Truly Yours Contemporary Collection December 2014 Read online

  Bobby frowned. “I’ve never seen an angel. Are angels real, Dad?”

  “Oh, yes, Bobby, angels are very real.”

  “Then why can’t we see them?”

  “Because that’s the way God wants it.” Mrs. Rachette opened her arms wide, gesturing around the room. “Our guardian angels are all around us, to protect us and keep us safe.”

  “ ‘And suddenly,’ ” Bobby’s father said, reading once again, “ ‘there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.’ ”

  “What about the star, Dad?”

  “Oh, that’s a wonderful part of the story. It’s recorded in the second chapter of Matthew.” Turning the pages quickly, Mr. Rachette began to read. “ ‘Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.’ ”

  “So there really was a star, Dad?”

  “Absolutely, Son. It’s recorded right there in the scriptures.”

  “That’s a wonderful story. I like it,” Eleanor said, taking on a nostalgic look once Mr. Rachette had closed the Bible and placed it back on the table. “But it’s really sad those bad men didn’t want Jesus to be their King. Why didn’t God just send a bolt of lightning to strike them or a flood to kill them like He did when Abraham had to build the ark?”

  Gently patting Eleanor’s shoulder, Mrs. Rachette leaned toward her and whispered, “It was Noah who built the ark, dear, not Abraham.”

  Blushing, Eleanor lowered her head and began to fidget with the hem of her skirt.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, Eleanor,” Mr. Rachette told her, pulling his glasses from his nose and slipping them into his pocket. “You haven’t had the opportunity of going to church and Sunday school like most of us have. They don’t teach those things in most public schools, though they should.”

  “I do wish your parents would let you go to church with us,” Bobby’s mother said. “There are so many wonderful stories in the Bible—stories every child should know. We need to ask them again.”

  “Yeah,” Bobby chimed in. “Sunday school is great. They give us some neat prizes for memorizing scripture.”

  “But remember, Bobby,” his father reminded him with a laugh, “getting prizes is not the only reason we should memorize God’s Word. We need to hide it away in our hearts—that we might not sin against Him.”

  Eleanor frowned at Bobby’s father. “I’m too young to sin.”

  “Everyone has sinned, Eleanor.”

  Eleanor frowned thoughtfully. “Even Bobby?”

  His father nodded. “Even Bobby.”

  “I’ve—I’ve never sinned,” Eleanor repeated defensively.

  Mrs. Rachette reached down, took Eleanor’s hand, and pulled her up onto her lap. “God said all have sinned. Have you ever sassed back at your father or mother? Fought with your sister? Lied about something? Maybe you even stole a pencil or another item that belonged to someone else?”

  Eleanor sat speechless.

  “The worst sin of all is rejecting God and His love.” Bobby’s mother gently stroked Eleanor’s hair. “Look at it this way, sweetie. Remember that day when Bobby rescued you from the frozen pond?”

  Eleanor shuddered and nodded.

  “Bobby loved you so much he was willing to give up his own life, if necessary, to save yours. That’s just a small example to show you what God did for us. He sent His only Son who died on the cross for us—in our place—to give us eternal life in heaven with Him. He didn’t do it because we were good people. He did it because He loved us.”

  “Are you and Mr. Rachette going to heaven someday?”

  The two nodded.

  “Is Bobby?”

  “Yes.” Mr. Rachette placed a loving hand on Bobby’s shoulder. “Last summer, during Vacation Bible School, Bobby realized he was a sinner and accepted God’s love and sacrifice.”

  Eleanor gazed up into Bobby’s father’s eyes then broke into a smile. “Can I go to heaven with your family?”

  Mrs. Rachette drew her close and hugged her tightly. “Oh, yes, sweetheart. God loves the little children as much as He loves the adults. That’s why He made His eternal plan simple—so simple even a little child could understand it.”

  Eleanor asked, “How can I be sure I’m going there?”

  “It’s easy, El.” Bobby stood and took hold of her hand, pulling her to her feet. “You just have to tell God you’re a sinner, ask Him to forgive you, and invite Jesus to come and live in your heart.”

  Eleanor looked to Mrs. Rachette for guidance.

  With a laugh, Mrs. Rachette reached out and tousled her son’s hair. “Good job, Bobby. You said it all.” Then turning to Eleanor, she invited her to close her eyes, bow her head, and asked Jesus to come into her heart.

  “Now you’re a Christian, too,” Bobby said proudly when his mother finished praying with Eleanor. “We’re both going to heaven someday!”

  ❧

  Faith extended her hand, and with the tip of her finger she wiped away a tear from Eleanor’s cheek.

  “I’d nearly forgotten about making that decision,” Eleanor admitted, swallowing at the lump in her throat. “Mr. and Mrs. Rachette were so kind to me. That was the best Christmas ever.”

  “Did you mean what you said that night? About acknowledging you were a sinner and asking God’s forgiveness?”

  Eleanor nodded. “I meant it at the time, but so much has happened since then. I’m not the same person I was then.”

  “No, you’re not. You pulled away from the God who loves you, and money has become your god—money, power, and success.”

  Offended by Faith’s blunt accusation, Eleanor backed away. “How dare you say such things about me? I’m a good person, not the ogre you make me out to be!”

  “If I asked you to give me the names of three people who would vouch for your goodness, could you do it?”

  Eleanor thought long and hard, but apart from Bobby, she could think of no one who would vouch for her.

  “Your own silence condemns you.”

  Eleanor bristled. “I’m not dead yet. There’s plenty of time for me to do good works.”

  “How do you know that?”

  The question hit her right between the eyes. Perhaps she was dead!

  “Think about your life, Eleanor Scrooge. Think about the things in your life that will last. What memorials will you leave behind? What legacies? Or will your life have been lived in vain?”

  “Robert claims to be a Christian,” Eleanor shouted, defensively. “What memorials will he leave behind? He has no money to give to the children’s hospital. No money to give to his church. He can’t even afford to pay for his daughter’s operation to remove that horrible birthmark!”

  “All of that may be true, but he has something you don’t have.”

  She gave Faith a scathing glance. “Oh? And what is that?”

  “He loves the Lord with all his heart, mind, and soul, and he’s raising his family to love and honor God. God isn’t interested in the things man or woman can do. He wants their unequivocal love and a personal relationship with each one. Wouldn’t you like to renew the relationship you began that day in the Rachette living room? The day you had faith enough to believe God and ask Him to come into your heart and dwell there?”

  Eleanor stared off in space, contemplating Faith’s words carefully, then shook her head.

  In the twinkling of an eye, Faith was gone, and Eleanor was standing alone in the darkness, an abyss that had no beginning and no end, stil
l wondering if perhaps she had died in that car accident and was doomed to spend eternity apart from God.

  Eight

  Suddenly a tiny shaft of light appeared off in the distance, one so tiny it was hard to make out. Trembling with fear and afraid of the darkness and what dangers may be lurking there, Eleanor rushed toward it, only to find a single, small light bulb burning in an empty room.

  “Faith? Are you here?”

  She waited for an answer but none came.

  “Hello!” she called out. “Is anyone here?”

  “I’m here,” a soft, female voice came from the far corner.

  Looking quickly in that direction Eleanor squinted her eyes, her heart pounding in her throat. “Where are you? I can’t see you.”

  A woman, who looked to be about Eleanor’s age and wearing a filmy white dress, stepped out of the darkness and moved toward her. She was the picture of grace and elegance, and every bit as pretty as Faith, but with red tresses and emerald green eyes that seemed to pierce Eleanor’s very being. “Hello, Eleanor. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Surprised by her sudden appearance, Eleanor’s palm flattened on her chest. “Are—are you related to Faith? You look very much like her.”

  The woman smiled. “In some ways we’re related.”

  “Surely you’re not going to try to take me to the Place of Memories like Faith did. I really don’t want to go there again. I want to go home. I have so much work to do. By the way, what’s your name?”

  “Hope. My name is Hope.”

  Eleanor eyed her suspiciously. “Are you an angel?”

  “Why do you ask? Do you think I’m an angel?”

  “I—I don’t know, but there’s a glow about you. And like Faith, you seem to float from place to place instead of walk like the rest of us do.”

  “Did you think Faith was an angel?”

  “Not at first but there was something about her. A sweetness, a sincerity. I wasn’t sure what she was.”

  Hope reached out her hand. “Come with me, Eleanor. It’s time.”

  Eleanor shook her head. “No, I didn’t want to go with Faith, and I don’t want to go with you.”

  Again, Hope reached out her hand. “Come.”

  Though Eleanor tried to refuse her invitation, she couldn’t. Something propelled her forward, and she found herself unable resist. “You’re taking me to the Place of Memories, too, aren’t you?”

  “You really don’t want to go?”

  “It—it isn’t that I don’t want to go. I sort of enjoyed my trip down memory lane with Faith, but I have better things to do with my time. Surely you can understand since, like Faith, you seem to know all about me.”

  Hope reached out her hand a third time. “Come, Eleanor. We’re not going down memory lane. I’m going to take you to a place in the here and now.”

  Though Eleanor struggled to keep her hand at her side, against her will it moved forward, and her fingers twined with Hope’s.

  “I know you don’t believe it, Eleanor, but there are people who love you and are concerned about you.”

  Eleanor harrumphed. “Love is a silly word. No one truly loves another person. All they’re interested in is what that person can do for them.”

  “Is that the reason Bobby saved your life when you went out onto the ice? Because of what he expected you to do for him?”

  Eleanor rolled her eyes. “That’s different. We were children.”

  “Then why do you think he risked his life to save yours?”

  Eleanor bit at her lip, a habit she’d acquired when she didn’t have a ready answer for a disgruntled customer. “I guess he didn’t realize the danger he was in.”

  “Come on, Eleanor. Don’t you remember how Bobby pleaded with you to come back? To get off the ice before something happened? He had plenty of time to think about the consequences of his actions. Face it. He loved you. You were important to him.” Hope gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “He loved you then. He still does.”

  “I—I love him, too. I’ve only recently come to realize how much I love him.”

  “Look, Eleanor!”

  Following Hope’s lead, Eleanor turned quickly and found herself peering through the windows of someone’s home. “Who lives here? And why are we peeking in their windows like voyeurs?”

  “This is Bob Rachette’s home.”

  Frowning with disdain, Eleanor glared at the small tract house. “This is where Bob lives? In this insignificant, ramshackle house? In this horrible neighborhood?”

  “You’ve never been here before? I thought you said he was your friend.”

  Eleanor dipped her head shyly. “He is. My very best friend.”

  “Your very best friend and you’ve never been to his home? I find that a little strange. Surely you’ve invited him to your home.”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  Hope took the tip of her garment and wiped at the hazy window. “But you have met his family, haven’t you?”

  “I saw them briefly once. At his wife’s funeral.”

  “Would you like to meet them? They’ve just come back from the candlelight service at their church.”

  Eleanor backed away from the window. “No, not now!”

  Instantly, she found herself and Hope standing in a hallway, less than ten feet from Bob and his children. “Now see what you’ve done. I told you No! I didn’t want to meet them now.” She smoothed at her hair. “This is so awkward.”

  Hope gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry. They can’t see you. Bob is just about to fix a snack for his family.”

  Once Eleanor realized Hope was telling her the truth and Bob and his family really couldn’t see her, she couldn’t contain her smile as she gazed at Bob. He was standing in front of the microwave oven, an apron tied around his waist. She’d never seen him like that. He looked so—domestic.

  “How’d you each like to have a cup of hot cocoa with a big marshmallow on top?” he asked his five children, smiling contentedly.

  All but one, clapping their hands and dancing about the room, answered with a resounding, “Yes!”

  Bob reached out and cupped the fifth child’s chin, lifting her face to meet his. “How about you, my precious daughter? Would you not like a nice hot cup of cocoa?”

  Eleanor gasped as she caught a glimpse of the girl’s face. “That’s Ginny! Bob told me about her birthmark!”

  Hope gave her head a sad shake. “It’s not a pretty sight, is it?”

  Stepping forward for a better look, Eleanor shuddered. “No, it isn’t. I—I hadn’t realized it was so big and so—ugly.”

  “How would you like to have been born with a birthmark like that?”

  The question caught Eleanor off guard. She’d never considered what life would be like for a child with a hideous red mark on her face. “I—I wouldn’t have liked it one bit!”

  “Can you imagine what life is like for Ginny? Not only can children be very cruel, but adults as well. Everywhere Ginny goes, people stare at her. Some even make hurtful comments to her. The older she gets, the more sensitive she is about them. It tears her up inside, and she cries a lot. More than her father knows. She hides her crying from him since she knows he’s doing everything he can to earn enough money for the treatments it will take to remove that birthmark. It’s a very expensive procedure, you know.”

  “Yes, I do know. Bob has told me.” Eleanor stared at Ginny. Other than the ugly red blotch that covered the lower portion of her right cheek, she was a beautiful child, with sandy red hair and blue eyes as pale as a Caribbean sea.

  “Imagine what that man has gone through. The ache and pain in his heart each time he looks at that precious girl is indescribable. No pain is worse than the pain of seeing your child suffer and not be able to do anything about it.”

  Hope gestured toward Bob as he wrapped his arms around his daughter and kissed her forehead.

  “She’s lucky to have him. He’s such a loving father. Not many men are as compassionat
e as Bob Rachette. Now imagine the agony he’s experiencing, knowing he can’t pay for the treatments.”

  “Surely there is some federal program that would help.” Eleanor closed her eyes and turned her head away, the sight nearly making her ill. She’d never expected the feelings of compassion that were surging through her. “Isn’t there some hospital somewhere that does this type of thing as part of a research program? Maybe a doctor who would do it pro bono, then write an article about it for a medical magazine? To, perhaps, gain some type of professional notoriety?”

  Hope paused, eyeing her from head to toe before responding to her question. Finally, she asked, “Or perhaps—somewhere—there is someone who is wealthy and could well afford to pay for it as a kind gesture.”

  Eleanor gave an agreeing nod. “Exactly! And if they did it right, it could become a tax write-off.”

  Hope remained silent, her gaze fixed on Eleanor.

  Shaking her head furiously, Eleanor backed away. “Oh, no. Surely you didn’t mean me!”

  “You could do it, couldn’t you?”

  With Hope’s question weighing against her heart and tear-filled eyes, Eleanor turned back to look at Bob as he cradled his daughter to his chest. “There has to be another way,” she whispered nearly inaudibly. “There has to be.”

  ❧

  Bob led Ginny to a nearby chair, seated himself, and then pulled her onto his lap. “I’m sorry, honey. I know you’re miserable. I would be more than willing to bear your pain and embarrassment if I could. Just remember I love you, and I’m doing all I can. We just need to keep praying about this. God loves us. We have to trust He’ll provide a way.”

  Ginny reached up and patted her father’s cheek. “It’s okay, Daddy. Sometimes I get a little sad. Please forgive me. I’d love to have a cup of hot cocoa.”

  “Why doesn’t that mean lady you work for help us?” eight-year-old Bob Jr. asked, his mouth outlined with a ring of marshmallow. “I’ll bet she’s got lots of money.”