Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Illustrate the meaning of "Every Dark Cloud has a Silver Lining" (without using the actual phrase or literal example). (02/28/08)
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TITLE: In God's Time | Previous Challenge Entry
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03/05/08 -
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My thoughts take me back to three pm on October 25, 2001. I was finishing up my charting in between answering call lights at the end of my shift. Determined to wrap up my workday, I grabbed my clipboard and headed down the hall. By that time, I was in the room to give report to the next shift.
I was interrupted by an announcement that I had a phone call. I figured that it was the daycare calling about my six year old son Nolan. I quickly went to answer. It was my Mom! Her voice was cracking in between her silences.
At first I thought something was wrong with Nolan. I felt frustrated when she didn’t immediately tell me why she was calling.
She told me that Tommy, Nolan’s father, was in an accident at work. Puzzled, I wondered how she found out. Was he okay?
I quickly learned. She told me that Tommy had been killed in the accident at work today not just hurt. A backhoe struck him in the back of the head at a construction site. Paramedics could not resuscitate him.
My heart stopped, I dropped the phone, and screamed “NO” so loudly that everyone on the floor stopped and looked at me. I knew that must be a lie and I was angry at her for saying such a thing. My stomach churned as my body numbed. A thick fog surrounded me.
Somehow, I hung up the phone and found the words for all the curious people around me. “My son’s dad was killed three hours ago in a construction accident,” I stuttered. He was gone! “I didn’t even get to say good-bye. How am I ever going to tell Nolan that his dad was dead?” I heard the gasps of my co-workers and noticed the concern on their faces.
Nolan would never have a relationship with his father. I hurt for his family and for my son especially. I hurt. Emotion overwhelmed me that day. I will never forget.
I sat Nolan on the couch after saying a prayer. I simply said, “Nolan, your dad went to heaven today. There was an accident at his work and he’s with Jesus now.”
Nolan briefly stared at me silently. I saw the confusion in his face as his carefree world turned troubled. “I want to shoot myself so I can be with him in heaven.” I could relate to his response. We both yearned for Tommy.
Nolan drew a picture for his dad. He wrote him a letter to bring to the funeral. My heart ached as I helped him with the spelling.
Nolan and I attended the service. We were inseparable, clinging together like a frail branch holds onto a tree.
When we walked into the funeral home, heads turned to Nolan. He resembled his Dad. His pale freckled skin and spiked red hair made him stand out. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes that harmonized Tommy’s. I asked, “Do you want to hold my hand and say good bye to your Dad now?” We were about 100 feet from the casket.
I waited for his reply. He shook his head as he clamped my hand like a vise.
As the evening went on, I couldn’t keep my eyes off Nolan. He walked back and forth briskly in front of Tommy’s casket. His curious wonder kept him glancing at his dad. He finally said, “Mom, I’m ready”, as his eyes welled up with tears. We walked to the casket with the letter he wrote and the picture he drew. He laid them under his hands and bravely said, “Good-bye.”
In God’s plan every life is long enough and every death is timely. Tommy’s passing opened my eyes to eternity. My vision of heaven grew as I imagined him in God’s presence. I saw beauty and peace that left me breathless. I found a stronger since of hope in that vision.
My dissatisfaction on earth is typical, since this world was not created to be my home. Even as I am shown glimpses of paradise through God’s creations, the true beauty is inconceivable until I arrive. The thought of being before God someday astonishes me. I am thankful that Tommy is home.
To me the only important thing about living is Christ, and dying would profit me.
Philippians 1:21 NCV
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Good use of dialogue to draw the reader into the story.
Keep writing.
This left me with some unanswered questions about the relationship between the narrator and Nolan's dad, and a few other minor things. Always remember, especially when you're telling a true story, that your reader may need some background.
Lovely ending, and your writing skills are quite evident.