Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Blue (10/08/09)
-
TITLE: Blue Book Value
By Judy Webb
10/15/09 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
The door to the main cabin was closing and the flight attendants were preparing for departure. Sara realized as she was hoisting her carry-on bag to the overhead bin that her journal was missing. She had been recording her troubles in this blue book for weeks now.
Sara retraced her last few minutes at the gate. She finished her entry and slipped the journal into the outside compartment of her carry-on bag and headed toward the boarding zone. That was the last time she saw the book. Sara dropped to the seat and hung her head in her hands.
“Think,” Sara whispered to herself. “Just what did I write? Did I write where I am going?” She hesitated for a moment thinking this through. She considered making a scene, demanding that they open the door and allow her leave so that she could retrieve the evidence, but she knew that wasn’t an answer.
At the terminal Rosie was reporting for her shift as airport housekeeping attendant and as usual her first assignment was the boarding area. In no time at all she had cleaned the area making it ready for the next stream of passengers who would gather there to await their flight.
Rosie gathered up her supplies, took one last look and then walked over to a bank of chairs nearest the window to pick up today’s newspaper. She was refolding the pages when a small blue book dropped to the floor.
Passengers for the next flight were arriving so Rosie scooped up the blue book along with the pile of crumpled newspapers and stuffed them into her cleaning cart, heading to her next project.
The plane began its climb and Sara was frantically trying to remember today’s entry. She had been faithful to journal her thoughts and prayers as her counselor had instructed. The counseling sessions were beginning to help ease her guilt. She knew that writing down her feelings and getting them out would be healing.
Sara was only eight years old when the robbery had taken place. She didn’t know how desperate her father was, she didn’t understand how far a parent would go to get money when their kids were hungry. She was asleep in the back seat of her father’s car when the robbery occurred. She woke up to witness his arrest, although she didn’t understand what was happening. These were the guilty memories recorded this morning.
Sara’s plane arrived on schedule and joining with the other passengers she grabbed her carry on bag all the while squeezing in line, anxious to leave the aircraft. Her heart was still pounding and her mind was whirling; should she follow through with her plans or should she grab the next flight back and try to retrieve the convicting blue journal. Was this an opportunity to put her past to rest or to make a bigger mess? What to do?
Could Sara take a chance that someone would read her journal? Why did she write so much in that blue book this morning? She realized that this trip wouldn’t make her very popular, but somehow it seemed worth the risk. She had never been to a prison before, but she desperately wanted to see her father, it had been ten years. She decided to take that chance, hailed a taxi and gave instructions for the driver to take her to the prison. She had to face her father, had to find out if he loved her even though it was her testimony that convicted him so many years ago.
She would deal with any consequences her missing blue journal might create. She was learning that God is in control and that he will make all things work for the good of those who love Him. If that weren’t true she wouldn’t be making this trip to see her father.
The shift was ending when Rosie remembered the blue book she rescued from the trash this morning. It looked a lot like a journal she recorded her thoughts and feelings into when she was a girl. Memories of that book are what prompted her to pick it up. Someone might have spilled their heart out onto the pages of this blue book and Rosie wanted to spare the anonymous person the embarrassment of those feelings being made public.
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.