Savior's Grace

As I recall, it was dark.  I think it was about midnight or so.  I was staying at a hotel for the weekend.  My wife was fast asleep next to me and my daughter was in her own bed.  I felt like something was pulling me.  It was telling me to go outside.  I didn’t want to leave my nice warm bed for the bitter cold outside.  The urge to go outside got stronger and stronger.

I could no longer stand it.  I got out of bed, put my robe and slippers on, and went outside.  I walked down the steps, turned left, then right, then left, then left again.  It was like there was a rope tied to my arms, guiding me.  I knew exactly where I was going, but at the same time I had no clue.  As I stood at a street, waiting for the walk light to change so I could cross, I felt someone touch my shoulder. 

“Carl.  Carl!  Caaaarrrrrllllllll.”

I turned to see who was there.  No one.  Then the person tapped me on the other shoulder.  This time, I knew it was a woman’s voice. 

“Carl.  Caarrll.  Hey!!!”

When I looked, she still wasn’t there.  Then from somewhere behind me, I heard,

“Daddy.  Hey Dad.”

It was my daughter.  I looked for her.  I couldn’t find her.  I looked in front of me.  Not there.  I looked behind me.  Not there.  I looked back in front of me.  She still wasn’t there.  Neither was the street that I was waiting to cross.  I was standing in front of a tall building.  It had written above the door.  “The Entrance to your Savior’s Grace.”

‘What?’  I thought to myself.  I know this is not where I was just a second ago, but I hadn’t moved.  “Where am I,” I muttered to my self.  I must not have said it quietly enough, because someone answered me.  It wasn’t something I expected.

“I lost my way, and I asked the same thing.  I was just walking and all of a sudden, I was standing in front of this building.”

“What is this building?  Is it a church?”

The man answered, “Yes and no.  Yes, you could call it a church.  No, because you could call it by its name:  The Entrance to your Savior’s Grace.  Once you enter, you will understand.”

I was a little confused, so I decided to enter the building.  I opened the door, and was blinded by a bright light.  I closed my eyes for a second.  When I opened my eyes, I completely understood.

There was standing my Savior’s Grace.  There stood my family. 

I must have been sleeping, because my daughter was laughing at me.  She said I was talking in my sleep.  From that day on, I tried to spend as much time with my family as I could.

Word Count: 480