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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: CALENDAR (10/20/16)
A calendar page turns as it is designated to, once at the end of each month. Every calendar day has 24 hours, every calendar month has a given number of days. That's the way it's supposed to be anyway. Unless someone you love is dying. Then all bets are off and those calendar pages turn at a remarkably accelerated speed.  
The doctor said it would be eight to twelve months and according to "the calendar" it took only eight. But there is no question in my mind that each turn of the page came much sooner than its prescribed number of days. I have concluded that each of our days with him went by in less than the twenty four hours we were supposed to get. How was it possible that we were supposed to cram a lifetime of goodbyes into the two-hundred and thirty two days we were given?  
But then I remember that God's calendar has no pages. He gives each of us the number of days that he planned from the beginning and allows us the grace to accept what we might perceive as too few. So when the two-hundred plus days passed from that fateful date of diagnosis until he stepped into God's presence, his earthly calendar days ceased to exist. But, praise God, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our perspective went from trying not to focus on his last days to eagerly awaiting the day we too will take that precious step from this life into life eternal. 
Psalm 139:16 says that "...in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me...", and then there is an earthly adage that says "Tide and time wait for no man." Not a one of us is so powerful as to be able to stop the constant march of time. So as another calendar-year draws near, I look back and see God's hand in those two hundred and thirty two days, that last eight page turns of the calendar and I am grateful for the promise that not one of them passed without God's sovereign hand directing each move.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Chris Goglin
10/29/16
You are right, God's calendar has no pages, because he IS the calendar! He doesn't need any pages. Very wisely written! Good job! (Could break this up into a few paragraphs)
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
10/29/16
My heart aches for you as I know how hard it is to lose someone way too soon. I instantly wanted to reach through the screen and hold the MC.

Because this is short and the reader doesn't know your loved one like you do, it could come off as a bit stiff. There's all kinds of things to do to pull that reader in a bit more. I'll share an idea I had when reading your piece. Please know, it's just something that popped into my head, and I only mean it as an alternative way to present something. I could almost see the family watching the calendar flip by too fast and even have conversations about it. In the night or when no one was watching, a gremlin -like creature steals in and turns the clock ahead or tears the pages off too soon. Near the end, we discover the gremlin's name is Cancer (or another appropriate name). I know it seems silly, but it would show how you try to fight something you can't see. Almost fighting it as if you are unaware of its presence or its seriousness. But at the end, God is still there and you can share that beautiful ending. Even when the doctors say you have x long, only God knows how long that is to be. You do a nice job of showing it's in God's hands.

Again, I'm just sharing what went through my mind. It might be totally wrong for you, but it's kind of an out-of-the-box way of demonstrating how fast time flies. No matter what, that gremlin is always there, even for those who live for 90 years or more, but God sees it so differently. You definitely touched my heart with your story. You also made me stop and think, which is always good. You inspired a slightly different story in me. You'll never know how your words can impact others, so keep writing. Your message is spot on.
Teresa Odden
10/29/16
I am one who can say I know exactly what you are talking about. I could feel the pain of your loss and I thought you did a great job drawing the reader in. Like the others, your line , "God's calendar has no pages," is powerful. I've never thought of it in this way and it is a profound statement. Can I quote this in the future by you? It brings to life how we can focus and find hope in difficult situations and every day life. Thank you for sharing your heart.
Jan Ackerson
11/01/16
The imagery here (of the calendar pages flying) is very compelling, and you write of a situation that many of us can relate to.

I encourage you to manually enter white spaces between paragraphs, for the sake of your readers' eyes. In addition, since you had so many words to spare, it would have been very effective if you'd included a few incidents to help your readers to get to know your loved one better. We don't know if he was a father, a brother, a husband...nothing about him, in fact.

Your conclusions were inspiring and encouraging.
Larry Whittington
11/02/16
The emotion in this piece is shown in subtle ways as also love.

This piece was easy to read and easy to follow even if it was not an easy one to write.