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At twelve years old, Willy is too afraid to make a spiritual decision, asks for more time. |
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Accident, Defined by Oxford at lexico.com as “an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.” Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7 Willy’s Accident …..Please God give me just one more chance…. A short story based on actual events. This book is Dedicated in loving memory of Mom and Dad. Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7 Willy Perkins was a little late arriving at University Hospital where his company is installing a new Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) system. His two coworkers, Steve and Al, were already there working. As field engineers, FEs, as the term goes in short, they are responsible for ensuring the system has been correctly installed mechanically, and then they had to calibrate the system to within specification prior to clinical use by the hospital’s MRI radiology department. The inspection, calibrations, and testing can take almost two weeks to complete. This was Willy’s first day back at work since his mom had passed away last Wednesday, which was the day before the Thanksgiving holiday, and he was not in the mood for much chitchat. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late, what’s next on the installation checklist?” No one replied fast enough for Willy, so he took a quick glance at the data sheet lying on the computer console, noted the next item not yet checked, and started working on it. After a short while, Steve walked over and softly asked, “You doing alright?” “Yeah,” Willy quickly said without looking up. Steve is the company’s area MRI FE team leader. Though he truly felt concern for Willy, he also knew he has an obligation to check on all the members of his team. Safety is the number one concern when working on superconducting magnets/cryogenics, and he wants to ensure everyone is clear headed and mindful of the hazards at all times in this line of work. But Willy is the consummate professional, specifically as it comes to safety. He has been in the MRI field for eleven years now and is the team’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Champion, a volunteer role in which he sends out to the team safety updates and warnings/potential hazards that he gets from the home office. At times a corporate safety team arrives to inspect the field teams. Willie has to take them around, unannounced, to inspect the work at various locations. He previously spent eight years in the military service working on both missile launchers and radars, and later for a defense contractor out in California for a couple of years—both of which were sticklers on safety training. In his youth, family and friends always complained to Willy that he thinks too much. But not the guys and gals in this field. They admired him for it. Some even called him the “bulldog” for his relentless troubleshooting skills that found the root causes for a “downed” MRI that others occasionally missed. Back in the 1979, at twenty-one years of age, he was plucked up off his ship and transported by helicopter to an aircraft carrier in the South Pacific to fix a broken Mark 10 Terrier guided missile launcher! But that adventure may be good for another story. On occasion, Willy lets his emotions get in the way of this intense focused pursuit of finding the “root cause” that he developed. Truth be told, this bulldog approach was borne out of self-protection. Well, more exactly, the emotions he senses in the other people around him, which can cause his emotions to fluctuate as well. This is why he is not comfortable in crowded rooms like at a party. Imagine the typical noise at a party. Then, couple that with “emotional” noise coming from everyone in all directions into your own soul. So distracting, so draining! Have a few drinks if need be, he rationalized to himself, to help dampen the unwanted intrusions. He was not sure what or why this is happening. He always left early . . . if he went at all. Willie’s more disciplined now though, he is a little older, plus the training in the military helped quite a bit too. Focus on the objective with all of your mind, body, and spirit. Anything less is halfhearted. Take that hill! But it was a family counselor he had visited during his divorce that confirmed that Willy was indeed empathic. She did not believe Willy when he first mentioned his unique ability. “So, Willy,” the counselor said, with a hint of sarcasm, “tell me why you think you have the ability to know so much about what your son is feeling since he is not talking with you about it?” Willy replied confidently, “Well, for example, I know that you are hurt and disappointed that your father never bought you a baseball glove. He must not have had the close relationship with you as you wanted or even needed to have with him”. She quickly looked down and then turned her head to the right in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Willy from looking into her soul. Willy smiled and politely asked, “I’m right, aren’t I?” “Being empathic is a rare gift that some use to scam people out of money or use them for their own designs,” she shyly informed him. “It is a gift that can and should be used to help people,” she concluded while smiling back. “But, how did you know?” Though, the counselor did not actually speak those words aloud. Willy read it in her body language and saw it in her eyes. He could feel it emitting from deep within in her soul. No sense of fear or anger. More like . . . awe or wonderment. Willy then explained, “Do you remember last week when we were talking about my relationship with my kids?” She nodded yes. “Well, continued Willy, when I mentioned that I had bought my daughter a glove so that she and I could in play catch too like I do with my son, that is when I saw a little water well up in your eyes. Your body became a little tense, and then you looked down. And I felt a lot of pain emitting from your soul.” She did not reply and he did not continue because he sensed she was very uncomfortable at this point and, surprisingly, quite vulnerable too. He wanted to hug her to make her feel better. He knew she needed one but did not attempt it. Neither one ever said anything more on that subject. There was one more session the following week. Then Willy never went back for any more sessions. He did not go back in fear he would need to “shut off” his gift in order for the sessions to be beneficial now that she knew about it. It is dangerous to turn this off, and Willy knows it. Back in the summer of 1979 he was able to shut it down with some steady, heavy drinking, and it almost cost him his life! Even now when people see the odd scars on his right chest and upper rib cage he misdirects the questions by stating, “It was an accident.” If they press him more, he tells them the truth while trying to be humorous. “I ‘accidentally’ met a stranger with a knife that wanted to kill me,” he tells them with a smirk and leaves it at that. This is another story to tell at different time. Willy knew from where this “gift” came. He was the youngest of five children in a very dysfunctional but loving family. At a very young age, he developed the skill for reading body language so intently that eventually he became able to actually “analyze” another’s spirit. Not judgmentally, he was not old enough for that. It was just for the understanding. Well, for protection as well. Not for physical abuse but rather emotional. He can tell if a person’s words match their soul. He would feel what the person’s spirit felt and understand just as much as hear the person’s words and know what they mean. Their spirit would either amplify the words or diminish them. He used to call people out when he sensed a difference between them. But, he realized that not very many people own up to it anyway, so now he uses the gift to simply understand who they are and just leave them be. Not going to waste his time on it any longer. He did not “take them to raise,” as the saying goes. This is why on the fifteen-hour drive down to his mom’s home, he worked on his own feelings and thoughts concerning their relationship history. The last thing he wanted at the time of her death was for his mom to sense any anger or resentment from Willy’s spirit to hers. The Lord knows there was a very long list of hurts buried way down deep in Willy’s soul. But Willy is keenly aware of the Lord’s Prayer . . . please forgive me AS I FORGIVE OTHERS! “ So, how’s your kids and family dealing with the loss of your mom?” added Steve. Sensing Steve’s genuine empathy toward him, Willy stood up to add, “I’m glad that I took the kids down to see her the weekend before she died. They were able to see mom's peace, love, and contentment even with what she was facing, I am grateful for that.” Then, taking off his safety glasses, Willy looked deep into Steve’s eyes to rapture his attention to each and every word of the story he is about to relate. "I'm not sure of how spiritual you are Steve, but I must tell you something that happened on the Sunday before she died. I was alone with Mom in her bedroom as she lay there, dying of cancer of the liver. Her eyes had been closed for almost two days now without one sound or movement. I was concerned that she may be in a lot of pain but unable to let us know. The cancer started in her breasts years ago, spread to her bones, and in the last month went to her liver causing this fast decline to certain death. Hospice had been there over a week already. I sat down in a recliner, which we had recently moved into her bedroom. I started praying and meditating to ask God to let me contact her spiritually somehow. So as I would know how she is really feeling. To me, it would be hell-styled torture to be in immense pain and not be able to move around or say anything about it!” Willy added emphatically. Just then two men showed up at the door of the MRI unit, which abruptly interrupted Willy. The door was already rigged open because there are multiple cables and hoses that lay strewn through the doorway and along the floor needed for the installation equipment. One was an elderly gentleman but he was not frail at all. He was about six feet tall with short white hair and was probably in his late sixties or early seventies though he did walk slowly and had a quiet, humble demeanor. The other man was much younger, in his twenties, and he was bigger than the older gentleman but seemingly just as humble. Willy turned to see if they needed directions or something but the young man spoke first surprisingly saying, “Can we listen to your story?” Being quite puzzled and a little startled, Willy said, “Uh sure, you’re welcome to listen,” without giving it a second thought as if this would have happened on any given day. Willy continued to tell his story of how he had closed his eyes and meditated on his mom’s condition. How are you feeling? Mom, are you in any pain? Then he added, “I saw Mom’s and Dad’s presence” (he had passed away a little over two years ago) “sort of hugging, but there were no bodies or lights or anything like that. More like orbs,” Willy said excitingly, shaping his hands into two half-orbs. “Just bundles of energy full of love that was merged together like a double star. Dad’s orb never said anything but, I could sense his presence. And it was more like we heard each other’s thoughts rather than actually speaking.”Willy said he could feel the love and his heart warmed. The warmth was overflowing like maybe how you felt on your best Christmas ever or like ET’s heart in the movie the kids loved to watch. Willy liked it too. Then his mom’s orb asked, “Why are you here?” to which Willy replied, “It’s okay, Mom. I’m in both worlds right now.” Then she said to Dad’s spirit, “I don’t want to leave my kids.” “And at that instant, Mom’s body moved and she made a noise! I opened my eyes and leaned forward to see how she was doing and with a big smile and very clear love-filled eyes, she just said, ‘Hi,’ ever so sweetly, and then closed her eyes again and seemed to fall back to sleep.” Willy was emphatic that he has no doubt that this really happened and it was not a dream. There was no fear or resentment, only love, contentment, and peacefulness. The older gentleman, with tears in his eyes, gently spoke up that he had a similar experience with his younger son and his wife. Then, thanked Willy for letting them hear his story. Willy reached his hand out to shake with the gentleman for he felt so much compassion for him and wanted to know his name. The gentleman put his hand in Willy’s and slowly walked up and gave him a long hug, sobbing, “My name was Ken.” The young man proceeded to tell them all of an accident he and his brother were in two years ago, when his younger brother had died. And now his mom had passed away a little while earlier today. Then he said, “My father really needed to hear it; thank you.” He then turned to the older gentleman and said, “See, Dad, it is true! He is happy and with Mom!” Then the young man said he had just accepted Jesus in his heart this past January, and he was getting more spiritual. “The Holy Spirit had compelled me to bring Dad into the room,” he happily exclaimed. He thanked Willy again and then they left the room. After a seemingly very long silence, a bewildered Willy spoke first. “That was rather interesting, wasn’t it?” “No kidding!” Chimed Steve. Willy had seen them when he arrived to work sitting in a couple of chairs that were in the hallway about fifty feet away from the MRI room. There was no way Ken and his son could have heard the FEs talking over the noise of the MRI installation equipment they were using. How could they have heard Willy talking? Better still, how could they have possibly known what Willy was going to say before he even said it? It was now about 12:30 a.m. as Willy was driving home after work, and he was thinking of just how interesting this night had been. But then a voice somewhere inside him said, “That wasn't just interesting, THAT was a MIRACLE!” After pondering on the idea for a while, Willy did now believe that it must have been a miracle! Because the older gentleman, Ken, was crying tears of joy not sadness! Ken had mentioned he had the same experience with his wife and son that Willy did with his mom and dad. How could this be a coincidence? Ken had first thought it was a dream, but after hearing Willy’s story, he now realized it was for REAL! And that is why his son had said his father needed to hear the story! His son told him right there, “See, Dad, it was for REAL.” Willy now feels compelled to share that experience with all of his family and his friends! He decided to write an email about the experience, rather, the Miracle, that is, and stayed up all night writing it. All the while, crying in disbelief that he was so honored as to be a part in God’s handy work. Realizing that this role he played had been developing within him for over forty years. All things really do work together for those that love God! After sending the email, he grabbed something to eat out of the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. Lost in his thoughts, unaware even where he was, he pondered over these recent events. What just happened? Why did this happen? God never does something like this in a linear fashion. Sure, the elderly man was blessed as well as his son. But what else may be going on? All of Willy’s immediate family was saved and had been for quite some time. Even his three brothers-in-law had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior over the years they had been connected with the family. Then, an image popped into his head of him kneeling next to his bed with a little piece of paper in his hand. “Hmmm, I vaguely recall that moment, but when was that?” he mused. Ah, he was twelve or thirteen. His friend Nathan had given him that paper. Nathan, who was one of the biggest guys in the junior high school, a big teddy bear though, very smart, straight A’s, he was both a boy scout and a JR member of the civil air patrol. Nathan, walking swiftly up toward Willy with a huge smile on his glowing face and repeatedly saying, “Do you know Jesus? Do you know Jesus?” Willy had to step back a bit not just because of Nathan’s overwhelming physical presence but also because his spirit was emanating out of him so strongly that it startled Willy greatly. The card had the Roman’s road of salvation on it. Willy knew that Jesus died for his sins. But he had not heard it quite like what was stated on that little card, but it surely resonated within him. So, if someone places a gift box on the coffee table and tells me it is mine to cherish forever, but I never actually pick up the gift and open it, have I ever really been able to experience that gift? NO, Willy concluded! It would be like leaving a new bike in a box unassembled! However, Willy was too afraid to actually open that gift box! He prayed alright, but Willy prayed to God and acknowledged that he knows in his own heart that this is real! But he is too afraid to even accept it right now, let alone to open it! Please, God, give me one more chance to accept your gift before I die! The memory of that prayer brought tears to Willy’s eyes. Because he now is able to connect that stabbing “accident” as being much more significant than he had ever realized! That was no accident in God’s eyes. Because three months after the stabbing, Willie did indeed accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior at a Baptist church in California! Willie now understood that God was actually answering his prayer from long ago, by giving him one more chance to accept His gift of salvation before he died! Okay, Willy thought to himself. Getting saved is just the first step, right Lord? So, what’s next? he asked with anticipation. What other blessings and miracles had God given him without Willie even realizing them? And what is God’s plan for him going forward? He drifts off to sleep as his spirit sings with joy: I just feel like something good is about to happen. I just feel like something good is on its way. He has promised that he'd open all of heaven. And brother, it could happen any day. When God's people humble themselves and call on Jesus, And they look to heaven expecting as they pray, I just feel like something good is about to happen. And brother, this could be that very day. I have learned in all that happens just to praise Him, For I knew he's working all things for my good. Every tear I shed is worth all the investment, For I know He'll see me through, He said He would https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8rsc2qQo3M |
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