STORY - PUSHUPS FOR DONUTS

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending school in Utah.In this school Seminary classes are held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. 

He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's Seminary class.

Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?"

Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do."

Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time."

"Do you think you could?" Again asked Brother Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do
it? I need you to tell me you can do it," Brother Christianson said. Steve said, "Well... I think I
can... yeah, I can do it."

Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother
Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts.

Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream
centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited - it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk.

Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.

Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.
And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their
donut.

And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.

Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY!
I said I didn't want one!"

Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"
Jenny said, "No."

Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve,would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.
 
Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want."

And Bro. Christianson went on.
A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on.
Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him."
Steve said, "Yes, let him come in."

Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you
want a donut?"

"Yes."

"Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's
arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.
Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"
Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson , can I help him?"

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and
said.

"And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."

HES ALMOST LIKE THE PRODIGAL SON...

we all (or most anyway) have heard the story (from the Bible) of the Prodigal Son.
of you have not, ill refresh your memory, without going itno any bible text to do it and throw a modern spin on it so it makes sense for today.,..

The parable begins with a young man, the younger of two sons, who asks his father to give him his share of the estate. The implication is the son couldn't wait for his father's death for his inheritance, he wanted it immediately. The father agrees and divides his estate between both sons.
Upon receiving his portion of the inheritance, the younger son travels to a distant country and wastes all his money in extravagant living. Immediately thereafter, a famine strikes the land; he becomes desperately poor and is forced to take work as a swineherd. (This would have been abhorrent to Jesus' Jewish audience, who considered swine unclean animals.) When he reaches the point of envying the food of the pigs he is watching, he finally comes to his senses.

the son prepares a speach, to reunite with his father and ask to be a work hand.

 The son does not even have time to finish his rehearsed speech, since the father calls for his servants to dress him in a fine robe, a ring, and sandals, and slaughter the "fattened calf" for a celebratory meal.
The older son, who was at work in the fields, hears the sound of celebration, and is told about the return of his younger brother. He is not impressed, and becomes angry.

The parable concludes with the father explaining to the older son that because the younger son had returned, in a sense, from the dead, celebration was necessary.

this is almost an exact story of my ex-husband and his family (mom & Dad divorced with other family now, and 3 siblings with spouses and children.)
he walked away, returned 5 years later unannounced and with a wife and 3 year old in tow.
we were welcomed and  loved by everyone.
but then, when my son was 6, he did it again, and this time we were also included in the missingness of the life he chose.

i saw the notification, opened it up, and was surprised to see it was from my ex sister in law cathy.

she was asking to get in touch with Daniel (my son), as her mother, Delores Dean (Dans Mother) had passed away.

i was in shock. and so hurt, for her, her mother was a really nice woman.

so i told Daniel to check his messages and he saw she had one, and they spoke to each other about the thing she was needing to get in touch with him about.

i asked if she wanted me to try to find Dan (my ex) and tell him.

she never told me i couldnt, just that SHE didnt feel the need to inform him.

see, my ex basically has left his family wondering about him.(prodigal son)

when i knew where he was and i had found cathy, i informed her. she wasnt to thrilled to know about him, and wasnt to thrilled to know i made contact, she never friended me when i had asked her to.
i had shared his info with her, but i doubt she wrote him. 

im not really sure why she didnt want to have contact with me.... im not her brother. but regardless, it was a shock to see her messaging me to get in touch with my son.

so, im put in a precarious place, i have info i really feel is something Dan should be told, its his mother after all...but his family doesnt  feel they want to deliver it. not that he shouldnt have it, but that they dont feel the need to reunite with him, after he has walked away from them 2 times (that i know of now) and  have him do it again.

he did it to me as well, when my son was 6, he left. never looked back.

i have tried all my power and might to forgive him, and allow him the opportunity to know his son.

its by divine powers that i even knew where he was when i found him. i had written a blog about our marriage, for my son, as a family history kind of moment, and a month or two later someone contacted me to tell me she thought my ex husband was someone she knew. we exchanged info, and i knew, just from a few things she told me he was the same person. well, she told me he was incarcerated and for what, and i went and  did some searches on him online and found his prison, and his inmate number, and an address to write him.

so, i did.

just before he was released i sent him a Christmas card. let him know i knew where he was and why, and that i still had Daniel. and offered him the chance then to speak, write to his son. explain himself, say he was sorry, repent, ask forgiveness...
he had been contacted by my Adoption lawyer for removal of parental rights when Daniel was 16 so my current husband could adopt him and Daniel could have our last names, i just didnt feel it was right to have Daniel keep Dans last name, if i had remarried, and his dad wasnt in his life anymore, i wanted my son to be able to have the new last name as well. so we filed for adoption, and that info i was given was the access and avenue to have Dan served with the papers to allow for the proceedings to go forward.

after he was released he got on Facebook, made a fake account, and chatted with me a few times. we talked mostly through emails back and forth. nothing special. but he did give me a number to a place he was staying at. (he timed out of that halfway facility, and has since been listed as under a bridge)

so, i called it one day, and got him on the phone, and then handed the phone over to Daniel. and they spoke.

that was the last time i heard from him.

hes been MIA ever since, but because he had to register, i have an address for him, which isnt a REAL address, not like a house number and street, its a general area. address is..under a bridge. actually, between 2 streets and listed as "underpass" (by him, of course).

no, im not lying. hes homeless. and even that hurts my heart.

so, with this new news i have to try to figure out how to get this info to him, and im not really sure how.

i have a few ideas...

one- email/mail all the local shelters with  a letter and his face on it, so they can try to make sure they spot him.

two- same for all his local soup kitchens. may be the same places as the shelters.

three- get in touch with my church there in the area where he last had an address, and see if hes tried to make contact with my faith, for any assistance.

he should know his mom has passed away.

i had to tell him his dad passed away a month before he was released this last time.  i found the obituary for his death online. sent that info to him. and he was released a month later.

such devastating news.

when i posted this info in facebook, and the fact i felt i needed to try to find him, i had ppl saying things to me like "your a better person than me", most were for comfort for my son, Dan and his family. but that one comment struck me...

i would hope, whatever pain i may cause anyone else in this life i would be forgiven for it.

he walked away, and yes thats a bad thing to do to a 6 year old, but ya know what? we made it, my kids not into drugs, doesnt drink, doesnt hang out with his buddies after dark, has a job (all be i a part time weekend one, thats 3rd shift, its still..a job), hes not anxious to drive...to date, to do anything his age is normally always doing and getting in trouble for.

im a stronger woman because Dan walked away. His choice bettered us.

and i feel, at some level i have forgiven him.

on a level, i also still love him. im not IN LOVE with him (huge difference) but i do, still love him.

i feel i can still love dan, because we do share a history, im just never going to ever be IN love with him. he ruined that when he left.
i am actually..grateful he left, not because he was a bad man, no, im greatful because i wouldnt be who i am today had he stayed. im a better person, and stronger for that trial i was forced to bear, and i hope it did good for my son, as well.
the ONLY thing i regret, is that Dan hasnt told Daniel why he left, and i feel Daniel is owed that much.
its not about how i hurt, i was an adult, our son, was 6. and it may have impacted him in ways i have no idea, just because he looks ok on the surface, doesnt  mean he is.

and now, i have this information i feel he should have. and i dont know if ill ever be able to give it to him.

so, im hunting.

found some shelters online, a few have email addresses, so, ill start there.

HOLY FAMILY SHELTER
Google+page
907 North Holmes Ave

Indianapolis, IN(317) 635-7830

WHEELER MISSION MINISTERIES
Google + page

245 North Delaware Street
Indianapolis, IN
(317) 636-2720

DAYSPRINGS CENTER
Google+ page

1537 Central Avenue
Indianapolis, IN
(317) 635-6780


GOOD NEWS MINISTERIES 
Google+ page 

2716 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN
(317) 638-2862

HORIZON HOUSE INC
Google+ page
1033 East Washington Street

Indianapolis, IN(317) 423-8909

COALITION FOR HOMELESSNESS

Google+ page

3737 North Meridian Street
Indianapolis, IN
(317) 630-0853

ok, and since i know the address he reported, when he did last, i can assume hed frequent or visit one of the missions close to him where he address was listed at, again, its an underpass under a bridge.

this is the shelters, is till have to look at addresses for soup kitchens which could be as many, more, or even less...

7 soup kitchens. one more than shelters and actually ONE of the shelters is also a soup kitchen.

CENTENARY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

1035 North Oxford Street
Indianapolis, IN
(317) 639-1481

WHEELER MISSION MINISTERIES
Google + page

245 North Delaware Street
Indianapolis, IN
(317) 636-2720

SECOND HELPINGS INC. 
1121 Southeastern Avenue, 
Indianapolis, IN 46202

(317) 632-2664

COMMUNITY CARING AND SHARING 

Google+ page 
 2830 South Holt Road, Indianapolis, IN 46241

(317) 243-8023

MOUNT OLIVE MISSIONARY BAPTIST 

Google+ page ^^^

1003 West 16th Street Indianapolis, IN 46202

(317) 634-9178

GLEANERS FOOD BANK OF INDIANA 
3737 Waldemere Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46241

(317) 925-0191

LINWOOD CHRISTIAN CHURCH 

Google+ page ^^^^

Indianapolis, IN 46201

(317) 357-8771

 soooo..all together thats...12 places to message, and or send a message to in the attempt to get this
info to Dan somehow. as he has every right to know about his mother, just because hes distanced 
himself from his family (for whatever reason) and they have chosen NOT to forgive that offense
doesnt mean this information ISNT his to have. its as much his as any of theirs.

so, im taking it upon myself to try to locate this man, who has damaged, and hurt my family..
and taking the higher road, and even tho i know nothing can come of this but more pain...
im going to try to deliver this message to him, because thats his mother. and he should know.

i have a long haul ahead of me in this venture.  without any certain outcome, heck, he may not even be
in Indiana any longer. i have NO idea, but THAT just makes it that much harder to find him, and get 
him this info thats all his to have,

remember, at some point we are all a prodigal child. 
i know if my son left, and went unknown, id be so thankful he had returned, even if it meant more pain 
afterwards. 
id be devestated if i was Dan and didnt know about my moms passing.
it was hard enough as it was when my own mother passed 12 years ago, but to not know....id have been 
shattered.

now, i could be compeltely wrong, and this may have no effect on him what so ever.
but its not my info to keep. 


but...
i WILL try.
i will start on these tomorrow...
i still have to try to find an obituary for her online, im sure her family did one. 
if i can find that, ill include that in my letters and emails. 

Michelle