Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: CALENDAR (10/20/16)
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TITLE: A Book And A Boy | Previous Challenge Entry
By Karen Dick
10/26/16 -
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Quick steps descended on the stairs and I turned to face my son.
“Brett, are you here to help?” I smiled tentatively as he froze in place.
Sharply he answered, “What do you need? I’m just looking for my soccer ball.”
“These boxes have to be sorted before the movers come.” I crossed my arms and waited.
“Why should I help when I don’t even want to move?” He glanced around. “It looks like this will take all day.”
“I need your help,” I answered firmly. “You can go through the boxes in that back corner.”
He moaned and stomped to his place of duty. “This isn’t fair. I should be with my friends. It’s your fault I have to leave them.”
I turned to my stack of boxes, clenched my teeth and grabbed a box to move. I pulled with all my strength. It tipped over and I landed hard on my back.
“Ouch!” I hollered.
A snicker sounded from the back corner. I shook my head.
“Hey, what’s this?” Brett asked.
“I don’t know.” I rubbed my back.
“It looks like an old journal.”
I pushed myself off of the floor and limped to my son’s corner. The words on the cover were faint in the dim light.
“It’s my father’s calendar he used while in the army. We call them day planners now.” I massaged my temples. “The print on the front says 1953. That was the year he was stationed in Germany.” I slowly moved back to my area to continue sorting.
There was a lack of sound for several minutes so I paused and noticed Brett sitting on the floor and hunched over the journal.
I sighed wearily. “Did you find something interesting?”
“Yea…it sounds like he didn’t like leaving his family. In one place he wrote it was his wife’s birthday and he missed her.” Brett hesitated with a pensive look.
“Is there more?”
“This one part is cool. On March 5 he wrote: ‘Joe Stalin died today. That will help. Lord, you are sovereign.’” Brett scrunched his nose. “What’s that mean? The sovereign part.”
“He believed God was in control.”
“What?” He put the book down.
“He trusted in God and lived by his Word.” I shook my head. “I guess you can keep reading.” And I’ll keep working.
An hour passed without a sound from the back. I ran my hand through my hair and stared at the mounds of boxes I hadn’t opened yet.
“Brett, I need coffee. Do you want anything?” My toe caught the bottom stair and I tripped.
“Careful Mom,” Brett called as I clumped up the stairs.
WhiIe I poured a cup of hot coffee I fought back tears. Silently I prayed. Lord, please soften his heart about this move. Help him to understand.
I returned to the basement and carefully stepped around books and open boxes as I made my way over to my son. He reached for the soda I handed to him.
“I can’t believe this man was my grandfather,” he said quietly.
“Why would you say that?” I asked.
“The things he wrote. Sometimes soldiers were mean, but he was nice to them. This is from April 12: ‘Johnny was a jerk today, but I think he’s homesick. We prayed in my office after everyone was asleep in the barracks.’”
“That’s nice,” I commented softly.
“On November 26 he wrote: ‘It’s Thanksgiving. I heard my daughter met a soldier and this might be the one. How will I let her go?’”
I slowly sank to the floor and placed my coffee to the side.
“I’ll see what he wrote for New Year’s Eve. He must have partied sometime.” Brett flipped to the end of the book and read, “'Just got moving orders again. *I must trust you Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding. Thank you.’”
Brett closed the book and kept his head down.
I gently took his hand. He slowly turned to look at me.
With unshed tears he nodded.
And I nodded back.
*Proverbs 3:5
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As Mr. Trump would conclude....if you don't finish 1st the whole thing is rigged. 😀
I'm joking around but this article is exceptional.
I think you should recuse yourself from Advanced and proceed immediately to Masters. :-)
Obviously, I wasn't surprised :-).