Plans, Pelmeni, and Promises
Author’s Note: For those of you just joining us, we have embarked on a true story of forgiveness and redemption. These are sequential posts, and if you are just getting started with our story, scroll back to the post dated July 28th entitled “A Road Worth Traveling”. They are not lengthy and you’ll catch up in no time.
After a few days visiting Paul and his wife, Jim caught a ride to Orange with a friend also heading west. Settling in for the three-hour trip, he spent much of the time looking out the window and marveling at the beauty. It was as if seeing his homeland for the first time. Jim was so used to hurrying and getting to a destination. He never really bothered to stop and enjoy nature. It was as if his whole body was slowing down to a new pace of life.
The drive took them out of the city and through the Blue Mountains, aptly named for continually being enveloped in a cerulean haze. The scene took his breath away. Mountains and rock formations jutted into a blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds. Suddenly he longed to stop and go for a walk in the nearby national park. The park was famous for its underground caves where stalagmites and stalactites formed thousands of years ago. He almost suggested the detour to his friend. Although the beauty drew him in, he was quite eager to see his family, so stopping was out of the question. Maybe another time.
The lingering thought that the God of the universe who created all of this beauty for him to enjoy, was actually wanting to take him on a journey of being a friend…and a son. Having no idea what that would look like, he began to believe the days ahead could be an adventure.
As the car pulled up in front of his house, he was not surprised to see his mum watching out the window. Throwing open the door, she ran out and embraced him. The scene reminded Jim of a story he'd recently read in Luke 15, where the prodigal son returned home, and his father raced to meet him. A Bible story was coming to life, only now with him and his mother being the main characters.
He imagined the father of that story heartbroken his youngest son had run off and squandered his inheritance, rejecting his upbringing. The years of missing his son would have worn heavy on the man's heart. He most likely had watched at the door of his small, modest farmhouse each morning and evening for a glimpse of his son finally returning home. Hoping beyond hope, one day, it finally happened. The boy, dirty and nearly unrecognizable, was stumbling up the road to the house. Although a long way off, the father knew by the familiar gait it was his son. Within seconds, he had gathered up the robes of his garment and ran down the path towards him. His heart was bursting with love, hope, and forgiveness. He didn't care what anyone was watching him would think. The only thing that mattered was—his son had come home!
Overcome with emotion at the similarities with the Bible story and his current circumstances, Jim hung onto his mother. Squeezing him longer than was probably necessary, and tears running down her cheeks, Mum welcomed him home.
“A mom’s hug lasts long after she let’s go.”
"Quick, Jim, I have your favorites to eat; let's go into the house." She almost tripped trying to drag him through the front door. He inwardly chuckled at this typical and expected action from his mum. A home-cooked meal was the answer to everything.
Pulling Jim into the kitchen, Mum settled him in a chair at the table and began to gather up the pelmeni she'd been making. The counters covered in flour, and the little dumplings occupied every inch of counter space. She proceeded to drop the doughy balls filled with meat into boiling water. During the few minutes it would take them to cook, she sat across from Jim and began to ask him question after question.
“How was the family? Whom did you see?” she babbled. “You cut your hair and look so different. What happened?”
Jim began to share how his trip to Canada had been an escape—escape from his dad's pain and rebellion and unhappiness. Leaving out the details of his wild behavior the last months to spare his mum further hurt, he told of the night sitting with Auntie Nina around the table. His coming to grips with his behavior and running away from his faith and God. He spoke of kneeling beside the bed and asking God for forgiveness and, for the first time, sincerely giving his life over to God.
Forgetting all about the meal she was preparing, Mum began to sob almost uncontrollably. Trembling to get the words out, she cried, "I prayed so hard you would come back to God."
Filled with remorse, Jim apologized for all the hurt and pain he'd caused her. "I didn't know what to do when everything with Dad happened. His betrayal and abandonment of you and the family were more than I could handle. But, Mum, you need to know I never intended to hurt anyone. I needed to escape and made a lot of wrong choices. Oh, ones that I deeply regret. But I believe God does love me and has been with me every step of the way. I know He's forgiven me and that there's a plan for my life."
“Mum, will you please forgive me for all I’ve put you through these last years?”
“Of course, Mitya,” she responded using the Russian nickname of his youth. “Nothing makes me happier than knowing you’ve come back home and back to God.”
“No matter how much I say I love you, I always love you more than that.”
As Jim and his mum once again embraced, words of love and forgiveness poured out, tears soaking their shoulders. Experiencing a welcomed sense of relief, he knew he had to face the next hurdle.
Hearing the water begin to boil over on the stove, Mum rose abruptly and went to drain the pelmeni from the pot. She transferred the ravioli-type balls into a dish. She collected the ketchup and black Chinese vinegar, which Jim loved to sprinkle over his pelmeni. The preparation of the food gave him a few moments to gather his thoughts. She set the steaming bowl and a fork on the table and settled herself into the chair opposite where he was sitting.
“Uh, Mum, with this change, I need to do something different with my life,” he began with trepidation. I want to know God more deeply and not only going to church on Wednesdays and Sundays.”
Wiping away her hands on her apron and appearing to grin hesitantly, she replied, “What do you mean, Mitya?”
He added a drizzle of Chinese vinegar and ketchup to the bowl, answering, "Well, I talked with Paul in Sydney, and he knows of a short-term Bible school I could attend. It's the same one he went to and is only three hours away," he exclaimed. He knew the Russian way was to attend the weekly services and let the church's men teach you whatever you needed to know about God. There was no reason to go elsewhere. His mum would have her suspicions.
“Hhmm, what would they teach you?”
Between bites, Jim began to explain what Paul had shared with him and the little he knew of the program, praying his mum would be all right with his current, yet tentative plan. He hoped she'd understand and be able to let him follow this new path.
Jim knew it wasn’t a question of being under his mum’s authority; he’d been on his own for several years. It had more to do with the religious and cultural consequences this going outside the church's confines posed. His upbringing involved certain behavior expectations. As a believer, you would marry a nice Russian girl, raise a family, and attend only the Russian church. The elders had the answers to any questions, and to go outside of their community meant embracing heathenism. Jim understood some of the motives behind the thinking; this group of believers had come a long way and sacrificed much to be in Australia and forge a new beginning. They were trying to protect a way of life and culture from influences they deemed so very different from their own. With all that had happened to Mum already, he didn't want to add more trouble that might affect her. His decision to go elsewhere to understand the Bible could result in distancing himself and, inadvertently, his mother, from her life-long friends.
“Mitya," she answered, the tissue reappearing once again to wipe newly formed tears from her eyes. "I am just so happy and relieved you've come back and found God again. I trust you. If this is what you believe you must do, I will support your decision. Although I will confess, I wish you'd stay home with me."
“A mother’s love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. ”
Jim & Debby with Mum in 2018
Laughing and very much relieved, Jim gave his mum the biggest hug. "Mamachka, you've got me for a few more weeks. Cook to your heart's content, and I promise I will eat it all! I also promise you I will be careful, pray, and follow God's leading not to fall into any religious cult." Both laughed with relief and proceeded to finish off the pelmeni—neither knowing what this decision could mean for the future or their family.
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”