Okay for Now

My freshmen just finished reading Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt.  When I read the book last spring, I enjoyed the narrator, his voice and story.  After reading it a second time, I  loved how the author took the John James Audubon Birds of America pictures and connected it not only into the chapters but throughout the narrator’s life.  But while teaching the book in class and probably re-reading it two more times, I absolutely loved two main themes:  brokenness and healing and the use of community.  The two are tightly sewn together. 

Doug is a tough kid in the beginning of the novel.  Everything is “stupid”, his favorite word.  He lives in The Dump, his home, and many people that he either lives with or meets do not have names.  His middle brother goes unnamed until he does an act to become part of the family; Christopher carries his brother.  The So-Called-Gym-Teacher becomes Coach Reed after Doug discovers a truth about him.  When the characters become relational to Doug, they get a name. As Doug’s community show interest in this young man, Doug realizes he does not need to be obnoxious to hide the things he carries.  He has some big secrets, but through the work of caring characters, Doug is no longer a victim of an abuse. He is now a young man who has unlimited possibility.  At the end of the novel, even though life is not necessarily great, Doug can now say that he is “okay for now” because he is not alone.  Now this once-upon-a-time obnoxious 14 year old now cares for others, encourages others and helps others.  Doug’s brokenness is healed through the community.  

The book has taught me much. As a teacher, the novel taught me to look at those sometimes obnoxious teenagers, that enter my classroom shouting that everything is “stupid”, through a different lens. Perhaps they are hiding something too.  As a member of several communities, the book has shown me once again how God uses people in our lives.  Doug is a different person at the end of the novel due to the communities of people who invested their time in him.  Just how many people invested time in me throughout my life?  That number would be staggering.  But greater still, as a member of a town, a church, a school, a classroom, and a circle of friends, what do I do for the members of that community?  We are diving into a building project here at Unity.  While the idea of chapel/theater is pinch-me-exciting, this book reminded me that the job of building people is much more important.  “When you find something that’s whole, you do what you can to keep it that way....And you find something that isn’t, then maybe it’s not a bad idea to try to make it whole again.” May God bless you as you go into your communities to build people, healing brokenness through the use of community.