After all, so much good had come from it.
Students reading Scripture, talking about God, praying for themselves and their school . . . all of it had made a difference.
But since the story broke about her dad suing Principal Quinn, Cami had realized something. Most people really were against God. Or at least the loudest people were. They were all over Twitter and Facebook. Even Instagram. They made memes mocking Principal Quinn and Hamilton High and they were angry with the teachers for not blowing the whistle sooner.
Like they really didn’t care about all the good that had happened.
When school was over, Cami took her time getting to the club. She wanted to slip in once everyone else was seated, take a spot in the back row, where it was dark. So no one could see her or shoot angry looks in her direction.
Principal Quinn was already up front as Cami sat down.
“Today we are talking about forgiveness and grace.” He pulled his Bible from the podium and sat on a stool. “How many of you have your Bibles today?”
Half the kids raised their phones in the air. The other half held up an actual Bible. Cami raised her eyebrows in the dark of her seat. A year ago she would’ve been surprised if a single Hamilton student had a Bible.
Principal Quinn asked them to find Matthew 18. “This is a story about forgiveness. About how many times God asks us to forgive the people who hurt us.”
The way my dad has hurt me, Cami thought. She pulled her Bible from her backpack and opened to Matthew. Principal Quinn went on to talk about the conversation the disciples had with Jesus. “?‘How many times should I forgive? Seven?’?”
Seemed like a big number to Cami. If her dad mocked her and yelled at her and made her the pariah of her school, forgiving him seven times would be a lot. But that wasn’t where the story ended. Principal Quinn kept reading. “?‘Jesus tells the man not seven times. But seventy times seven times.’?” He looked around the room.
Cami felt like Principal Quinn was looking straight at her.
“Jesus wants us to have a heart of forgiveness all the time. No matter how often someone hurts us or offends us.” He paused. “Some of you have been seriously hurt in the past. You’ve been the victim of a crime or someone you love has been killed or hurt. You’ve had parents who have mistreated you or neglected you. Maybe they’re angry at you, and you can’t understand why. Don’t know what you ever did to deserve the way you’re being treated.”
Cami might as well have been the only one in the room. She felt herself begin to shiver.
“God does not say you have to like the people who do you harm. But He does say to forgive.” Principal Quinn held up his Bible again. “Now turn to James 2:13. The last part of the verse.” He waited while the kids did as he asked. “Let’s read it together.”
Together they read the words of the verse out loud. “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” Next they looked up another Bible verse. One that talked about grace. “The message is clear. Grace is always better.”
Principal Quinn went on to explain that grace was a replacement for punishment and revenge. “Grace means you are willing to give people another chance. The way God is giving you another chance. The way He always will.” Again he looked around the room. “I want you to think about the ways you’ve been hurt, and how you can forgive those people.”
He talked of Matthew West’s song, the one about forgiving people. “A line in the song sums it up.” He hesitated. “The prisoner that it really frees is you.”
It was true. Being angry at someone—even her dad—was a prison. It was all Cami had been thinking about. She could tell Principal Quinn was about to turn on the lights and ask the students to get in small groups. She needed to make her move—now or never.
As if she were being driven by a force not her own, Cami suddenly stood. “Principal Quinn. May I say something? Please?” She walked slowly up the center aisle until she was sure he could see her. “I need to talk to you and the group. If that’s okay.”
Principal Quinn smiled at her, and in that single moment Cami knew she was going to be okay. Because the way he looked at her should’ve been with anger or frustration. Sadness, at least. Instead he looked at her the way she imagined God might look at her. With fondness and joy.
“Come on up here, Cami.” He held out one arm, welcoming her.
She climbed the six stairs to the stage and took the spot beside Principal Quinn. He put his arm around her shoulders, the way a dad might do. Her heart felt warm and safe. “Thank you,” she whispered to him. Hope filled her soul. Principal Quinn would never know what this meant to her. This public show of the very forgiveness and grace he’d been talking about for thirty minutes.
Cami drew a deep breath. “In the last few days, most of you have been wondering about me. By now you know about the lawsuit.” She looked down at her feet. How could her dad do this to her?
“It’s okay.” Principal Quinn spoke quietly, just for her. “They’re listening.”
They were. He was right. She nodded and lifted her eyes to her peers once more. “Some of you might think this is my fault. Like I went home and told my dad about the club so the whole thing would fall apart.”
One of the students had turned on the audience lights, and Cami could see the looks on their faces now. They were hurt, angry. Clearly. She glanced down again, just for a moment. Don’t be mad at them. Forgive the way you want to be forgiven. Cami exhaled, releasing every angry feeling. “I want to tell you this is not my doing. My dad came to the parent meeting. He heard about our Bible study club there, and he blew up. At Principal Quinn, and all of you. But mostly he blew up at me.”
She looked at Principal Quinn beside her. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, and I’m so sorry my dad is doing all this.” She turned to her classmates again. “But I’m with all of you. I love this club.” Her voice began to shake, and tears blurred her eyes. “Ever since we’ve been meeting and reading the Bible. Ever since we’ve been praying, I feel different. I am different.” She caught the first few tears with her knuckle. “I never even wanted to come here. I hated my family and I hated my life. I had no dreams. I didn’t care about school or my family or anyone but myself.”
The reality of Cami’s changes rocked her to the core. “I’m a different person now. I believe Jeremiah 29:11 that God has good plans for me. I talk to Him all the time, and I have hope. Real hope.” She looked around the room. “I’m one of you. And on behalf of my dad, I ask your forgiveness.”
Principal Quinn smiled at her and then he began to clap. Slowly at first, and then louder and with more enthusiasm, Cami’s classmates began to applaud, too. She looked over the kids in their seats, and her breath caught in her throat at what happened next.
Like the others, Jordy was still clapping when he stood. Then the kids around him did the same until finally everyone was standing and cheering for her.
Cami couldn’t stop her tears. They ran down her face and reminded her that the Bible was right about forgiveness and grace. They were proof of faith. Proof of God. Cami knew firsthand now.
It was grace.
Grace personified.
Cami was still riding the high of being loved by the other kids when she got home later than usual. The small groups had met and then her peers had prayed for her specifically and for the club. None of them knew how great the trouble was that lay ahead.
Turned out that was especially true for Cami.