In Everything Give Thanks »

God betrayed us on that terrible July night. . . .

Matthew Collins loved to run. A high schooler growing up in the uncertainty of the early sixties, Matt was happiest running cross-country with his dad cheering him on. But a tragic accident on a two-lane highway changed all that. Bitter over his loss, Matt makes a deal with God: he’ll leave God alone if God leaves him alone.

Then Wade Hampton, a boy with cerebral palsy, moves in next door and is determined to make Matt is his best friend. Complete with a stutter, an obsession with the Civil War general he was named after, and a determination to one day be a preacher, Wade attracts the attention of the school bullies and makes Matt a target too. Matt makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with his new neighbor, but Wade doesn’t give up easily. And through this unexpected young man, Matt learns that while God may allow tragedy . . . He will never leave us alone.