Passing into Light by Sharon Ewell Foster

Author:Sharon Ewell Foster [Foster, Sharon Ewell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-56459-7
Publisher: The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group
Published: 2002-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-EIGHT

hirley wiped sleep from her eyes. The house was quiet. It was even too early for Mother Johnson to be stirring. There was just the faintest touch of yellow light appearing at the edge of the fading night blue sky. Shirley turned to look back at her pillow. She didn’t know what woke her. What she should be doing was sleeping, catching every wink she could. It was too late, though. The early light of day had her. She swung her legs out of bed.

You’re never alone. She knew Mother Johnson meant well. People always meant well. It was easy for them to say that, to try to calm her with platitudes. You’re never alone. Funny, but when she had to pay the bills, no one else was around that she could see. When the kids were sick or worried, and she had to comfort them, there didn’t seem to be anyone else around. When she had to make decisions, there definitely was no one around that she could see except her.

It’s just too much. The muscles in the back of her neck and her shoulders were so tight. Shirley rotated her neck to try to loosen them. Maybe what she needed was to get out of the room, to steal out onto the porch while things were still quiet, while she could still get away with stepping outside in her robe. A tender dawn breeze might soothe her.

Shirley tiptoed through the house, which was quiet except for the ticking of a clock, and eased the front door open. She stepped outside and closed her eyes. You’re never alone, baby. If only that were true.

She opened her eyes to see, or maybe to feel, the same presence that she’d felt with her in the jail cell in Tuscaloosa. She could hear herself breathing. Everything was so quiet. It was difficult to comprehend what she saw. There were no wings, no halos, just the suggestion of an illuminated form. What held her in place was the feeling, mostly. It made no sense. She should be running, but instead she felt tension and fear draining from her.

She could hear Mother Johnson’s voice comforting her. There are more for us than those that be against us. Then, like in the cell, she could feel the presence reassuring her.

“Don’t be afraid. You are not alone.”

Shirley breathed deeply and then closed her eyes.

“God hears you. You have a great journey ahead of you, but you are not alone.”

When she opened her eyes, the sweet peace was still with her, but the illuminated presence seemed to be gone. Shirley touched her hands to her face, maybe to reassure herself that at least she was real.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.