Fiction

Secrets of the Hope Chest

by Anne O'Donnell
10/22/20
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1.

Gloria positioned the hope chest up against the sandy colored clapboard wall in her studio and relished its beauty. On a sunny day, the light streaming in from the adjacent window cast a heavenly glow on the piece of furniture, filling her with lightheartedness, but today, the rain cast a dull shadow into the room, muting its colors. She refused to let the dreariness of the day hijack her determination to rise above the disturbing memories that plagued her mind. Today holds a new hope, she reassured herself, and proceeded to count down the remaining minutes of free time before logging in to her computer.

Glancing down, she admired the designs engraved on the chest, recently purchased from none other than the famous, and now retired, Jay Riley from Mount Hope Furniture in Salt Creek, Ohio. Mr. Riley’s pieces were well known for their elegant craftsmanship, especially the limited editions flaunting engraved carvings under a rich finish of gilded gesso with overlays of delicate metal relief flower petals, and Gloria felt honored to own such a work of art.

She had felt drawn to this rustic but royal piece of furniture at the “Build Beyond Your Dreams” convention last week, as though it called out her name begging for a new home. How silly a thought, she had chided to herself, it’s only wood, and wood can’t communicate. The chest was reminiscent of the hand carved chest from her childhood home where she lived with her grandma after losing her parents to a car crash. The flashbacks of the years following the loss still pierced holes in her heart, and at times she questioned her impulse to purchase the chest, but rationalized the resemblance was a piece of her parent’s life that could serve as a source of comfort. She hoped by the end of the day, the piece was still available for purchase.

Now, staring at the piece in the quiet of the moment, she understood why this recent addition to her studio was more than just a piece of wood constructed by a famous artist. God had a plan for me, she reflected, and used it to usher me into the next chapter of my life story.

2.

Gloria let her mind wander back to the day of the convention when Jay had called her into a private meeting in his office to review the itinerary for the morning presentation. Gloria welcomed the privilege of addressing the crowd with her success stories and her flair for designing wood furniture, so she anticipated the thrill of meeting this well renowned celebrity of the art world in person.

Mr. Riley’s reputation as an award winning artisan for the past decade had earned him the honor of getting hired by Savannah Wood Makers to host the annual event, of which Gloria had been invited as guest speaker, but upon entering the room, she was met with an unsettled look on Mr. Riley’s face, filled with consternation and uncertainty about the disturbing orders he had received from Mr. Savannah.

Jay’s number one assignment, his boss pounded in his head days before the event, was to acquire the specifications for each entry of furniture, trim, ceiling beams, and accessories, from all registered crafters for the judges’ review. This meant Jay had little time to contact everyone on the list and felt pressured to obtain this information along with an authorized signature of release needed prior to submitting their entry. His boss was counting on his professional expertise and promised a sizable sum of money if he could secure the details used in the finished displays without acting too obvious about it.

This procedure wasn’t quite so out of the ordinary, except for the fact that the boss’s motives were purely deceitful. Unbeknownst to Jay, rather than allowing the contestants to advertise the quality of their work for the purpose of exposing their well thought out designs before the judges, Mr. Savannah had every intention of stealing the itemized lists of dimensions and materials, and selling them to woodworking manufacturing companies across the country without the participant’s knowledge.

Mr. Riley had felt a tug in his spirit, but dismissed his discomfort and decided he would keep a close watch on Mr. Savannah's behavior before asking any questions.

Gloria found the edge of the chair and slowly sat down, attempting to get a read on Jay’s face, when she noticed his hands shaking. He extended a folder to her without speaking a word, and just stared ahead. Gloria took the folder, opened it, only to discover a ledger of stolen pieces Mr. Savannah had managed to claim as his own from previous shows. There must have been over fifty pages of documented items he had confiscated. This thief had built his business by stealing designs from some of the most notorious artists and craftsmen in the country. Why had he not been discovered? There was no way to size up the dollar amount represented. Millions, if not more. What kind of madness controlled this monster? The artists were signing over the release of ownership without ever realizing it, and Jay had no way of stopping it.

What happened next shook Gloria’s nerves almost as deeply as the image of the reckless driver who collided with her parent’s car the night of the accident.

Without warning, Mr. Savannah stormed into the office, prepared to reprimand Jay for the inexcusable delay on forwarding the signatures into his possession, but was confronted with another reason to blow up with rage and bring embarrassment to himself. Stopping dead in his tracks, he caught sight of the folder in Gloria’s hand. Lips pursed and barely breathing, he grabbed it and pointed his gnarly finger it in her face shouting, “You! You will pay dearly for this!”

With a quick glance at Jay and then back again, she studied Mr. Savannah’s face only to realize he meant every word of his threat. She took one step forward, then hesitated, not knowing whether to stand frozen, scream and threaten to call the authorities, or run for her life. Resisting the urge to do all of them at once, she decided to cock her head to the side, suggesting his threats meant nothing, which prompted Mr. Savannah to pull out his pistol and wave it before her and Jay, as if to silently seize control of the moment.

Millions of dollars were at stake and Jay had no intention of succumbing to his plot of lies and deception. In that instant, he stood up and buzzed security. Mr. Savannah dropped the folder, lunged towards Gloria and pressed her up against the wall, gripping her throat with one hand while pointing the gun to her forehead with the other. At this juncture, Gloria did scream, while Jay reached over to grab his left arm and twisted it to the point of excruciating pain, causing Mr. Savannah to wince and double over, allowing Jay to punch him in the chin and knock the wind out of him. Security rushed in, took the gun from Mr. Savannah’s possession, and quickly escorted Gloria to safety. Jay stayed behind to hand over the folder and answer questions from the authorities.

3.

Gloria's mind skimmed across her memories, trying to measure up all she had endured that day and what transpired during Jay’s visit back to her studio. She bent over to touch the metal flowered petals embedded in the top of the hope chest. She was right in her assumptions that Jay was a man of character, proving himself in the way he handled the incident thrown in his face.

Jay had insisted he spend the remainder of the day with Gloria, especially for the purpose of transporting the chest to her studio, and, to calm her frazzled nerves. After situating the chest inside the studio, Jay stepped back and looked over at Gloria. He paused, and then spoke these gentle words, “You know Gloria, God has a special way of working. The day I carved this chest, I prayed. I prayed for the new owner, that whomever would take this chest into their home would someday find the message of hope that God offers to those who search for a place of belonging. I prayed that the love of God would invade their heart, and they would come to realize that every day matters, every minute matters, and every life has purpose and meaning to their creator.”

“I prayed that the person who took this chest would encounter the love of a Father who never leaves them alone, and always walks through every trial they face. I prayed God’s presence would bring them a renewed sense of his great compassion, even when those closest to them can’t give them the love they crave. Buried deep inside this chest is a message for you. Come, let me show you.”

Unlocking the latch and lifting the lid, Jay proceeded to remove a strip of wood on the floor of the chest, revealing a concealed sheet of parchment paper containing writing in black ink. He lifted the paper and placed it into Gloria’s hand and nodded his head up and down as if to communicate, “Go ahead, take what is yours, precious child of God.”

Without hesitation, and a look of deep curiosity, Gloria took the paper and read these words;

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

Tears she could not hide flowed from the deep places in her heart, where once the emptiness and fear resided, now filled with a peace she never experienced.

“Thank you Jay, I don’t even know what to say.”

“Gloria”, Jay continued, “the message of the hope chest is just that; hope. God makes all things beautiful in his time. He brings beauty from ashes, He is your God, your Savior, your peace. Won’t you let him come in and stay?”