God was real! God was real, and I was going to get to know Him better. The knowledge lay in my heart, solid and radiant as a pearl. And the answer to a question that I hadn’t asked presented itself with crystal certainty: I couldn’t keep it a secret from Mum any longer. That was a lie, and it was wrong. I would have to tell her. It was a Tim-and-Stella morning. As we walked, I waited for Stella to ask me about youth group, but she talked about other things – school stuff, her concert, the latest war news – as if she didn’t want to know, as if she was determined to pretend it hadn’t happened. But all the time we were walking under the grey and golden sky, I was aware of a kind of glow inside me. As if God were watching me. What did He see? Oh, God, I prayed silently. Let me be the best person I can be; let me be perfect, for You. ‘Hello?’ said Stella. ‘Are you even listening to me?’ ‘Sorry,’ I said hastily. But I wasn’t listening, not really. Between my conversation with God, and rehearsing the conversation I was going to have with Mum when I got home, I didn’t have much attention to spare for Stella.
