The Advocate

             Alyssa settled into her seat at the back of the classroom. English was her favorite subject, although that wasn’t enough to get her to participate. No, she stayed in the background, but she soaked up every word Mr. Daniels said. She’d aced every written assignment this year, but had yet to say a word in class.

            Mr. Daniels cleared his throat. “Good morning, class. Today we’ll be talking about our final project for the marking period. It will be worth half your grade. You’ll work in pairs and will debate in front of the class.”

            Alyssa’s pulse skyrocketed. There was no way she could do that. Her stutter wasn’t too bad when she was at home and relaxed, but she wouldn’t be able to speak a word in front of the class. Besides, no one would ever want to be her partner. This was terrible.

            Around the room, students immediately started pairing off. Why did their project have to be a debate? Alyssa squeezed her eyes shut to fend off the threatening tears. A moment later, her eyes shot open when she heard her name from the most unlikely of sources. She’d know that voice anywhere. Logan Carter.

            “I’d like to pair up with Alyssa.”

            Alyssa blinked. Was that a joke? Her gaze shot to Logan’s, and he winked at her. Alyssa’s already sky-high blood pressure ticked up even farther. This was unbelievable. Mr. Daniels jotted down the names of the pairs and continued on with class, but Alyssa didn’t hear another word he said.

            When the bell rang, she hurried to the lunchroom and took a seat off to the side. Moments later, Logan and his friends gathered at a table behind her, oblivious to her presence. His friends started talking, unaware she could hear them.

            “Logan, man, what were you thinking, pairing up with Alyssa? This is worth half your grade.”

            Alyssa peeked at Logan, torn between wanting to hear his response and dreading it.

            Logan shrugged. “Alyssa is brilliant at English. I’ve seen some of the essays she’s written. She understands the books we’ve read better than anyone else in the class.”

            Logan’s friend, Tyler, frowned at him. “But it’s a debate. The girl can’t talk.”

            Logan wrinkled his brow. “She has a little bit of a stutter. So what? We can work past that. I just hope she’s not upset I asked to work with her. I don’t want to bring down her grade. She ran out so fast, I didn’t get a chance to talk to her after class.”

            Tyler shrugged. “I hope you know what you’re doing, man.”

            Logan’s lip curled upward. “I do. I’m sure Alyssa will do great. Besides, did you ever notice she’s kind of cute?”

            Alyssa’s heart pounded once again. Logan wanted to work with her because he thought she was smart. And cute? This day couldn’t get any more unbelievable. She turned back around and stared at her lunch bag. A moment later, movement across from her snagged her attention. Logan slid into the seat across from her.

            “Hey.”

            Alyssa’s eyes widened. “H-Hey.”

            Logan’s gaze was kind. “I hope it’s OK with you we’re partners. I’ll do my best to contribute. I know you’re really smart.”

            Alyssa stared at him. “I c-can’t t-talk.”

            Logan grinned his crooked grin at her. “Do you want to know a secret?”

            Alyssa nodded.

            “I stuttered when I was in elementary school. My mom took me to an amazing speech therapist. I know lots of tricks. If I help you work on your speaking, do you think you could help me with what we should say?”

            Alyssa grinned. “It’s a d-deal.”

            After meeting after school every day for the next two weeks, the big day had finally arrived. Logan spent those two weeks defending Alyssa to everyone who doubted her. Never in her life had anyone ever stood up for her the way Logan did. She never would have thought it of him. Before this project, he was just another football-playing class clown. Sure, he was cute, but that didn’t mean anything. But now she knew he was kind. And that meant everything.

            As they approached Mr. Daniels’ classroom, Logan grabbed her hand.

            “You’ve got this. Remember everything we talked about. There is no one else in the room. Only me. You focus on me.”

            Alyssa nodded, staring into those deep brown eyes. Eyes that were filled with kindness. She could do this. No matter what happened, she would not let Logan down. Not after everything he’d done for her.

            Thankfully, their debate was first. Alyssa clutched her notes in her hand as they made their way to the front of the room. The first few lines went well, but halfway through, Alyssa glanced at her classmates and froze. Her tongue twisted in her mouth and she couldn’t get out another word.

            Logan reached toward her and placed a hand on her face. He turned her toward him and pointed to his eyes. She got the message. For the rest of the debate, she kept her focus on Logan. When they reached the final point of the debate, the class erupted in applause. Even Mr. Daniels beamed at them.

            After class, Alyssa stood from her seat and approached Logan. Unable to contain herself, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him the briefest of hugs.

            “Thank you for believing in me.”

 1 John 2:1

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.

God, sometimes all we need is for someone to advocate for us. You tell us in Your word Jesus is that advocate for us. Thank you so much for that wonderful promise. There is no one we’d rather have advocating for us than Jesus Himself. As we see how much He has done for us, please give us the courage to tell others And, God, please give us opportunities to advocate for the people you put into our lives, with the ultimate goal of leading them to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.