned her foot on the starting block. The starting pistol sounded, and Adele set off. It was a long race, and even as she struggled to keep up her pace, she could sense her team’s confidence and support. She also knew that no matter the outcome, she had given her best.

As she began the final lap, her body became weary, and she worried that she would not have the energy to complete the race.

Jesus, give me strength! she prayed.

Suddenly, as the finish line came in sight, she no longer felt tired. She rounded the last curve behind several runners, and with a sudden burst of speed, she sprinted toward the finish line.

It was not until the crowds cheered that she stopped and realized that she had won the race!

“I knew you could do it!” Lina exclaimed. “You held strong throughout and pushed hard that last lap. You were amazing!”

“Having your support made all the difference!” Adele said.

Delight filled Adele’s heart as she received her medal. But beyond the accolades, she had found something more important that day—the support of friendship and the confidence that only comes from Jesus, a friend who would be giving her the strength to persevere through any challenge and win the race.

“If we say we live in God, we must live the way Jesus lived” (1 John 2:6 ERV).

Be content today, in this moment, and in what your goals are at this moment. Let your life be one of joy in what you have and in who you are. Put your whole heart into what you do and strive for excellence. Reflect God’s love to others by being on the lookout for what you can do for others. If you can focus on doing those things, then you will be on the path to success in your life.

So, for today: be content, be diligent, be grateful, be kind, and be humble. This will lay the right foundation for what the future holds for you.

“Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14 ESV).

Footnote:
¹ Micah 6:8 ICB