Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN (04/13/17)
-
TITLE: Nobody's Perfect | Previous Challenge Entry
By Candace Meiler
04/19/17 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
"I'll be there to pick you up at 7:00. PLEASE BE READY." She rolled her eyes. To her boyfriend, Luke, being ready really meant "be ready five minutes early." Olyvia was notorious for running late and lately, Luke hadn't been too forgiving.
"Ugh," she rolled her eyes, letting out an exaggerated sigh. Yanking the dryer door open, she hastily grabbed the damp laundry. She tossed it in the basket, leaving a few socks trailing behind her. She thought she'd had plenty of time to go to her parent’s house and do her laundry, but she hadn't anticipated falling asleep on the couch after they left to run errands. As a result, a couple of loads were left unattended and she'd been playing catch up. Now she was an hour away from campus, her laundry wasn't dry, and she risked being late for their date. She ran through the house, grabbing her socks and scanning for anything else she'd missed.
She was halfway to her car when her mom called to remind her to take the leftover potato soup back to college. She shoved the laundry in the back seat and ran back in for the food. Finally, Olyvia jumped in her car and took a deep breath. She had only driven a mile when the fuel light came on. "Ugh," she said again through gritted teeth. She pulled into the first available station and grabbed her phone to check the time. 6:15. Tossing it on the seat beside her, she fumbled for her wallet and grabbed some cash. As soon as the car door slammed, she clenched her fists, and her whole body stiffened. Slowly, she turned around and peered through the window. “Nooo…†Her forehead fell against the glass in disbelief. There were her keys lying neatly in the seat beside her phone--both locked safely in her car.
In the forty-five minutes that she waited for the local police to arrive, Olyvia remembered something she'd heard at bible study awhile back. The leader had said that sometimes when we run late, we should see it as a blessing rather than an inconvenience because God might just be protecting us from something. Reflecting on that, she could calm down and take a breath for the first time in a couple of hours. She knew that Luke was going to be mad at her for running late again, but there was nothing she could do about that now. With that in mind, she was oddly at peace which confirmed what she already knew--God was with her. At exactly 7:00 pm, a local policeman was finally able to unlock her car, but not before he spilled the coke that a good Samaritan had given her while she waited. As the drink drenched her clothes and ran down the side of her car, Olyvia gave a slight chuckle thinking it was the icing on the cake of her folly-filled evening. Finally, she was headed for campus with a tank full of gas--and a completely silent phone.
She'd tried calling and texting Luke before she left the station, but she was unable to reach him. She thought it was odd that he hadn't tried to reach her and her stomach filled with knots anticipating that something was terribly wrong. An hour later, however, a knock on her door startled her and she ran to answer it. There sat Luke, on his knees, with flowers and puppy dog eyes.
Olyvia could do nothing but stare at him as he handed her the beautifully fragrant apologies. She listened as he explained that he'd also taken a nap. Instead of hitting snooze, however, he'd completely turned off his alarm causing him to sleep right through their date. Luke offered the blank stare in return as she recounted everything that had happened to her in the last several hours.
Suddenly, the silence was broken as the music of laughter filled the night air. That evening, the young couple learned a valuable lesson in love--accidents are going to happen, but when you choose forgiveness over anger, you might just end the day with love and laughter.
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.
Well done!
Blessings~
Nicely done.
I'm glad your story had a happy ending; I was afraid her boyfriend had been in a car accident.