Angel Behind the Rocking Chair by Pam Vredevelt

Author:Pam Vredevelt [Vredevelt, Pam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-79701-8
Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2011-06-08T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

AN UNTIMELY

VISITATION

An angel of the God to whom I belong

and whom I serve stood beside me.

ACTS 27:23, NLT

It was one of those dark, February mornings where the sky sags under its own weight down to the level of Oregon rooftops.

It was Sunday, but we didn’t go to church because John and Nathan had the flu. Everyone was grumpy, and as the morning passed, things went from bad to worse.

Benjamin was playing Nintendo and had finally conquered a level he’d been trying to master for weeks. He was elated. But he turned ballistic a few seconds later when Nathan chose to push the restart button … which in one merciless second wiped out everything his big brother had accomplished in a morning of skillful labors.

Benjamin couldn’t believe his eyes. When the reality finally hit home, he stormed up the stairs in a rage, yelling, “Moooooom! Nathan just wrecked my game!” I asked Ben to take a ten minute time-out on his bed to cool down while I disciplined Nathan.

I found the little offender by the Nintendo controls, guilt written all over his face.

He knew exactly what he had done, and he knew it was wrong. This had happened many times before. I gave him a good scolding and a ten minute time-out. While he sat on his stool waiting for the timer to buzz, I remembered I needed to talk with Jessie about completing some responsibilities before she left for a party at one o’clock. But instead of a simple, “Okay,” she began reciting every reason known to humankind why she didn’t want to do what was asked. (She was definitely hormonal.)

Nathan, in the meantime, was howling on his time-out stool. Ben was pitching a fit on his bed. Jessie went on playing “Let’s Make a Deal” with me—which was every bit as annoying as a temper tantrum. And I was ready to submit my letter of resignation—to whomever.

Gathering and reknotting my composure about me like a rumpled bathrobe, I sat with Ben on his bed and tried to validate his frustrations. No, I soothed, being a big brother was certainly not an easy assignment. I told him how sorry I was Nathan had wrecked his game and that I understood why he felt angry. He said the just punishment for Nathan’s crime should have been an all day time-out. I tried my best not to laugh and asked if he would play the game again so I could watch him beat the levels.

I also told him I’d help load the dishwasher, which was his job for the morning. He continued to vent as he none-too-gently plunked the plates into the racks. As we continued our rather loud discussion amongst the clatter of dishes, Nathan bolted into the room with shining eyes.

“Mama! Mama!” he said with urgency and excitement.

When I looked over at him, he tapped his shoulders with his hands and made a flapping motion out to the side, like children do who are pretending to fly. That’s sign language for “angel.

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