Not the Same

Ron Perkins comes home to Odyssey for good, medically retired from the Marines after an injury that left his hand unable to do the fine motor work a mechanic needs. His wife Carla and his kids, Bridget and Wyatt, meet him at the airport, where Wyatt cheerfully campaigns for getting Dad a hook or a bionic hand. Ron takes the teasing in stride, but small moments soon show how much has changed. At his welcome-home dinner, Carla shares news Ron hasn't heard: while he was away, she started attending Wyatt's church, and a few weeks ago she and Wyatt both became Christians. Ron says that's fine and bows his head for the blessing, but he seems uneasy. When he can't cut his own steak and Carla has to do it for him, he covers the sting with jokes, finally asking, "Did they outlaw senses of humor while I was gone?"

Eager to feel useful, Ron visits his old friend Harry at Statler Automotive and asks for any job at all, even part-time at minimum wage. Harry gently turns him down; business is slow and there isn't enough work, especially for someone who can't turn a wrench. Ron leaves hurt and discouraged.

On Sunday morning, Ron wakes Wyatt early to go fishing at Trickle Lake, even though it means Wyatt will miss church. Between jokes about fish smart enough to do crossword puzzles, Wyatt talks happily about Wooton and Mr. Whittaker, and plays Ron a bit of Whit's short daily devotional from his phone app. Ron quickly suggests saving the phone battery. The next day at Whit's End, after Wyatt takes his dad through an Imagination Station adventure about the fiery furnace, Ron pulls Whit aside. He thanks Whit sincerely for being a role model for Wyatt while he was deployed, then tells him, "I've got it from here." He asks Whit to step back from Wyatt's life and let any lessons or advice come from his father. Whit promises he always defers to parents, but adds that he will always have Wyatt's best interests at heart.

At home, Bridget overhears their parents arguing and tells Wyatt she thinks Dad doesn't want him going to church. Both kids agree something is different about their father since he came back. Wanting peace in the house, Bridget suggests Wyatt take a break from the church stuff for now. So Wyatt marches into Whit's End and announces he's quitting Christianity: he's too much of a rebel, and it's cramping his style. He even asks if there's a form he has to sign to get out of it. Whit gently asks whether this has something to do with his father, but Wyatt insists the decision is all his own and hurries out.

Wyatt's career as a sinner does not go well. He secretly eats an entire family-size bag of cheese doodles, lies about it with cheese dust still on his forehead, and watches TV he isn't allowed to watch, declaring he's practicing selfishness, gluttony, and lying to get a feel for them. Bridget, unimpressed, drags him off by the ear. Wyatt admits the non-Christianity thing isn't taking; he doesn't enjoy doing bad stuff anymore, and hiding the real person he's become sounds miserable.

That night, after listening to Whit's devotional about becoming a new creation in Christ, Wyatt talks with his mom. He confesses that he misses being a Christian, and Carla tells him that's not weird; faith isn't something you can switch off and on. She admits something happened to Ron overseas that she doesn't understand, and that this will take patience and trust that God is working. She also tells Wyatt that watching him change into a different, better person helped lead her to faith, and gives him this counsel: respect your father, but not at the expense of disrespecting God.

The next day Wyatt returns to Whit's End and tells Whit he's decided to give Christianity another go. He hasn't talked to his dad yet, but his dad is the reason he came: he asks Whit to pray with him for Ron, because "He needs Jesus." Whit quietly answers, "We all do," and the two of them bow their heads together, asking God to work in Ron's heart.