Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Fulfillment (04/06/06)
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TITLE: The Flood | Previous Challenge Entry
By Hannah Violette
04/11/06 -
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The storm had hit so suddenly, no one in town had any inkling of the damage it would wreak. Drains overflowed, levies long left to maintain themselves crumbled, streets filled with cars became rivers navigated by rescue boats. In a valley accustomed to heat and dryness, the unexpected monsoon brought everything to a screeching halt. For five days, Kay threw herself into everyone's lives but her own. With barely enough time to churn out three meals a day for the 150, suddenly homeless families, she was blissfully unaware of the emptiness she was so desperately running from. Parents and children hung to each other as they drifted from cots to the TV corner, glued to the blond anchorwoman who kept them updated on their bleak situation. Babies cried, it seemed, non-stop, and while families corralled themselves inside the local armory, the local pound had set up a pet shelter for furrier family members. In the midst of this loud, confused, foreign environment, Kay found a modicum of peace.
After lunch on day four, Yvette knocked on the door of the Salvation Army canteen that had become Kay's home. "May I help?"
Up to her arms in soapsuds, Kay turned from the sink. "Help? I don't think so; you've got enough to think about. You need some rest from all this."
"'All this'? What 'all this'? I'm going stir-crazy in there! I've spent the better part of a week doing absolutely nothing but wondering 'I wonder, did all that water do anything useful like wash up the linoleum?' and 'How do fish fare at times like this?' - I think dirty dishes just might be the best therapy for me!"
Comfortable with the chatty Yvette, Kay sat with her at the chapel service later that night. She and Phil were regular worshipers, but this particular hymn was new to her:
"Lead on, O King eternal, till sin's fierce war shall cease,
And holiness shall whisper the sweet amen of peace;
For not with swords loud clashing, nor roll of stirring drums,
With deeds of love and mercy the heavenly kingdom comes."
For Kay, the last few years had indeed felt much like "swords loud clashing." She recalled her words right before she embarked on this volunteer journey: "I just can't continue like this, Phil! I can't continue being your little trophy wife, showing up on your arm whenever you command, smiling at your adoring public when inside I feel nothing! Teas for old broads, charity auctions, what about me? My life, my dreams, me - I'm as shattered as, as . . .as this plate!" At that, she flung her prized, three-tiered Lenox dessert plate against the wall. Fortunately, it was at that moment that her golf partner had called with the volunteer opportunity, the perfect escape from her immediate turmoil.
Although the preacher seemed engaging, Kay was trapped in her own thoughts. How had her life become so empty, so unfulfilling? Her childhood was happy, she had the perfect home, a rising-star husband, plenty of activities to fill her day as Mrs. Senator Scott, even a lovely son and daughter who excelled in their studies at two different Ivy League schools. But she was empty. Meaningless. All her years of hard work, building a life for herself, was pointless. At a very young 54, she was, in one word, unfulfilled.
Looking around her, she saw those whom she had served. Some were poor, others dirty; all had been devastated, yet in the middle of carnage, there was the air of hope. The words of the hymn penetrated her heart: as she had offered deeds of love and mercy, a piece of heaven had indeed come to earth. As she had poured herself out to meet the needs of others, her own emptiness had been filled.
Now she could go home.
The broken plate was still on the floor. Nothing had changed in five days. Nothing but Kay's heart. As she swept up the pieces that had once represented her life, Phil came in. Before he could speak, Kay turned and smiled, a smile that Phil hadn't seen in a long time.
"Honey, I'm so sorry. Let me explain."
With that, her new life of purpose and meaning began.
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