FCCY's mtq's bLoGG !!!

Grant Me Faith until Morning

The twister fell from an ominous whirling swell in the ghostly green distance. Only minutes away, it roared like an angry beast released from a dark world. Its long twirling tail whipped the helpless earth, filling the sky with plumes of dust, tree limbs, and splintered wood. Without hesitation it marked its torturous path of destruction straight toward Laci Carrington's house.
Laci found herself alone in a corner of her basement. She felt her heart pounding through her mother's old family Bible as she clasped it tightly to her chest. Heavy moist air clung to her face, and an eerie buzzing filled the dark confines around her. Alone on the cold, damp floor, she could not remember feeling such fear inside her own soul. She felt certain that she was being tested.
Laci Carrington had always identified herself with her house. In her mind, they were almost one and the same. There were countless memories locked away in unused rooms. Generations of voices, music and laughter were recorded in its old plaster walls.
Her childhood home had remained her fortress of security for thirty-five years. It was the one earthly possession she felt she could never live without. Her ultimate fear was its destruction. She whispered the prayer her mother had taught her to pray each night. "Grant me faith until morning."
The twister's ear-splitting roar shook the old, weakening foundations, and the electrical wiring on the basement ceiling began to emit sharp, unnerving popping sounds. The incessant buzzing had become unbearable. It caused Laci's mind to whirl as fast as the monster outside. Less than a minute from the house, it was poised like a deadly serpent ready to strike the life from everything she knew and held dear.
Laci felt cold and clammy as if she were going into shock. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed again, "Grant me faith until morning." In that moment of desperation, a protective energy surrounded her spirit, and she drifted twenty-five years into the past.
. . . . .
She was ten years old, lying awake on an early summer morning. Each day, she awoke to the call of a blue jay sitting in the cedar branches by her window. Jumping up, she scurried over to get a good look at him. He was loud and shrill in the still morning air. His voice made Laci smile.
Laci had always liked to rise early and get a first glimpse of the day before anyone else. A curious and imaginative child, she would often sneak outside at 4:00 a.m. to witness what the world was like that early. To her it felt like being part of a surreal segment of time that no one else knew or ever spoke about.
There she celebrated in secrecy the cool air, the smell of fresh dew on the grass, the brightening sky, and finally the glorious sunrise itself. This was a private world that made her feel sneaky, privileged, and joyfully special.
Standing in the cool of her 4:00 a.m. paradise, she recalled the prayer she prayed with her mother each night before falling asleep. "Grant me faith until morning." Now the memories of all these special mornings gave her strength when she needed it most.
. . . . .
The basement was now completely black, a suffocating tomb with no exit. Lightning flashed, and Laci sensed a sudden movement behind her as two arms reached out of the darkness to grasp her shoulders.
She leapt forward and bolted up the creaky wooden steps to the kitchen. A blinding flash with a deafening explosion sent glass flying across the dining room. Faster, she darted through the trembling house to the upper staircase. Soft footsteps kept pace behind her as she scurried up the stairs. In a dead run, she headed through the corridor to her room.
"Quick, in here!" she shouted, slamming the door behind them. The presence that followed her was comforting, and she no longer felt afraid. Again she prayed, "Grant me faith until morning."
Laci's room was the heart of her earthly world. There she had learned to pray her most earnest prayers. In her room, a mirror of her own heart, she had always felt the safest. Her thoughts whirled as she lay back, watching the lightning dance on the ceiling. As they often did on hot summer nights, the walls played a familiar melody that carried her to the edge of sleep.
She heard her mother's voice teaching her to pray, "Grant me faith until morning." Turning over, she pulled the covers over her head, and clung tightly to her mother's hand. Then all she heard were the melodies. All she saw was the sunrise.
She smiled in her sleep as laughter echoed from somewhere deep in the old walls. The blue jay outside her window sang its familiar wake-up call.
She sat up quickly, confused at first. The sun was already streaming in through her window, and she was late for work. Laci breathed a sigh of thanks that her world had not really crumbled in the wind. Yet she had to grin at her imagination.
The dream had made her more thankful than ever for her life, her health, her home, and her faith. It had reminded her of her life-long prayer.
The rooms of her heart and soul contained much more than memories, music, and laughter. They held enough faith, confidence, and love to outshine any fears that could threaten her spirit.
Looking out her window at the blue jay, Laci prayed a prayer of gratitude. She knew that no matter what happened, she would continue to pray each night, "Grant me faith until morning."
Laci knew with certainty that it was one prayer that would always be granted.

posted by FCCY mtq ! @ 4:34 PM