Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: PHONE (11/10/16)
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TITLE: The Connection (i) | Previous Challenge Entry
By LeslieJean Anderson
11/15/16 -
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This time I was prepared to make her departure stick. I threw her cell phone out the window.
“Mom!”
“Mona,” I said as calmly as I could. “That was so he could not follow us. We are not going home. We are going on a trip where he cannot find us until we have secured your safety.”
“But… but…”
“No buts. You have your purse and I have mine. That’s all we need for a few days. We’re going to Florida, and sit by the ocean for a while. The condo there has security so no one can get in. Now tell me what happened while I drive, Sweetheart.”
I prayed as I gripped the wheel and listened to still another chapter in the book of “Life with an Alcoholic.” He promised. He tried. He begged. He didn’t mean it. He’ll get better. Love will fix him. As usual, it was all about him.
Finally, I said gently, “Mona, you must give him to God once and for all, because only God can heal him. If your love could’ve healed him, he’d be sober and clean by now.”
For once she didn’t argue.
“Mom,” she finally said in a very small voice. “If I give myself to God again, will He heal me too? I feel all broken up inside.“
“Yes, Baby,” I said. “He will give you a brand-new life and a grateful heart. I promise.”
We drove all night, reaching the Florida coast at sunrise. As we sat in the sand, eating doughnuts and drinking coffee, we talked about Mona’s future.
“Mom, how do I connect with God all the time like you do? I mean, once every week in church just isn’t enough for me to feel His Presence all week.”
I struggled to come up with an analogy. Finally, I said, “Think of your connection to God like your cell phone. You choose to keep it with you all the time because you have faith it’ll connect you with the people you love. Like me. Didn’t I come when you called me at 3:00 am?”
Mona nodded.
“Supposing I was unable to talk for some reason, and could only blow into the phone to show you I was there, would you still call me?”
“Yes, of course.”
“That is the way it is with God. His physical Voice has been heard by only a few people – prophets mostly, but the rest of us know He is there by faith. And over time you’ll learn to recognize His gentle breath on the connection.”
“So how often do you call on God, Mom?”
“Well, Sweetie, since the day you were born I call Him every morning, and leave the connection open all day long.”
“Since the day I was born? What about before that?”
“About once or twice a week, or when I was in trouble. I didn’t know any better, and I thought I didn’t need Him to get through the week.”
“So what changed when I was born?” Our eyes met. For the first time in a year, her eyes were free of pain. I chuckled, remembering how she arrived with a paradigm shift for me in her little baby fist.
“You were the first miracle I ever witnessed with my own eyes, Mona. And you carried a personal message to me from your Creator.”
“I did?”
“When I first looked at you, I could hear God speaking to my heart. He said that you were His Creation, sent from His Presence. And that we would be a blessing to each other forever.”
Mona looked down at the sand. “I guess I haven’t been a blessing lately.”
“You are here with me now, asking me questions about my favorite subject. That is a huge blessing. I gave up a night’s sleep for it. And I have been praying for this moment.”
Mona closed her eyes for a few moments, then opened them again. “Mom, I just gave Barry to God.”
I hugged her and said, “Wonderful! Now let’s go take a nap and after that we’ll get you a brand-new cell phone.”
750 words This is a work of fiction
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Well written with authentic dialogue.
My story was also entitled, The Connection. I guess great minds think alike.