Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Hear / Here (01/26/23)
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TITLE: Here Where I Belong | Previous Challenge Entry
By Mariane Holbrook
02/01/23 -
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Daddy and Mother sat on the well-worn sofa with their five children crowding around them. Daddy smiled broadly at his brood and said, "I have some wonderful news for you. In a few months, we'll be adding another beautiful baby to our family! Your mother and I couldn't be happier."
The younger girls giggled, sure that they would have a baby sister. The boys stared at the floor, hoping an unseen hand would write something appropriate to say since they didn't have a clue.
The ensuing silence was deafening so Daddy tried again. "Well, children, what do you think of this great news?"
Their 14-year-old son didn't earn the nickname, "Dick, The Drama King" for no reason. Squaring his shoulders, he assumed an air of authority and said, "Okay, I'll tell you what I think. I think you're both crazy. Here we are in the middle of the Great Depression, Dad was laid off from his job on the railroad, Mom takes in sewing to help pay the bills, I have a paper route every morning, and work at the A&P after school and on Saturdays. The older girls babysit and clean houses for people, and little Jimmy put yellow food coloring in some water and tried to sell paper cups of his special "lemonade" for a nickel at the bus stop. We're all pitching in to help but we are still 3 months behind with the mortgage and might lose our house. You couldn't have picked a worse time to have another baby!"
The younger kids moved closer to each other as though expecting a lightning bolt to explode through the ceiling. They'd never heard their brother respond with such urgency. (Or was it bravado?)
But their wise father patiently explained that even though they were suffering through the Great Depression like millions of others, every child is a gift from God. "Though we may not understand His timing, we'll welcome the new baby and shower him or her with love. "God will provide," Daddy assured his family. "He's never failed us yet."
As for me, a two-month-old fetus unaware of the drama, I felt comfortable in my warm, soft environment. I enjoyed the quiet but when I reached 18 weeks into the pregnancy, I could hear Mother's heartbeat. Later, at 6 or 7 months, I began to hear an outside voice. It was my mother singing to me. By the time I was ready to be born, I was able to hear at about the same level as an adult.*
One morning I heard Mother say, "I think our baby will be coming today." I wanted to cry out, "No! I love it here. I can't imagine any place being more wonderful than this." I cried when I left the protection and safety of my mother, the only person I had ever known.
But soon my father and my siblings burst into the room making me feel welcomed and loved, even by Dick The Drama King. I felt I belonged here. In a couple of weeks, I could see colors. I've never known such joy or experienced such happiness. I would never want to return to the darkness and confinement of the womb, though I'm forever grateful to Mother for caring for me during those months.
One day I will leave this present world that I have enjoyed for several decades. Some days I want to stay here forever because so many loved ones, a dear husband, and our children are here. I've grown to love this place on earth and there is still so much yet to see. But heaven will far exceed our definitions of beauty and purity and the power source for all this will be Jesus Himself.
My loved ones will be waiting there, their bodies free from pain. So much to talk about, so much to see.
I believe that when I draw my last earthly breath, I will immediately find myself face-to-face with Jesus. I am already acquainted with His voice for He has often spoken to me through Scripture. Heaven will not be a temporary place as my life on earth has been, but I will be there forever, for all eternity. I need not fear the unknown but accept God's call to "Come on Home, dear child. Your long wait is over. I want you here with Me."
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