Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Green (10/22/09)
-
TITLE: All in Good Time | Previous Challenge Entry
By
10/28/09 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
The bright green glow of the clock read 1:32 a.m. Ruth had been lying in bed watching the minutes pass, and then the hours. Discarded blankets lay in a heap on the floor, unable to soothe her.
It was her third sleepless night since she’d received the news. Since then, she’d scheduled appointments with the best doctors, checked out the latest medical websites, ordered books about her diagnosis and shared the treatment plan with her father using a carefully scripted speech. Ruth had responsibly notified her boss and called the insurance company. She had it all under control.
So, even after putting everything in order, Ruth couldn’t understand why she was wide awake.
It was now 2:08. Ruth tried to escape the brightness of the clock by covering her head with her pillow. In the darkness, her worries remained, so she made a mental list of what else she needed to do. Tomorrow she would balance her checkbook and change the oil in her car. She would also buy Christmas gifts. It was only October, but what if the chemo made her tired? She should probably buy some wrapping paper, too.
Ruth peeked at the clock again. With new anxiety, she realized the time was 2:26 a.m. Immediately shutting her eyes, Ruth tried to block the memory of those numbers. Three years ago, 2:26 a.m. had been recorded as her mother’s official time of death. Ruth’s heart started pounding as she remembered her mom’s battle against cancer, and how nothing Ruth did could save her from dying—not the meals, cards or flowers, her surprise visits or extra housecleaning.
Ruth saw her mother the day she died. Ruth could still hear her mother saying she loved her and that God loved her, too. Ruth had heard those words all her life. Her mother would speak of heaven and the life that God had planned for Ruth with Him there. She told Ruth that she prayed for her, and that God would be there when Ruth was ready.
Ruth would assure her, “Don’t worry, Mom. I have a plan. I’ll be fine.”
“Just remember John 3:16,” her mother would say. “You might need it someday.”
Ruth’s mother spoke the verse so often, Ruth knew it by heart. But even though that verse and faith in God had brought her mom peace as she faced her death, Ruth always believed that she could manage anything on her own. Now, though, that she found herself awake and alone in the middle of the night facing this new battle, Ruth wondered if she could manage. Knowing no one was around to hear, Ruth warily spoke the words her mother had taught her into the darkness.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” she said, her voice growing louder as the verse flooded back to her.
It was now 2:54. Time was ticking. Ruth was tired and scared, and she realized she was not fine at all. She kicked the sheets off of the bed and shouted. “Where are you, Mom, when I need you most? What about my plan? Where is my peace?” She suddenly began to cry, feeling panicked and alone. She was shaking and sobbing, and then, without even thinking, Ruth fell to her knees.
She prayed. Ruth prayed out loud to God, the very God she had only known from a distance. She found herself sharing the deepest fears of her heart with Him. Her words and her thoughts tumbled out of her, releasing all the pain and worry locked up inside of her. She asked for His protection and for His strength. And, she said, “Amen.”
Exhausted, Ruth climbed back into bed. Her breathing slowed and her muscles relaxed even while her cheeks were still wet with tears. As she pulled the blankets up around her, she felt warmth and a security that reminded her of a hug, of her mother, and of being loved. Surely, this was what her mother had prayed for Ruth to know. Glancing at the clock now, Ruth saw the green light shining 3:16 in the darkness, and she finally fell sound asleep.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.