#3 - 11 100 Drabbles of Summer
Camp:
When Delia was nine years old she really, really wanted to go to summer camp. REALLY. All the kids at school got to go to summer camp and she wanted to go too.
Summer camp is a magical place, swimming, crafts, bon fires, singing. BEING ALL GROWN UP. Delia is the champion of being all on her own and grown up, in her own head. So she wants to go to camp. She wants to be normal. Mainly she wants to get away from her father.
Church bible camp is established, Delia is devastated.
Bug:
"Don't what?" Little David smiles, the picture of innocence but he keeps putting his finger in her ear.
"You're bugging me! Stop!" She shoves her little brother and sticks her tongue out.
"Make me!" He licks his finger and tries to stick that wet finger in her ear, again. Delia flinches and shoves her brother, hard. He falls back and then lunges forward to shove her in return.
Everything comes to an abrupt end when Pastor turns and thunders: "Stop it and shut the fuck up!"
Wrath:
"Therefore the LORD's anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down." Pastor quotes Isaiah 5:25 from memory. The wrath of the Lord is mighty, he tells his people. But the mercy of the Lord is just as strong. He points out the dichotomy of God with his hand up raised, capable of both kindness and indignation.
At home Pastor shows the dichotomy of man much the same way. Dinner plates crash to the floor before the screaming starts. Delia covers her ears and waits for it to be over.
Pride:
Pastor smiles and steps out on the empty stage in his brand new, state of the art ministry center. It's more like an auditorium with thousands of seats, big projection screen and surround sound. The seats on the floor can be picked up and moved and if anyone was so inclined and play a quick game of full court basketball.
"This is it, this is what I've worked for, princess." He puts his hand on the dark mass of Delia's hair and she flinches. Pastor gives a conceded smirk, "like to see that blowhard Jerry Falwell now."
Sloth:
"Idle hands are the devil's playground is one of Pastor's favorite expressions. He keeps his family busy. They are always doing something, visiting some family, cleaning something, raising money, bringing in canned goods, feeding the hungry. It's the one thing Delia keeps with her even though she hasn't stepped foot in a church for years.
All the people the family visits, and helps, for all the charity and emotional comfort they give to those who are hurting, Pastor is no where to be seen. His hands aren't exactly idle and they're giving, just not doing God's work.
Greed:
There can always be more. It can always be bigger. Pastor did it in such a way as to make it appear that it was for the greater good of his people. The bigger stage, the buses for the youth camp. Then there was the Rolls Royce to make sure he had a dependable, safe automobile to get him to where God needed him to be. The plane was a bit much but he really, really needed it to do God's work.
It was never enough, the possessions he owned were never enough, never would be.
Lust:
"It's not a sin," Pastor whispers to the meek, tearful woman sitting across from him in the prayer room. "This is fulfilling God's plan for you." The woman nods and wipes her face off with the tissue crumpled in her hand. She wants a child, she wants a son or a daughter so badly that she can love and call her own. It's a want that has driven her to her pastor and healing daughter.
The hands that Delia lays on her are tentative and genuine. Pastor's hands are not. Delia hides until its over.
Envy:
The associate pastor that Pastor hired on to help tend his flock grew to be too popular, too quickly. He was approachable, personally generous and likable. Delia liked him immediately and his pretty young wife who could talk about anything and introduced her to things like, Chai tea and journaling in creatively decorated journals. She introduced Delia to a whole world of spirituality that Pastor never explored.
This, of course could not stand. This popularity and trust that this man inspired encroached on Pastor's. He destroyed him with vicious rumors until he was forced to leave.
Gluttony:
Pastor was never a small man. In his high school days he played football, and he used to joke that he kept up the physique even if he didn't keep up the sport. Pastor is tall, towering over little Delia, with a massive mop of blond hair and blue eyes. A big blond giant with red cheeks and hands that were always to warm to the touch. He loves church picnics, massive events that took over whole water parks with picnic tables filled with a million varieties of food.
He laughs and chats with his people.
When Delia was nine years old she really, really wanted to go to summer camp. REALLY. All the kids at school got to go to summer camp and she wanted to go too.
Summer camp is a magical place, swimming, crafts, bon fires, singing. BEING ALL GROWN UP. Delia is the champion of being all on her own and grown up, in her own head. So she wants to go to camp. She wants to be normal. Mainly she wants to get away from her father.
Church bible camp is established, Delia is devastated.
Bug:
"Don't what?" Little David smiles, the picture of innocence but he keeps putting his finger in her ear.
"You're bugging me! Stop!" She shoves her little brother and sticks her tongue out.
"Make me!" He licks his finger and tries to stick that wet finger in her ear, again. Delia flinches and shoves her brother, hard. He falls back and then lunges forward to shove her in return.
Everything comes to an abrupt end when Pastor turns and thunders: "Stop it and shut the fuck up!"
Wrath:
"Therefore the LORD's anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down." Pastor quotes Isaiah 5:25 from memory. The wrath of the Lord is mighty, he tells his people. But the mercy of the Lord is just as strong. He points out the dichotomy of God with his hand up raised, capable of both kindness and indignation.
At home Pastor shows the dichotomy of man much the same way. Dinner plates crash to the floor before the screaming starts. Delia covers her ears and waits for it to be over.
Pride:
Pastor smiles and steps out on the empty stage in his brand new, state of the art ministry center. It's more like an auditorium with thousands of seats, big projection screen and surround sound. The seats on the floor can be picked up and moved and if anyone was so inclined and play a quick game of full court basketball.
"This is it, this is what I've worked for, princess." He puts his hand on the dark mass of Delia's hair and she flinches. Pastor gives a conceded smirk, "like to see that blowhard Jerry Falwell now."
Sloth:
"Idle hands are the devil's playground is one of Pastor's favorite expressions. He keeps his family busy. They are always doing something, visiting some family, cleaning something, raising money, bringing in canned goods, feeding the hungry. It's the one thing Delia keeps with her even though she hasn't stepped foot in a church for years.
All the people the family visits, and helps, for all the charity and emotional comfort they give to those who are hurting, Pastor is no where to be seen. His hands aren't exactly idle and they're giving, just not doing God's work.
Greed:
There can always be more. It can always be bigger. Pastor did it in such a way as to make it appear that it was for the greater good of his people. The bigger stage, the buses for the youth camp. Then there was the Rolls Royce to make sure he had a dependable, safe automobile to get him to where God needed him to be. The plane was a bit much but he really, really needed it to do God's work.
It was never enough, the possessions he owned were never enough, never would be.
Lust:
"It's not a sin," Pastor whispers to the meek, tearful woman sitting across from him in the prayer room. "This is fulfilling God's plan for you." The woman nods and wipes her face off with the tissue crumpled in her hand. She wants a child, she wants a son or a daughter so badly that she can love and call her own. It's a want that has driven her to her pastor and healing daughter.
The hands that Delia lays on her are tentative and genuine. Pastor's hands are not. Delia hides until its over.
Envy:
The associate pastor that Pastor hired on to help tend his flock grew to be too popular, too quickly. He was approachable, personally generous and likable. Delia liked him immediately and his pretty young wife who could talk about anything and introduced her to things like, Chai tea and journaling in creatively decorated journals. She introduced Delia to a whole world of spirituality that Pastor never explored.
This, of course could not stand. This popularity and trust that this man inspired encroached on Pastor's. He destroyed him with vicious rumors until he was forced to leave.
Gluttony:
Pastor was never a small man. In his high school days he played football, and he used to joke that he kept up the physique even if he didn't keep up the sport. Pastor is tall, towering over little Delia, with a massive mop of blond hair and blue eyes. A big blond giant with red cheeks and hands that were always to warm to the touch. He loves church picnics, massive events that took over whole water parks with picnic tables filled with a million varieties of food.
He laughs and chats with his people.