Made in Heaven

The Father

Religion had always been a staple in Joseph's life.

Always.

Even in the darkest of his days, there had always been this guiding light to remind him that he was never truly alone. When all else failed, he always had to trust and believe that God was on his side, even if the man was making things harder for him.

After all, Joe stood by the belief that God would never give you more than you could handle and that the reason behind why bad things happen to good people was because the Lord was making you stronger. Pushing your limits and showing you all that you are capable of.

Some people were stronger than others and could fend off temptation without the bat of an eye, while others were in need of some guidance. Thats where Joe came in.

He had been a Preacher for some time now, using the things he had learned in his own life and the good word of the Lord to help all those in need. He knew what it was like to be searching for answers at the bottom of the bottle. He knew what it felt like to be completely alone, with no one there to stand beside you.

The difference was, Joe knew better now. He knew that he would never truly be alone, that God would always be by his side, protecting him, caring for him, loving him as he guided the way. All Joe had to do was follow and that was what he taught at his sermons. Let go of the temptation, of the need for that liquid nirvana, of that pointy needle of pleasure. Let go of material things that would make you feel like you belong and instead, follow in the glorious light of God and all will work out in the end.

He knew not many believed in his words and that sometimes he felt like he was preaching to a brick wall, but in the end, he did well. In the end, he helped people and that was all he ever wanted. Just to be the guiding hand that led someone into the proper way to live their lives.

A life completely devoted to one man.

His congregation was small but powerful. They sang the sweet songs of the Lord and praised his name to the high heavens. He went to schools and spoke out about things like drug addiction and alcohol abuse. Some of his tactics were a bit unorthodox, but really, if you aren't going to take rehabs seriously, perhaps having an antsy man scream in your face and tell you all about what life is like living on the streets, selling yourself for a dime bag would be enough to wake the addicts up.

His methods worked, to some extent. He had plenty of people come to him and say that they saw the light thanks to him. While he wasn't going to turn into some big-time TV evangelists, he and his partner had taken it upon themselves go travel a bit to be able to say their peace and spread the word of the Lord.

He had taken the point to mentor the youth all along Upstate New York. They didn't want to go far, still trying to build their own little community, their own congregation. Rami, his partner, always reached for the sky, wanting to be bigger and better, but it was Joe who did all the work. He did the preaching, the speech writing, the mentoring. Joe wanted to start off small, wanted to make a real impact before they decided to go all Hollywood and try to branch out to other cities.

They took the jobs that came and welcomed everyone with open arms. Joe had been involved with religion his entire life, knowing the Bible back and forth, inside and out. Some preferred to pick apart the good Book and take out the parts they didn't like and peach about those they did. Joe, on the other hand, believed that humans were placed on this earth to love all Gods creatures, no matter their faults, no matter their differences.

Joe wasn't here to fix people. Wasn't here to change anybody on the inside, but rather focus on the out. Teach them to live their lives in the name of the Lord, to let go of temptation and break away from the darkness of drugs and alcohol.