Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: PHONE (11/10/16)
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TITLE: Be Still | Previous Challenge Entry
By Wendy Godwin
11/17/16 -
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“Do you ever put that thing down?” Her husband, Charley, was in the kitchen stirring a pot of his famous chili. Christine dropped her keys onto the counter, rolled her eyes at him, and continued her phone conversation.
He gently kissed her cheek, then ladled the chili into three bowls and carried them over to the table where he had already placed the silverware, napkins, and a fresh loaf of bread.
“Supper’s ready.”
Anton ran in to the dining room and took his place at the table.
“Did you wash your hands?”
“Uh huh. And I did my homework already. I know my 10’s. Miss Smith made us practice at school. I did them super-fast.”
Christine nodded at him in approval but her phone begged for attention beside her.
Rain was hammering the roof by the time they finished dinner. Christine loaded the dishwasher while Charley and Anton got ready for church. She had promised to talk to Mr. Mack, after choir practice, about listing his house.
Charley had already backed out of the driveway and headed down the road when Christine noticed her cell phone wasn’t in the middle console where she usually set it as soon as she got in the car. She started to search in her purse.
“Wait. My phone. Did I leave it at home?”
Charley shrugged. “Good. Now you can relax.”
Christine had to share Charley’s Bible that night. She usually used her Bible app. It was kind of nice to sit close to Charley again. They hadn’t done this in years.
As they started to pull back into their drive after church, the headlights reflected off a small, rectangular object in a large puddle. Christine jumped out and ran to check before Charley had pulled the car all the way in.
“It’s cracked. The screen is cracked. How did you run it over? How did I drop it?” She looked at Charley questioning how he could have let this happen. As if it were his fault.
She used Charley’s cell to call her cell phone carrier. After an $80 insurance copay, she could expect a new phone on her doorstep. . . in about 48 hours. A deep breath and hot cup of tea calmed her nerves.
She made sure Anton was tucked into bed and read him a story—something she seldom had time for. In her room, she crawled into bed but could not check Facebook, Instagram, or her email. Charley had already settled in and was dozing off. In the silence, she turned on the little lamp beside her bed and dusted off the devotion book she used to read nightly.
There were no phone calls or blue-light notifications. In the silence, her mind slowly started to rest as she read. “Be still and Know That I am God” was the title of the devotion. I have no other choice, she thought.
She had to tell herself that, if there was any emergency, close friends and family could call Charley’s cell. His cell was always on, but seldom rang. Communication had always been her job.
The next day at the office Christina kept absentmindedly reaching for her phone. All her calls would have to be made from her desk phone. It felt odd to her to use that old phone. But it was just as effective and soon her schedule was full of house showings and client meetings.
That afternoon she showed a cute bungalow to a young married couple. Uninterrupted, she talked to the young couple about when she and Charley had bought their first house eight years ago. The couple put an offer in on the house.
At the supper table that night Christina shared her story of the sweet young couple. Anton said his 5’s and 10’s multiplication tables without a mistake, and Charley talked about a funny incident that had happened at work.
That night Christine turned on her little lamp once again, and then read the next devotion in her book.
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