The time was almost here. Madeline lay in her bed, knowing that the moment was nigh. As she lay there, her eyes wandered around the room. She smiled, for she saw him in the corner. He was waiting.
She was alone. She always knew it was going to be like this, no matter how she tried to change it. Looking back over her life, she pondered the people who passed through, the events she experienced. At what point did the end begin? At what point did she give up?
Or, maybe it was that she never started? No, there were good times, full times. And yet ...
Madeline remembered reading a quote long ago: "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" She's not sure that she can say that.
She turned to the man in the corner. "Can you hear me?" she whispered. The man came forth and gently took her hand.
"I'm sorry I got lost. I don't know what I was waiting for, but the time never felt right. And then things started to go wrong, and I just didn't have the energy. I didn't know how I was supposed to get through?
What did I do wrong? Everyone I know lived a life so different than mine, and I could not do it alone. It's like everything I wanted, I had briefly but was taken from me. Why? What was I supposed to learn from that? What was I supposed to do?" Her eyes were filled with tears, and her throat constricted in anguish.
"It's not for me to say. Do not worry."
"This is not about worrying. This is about not living fully, about using the gifts I was given, about making a difference. I feel that I did none of that."
"Madeline, the way you see things is not always the way things were. What you want is not always what happens, but that doesn't mean that you didn't get what you wanted."
Madeline's eyes filled with tears. "I'm scared."
"There's no need. The promises are true."
She remembered the moment. The moment she gave up. "I'm sorry," she whispered as the tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You were redeemed long ago and are forgiven. Come home."
No comments:
Post a Comment