Chapter 1
“He’s not going to make it,” I heard the mourning voice of my daughter above me, “Maybe it’s time to let go,”
I have been laying in a hospital bed for 16 months. Laying here without anyone knowing I could hear them. People would say things like ‘He might never come out of it,’ or ‘Maybe it’s time to pull the plug.’ I have been getting progressively worse over the last few weeks, according to the doctors. I try to open my eyes, but I am so weak, so tired of lying in this bed for a year. I am completely alone.
I hear an ear splitting, high pitched beep and footsteps urgently running into my room. They start shouting random words. I try to make sense of them before they fade away. But can’t.
I wake up on a beach I vaguely remember. I am seeing something real for the first time in 16 months. I remember this beach! This is where my brother and I- my brother! There he is, playing in the water like we did every day of our youth. I open my mouth to greet him when I am whisked away.
I open my eyes to see my wife, in white, standing before me. I tear up at the sight of her. “I do,” she says. Oh, I missed seeing my beautiful Charlotte.
Now I am kneeling at my bedside, praying with my brother. Ah, I remember this day. Pastor had preached about salvation in church, and my brother and I decided to receive His forgiveness. Tony, my brother, died three days later.
Here I am at Tony’s funeral. I get up and run outside the sanctuary and into the bathroom. Here, my 11 year old self screams at God for taking my brother away. “How can you love me if you take my best friend away! He just asked You into his heart and You just killed him like that! How could you do this!” My mother walks in and hugs me tightly. I sob into her shoulder. I try to say I love you, but my mind is taken somewhere else.
I am now in the hospital with my wife. She cradles our newborn twins, Grace and Joy, in her arms. “Thank You Lord. Thank You for these precious children You have given us!” Charlotte smiles her sweet smile at me as I thank God for our precious gifts.
Now, I am in our yard with my daughters. I remember this day. I watch helplessly as Joy runs out into the street. I try to run after her only to see her small body get crushed by a car. The driver rushes out to see my dead Joy on the ground. The woman who was driving stares at me, stunned, with tears streaming down her face. I run to my Joy and cradle her bloody body. “The Lord gives and He takes away,” I whisper under my breath. I shut my eyes tight and wonder how I will tell my wife.
As I open my eyes, I see that I am at Joy’s funeral. I look around for my wife, I know she needs comforting. I remember how I lost my brother and know I can console Grace, but she will never have her best friend back…
Now I see something I’ve never seen before. My eyes are filled with bright light, but I am not squinting. A man in blue approaches me. “You are Home, my son.” I look around and see my brother and my Joy. Finally, I am truly home.
