Fiona brought the focus back to the movie screen at the front. When she announced that the movie wasNew Jack City, we were all in. I wrapped my arms around my wife and pulled her into me. “Come here, rosy Ruth.”
“Shut up. Let’s enjoy our night,” she said. Her face turned to mine, and she delivered a soft kiss. “I love you, Megatron.”
I cupped the back of her neck with my hand to pull her lips to mine. After a quick but deep kiss, I responded, “I love you too, Ruth.”
She settled into my side. I leaned forward to sneak a peek at my baby girl and her little boyfriend. My chest tightened at the sight of her leaned into him just like her mother was into me.Big G, I’m going to need some help with this one.
Some Time Later . . .
It had been a long time since I was as frustrated as I was now. I felt like I lived my life right in the Lord. I prayed, studied my words, cussed sparingly, and I hadn’t laid anyone down since that rapist little nigga. Since I joined Echo Church, I faithfully tithed, gave offering, and first fruit. According to their giving app, my family had already sown over one hundred and seventy thousand dollars into the ministry this year. If I wanted to be exact, the number would be $173,162.03, and it was only halfwayinto the year. I had no problem when it came to putting my money where Big G assigned me.
With all of that, I felt like Big G and his ashy foot son played on my top with this one. Since Travis asked Maggie to be his girlfriend, I struggled with it. It was a weird struggle because even before he officially asked, I saw them as a teenage couple. After he did his whole Ryan Coogler presentation on Valentine’s Day, it felt like something about it shifted in my spirit. Now that it was official, my spirit was bothered.
I talked to Ruth about it. In the true fashion of who she was as my wife and a woman of God, she prayed with me. She told me to continue to pray, and if I needed more help or clarity from Big G to fast.Fast!She had me messed up, or so I thought.
When my pastor suggested the same thing, I buckled. Most people fasted from insignificant things like food. Every time I fasted, I asked Big G what to fast from. I always asked, and his answer was always the same. Ruth’s happy place!Really, Big G!
Everyone got to give up food or stupid ass soda, but I had to give up my wife’s pussy? Ruth’s happy place had never done anything wrong to me, so it baffled me why that was the answer every time. I was convinced that Jesus’s big foot sandal self told Big G to tell me that. It had to be, because the same response every time was childish.
I took it on the chin though.Obedience is better than sacrifice.Over the years, I learned that it was during my fasts that the devil worked the hardest. By the devil, I meant Ruth Lindsay ‘Good Pussy’ Manfield. While I tried to hear Big G clearer, she tried to break me down.
I was proud that I didn’t fall for it. If I knew that after three weeks of fasting Big G would tell me to invite Travis to my bible study group, I would have just smashed my wife.Invite him to bible study!That was the big life altering answer that Big G came up with.
That was the part of this walk that those folks didn’t talk about. The not so pretty part when Big G was on your head and you wanted to square up with him. I was tempted to get into some MMA training because I knew he had hands. I would need some of that glow type power. I wanted to be up there giving Leroy Green hands with Willie Hutch singing in the background.
“Mega!” Ruth’s loud voice pulled me out of my sulk. “Un-poke your bottom lip. You are doing way too much tonight.”
I turned from my seat on the couch to glance at my beautiful yoke. I felt extremely uneven with her at the moment, but she was my yoke, nonetheless. “Ruth, my love, rose.”
Her head fell back while her laughter sounded like it came from her gut. I was lost on what was funny. “Did you just rose me?” She pointed at herself. “You rose me!”
“I did, Mrs. Manfield. Keep playing with me and you’re going to be using that rose so much that it’s going to paralyze your clit. Big G and I are going through something, and I need you to discern that I will flip all this stuff over.” I joked a lot, but this struggle was real.
She continued to laugh for another second or so before she cleared her throat. “You know what, I apologize. I’m being extremely insensitive.” She came over and plopped down on the couch next to me. “Sometimes I forget that my mighty Mega has a sensitive spirit when it comes to certain things. You’ve expressed how hard this transition of our little girl growing up is for you. I have to remember that we’re coping with this differently.”
She was right. We coped completely differently when it came to our kids. “It’s alright. We’ll see how you act when Matthew and Joseph bring home their first girlfriend. We’ll see how well you cope then.”
It was my turn to laugh at her turned up lip. If I was overly sensitive about my baby girl growing up, then she was uberoverly sensitive about her little boys. She thought the whole girlfriend proposal was so cute. We would see how she felt when it was our sons that wanted to do it.
“I get your point. Maggie and I are about to get out of here so you fellas can have your meeting. Everyone should be here soon.” She hit my arm. “Oh, did Ned tell you that he has a special guest coming with him tonight?”
I chuckled. “Nah, he didn’t, but War called me. Nigga said Ned came down there and kidnapped Warrior’s little ass. I asked him why he let that man kidnap his son. That crazy nigga said everyone needs more Jesus even if they had to be kidnapped to get him.”
We both chortled. War was a character. He knew Ned wouldn’t hurt Warrior, and it wasn’t as if he was a punk anyway. Travis would be here with Croy.
Ruth and I talked until Maggie came from her room so they could leave. Matthew and Joseph were here tonight, but I doubted that they would take part in the bible study. They’d take part in the food part before they went to their room to either watch a movie or play the game. After Ruth and my baby girl left, I got up to make sure everything was ready.
Real Men Love the Lord . . .
Tonight, Samuel kept the catering simple with a sandwich charcuterie board, some dips, chips, and, of course, vegetables. Since Big G told me to invite Travis, I figured that I would invite the teenage sons of the other guys. Desmond, Sammy, and John had boys between the ages of thirteen and twenty that joined ustonight. Pastor Gilmore even brought his boy who was fifteen. Tonight, we ended up with twelve boys between the ages of thirteen and twenty.
As I sat among the boys, I now understood the depth of the assignment to invite Travis. Big G knew that it was bigger than just him. Pastor Gilmore helped me come up with a lesson for tonight. Once everyone had a plate that was half eaten, I decided to get started.
“Aye, we’re gonna get started. Tonight, we have a lot of new young faces in the mix. I wanted to do something for y’all. I’m gonna talk to y’all about something I wish someone had talked to me about at y’all’s age. Let’s talk about purity, discipline, respect. Three important attributes that you need to be a man.” I paused to let the words sink in. “What y’all think purity means?”
Warrior scoffed. “It means to not get ya . . . I mean, it means to not have sex.”
The other boys agreed with him with yeahs and head nods. That was the response that I expected. That was what most would say.
