Up Close and Personal

Up Close and Personal



         Elizabeth was behind schedule, as usual. She knew she really needed to plan her time better and felt guilty about serving her family so many quick meals. Nonetheless, she parked her car in a no parking zone and ran into the supercenter to find something to serve for dinner that evening. Hurriedly, she chose a rotisserie chicken, a package of frozen mashed potatoes, and a can of green beans; not good, but not too bad, either. When would she ever get off this crazy hamster wheel? Not until the world came to a standstill. In other words, never! She thought it was odd the lights seemed to be flickering. There was no storm brewing. It was a calm, sunny day.

         After only five minutes she was in the express lane ready to head home. Suddenly the store became a blackout zone. It was pitch dark, not one emergency light came on. Silence reigned for a moment or two. She felt an icy bone-jarring chill; two bony arms held her in place. Whatever it was it was extremely cold causing her teeth to chatter. She couldn’t see anything, but every now and then she caught the faint fragrance of roses.

         Elizabeth knew she was at the express counter. The exit was only a few feet ahead of her, but the extreme blackness was disorienting. She was a prisoner and couldn’t move at all.  No sound came out of her mouth. Someone was whispering into her ear. The voice was very distant and faint yet, she had no problem hearing it. The breath was frosty as it hit her ear. She tried to wiggle away, but was unable. The voice was terrifying. Was it male or female?  She wasn’t sure.  The breath smelled of moth balls and old mouthwash it was not a pleasant smell.

         Sweat was running down Elizabeth’s back and down her thighs. Her hair was getting limp and soaked. It was so hot, so dark. Fear like she never knew existed wrapped around her, pushing out her very breath. Thoughts ran through her mind. Would she ever see her children again? Were we at war? Has the world ended? She tried to get her wits about her, but the blackness seemed to suck her into a black hole. It didn’t make any sense to her. She felt hot, yet cold where the arms clamped her tightly, and she could feel bony legs and a chest-like impression binding her. She didn’t believe in ghosts, yet nothing else quite fit what she was experiencing.

         The voice told her to calm down, she wouldn’t be harmed, but she had to listen. The voice told her to count to ten, to breathe deeply, and be still. She did the best she could.

         "You are on a dangerous path and have to make some changes in your life or there will be tragedies, bad tragedies." intoned the voice.  "However, you still have time to prevent them if you will make a few changes; put the most important things first and let the others go. Elizabeth, do you realize what is most important to you cannot be counted, or earned, learned or even stolen? The most important things in your life aren’t things at all. They are gifts from a loving God. They can be taken away in a blink of an eye.”

         Elizabeth said, "Yes, yes, I will make changes, soon. I have to hurry home to fix supper; I'm chairman of an important meeting this evening.

         “No! You must change. Are you listening? Pay attention! What is most important to you? Is it the meeting or your family? It is your choice. Choose, but choose wisely. You may not have another chance.”

Elizabeth prayed like she never prayed before. "Please, Lord, let me get out of this store alive. If you allow me to live through this and reunite me with my children; I will dedicate my life to you. I will give you my time and my money first, just as your laws require. Please Lord let me live."

         Warmth filled her, and she was free to move. The voice was gone, but the message was still reverberating in her head. Elizabeth knew she had been locked in this dark prison for a long time. Time passed very slowly. Maybe the world hadn’t ended.  'Thank you Lord!' she said repeatedly.

         Elizabeth looked at her watch; it must have stopped. She thought she was held captive for hours. She felt relieved not to be bound anymore. She laughed aloud with joy to be alive. Not one more minute would she stay in this store. She put down her basket of groceries, ran out of the store and into her car to hurry home to her children. She turned the key in the ignition and stared at the dashboard clock. She was only out of the car for six minutes! Not possible. She pulled out her cell phone and looked at the time. It agreed with the dashboard clock.

         She quickly called home, and asked the children if they were all right and if the lights were on at home. They assured her they were fine and yes, the lights were on. She paid the bill, didn’t she? She giggled and hung up.

         Was she losing her mind? She knew the ghost talked to her a long time.  She was very confused. She got out of her car and asked other people standing around what their thoughts were about the blackout. They looked at her strangely, and asked, "What blackout?"  No one else experienced what she did. She either lost her mind or had a ghostly, yet divine, intervention.