Eyes on the Unseen Prize

by S.J. Thomason

  ***

  The following weekend, Nick and Piper arrived at the Collins Foster Home to do their usual volunteering work. While inside of the main building office, they had a conversation with an older man who was new to volunteering. He was donning a worn out plaid shirt and his name was Nathan. Something about him was familiar and Piper wondered whether she had seen him before. After making small talk, Nathan opened up about his past.

  “I’ve had a hard life,” Nathan said, his wrinkly eyes sad and solemn. “A depressing, hard life.” He wiped the sweat from his brow and shrugged as she shook his head.

  “I’m sure that you’ve seen things while serving our country that no person should ever have to see,” Nick responded.

  “You can say that. Death. I’ve looked death in the eye way too many times.”

  “We thank you for your service, Nathan. People should be very thankful to our military heroes.” Piper said.

  “There are some great military heroes, but I’m not one of them.”

  “Why would you say that?” Nick asked.

  “I’m just not a hero. I’m just a regular dude who served in the military with the usual baggage and demons.”

  Piper looked around but didn’t see any dark spirits. That relieved her. “Do you believe in God?”

  “Of course. I fear God.” A tear formed in one eye, which he wiped away quickly. “My friend Skidmore is with God now. Instead of me. Should have been me instead of him.”

  “What do you mean?” Piper asked.

  “We were in Somalia. Enemies were all around. I saw a guy up high in a building aiming a gun at Skidmore. I yelled, but Skidmore couldn’t hear me. Should have run out there and taken the bullet. Should have pushed Skidmore out of the way. But I wimped out and froze. Didn’t do my job.”

  “You shouldn’t beat yourself up about that. It was his time, not yours. He’s in a better place now. God wanted you to remain on this earth to make a difference, probably here in the home.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “I do. There was nothing you could have done to save Skidmore. Nothing. It was just his time and not yours.” Piper added.

  “Thanks. This place does make me feel a little better. Something about helping people makes you feel good. That’s why I’m here.”

  “That’s why we’re here too,” Nick said.

  “Well, I better get going. Got some work to do with the kids. Some of those kids have problems much worse than mine. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  “Sounds good,” Nick said.

  “Nice talking to you,” Piper added.

  Nick and Piper headed outside and into the yard surrounding the homes when they spotted Chase in the parking lot with a garbage bag in one hand and a stick to pick garbage up in the other. His hair was disheveled and his shirt was wrinkly, which was out of character.

  “How are you, Chase?” Nick asked as he and Piper headed to the parking lot. He held out his hand, which Chase grabbed before hugging him.

  “Lost, Nick. Just lost. I need my Cherie back. The doctors said the brain scans look good, so she’ll be able to recover her mental abilities. Right now, she can barely talk, but at least she’s coherent. They said it will be a long road to a full recovery. And they still aren’t sure about all of her physical capabilities. The baby was a boy, Nick. I would have had a son. The doctors aren’t sure of whether she’ll be able to conceive again.”

  “Oh my! We’re so sorry about this whole thing, Chase. She didn’t deserve to go through that at all. Not at all. And neither did you,” Piper said before hugging Chase. “We are so sorry for you and Cherie.”

  “I know,” Chase whispered. “Why do these things happen to good people? My dad was a good person, and so is Cherie. And our innocent son. Why don’t the evil get raped and beaten? Why?”

  “You want to sit down?” Nick asked, pointing to a picnic table.

  “Sure.”

  The threesome walked over to the picnic table under one of the trees and sat down. Piper sensed the embrace of a soft, misty breeze and watched the leaves dance in the mossy oak tree over their heads. The sun peeked between the clouds, which were spreading across the sky and turning darker. It was a while before anyone said anything, as all sat deep in thought.

  Piper wondered how to best help Chase. It was supposed to be a very joyful time for them, a time of celebration in their marriage and jubilation for their baby. Instead, it was a time of pain. The baby was now gone. Piper shook her head and looked down at the table. Its worn, wooden slats mirrored the somber mood around her.

  Gone to heaven. At least she knew that. All babies go to heaven. Even though they’re atheists, all babies go to heaven. She thought about that for a few moments, wondering whether God had a cutoff time to determine when nonbelievers are automatically granted a presence in heaven.

  Small children are surely granted a presence, but what about pre-teens or teenagers? Do they get admission?

  Those questions swirled around Piper’s mind for a few minutes before she thought to turn her attention back to Chase. She wanted to comfort him, yet struggled with finding the right words.

  A white ibis flew by and landed on a tree branch, stirring a recollection of a conversation she had had with Benson.

  “Chase, have you met Benson?”

  “Yes. He’s a nice kid. I feel badly for him. Doesn’t get to see his mom much. I hope she makes it back soon from the war.”

  “I do too. One time when I was talking with Benson, we saw a white ibis just like the one over there on that tree branch. I told him the ibis is like him. Though it may not know where its biological family is, it knows that the sun will come up each morning. And just as sure as that, it knows that its Lord is smiling upon it each day.” She paused before adding, “I told him that Jesus loves him and directed his path to the home so he could learn about Jesus and feel His love through the warm embraces of others.”

  “That’s nice, Piper,” Chase said. “Really nice. I’m sure it made him feel good.”

  “Yeah, I think it did,” Piper said. “He thanked me a couple of times later and drew a picture of a bird for me. She adjusted her position on the bench as its wood bottom was making her a little uncomfortable. The clouds now filled the sky and the air was becoming more dense and humid and musky. Rain was certain. A few drops landed on the table top in front of them, but no one acknowledged the rain. Time passed.

  Chase looked around the grounds of the home and said, “I like it here. Something about being here makes me feel good inside. The kids need so much help and some of them are really messed up. So many sad stories and opportunities for outreach. I like the way this place offers them hope. And discipline. They need lots of discipline.”

  “Sure do,” Nick said, “and good role models.”

  “You and Piper are great role models.”

  “So are you Chase. You’ve come a long way,” Piper said.

  “I try. Tell me something.”

  “Yes?” Nick asked.

  “Use the words of God from the Bible to tell me why this happened. You never failed to use those words before. But I always stopped you. Just so you know, I never forgot about what you said, and what you told Cherie. Cherie told me everything.”

  Chase’s mobile phone chirped, so he pulled it from his pocket to check his text messages. “Oren keeps nagging at me to go in with him on another major gamble. No way! I almost lost everything with the last one. Everything.”

  “What did you gamble?” Nick asked.

  “My life. And Piper, in case you’re wondering, you were right.”

  “About what?”

  “He believes in Satan. Doesn’t believe in God but he believes in Satan. He said he can’t deny his father. That’s messed up. Damned fool.”

  “Literally,” Nick said.

  “Right about that,” Piper said. She wasn’t surprised that Oren was one of the weeds, a child of the anti-Christ. At least Chase was seeing him mor
e clearly for what he truly was.

  Chase stood up and walked over to the ibis, which didn’t budge from its position on the branch. Then he returned and stood in front of them at the table. Piper could still see the dark shadows as they swirled above him.

  “But even with all of this, I still need one question answered. I asked you before but you never answered. In fact, I’ve asked you twice. It’s the reason why I have been feeling such hostility towards God. It’s the question of why. You never told me why. Why don’t these things happen to only the evil and not the good? Why don’t the molesters and rapists get murdered instead of the innocent? ”

  Nick looked at Piper and took a deep breath. “Do you know the story of Job?”

  “No,” Chase answered.

  “Job was a good man whom God had blessed with a big family and a comfortable life. Satan wanted to challenge Job, thinking that by killing his family, stealing his wealth, and destroying his health that he would turn him from the Lord. Instead, Job’s faith grew even stronger, so God doubled his wealth and gave him seven new sons and three new daughters. God knew that Job could be even better than he already was, which was practically perfect. God also knew that Jesus could be even better than He already was, which was perfect. That’s why His one and only begotten Son had to bear the excruciating pain of watching His children, the children whom He loved, nail Him to a cross. He had to bear human pain and evil to be able to understand and overcome human pain and evil. Loving His children more than humanly possible, He asked His Father that they be forgiven for doing what they did to Him.”

  Chase said nothing as he stared down at the wooden slats of the table in front of him. The rain came down harder, but no one budged. Piper wondered whether there was a breakthrough. Maybe another convert. A proselyte. Maybe the angels of heaven were cheering at this very moment. Maybe.

  Chase looked up into the sky. Rain drops fell onto his face, yet he ignored them. With his eyes still stuffed full of tears, he whispered in a barely audible voice, “God, I know why you’ve allowed these things to happen. I was proud and unappreciative of all you’ve given me. I didn’t think I needed you or needed to care about anyone other than those in my own family. Please help me grow closer to you, like my dad. I know he’s there with you. And I know he’s watching me now and smiling. Please forgive me for ignoring you all of these years since he passed. I’m back. I’m yours.”

  Nick moved out of his chair and over to Chase and gave him a huge bear hug. Piper soon followed, hugging Chase as tears streamed down her cheeks. She could almost hear the angels cheering in heaven. Almost. She looked above and all around Chase and noticed the dark spirits that had been pursuing him were gone. Must have fled.

  Moments later, the rain slowed down and the sky opened up. A magnificent double rainbow appeared as the sun burst out and glowed in all of its wonder. The colors of the rainbow glistened and gleamed like streams of gemstones, reflecting all of the colors of the earth. Piper first identified the reds, then the blues, then the yellows and greens. What happened next surprised her as she saw colors outside of the spectrum of primary colors. They shone even brighter than any of the colors she had seen on the earth. These were reflections of the heavens.

  A little butterfly appeared in front of the group in colors which matched the many colors imbued in the rainbow. It danced in front of them, calling their attention in a jolly sort of way. Piper thought of the significance of the butterfly at this point in their lives, which made her smile.

  “Thank you,” she said as she looked up into the heavens, noticing the white ibis once again. It was soaring in a circle in the sky above them.

  Could be another sign.

  Chase was watching the bird too. He extended his right arm, offering the bird a place in which it could land. The ibis accepted his offer, landing on the palm of his hand. Then it did something that surprised all three. It opened its mouth, displaying a small golden key before lifting itself up and dropping the key into the palm of Chase’s hand.

  “Wow! I wonder what this opens,” Chase asked.

  “I’ll bet you’ll find out,” Nick said.

  “Yeah. You’ll find out, for sure,” Piper added as she watched the white ibis fly away.

  A few weeks later, Piper and Nick received a phone call from Allison Whitten. She shared the news that an anonymous donor made two deposits of $36,000 each into the Collins Foster Home’s donation intake account. Piper wasn’t surprised. She suspected that Nick drew the parallels as well.