Don’t forget to show
hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels
without realizing it!
Hebrews 13:2 NLT
One morning, the line at the coffeeshop nearly
stretched out the door. Already a hot one, the temp had been forecast to hit
103° heat index by noon. Needless to say, orders for frozen coffee far
outweighed the orders from the die-hard traditional coffee drinkers.
Kai looked up to see his next customer, a young
man in his early thirties perusing a newspaper in his hand.
“What can I get for you, sir?”
“Oh, I’ll have the usual – make it venti,” the man
said with his eyes still on his paper.
Kai turned to get the coffee when a vision of a
baby in a car seat flashed into his mind. Turning back around, Kai enquired,
“Say, I have a friend looking for a good day-care center near Hillsborough
Avenue. Know of any?”
Absently, the man mumbled, “What?”
Kai cleared his throat and spoke louder, “I was
wondering if you knew of a good day care on Hillsborough. Don’t you live near
there?”
The man looked up, “Hillsborough? Yes, our son’s
day care is… Oh my God!” The man’s face drained white as he dropped his paper
spun around and raced out the door.
Kai took the next order and then went into the
back to get more cups. Glancing around to make sure he was alone, he whispered
vehemently, “Simon, you got someone on this or should I head over there?”
Simon’s voice filled his head, “Don’t worry, our
Lord had Mathias go over there 15 minutes ago. He is in the car fanning the baby
with his wings until the dad gets there.
Simon went on, “But you go over there, too. You
may be able to speak a word in season.”
“Sam! I must go out and pick up more cups. We’re
out!”
In the blink of an eye, Kai was in the parking
garage just as dad rushed up to the car. The dad yanked open the door, and
pulled his son out of the car seat. Cradling the squalling child, he leaned
against the car and then slid down the car landing on his bottom on the garage
floor, breathing hard. “Oh, thank God, you’re safe! Thank you, God, thank you,”
he sobbed.
Feeling of the child’s forehead, he exclaimed,
“Why you don’t even seem warm! How can that be?” Deep jagged breaths, “Oh God thank you so
much for protecting my boy!”
He fished in his coat pocket for his phone and
with a shaking hand punched some buttons. “Shhh… Dylan, it’s okay, Daddy’s got
you. Shhh.”
“Miss Jenkins? This is Jack Cornell. I’m calling
to ask you to reschedule the mornings appointments. I’ve had a day care
emergency ….” Long shaky breath … “Actually, I won’t be able to make it in at
all today. Yes, that’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Putting his phone away, Jack continued to soothe
his baby, oblivious to the dirty floor and the coming and going of vehicles.
Thinking quickly, Kai appeared as a business man
walking past on his way to the elevator to go to the street below.
“Everything okay?” asked Kai in a friendly,
interested manner.
Jack glanced up and appearing to notice where he was,
got up off the floor with a groan, still holding the now-quiet baby. “Yeah, we
are okay.”
Looking around and noticing they were alone, Jack
said with a hoarse laugh, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I forgot to
drop the baby off at the day-care. I was so distracted thinking about the
Ellsworth case. Thank God I remembered before he got too hot!”
“That’s definitely a cause for thanking God,”
replied Kai the business man.
“You look like you need a moment to pull yourself
together. How about I get you a Coke at the diner? My treat?”
“Well, okay. My morning is free now,” Jack said.
Inside the diner, they found a booth and sat down.
“May I?” asked Kai, reaching for the baby who was
now sound asleep.
Sitting across the table from him, Kai could see
Jack had been operating under stress for a long time. Dark circles rimmed his
eyes.
In a caring manner, Kai started asking gentle
questions and found out what he already knew. Jack had been working 7 days a
week for a very long time. His wife and Dylan had been seeing little of him and
so Jack had tried to have a little more time with the baby by taking turns with
his wife of transporting the child to daycare.
“What kind of dad forgets the baby is in the car?”
Jack cried. “I’m so ashamed. He was so quiet when he fell asleep I just totally
forgot. I pulled into the garage already thinking about the morning’s first
meeting with Ellsworth and I knew it was going to be long. I jumped out and ran
for the office as quick as I could when it occurred to me I should get some
caffeine in me. If I hadn’t went into the coffeeshop when I did … If that guy
hadn’t asked me if I knew of a good daycare … I don’t know when I would have
remembered Dylan was in the car!”
Jack ran his hand through his hair and dropped his head.
Jack ran his hand through his hair and dropped his head.
Grabbing Jack’s shoulder, Kai leaned in and said,
“Jack, God gave man the gift of rest. If God rested on the seventh day after
creating the earth and everything in it, surely man must need rest as well!”
Jack stared back at him, then slowly said, “I
haven’t been considering what God wanted me to do for a long time…”
“No time like the present to start!” Kai said
heartily. “Here, let me give you Pastor John Cook’s business card. He knows
exactly what you are going through. He used to be the CEO of Clark and Clark
before he changed directions. He knows what it’s like to be in the rat race.”
“Maybe I will,” Jack said as he took the card. “I
can’t go on like this.”
“Do it today! I think it is meant for you to talk
to him right now.” Kai said as he gazed into Jack’s eyes.
Jack stared a moment, and then glanced at his
sleeping son. “You’re right! I’ll do it right now,” as he pulled out his phone
and started dialing.
Later, Kai stood outside Jack’s car as he buckled
the baby in the car seat and prepared to go meet Pastor Cook. Jack stood up and
turned to Kai and they shook hands.
“Thanks for the Coke and the talk. I’ll never
forget it.”
“You’ll do fine. You were meant to be Dylan’s
father and God will help you find a way to accomplish what needs to be done.”
“Somehow, I believe it.”
“Oops, look at the time! I must go, but you will
be in my prayers.” Kai said over his shoulder as he took off.
“Hey, wait! I never got your name,” yelled Jack as
he got back out of the car to chase him down.
He looked to the right,
then to the left, but saw no one!We are on Day 10 of my serial, Angel on Assignment: The Book of Morgan. I've got to be honest, Day 10 is one of my favorite parts of the whole story.
If you have missed any of the previous posts, click on the upper right hand corner in my side bar. It will take you to a page where you can find all links as they go live.
What do YOU think? Could a story like this really happen?
Soon there will be a turning point in the story. Don't miss a day!
This serial is not intended to be doctrine. Scripture does tell us angels come to warn, bring messages and sometimes watch over us. It also tells us we could possibly unknowingly entertain an angel. My serial is just me imagining how that might look in our present day and time.
Tomorrow's offering: Day of Reckoning
This post was written as part of the Write 31 Days challenge. A whole group of writers will be writing for 31 days straight on a variety of topics. Click here to check it out.
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Jerralea, what a touching story. Maybe something like that could happen today, but whether it does or not, your story reminds us how God does watch over us. It also shows us that when we are too busy, we can forget very important things - like children in carseats. May God help us all remember to pause and thank Him during the day and not to schedule so much we don't get time to rest. Blessings to you! I'm your neighbor at #TellHisStory.
ReplyDeleteTotally LOVE this!!
ReplyDeleteYour story captivated me today. Connecting us to real life situations and how God intervenes when we least expect, is a gift. Thank you for sharing this at #TellHisStory
ReplyDelete