A Glass Darkly

Trent DeWhite prays for God's help, and help seems to arrive: a rare invitation to audition for the Odyssey Chamber Music Society. Then Rodney Rathbone starts a food fight, Trent gets the blame, and detention lands right on top of his audition. It only gets worse... when Trent secretly foils Rodney's scheme to loose a jar of bees in Principal Hawthorne's car, all he earns is two more days of detention, a black eye, and no audition at all. Meanwhile, a broken vacuum cleaner nobody wants - not even for free - becomes something wonderful in Wooton's hands. Has God let Trent down? Trent finally chooses to trust even without understanding, never knowing that one dead bee in the principal's car has already saved a life.

Found on Along for the Ride Album 43 · 12 episodes

The run See every episode

0552 Sunday Morning Scramble Determined to finally arrive at church on time for their big Scripture recitation, the Washington family discovers that a laminated schedule is no match for gum-tangled hair, an uninvited neighbor in a bathrobe, and three secretly adjusted clocks.

0553 Potential Possibilities A boy tries to escape the gifted class he's convinced he doesn't belong in, while Aubrey and Tom Riley strike a bargain that forces each to face a fear of failing at what they do best.

0554 Call Me if You Care A late Christmas card and a stranger's misdirected phone messages pull Connie into reuniting a father and daughter separated for twenty years - forcing her to face her anger at her own dad.

0555 True Calling When two retired comedy magicians are asked to fill in at a school assembly, their crisis of confidence collides with a student's fears about chasing an impractical dream.

0556 And That's the Truth When Tamika vows to always tell the truth, she learns the hard way that honesty without kindness can hurt as much as a lie - while Jack discovers that avoiding hard truths carries its own cost.

0557 A Lamb's Tale A Christmas donation drive in Odyssey sets three intertwined stories of giving in motion, as a girl parts with her beloved stuffed lamb, a boy uncovers his uncle's hidden past, and a wounded soldier returns from war carrying a secret.

0558 A Glass Darkly Falsely blamed for a food fight, a young musician must choose between clearing his name and trusting God when detention threatens the audition of a lifetime.

0559 The Coolest Dog Marvin's dream of rock stardom with his two-person band hits a snag when his ego proves louder than his drums.

0560 The Present Long Ago When a classmate demands the school lab key and won't say why, an anxious boy cycles through imagined advisers and wild theories before finding a wiser way to face him.

0561 Lost By a Nose Determined to expose her town's beauty-pageant obsession, a skeptical young journalist goes undercover as a contestant - and gets far more invested than she planned.

0562 The Last 'I Do' When a Roman emperor outlaws marriage to build a more loyal army, a defiant priest named Valentine risks everything to keep performing forbidden weddings.

0563 Tuesdays with Wooton A lonely boy's mailbox scheme unravels when the mailman he's been fooling decides friendship is worth more than an easy confession.

0564 A Most Intriguing Question A government agent's arrival, a secretive all-night invention, and a mysteriously running Imagination Station convince Whit's friends he's hiding something dangerous - and they're determined to find out what.

Featured characters

Minor characters & crew 2 more roles

2 supporting roles

Dr. Hawthorne Ian Whitcomb Female Customer Actor Unknown

Made by

Chris Anthony Host John Fornof Writer Nathan Hoobler Writer · Director Bob Luttrell Sound Designer · Producer Bob Hoose Producer Marshal Younger Producer Paul McCusker Executive Producer

The story

Read the full synopsis 2 min

Trent DeWhite receives a rare invitation to audition for the Odyssey Chamber Music Society. Only three students in the district have been chosen, and he is thrilled that the opportunity appears just after he has prayed for God's help. His excitement collapses during lunch when Rodney Rathbone starts a food fight and Trent is blamed for throwing gelatin.

Although Marvin tries to defend his friend, Dr. Hawthorne finds Trent holding the evidence and assigns him detention at the same time as his audition. Trent pleads his innocence, but the principal believes Marvin is merely covering for him. With only one remaining audition day, Trent prays again and trusts that the problem will be solved.

Elsewhere, Marvin's dislike of chores leads him to discard his family's broken vacuum cleaner. Bart Rathbone takes it for free, then uses it as the undesirable prize in a contest at the Electric Palace. Whit reluctantly accepts it and considers repairing it, but decides the machine is not worth the trouble.

During detention, Trent discovers that Rodney has brought a jar of bees to school. Knowing Dr. Hawthorne is frightened of them, Rodney plans to release them inside the principal's car. He threatens to beat Trent if he warns anyone.

When Rodney carries out the plan, Trent goes to the car and releases the bees before Dr. Hawthorne arrives. One remains inside, and Trent kills it with his algebra book. Dr. Hawthorne sees him by the car, assumes he has been tampering with it, and gives him two more days of detention. Rodney then beats Trent for interfering, leaving him with a black eye and no chance to attend the final scheduled audition.

Meanwhile, Wooton sees possibilities in the vacuum cleaner that everyone else has missed. He rebuilds it as a pedal-powered riding vacuum and gives it to Marvin. Suddenly, chores look like fun. The same battered machine that seemed useless to Marvin, exploitable to Bart, and not worth fixing to Whit has become something valuable in Wooton's hands.

Trent tells Whit that God has let him down. Whit explains that Trent has confused a request with trust: asking for one desired result does not mean trusting God only if that result occurs. Like the people who could not see what the broken vacuum might become, Trent may not be able to see what God is accomplishing. He may understand later, or he may never understand at all.

Trent makes one more telephone call and learns of an additional audition on Tuesday. His hope rises, only to fall again when the society refuses to give a student with repeated detentions another opportunity. Though the decision feels completely unfair, Marvin reminds him of the lesson of the vacuum. Trent finally tells God that he will trust even without understanding.

Unknown to Trent, his actions at Dr. Hawthorne's car have already done great good. Dr. Hawthorne is severely allergic to bees and has forgotten his medication. Finding the last bee dead saves him from a sting that could have been fatal. Trent cannot yet see through the darkness surrounding his disappointments, but the danger he prevented gives his painful experience a purpose hidden from him.