Previous Challenge Entry (EDITOR'S CHOICE)
Topic: Love and Grace( 09/11/14)
TITLE:
The Paperweight | Writing Challenge By Virginia Lee Bliss 09/18/14 |
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5th Place
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The broken paperweight lay on the floor of his study.
Dr. Steven Thornton clenched his fists to check his anger. <I>How could Ethan smash something so precious?</I>
“I’m sorry, Cousin Steve.” Ethan’s cherubic face crinkled as if he were about to cry.
<I>I mustn’t make him feel bad. Boys his age are always breaking things. When Josh was nine…</I>
“It’s okay, Ethan. It’s just a paperweight.” Steve patted the boy’ shoulder. “Now run along and play.”
After Ethan left, Steve sat at his desk. Next to where the paperweight had been, was a photo of Joshua at age sixteen, taken two years ago. Around the time of Steve’s birthday…
<I>Happy birthday, Dad. Just a little something…Go on. Open it.</I>
A crystal paperweight.
Josh had been laughing. He was always laughing. <I>Nothing like a teenage son to keep a minister humble.
Your parishioners will think you’ve gone all New Age, Dad.</I>
Steve had turned the hefty object over in his hands, admiring the way each facet caught the light. Depending on the angle from which he viewed it, he saw a church bell, a cross, or a church steeple.
<I>Turn it over, Dad.</I>
He read the inscription. “Love one another.” (John 13:34 KJV)
$60. Josh had bought it with the money he earned at Swanson’s gas station.
<I>Well, I’m off, Dad. Got basketball practice.</I>
Steve could still hear his son’s footsteps as he raced out the door.
<I>Two years ago. Josh was so vibrant, so in love with life. Then a month later…</I>
At first, Steve and Laura, his wife, thought it was nothing. A headache? Too much studying. A trip and fall? Boys that age are clumsy.
Then other things happened. Vomiting. A failed math test. The seizure.
He and Laura feared drugs. In retrospect, they wished it had been.
Their family doctor recommended a specialist. Tests and more tests; then the diagnosis came down. Glioblastoma multiforme. A tumor arising from the supporting tissues of the brain.
The doctors tried surgery, then radiotherapy. All to no avail. Within a year, Joshua succumbed to this most aggressive and deadly of all brain tumors.
<I>Just one year ago.</I> Steve tried to focus on preparing his sermon for Palm Sunday, April 13, the anniversary of Joshua’s death. Easter last year, had been early, falling on March 31. The holiday of hope had offered only despair.
In September, Steve’s second cousin, Dave, and his wife were killed in a car crash, leaving Ethan an orphan. Laura insisted that he come to live with them. Steve could see that Ethan’s presence eased Laura’s grief. But he just couldn’t seem to warm to the boy.
Laura came into the study. “Coffee, dear?”
“No, thanks.”
She sat in the armchair. “I’d still like to adopt Ethan.”
<I>Dave and I were inseparable, growing up. Why can’t I care for his son? Laura’s not related to Ethan, yet she loves him.</I>
“I’m not…ready.”
“Steve, Ethan can’t put his life on hold until we’re…ready.”
He covered his mouth so his wife couldn’t see his lips quiver.
She continued. “Last summer, I thought I’d never stop grieving. Then one day, I heard myself say, ‘Joshua’s room must not remain empty.’ And then Ethan came.”
<CENTER>***</CENTER>
Steve led his congregation through the Holy Saturday service. The Eucharist wasn’t celebrated on this day, so after the Lord’s Prayer, Steve blessed his flock. At the dismissal, words came unbidden to his lips. “A new commandment I give onto you, That ye love one another…” (John 13:34 KJV)
<I>Why am I quoting this? It’s not part of the liturgy.</I>
<CENTER>***</CENTER>
The bells of Grace Episcopal Church rang out to herald Easter. The weather was glorious; the church was adorned with white vestments, Pachal candles, and lilies.
But for Steve, the scent of lilies evoked memories of last Easter. <I>I can’t preach. Not today.</I>
The choir sang the Easter sequence hymn, followed by a reading from Matthew 28.
Steve wasn’t listening. He thought back to the verse he had quoted yesterday.
In a flash of insight, he grasped its deeper meaning. <I>Love one another, not just one’s kin.
But Ethan can never take Josh’s place.
What if one of my parishioners said this?
I’d answer, “No, he can’t take Josh’s place. But he can take Ethan’s place. If you’ll let him.”</I>
Steve ascended the pulpit. He saw Ethan with Laura in the front row and smiled as he began his sermon.
“I am the Resurrection and the Life…” (John 11:25 KJV)
Accept Jesus as Your Savior Right Now and be Certain of Eternal Life.
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