No one in my young life intimidated me like Rick. We were the two smallest kids in school, and attended even the same classes. I had just moved from Kentucky to Kansas and had only been introduced to this system of changing rooms. That was offsetting enough without the sudden threats of this red haired guy.

It was maybe a week when his threats started, "Wayne, I don't know where you came from, but stay out of my way!" Succinct and clear, he would scowl about the play area during recess not really interacting with anyone, just skulking around. It turned out that he was also the fastest kid in our junior high, but skill and athletic prowess didn't satisfy him.

Our teacher was Catholic and would lead us all in prayer each morning, the same year that President Kennedy was assassinated, while she idolized him as the leader of our nation. We prayed for the family that day in class. Rick smirked at the ceiling.

I was afraid of him. There wasn't any way to put lipstick on that pig of a response. I'd never been confronted for my beliefs up to that point, but this young rooster of a small town track star haunted me. To the rest of the eleven and twelve year old youngsters, I was just the new kid in town who stood for Jesus. To Rick I was the lightning rod of his misery. No one had prepared me for this and I didn't know how to resolve witnessing with threats.

Now, I witness on the internet, face to face, friendly, buying coffee or food to share when I meet someone to chat about Jesus. But it took a lot of years to get from that scared kid to the confident man!

Lord, we are confronted ever more directly with evil, and we pray that we'll have that courage to confront it!