Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

At Whit's End, John Whittaker visits Whittonia, a virtual world that his young inventor friend Renee Carter has created on the computer. The world is beautiful, and Renee has given its little inhabitants, the Whittonians, intelligence and everything they could ever need. Fruit appears on trees whenever they wish, and their shelters even repair themselves. But Renee is frustrated: the Whittonians do absolutely nothing. They never work, build, or help one another; they just sit and eat. Whit gently points out what her paradise is missing: purpose. He reminds her that people were made to work, even in the Garden of Eden, and suggests she add goals, hardship, obstacles, risk of failure, and rules to Whittonia to make her creations better and stronger. Renee asks Whit to help her reprogram the world, and together they get to it.

A few days later, young Darcy Pulaski stops by Whit's End hoping to show Renee her brand-new sky-blue bike. Renee, frazzled by troubles at school, arrives late and apologizes for being too busy for Darcy all week, promising they will spend time together soon. Minutes after Darcy leaves for home, Whit and Renee hear a scream outside. Darcy has been struck by a car, and the driver has sped away. Whit stays calm and tends to Darcy while Renee calls 911.

At the hospital, Darcy lies unconscious in intensive care with a broken arm, a fractured leg, and a severe concussion. Her mother is grateful Darcy was wearing her helmet and asks everyone to keep praying. Members of the Odyssey Community Church fill the waiting room to pray, but their presence only irritates Renee. Detective Polehaus questions Whit and Renee about the accident; Renee can only describe a silver-gray four-door car with tinted windows, and the detective suspects an impaired driver who has had close calls all over town. When even the police say they are praying for Darcy, Renee's anger boils over. Prayer did nothing when her dog died, she says, and it is doing nothing now. "So where is your God now, eh?" she demands, wondering aloud whether God is asleep, doesn't care, isn't good, or doesn't exist at all. Whit lets her vent, and after she leaves he quietly observes that Darcy isn't the only one who needs prayer.

The next morning, with still no change in Darcy's condition, Whit suggests staying busy, so they check on Whittonia, which has been running on its own. The world has transformed: there are buildings now, but a programmed flood has swept through. They find Malabatus, the Whittonian from before, thin, starving, and covered in healing sores because he refused to leave when the great waters came. His friend Kyria brings him food and urges him to plant the earth as the other Whittonians now do, insisting that seeding makes life joyful and that perhaps the Creator erased his land to make him strong. Malabatus will have none of it. Maybe the Creator likes hurting Whittonians, he grumbles. "Maybe the Creator is bad."

Renee is stung that her creations think she is evil or doesn't exist, and she wants to switch off stealth mode and explain herself. Whit stops her: she gave the Whittonians the ability to choose, and revealing herself could undermine everything. He tells her about scientists who move ant colonies to better homes; to the ants the move seems random and frightening, because they cannot understand the purposeful act of a superior intellect. It is the same, he says, with Renee and the Whittonians, and with people and God. God is not inside our system, but He controls it in ways we cannot see, and everything that happens serves His greater purpose and our ultimate good, even if we never see that good in this life. Renee admits the idea works for ants and computer programs, but she cannot believe there is any ultimate good in a little girl getting hit by a car.

Then good news comes: Darcy wakes up, bubbly as ever, and Whit and Renee rush to the hospital. Detective Polehaus arrives too, bringing a surprise visitor: Brooks Foster, the man who hit Darcy. Brooks has turned himself in at the church, sold his cars, and given the money to the congregation, and he insisted on seeing Darcy on the way to the police station. Renee tears into him for leaving an injured child, but Brooks agrees with every word. He confesses he has struggled with alcohol since he was a teenager and kept driving anyway, telling himself it was fine because he never hit anyone, until Darcy. He apologizes from the heart, vowing never to drive or drink again, and hopes that someday she can forgive him. Darcy answers, "I don't have to wait for someday. I forgive you now, Mr. Foster."

After Brooks is led away, Renee stands awestruck. Why would Darcy forgive the man who hurt her? Darcy explains simply that he asked, and Jesus said she should, and besides, something bad has already turned into something good, because a drunk driver is off the road forever. "Jesus used something bad to make something good happen," she says. He always does, her mother agrees, even if we never see it. Renee echoes the words thoughtfully, and Whit opens a cooler of Darcy's favorite treat, raspberry ripple with chocolate sauce, declaring there's no better time for ice cream than breakfast.