STOP AND SMELL THE COFFEE by Michele Fleming

Dani sat straight up in bed when she heard the rumbling of the garbage truck as it turned onto her street. She looked at the clock and panic washed over her.

“Oh no, my alarm didn't go off!”

Jumping out of bed, she made a mad dash for the bathroom in hopes of salvaging what was left of her morning. Sliding to a halt, she reached to turn the shower on, disrobed and jumped in even before the water had had time to heat up.

She couldn't be late for this appointment! It was probably the most important appointment since starting her career and she was furious with herself starting the day off like this.

Miraculously, she was ready and out the door in thirty minutes flat!

Racing to the car, she decided she would have just enough time to run in the coffee shop for a quick jolt of java. After purchasing her steaming cup of heaven, she lowered herself onto the bench out front to mix in her creamer.

Seated beside her was an elderly woman and out of the corner of her eye, Dani began to study her. Judging by her wrinkled and weathered features, she appeared to be in her late seventies. Her clothing, while dated, gave evidence to a rather comfortable life. She watched as the woman took out a worn monogrammed handkerchief and wiped at a stray tear. Her heart broke into a million pieces for this dejected soul and she wondered what troubled her.

Dani heard the woman sniffle and clear her throat. 

“How are you today?” The woman asked with a voice as weathered as her features.

“I am well.”

“My name is Martha.” She announced as she fidgeted with her hankie.

“I'm, Dani.” An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment. “I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be upset about something.”

“I was hoping to make it to my grandson David's party. He just opened his first law practice and his parents are throwing him a huge shindig at the country club. It's supposed to start in fifteen minutes.” Martha brushed another tear from her face.

“So, why aren't you going?”

“The bus was already pulling away when I rounded the corner.”

Dani 's heart began to fill with compassion for the older woman. She sat staring across the street and as her insides twisted with emotion, she pondered what to do. She desperately needed to make this appointment, but she found herself with an overwhelming need to help this poor woman. Dani did the only thing she could think of. She closed her eyes and asked the Lord for guidance.

In the midst of the prayer, her cell phone buzzed alerting her to a new text message. She opened her phone and read.

(Need to reschedule meeting! Please call as soon as you can.)

“Wow . . . that was quick!” Dani said aloud, amazed at how fast the Lord could work.

“What was quick, dear?”

“Oh, it's nothing. Why don't I give you a lift?”

“Really?”

“Sure, I would be happy to.”

The ride to the country club took only a few minutes. Dani helped Martha out of the car and walked her up to the door where she planned to say her goodbyes.

“You must come in for a moment.” Martha insisted while tugging on her arm.

“Only for a minute.” Dani agreed reluctantly.

As Dani entered the dining room with Martha at her side, she ran smack-dab into the most breath-taking man she had ever seen. When their eyes met, fireworks erupted inside her and she was sure every nerve in her body felt the singe. Several moments passed before they reluctantly gave up their hold on one another.

“Hello, I'm . . . David.” He stuttered.

“I'm Dani . . . I'm here with your grandmother, Martha.” She managed to tell him while taking a wobbly step backward.

David gave her a puzzled look.

“Martha died three years ago.” He announced as he motioned to a picture of his grandmother that was on display.

Dani began to scan the crowd looking for Martha, but something in the pit of her stomach told her that she wouldn't find her. Feeling a little dizzy, she grabbed for a nearby table and David reached for her.

“Are you alright?”

Dani looked into his gorgeous eyes.

“Do you believe in angels?”

David smiled and the fireworks started all over again.

www.micheleflemingauthor.weebly.com 
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

IN SEARCH OF THE LIGHT By Michele Fleming

Tracy sat at the dining room table, peering at the mound of bills in front of her. It was the most dreaded time of the month  bill-paying time. Was it her, or was the stack in front of her growing before her eyes? It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, she could never get everything paid these days.

The hospital laid her off four months ago and Jim's construction jobs started dwindling soon after. He had to start traveling to get any work at all. To top it off, the twins had been sick with a cold for two weeks, adding to the already mounting doctor bills! She felt the weight of it all coming down upon her.

"Lord," she began as she picked up her checkbook, "I thank you for what you have blessed us with. Please help me to be able to get the most important things paid this month."

After an hour of "robbing Peter to pay Paul", Tracy placed the stamp on the last envelope and placed them all in a neat stack on the corner of the desk.

"Well, there you go." She then looked at the stack of unpaid bills. "Maybe I can get to you next month."

Tracy then made her way to the kitchen to prepare a meager dinner of chili and hot dogs for her family.

 ******

Later that night, Tracy tucked the twins in bed and walked down the hallway toward her bedroom. The weight of all her troubles hung around her like a steel blanket.

She walked to her bedside and knelt down.

"Dear Lord, I don't know what to do. I feel so overwhelmed. I know You will work things out for our family. I know You have great plans for us and I need to be patient. Please, help me with that, Lord. Help me to turn all the worry over to You. In Jesus' name, amen."

Tracy climbed in bed and willed sleep to overtake her, putting an end to this long and tiring day.

                                                             ******

 Three days later she was fixing the twins breakfast when the phone rang.

"Hello." Tracy expected it to be the usual bill collector.

"Tracy Lester?"

"Yes."

"Ms. Lester, my name is Margie Stone and I am the Director of Nursing at the new nursing home in town. Mrs. Winston, your former supervisor, gave me your information. She explained that you were one of the unfortunate in the recent layoffs at Mercy General."

"Yes, ma'am." Tracy wondered where this was going. Her heart sped up with anticipation.

"Well, we are looking for someone to head up our acute care wing and Mrs. Winston feels that you would be perfect for the position. Would you be interested?"

"Yes, I would be!" Tracy fought to contain her excitement. "You should know up front that I am the mother of twin three year olds and my husband is doing a lot of traveling with his job. It may be difficult for me to pull weekend or night shifts."

Tracy knew from experience that this information was usually a deal breaker.

"No problem! This would be a weekday shift,  a straight forty hour week. Can we set up a time to meet?"

"An interview? That would be wonderful!" Tracy couldn't believe what was happening.

"No, Mrs. Lester, Mrs. Winston's opinion of you is all I need to give you a chance. You have the job, if you want it."

"Oh, my! You have no idea what this means to my family and me!"

"I look forward to working with you. Is it possible for you to come in this afternoon, say around three? And please, bring the twins."

"I don't know if that would be such a great idea, Ms. Stone."

Bring the twins. . . Really?

"It would give you a chance to see how they like the daycare center we have here. Employees get a wonderful discount."

This was too much!

"Well, alright then. The twins and I will see you at three."

"Great! I will be looking for you."

Tracy hung up the phone and hit her knees right there in the middle of the kitchen floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"God, you are truly amazing! You have shown me once again, that there is always a bright and shining light at the end of every dark tunnel. Thank you!"

www.micheleflemingauthor.weebly.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com <a href="http://www.faithwriters.com">CHRISTIAN WRITER</a>

THE COOKOUT - A SHORT STORY

"The cookout starts in less than an hour and I still need to fix my hair and finish my potato salad!" Paige complained as she banged on the bathroom door in an attempt to speed up her roommate.

"I'm almost done!" Tara yelled from the other side of the door.

Paige whirled around and rushed to the kitchen to work on her potato salad. As she was covering the finished product with foil, Tara entered the room.

"Bathroom's all yours." She announced and then walked and plopped herself down on the couch in front of the TV.

Paige placed the bowl of potato salad by her purse on the counter and took off to finish getting herself ready. She hated being late for anything, especially today. The new youth minister was going to be there. Since she was the youth's drama team leader, they would be working together quite a bit, so she couldn't wait to meet him.

She headed out the door with ten minutes to spare. It was going to take about that long to make the walk to the church, so Paige wrapped her arms around the large container of potato salad and took off. Out of breath, she made her way up the walk in front of the church and decided to cut around the side of the building.

Just as she turned the corner . . . wham! She ran headlong into a man, dumping every bit of potato salad down the front of his shirt.
"Oh, my! I am so sorry!" She exclaimed as she began raking the mush and muck from his chest.

"It was an accident, I wasn't watching where I was going." He assured her as he began helping with the cleanup. "I should be the one apologizing."

With that, they both stopped what they were doing and finally looked into each other's faces. Paige's breath caught in her throat, first because of the tremendously handsome face looking back at her and second, because she realized he had to be the new youth minister.

"Please, don't tell me . . . you're Nathan Price, our new . . . youth minister." She stuttered, suddenly horrified that she had practically drowned him in potato salad.

He gave her a brilliant smile and chuckled. "Okay, I won't tell you."

Even though she was completely mortified, she couldn't help but smile.

"I am truly sorry."

"It's okay, really. I have some extra clothes in the rectory. I will run and change." He gave her another knee-melting smile and turned to walk away. Looking back over his shoulder, he added, "Sorry about your potato salad."

A few minutes later, Paige made her way the back of the church where the cookout was set up. Searching the crowd, she spotted Tara over by the food tables and headed her way.
As soon as she made it to Tara's side, Tara handed her a paper plate. "Where's the potato salad? I was looking forward to it."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Don't ask."

Tara gave her a questioning look, shrugged her shoulders and moved on to finish filling her plate. Paige decided to do the same and once finished, walked to the large oak tree and sat down at its base. Concentrating on her food, she didn't realize she had company until he spoke.

"Mind if I sit with you?" Nathan towered over her holding his own heaping plate of food.

"Are you sure you're not afraid to?"

"I think I'll take my chances."

There's that smile again. He really is going to have to stop doing that! She thought as he claimed the spot on the grass next to her.
"So . . .," a teasing glint flickered in his eyes, "you're Paige the 'drama queen'?" He asked referring to the nickname the kids had given her.

Paige laughed. "Yes, that would be me, alright!"

"Well, I am pleased to meet you and I look forward to working with you."

"Same here."

After a moment's pause, Paige leaned over and looked at the contents of Nathan's plate. "No potato salad?" She asked giving him a tease of her own.

"No, I had some earlier." He chuckled. "There's still some in my shirt pocket as a matter of fact. I'm planning on eating it later."
Paige burst out laughing and Nathan followed suit.

For many years to come, Paige and Nathan would tell the story of how a bowl of potato salad brought them together.

Michele Fleming

www.micheleflemingauthor.weebly.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

WHAT A FINE STEW I'M IN!

    A Short Story

Jenny Nichols cried as she prepared dinner for herself and her ten-year-old son, Mark, not that it would be much of a meal. She had two potatoes, some canned tomatoes, and two slices of bacon. That was all the food she had left. Not thinking, she took out a boiler much larger than needed for a small amount of stew.

Jenny had lost her job two months ago, and no one else wanted to hire her. She worked at the paper mill but was fired because her new boss, Larry Thomas, made advances toward her several times until she finally exploded and told him to take his scummy hands off her, among other things. The reasons given for termination on her pink slip were "insubordination and substandard work."

Jenny was an exemplary employee and had been promoted several times. She went to Tom Coates, her former manager, with the truth, but he just couldn't believe her. He admonished for her behavior towards a superior.
As Jenny brought the potatoes and tomatoes to a boil, she admitted to herself she could have handled the situation better. Adding the bacon for flavor she thought, "What a fine stew I'm in!"

While she waited for the thin stew to cook, Jenny decided to pray once more. She had all but lost her faith in the past few weeks. This time, though, she asked for forgiveness. She was genuinely remorseful.

"Help me, Jesus. I'm sorry for reacting that way; I should have been a better Christian. Now I am out of money, food, and hope. Just help me. Please, give me a sign that I'm forgiven!"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. It was the elderly Mr. Yancey from next door, who lived all alone and knew of Jenny's troubles. He had an apple pie in his hands and was beaming.
"I picked the apples from my trees out back, and baked it myself!!"

"Please, stay for dinner, Mr. Yancey. We're just having a stew I threw together, there's not much in it, I'm afraid."

Mr. Yancey looked at the stew simmering on her stove and made a face.

"It needs something else!" He said, and ran out the door. He was back a minute later with some corn and beef cubes and dropped them in the mix.

The doorbell rang again. It was Mrs. Cardinal, the widow across the street, holding a cloth covered pan. "I baked some bread for you!" Her blue eyes twinkled. She was a darling lady and very fond of Jenny and Mark.
"You must stay for dinner, Mrs. Cardinal. I'm afraid it's not much, just a stew and Mr. Yancey's apple pie."
Mrs. Cardinal smiled at the pie, but looked at the stew and grimaced.
"It needs something else!" She said, then scurried across the street and was back in flash with some green beans, carrots, and another can of tomatoes, all of which she added to the concoction.

As the stew simmered, Jenny and her guests talked and laughed about Mr. Yancey hanging Christmas ornaments on limbs to scare the birds away from his apple trees, and Mrs. Cardinal forgetting to put her teeth in before she went out to dinner one night. Mark came in from band practice, and they were all giggling when the doorbell rang again.
It was none other than Tom Coates. He had a look of shame on his face. Jenny looked at him with surprise when he handed her an envelope and got right to his point.

"Jenny, come back to work, please! Larry has been fired. I know now why you lost your temper, and he tried the same thing with Lucy Johnson and some others. Just come back to work. This is your salary for the last two months."

Jenny was overcome with gratitude. "Tom, would you like some neighborly stew, home baked bread, and apple pie?"
"I'm starving!" Tom laughed.

Five people sat down together, each one thanking the Lord for the heavenly meal. Then they all ate the sumptuous dinner that started out as two potatoes, some tomatoes and two pieces of bacon.
Jenny thanked everyone profusely. After she had seen the last of her answered prayers to the door, she went to her knees and thanked God for His forgiveness and miracles. Later, as she lay in bed, she smiled and thought, "What a fine stew I'm in!"

Lynn Gipson

I am a 61-year cancer survivor just recently become a writer. I write short stories, articles and poems of Christian or Spiritual nature.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS