by T. M. Meek
Alex Opalstone
and the
Window of Heaven's View: Life 101
Part 1
By T.M. Meek
Copyright 2010 - 2014 T. M. Meek
License Notes
Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.
Author's Note: If your heart yearns to know all of God's most important answers to the most important questions of life then pray with sincerity of heart for His answers. Pray to the Lord to send you his messengers, missionaries who will teach you scriptural, biblical truths you still may not yet know about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pray to be able to recognize the difference between those who have only some of God's truths and those others who have all of God's most vital saving truths to teach you in their purity for your happiness in eternal salvation.
Pray with faith and believe that God hears and answers prayers. You can pray vocally in the privacy of your home or silently with the privacy of just the thoughts and feelings of your heart and the Lord will answer your prayers. You may find the view of life God has to teach you is spectacular as you finally find a vital spiritual element to your life that may currently be missing without such glorious truths. –– T. M. Meek
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Dream of Heavenly Lights
Chapter 2: Invisible Protection
Chapter 3: Well Intended Warning
Chapter 4: Glade’s Escape
Chapter 5: Home Sweet and Funny Home
Chapter 6: Silly Julio and Lovely Leena
Chapter 7: The Success Crew is Born
Chapter 8: Mysterious Scroll
Chapter 9: A Wise King Would Give Away His Kingdom for This
Chapter 10: The Meano-trio
Chapter 11: Wise Pastor James Talks with Linda Wise
Chapter 12: Revealing God... and His Enemies
Dictionary
Faith Terms
Financial Terms
Social Terms
Appendix: Angels to the Rescue: The Miracles Alex Imagined in the Chapter 2 Car Accident
Chapter 1: Dream of Heavenly Lights
Everything you know is about to change.
Alex and Glade Opalstone had always been blessed with good friends. In fact, some might say their ability as teens to have so many great friends was a superhuman power since no one else at school seemed to be able to be as well liked as Alex and Glade were. But their eldest brother, Dex, didn’t seem to have the same gift of abundant friendships. Much of the sibling rivalry Dex started in the Opalstone family centered on this although he feigned ignorance and just called the problem by another name in his lies. Dex’s jealousy over not being as popular as Glade was expressed in his anger.
It was during one of Dex's rages that Alex had first learned some terribly insulting labels. Some of these derogatory slurs began with the letter “f” and others with the letter “q.” Although Dex hissed these insults at her other older brother, Glade, it pained her to hear it primarily because Dex was so wrong. It was at times like these that taught Alex how mislead Dex was about what healthy, nonsexual love really looks like. Pure love, simple affection and uplifting friendships seemed to be foreign to Dex.
About a year ago, Alex had come home from a swimming party at a friend’s house. When she arrived back home and entered through the front door, she heard furniture falling and glass breaking in between punches as Dex was beating up on Glade in their two and a half million dollar luxury home.
“Why can't you be normal?!” Dex yelled at Glade. More wrestling and stumbling of furniture continued as Glade desperately tried to defend himself.
"Stop hitting me! Leave me alone!" Glade yelled back in desperate defense.
Dex’s insulting accusations were confusing to Alex since, although Glade was still a virgin, Glade was the most popular boy in his class and it was well known throughout the school that he was dating one of the most popular and pretty girls in the whole school and had been for several months. Alex was fairly certain Glade wasn’t dating any guys so why would Dex use insults to say Glade was gay? But this thought didn't matter as Alex saw Glade's blood on the wall as Dex was hitting him so hard. Dex was wrong about a lot of things. And he was wrong again now as he beat up Glade.
The fight had moved to the living room which connected openly to the dining room. Dex and Glade were standing up with arms tangled in alternating attempts of blocks and punches near the end of the nearly ten foot long formal dining table that connected the two rooms. Alex dropped her swim towel and tote bag and used the element of surprise to attack Dex from behind.
With lightning fast speed she jumped up on top of the table and ran along the lengthy top of it towards the back of Dex. As she reached the end of the table she was barely two feet behind him so she jumped onto his back with an intense fierceness neither Glade nor Dex had ever seen before. She quickly put all of her angry strength into a choke hold around Dex's neck. The choke hold she used she had learned once before from him.
"Stop hitting him! Stop it now!" Alex roared in Dex's ears tackling him from behind and knocking him to his knees. The fight ended shortly after that with Dex wrestling Alex off of him as he forcibly removed her grip and threw her little body against a nearby wall like a rag doll.
This made Glade snap as he screamed, "You leave her alone!" and he threw a final punch square into Dex's face bloodying his nose. Dex stumbled a bit in shock and gave Alex a punishing look for catching him off guard and allowing Glade a final physical advantage.
Glade was actually three inches taller than Dex but Dex weighed at least twenty pounds more than Glade – twenty pounds of rock hard body building muscle. Dex had stopped fighting and Glade was keeping his distance. Both Glade and Alex were fighting back angry, bitter tears. Alex had gotten back to her feet and all stood breathing heavily and tired from the physical exertion and emotional drain of it all.
"You're not normal and I'm not going to live with a freak," Dex smugly spit in final disgust and walked away.
Alex reached up and hugged Glade's neck as he knelt down closer to Alex's level. "I love you, Glade. I don't know why he thinks he has to be like that. He's a jerk!"
"I love you too and I don't know why he's like that either. Thanks for saving me." They broke apart and looked at one another as they wiped away their own tears.
"You've done it plenty of times for me," Alex replied.
"Yeah. That's true."
"I'll go get the first-aid kit," she said racing off.
Glade then went into the kitchen to help himself to a bag of ice for his head. He sat at the kitchen table and Alex hurried back with the kit. She sat down by him and opened up the kit and started digging around for supplies. She still felt furious over Dex's inability to control his temper and bigotry. "This has to stop, Glade. When is it going to stop?" Alex said in subdued but angry tones.
"I don't know."
"Where's Mom and Dad?" she asked as she readied some hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball and began tending to his wounds.
"I don't know," he replied softly. He then groaned in pain and adjusted the bag of ice on his head. His cheek was cut, his nose was bloody and swelling was creeping in.
"Why won't Dad do anything about Dex?" she asked in frustration.
"I swear, Alex, I'm going to run away. I swear. One day soon I am
leaving and I'm never coming back. Never!" he added tearfully.
Alex didn't want Glade to leave because they were so close as brother and sister. Alex and Glade loved each other dearly. It's easier to love and trust someone who has been through similar pain as you have. Empathy and compassion come more naturally when you know someone who understands your pain and cares all the more for you because of it and this was Alex and Glade's sacred bond. She knew he meant what he said and that scared her.
It scared her because most kids can't make it on their own safely. She thought of the dangers of violent strangers who mask their cruel intentions with kindness and how they so often prey on runaways and other vulnerable types to lure them away from public places of safety and harm them in so many awful ways. Then other thoughts came as she wiped away the blood from his face. How would he make it financially? Would he drop out of high school? Doing that was financial suicide. He would certainly face a future of homelessness if he couldn't properly support himself financially. Too many people still didn't realize that. But then she had a final thought that made her feel a bit selfish and guilty for thinking it: If you leave, who will protect me from Dex?
But Alex didn't share any of these thoughts other than to simply say, "You know I don't want you to go," and fighting back more tears she added, "but I'd understand if you did." Glade knew if anyone would understand, Alex would.