Good Men vs Bad Men .... How a Good man...

Good Men vs Bad Men .... How a Good Man can be and should be strong, and yet, allow emotions and feelings of love and kindness, and yes, even tears at times.

Excerpt from #7 Warriors-In Jesus’ Name

Setting: Home of Logan’s Aunt Breez.
Logan - Eleven-year-old boy whose mother was just severely beaten by his abusive father.
Mark - Logan’s and his mother’s martial arts instructor who has been trying to rescue them from the situation. He is in love with Logan’s mom, Bella.

JoJo - Mark's twelve-year-old son

Eric - JoJo's eleven-year-old cousin, son of Ricky Kino, (Mark's older brother)

Joey Adams - Mark's younger brother who is a special agent with Ameritech Security

Mark knocked on the door before he peeked in. Logan sat, in boxers and a t-shirt, cross-legged on the bed. “Hey, Logan,” he said softy. “Just thought I’d check in on you and say good night.”

Logan looked up at the man who’d been his martial arts instructor every Saturday for the past two years. Until recently that had been the extent of their interaction. Now, he was the man Logan pinned all his hopes on. The man who would take care of his mother. The man who would protect them both. Logan smiled at him. “I’m okay.”

“Whenever JoJo and I are going through a hard time, it always makes us feel better if we say a little prayer together. Would you mind if I pray with you?”

“I don’t mind. I think I’d like that.”

Mark came forward, sat on the bed, put his hand on Logan’s shoulder, closed his eyes and prayed, asking for healing for his mom and for Logan, giving thanks that they are alive, and asking a blessing of peace.

Logan felt his eyes tear up as a wonderful feeling of peace and warmth flooded his body.

Mark ended the prayer as always, in Jesus’ name, opened his eyes and smiled at Logan. “You, uh, you wanna talk about anything?”

Logan merely shrugged, because there was so much he wanted to say but he was afraid of saying too much and drive Master Mark away.

“You know, if you change your mind about school, it’s okay to miss a day or two.”

“I know, but at least if I go to school it will take my mind off of things for a while.”

Mark nodded. “I completely understand.”

“Master Mark, um— ”

“It’s just Mark right now. Master Mark is only for class, okay?”

“Okay. I was wondering. Are you gonna stay here tonight?”

Mark studied him. Realized the kid was scared. “I was planning on it. Will that make you feel better?”

“If you stay here, yeah, but, I mean, where’s JoJo?”

“He went home with Eric. His uncle will drive him to school in the morning, so that frees me up to stay here. Logan, you know your father won’t get out until tomorrow, right?”

“Yes sir, I know. But then what?”

“We get a restraining order, which means he won’t be allowed to come near you or your mom. And I’m gonna talk to a judge tomorrow for your mom and get her temporary custody of you.”

Silently, Logan looked down at his hands while he thought about what Mark said. When he looked up he couldn’t hide his dismay. “My dad won’t care about a restraining order. He’s gonna be mad. Real mad.”

Mark placed his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “I won’t let anything happen to you or your mom. Do you believe me?”

“Yeah, but, you can’t be with us all the time.”

“I’ll make arrangements.”

“Aunt Breez says she’s gonna keep your brother as my mom’s bodyguard for a while.”

“That’s a good idea.”

Logan nodded. “He’s as good as you, right?”

Mark smiled. “He’s better.”

“But he’s your little brother.”

“Yeah, but protection is his specialty.”

Logan thought about that. Finally, he nodded.

“I know this is hard on you, son. I know you’re probably a little scared and everything’s all messed up. Sometimes though, that means big changes are happening. Changes for the best.”

Logan tried to stop the tears from filling his eyes, but he was unable to. They started coming when Mark used the word ‘son.’ “I, I want change,” he forced out, his voice thick with emotion.

Mark took Logan’s face in his hands. “I’m gonna tell you something Logan. First, I think you should know that I’m in love with your mother and I want only what’s best for her. Now, you’re the only one I’ve told this and I’m telling you because I know you love her too and now you know you have someone on your side. Second, I truly care for you. I could say I love you too, but you’d probably think that’s too mushy for me to say, so I won’t say that to you yet, but I will say I think you’re a fine young man and I would be proud to have you as a son. And last, I want you to know that it’s okay to cry. Crying is a body’s natural release mechanism. It helps to cleanse the soul.”

Logan looked down as Mark’s words caused the dam to break. He sniffed loudly and next thing he knew he felt strong arms around him and he was pressed against Master Mark’s chest. He didn’t pull away. He didn’t think Mark would let him anyway. He cried silently as he thought how good it would feel to have a father like this. One who truly cared for him, who actually hugged him like he’d seen other fathers do to their sons. For just a moment he felt safe.

Excerpt from #7 Warriors-In Jesus’ Name
FREE Download at mccartneygreen.org

Pics from Freepik.com