Lesson 263:
UP ON THE ROOF
Army of Tennessee Chaplain David Chaltas
It came upon the wings of a dream. It seemed so real yet…It began simple enough. It was a dream filled with friends. Some have gone before, others long lost to parts unknown, and then those who always are there. It began so pleasantly in a time long ago, yet it seems like only yesterday.
I was at a little school nestled between two mountains and within a stone’s throw from a river so cold that trout grow to 16 inches. The school always held an annual event honoring grandparents, and, as I recall, this was one of those special occasions. There were people lined up waiting to get inside and they had in their hands spring flowers to decorate the halls. The gym was abuzz with the sounds of people talking and preparing the massive cuisine for which the little community was so noted. My friends, Decker and Winford, were up to their old tricks. Lisa was the recipient of their pranks. Shelby and Margie were aglow with the activities at hand. All was right with the world.
I recall looking up and between the gym walls and the classroom hall where there were a series of small windows. It was a corner where the leaves would gather in the fall and dance to the delight of the children in the gym. The light was usually dim at that location due to the sun’s location, but on occasion I noted what I perceived to be movement. I began paying attention and to my surprise, I saw a young boy of 9 or 10 staring down at the festivities. I walked over to my friends and told them what I saw. They inconspicuously glanced in that direction and they too caught sight of the little tike. We casually walked outside and then climbed up the ladder that was beside the old coal shoot. To our amazement there indeed was a young boy that neither of us recognized. Yet there was something about this child…
We took him down and noted he was quite shy and reserved. We began asking him where he lived and he just pointed to the mountain. We offered him food and he devoured it with such haste that he got choked. Margie and Lisa came over to speak to him. He warmed up to them quickly and they asked him where he lived. He stated that he lived alone in a four room bird box house a few miles away. One of the ladies asked where his parents were and he said he lived alone. How could this be in a time when there were agencies to help, I thought to myself. Lisa asked him how did he get to the school and he said he walked. He had heard there was going to be a feast and thought he might be able to gather the scrapes after everyone left. He told the ladies that he had slept on the roof the night before, came off the roof while they were unloading food, and stolen something to eat. Tears welted in our eyes as we listened. Who was this lost child? Why had he slipped through the cracks?
I went to the phone and started calling different locations only to discover that the agencies were yet to be conceived. It seemed like no one was willing to help this child. I went and told the inner circle of men and women what I had discovered and they too were upset. I walked over to the child, looked down at him and stated, “Son, you are not alone.” Tears streamed from his eyes as he embraced my waist. It was then that I was somehow transformed and realized, in actuality, the young man was me.
It dawned on my being the many times I walked up the holler to that four room shack with no running water, and most of the time, no electricity. I would be hungry and sneak into my uncles’ house and steal food. I would ravish it and then feel so ashamed. I would go the holler, enter the old house, go to the back room, and barricade the door so that the creatures of the night would not come in on me. On occasions I would even climb the aged hand-made ladder, pull it up behind me, and sleep on the roof with a couple of blankets over me, an old club and a butcher knife beside me.
I remember looking at the sky and seeing all the stars. How beautiful it was and how peaceful the nights, with an occasional hoot of the owl and bark of Ole Wilbur, my best friend and companion. He always lay by the well box and sounded an alarm if he thought something was nearby. I recall crying, wondering why was I alone, and was there someone out there or someplace out there, for me. It was then I prayed.
I was awakened with a gasp and found myself shaken to the bone. Was it real or was it the imaginings of a bygone era? I jumped out of bed and found myself pacing and sensing an anxiety attack, I ran to my strength. I began reading and the verses flowed like mild and honey. Psalms 55:22 states the following: “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” I literally turned to the verse in John 14: 18 which stated, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." Matthew 28:20 affirms: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
I remember one night in particular when I sought refuge on the roof. I was up on the roof with my old blanket, butcher knife, lantern, and had just finished reading my mother’s old worn Bible. I was beginning to wallow in my loneliness, when I heard a rustling noise. I looked up, and there on the old chimney was a beautiful owl. For some reason, I felt it was a sign. I was not alone! I was being watched over by the heavens and the animals He created. I was not alone, for I was surrounded with the bounty of God’s gifts. From that night on, I didn’t go back on the roof for refuge but instead I went there for renewal. I didn’t know it then but I was being prepared for my mission, which I did not find until later in life.
I believe that the dream reminded me of the Great Commission that still lay ahead and to offer me resolution from things that go bump in the night. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Psalms 23: “though I walk through the valley of death, I shall fear no evil.” I went back up on the roof to get back on my path.
The old general