We Will Get Through This

After a few moments of silence, Kevin began to describe how much he hurt about his parents splitting up about the same time his friend had died. He said he had a stomachache almost all the time and that he just wanted to sleep. Since he was unable to concentrate, his grades had suffered terribly. Kevin didn't think that he would ever catch up in school, nor did he feel it was worth trying.

Kevin also spoke about feeling rejected by his brothers and the loneliness of being without his friends. "I know it's tough," Sean assured him. "But we're friends, and we'll get through all this." Then Sean prayed a simple prayer for Kevin just loud enough for God and his friend to hear. After comforting Kevin for a little while Sean said, “Why don’t we skate to the end of the path and eat?” “Okay,” Kevin responded. As they skated, Sean thanked God silently for the opportunity to comfort his friend.

Later, while eating some chips Sean said, "I want to know what's happening with you and school.” Kevin said, "Even the world's fastest computer couldn't dig me out of this hole." He went on to explain that he was failing in biology and American lit, and barely hovering above failure in three other classes. He had missed a number of homework assignments which had left him unprepared for several exams he had either failed or nearly failed. Sean listened intently. Then he said, "Maybe we can't pull all your grades up to As or Bs. But I'll bet we can pull most of them up to Cs. At least you'll pass. How does that sound?" "You guys would be willing to cheat for me?" Kevin asked. "I'm not talking about doing your work for you," Sean explained. “I do pretty well in the lit and history areas, so I can help you there. Rachel DeWitt is a math and science expert, so she could probably help you catch up in biology. What do you think?" "Rachel's cool. I like her," Kevin responded. "Nobody's offered to help me like this, not even my parents - at least, not since Tim died. I've pretty much felt like I was in it alone-you know, sink or swim, get with the program or get out of the way.” "Well, it's not like that anymore, Kevin," Sean assured him. “I want to help. I know others in the youth group do too, including Doug and Jenny. Is that okay with you?" Kevin smiled. "Yeah," he said at last, "that's okay with me. Thanks ... friend." Kevin seemed happier and more animated during the skate back home.