[Faith-talk] Chapter 6 of my novel

[Poppa Bear]

Greetings, now of Corse a novel can't be complete without a young attractive
lady, now can it? Oh, to be young, brave and vulnerable again. LOL. Enjoy.

Chapter 6

 

Ten minutes later Luke was stirred out of a short nap. He had drifted off
into a light sleep as he waited for somebody to bring up his books. He awoke
to the sound of a nurse thumbing threw the pages of one of the old worn
paperbacks.

    Glancing up from the pages of the faded and tired looking book she saw
Luke staring at her and the shadow of an embarrassing blush spread over her
face. The nurse's name was Alison, but everyone called her Alli. She was in
her late twenties, and had a pleasant looking disposition.

    Her eyes were a light green and her hair was a beautiful and thick
glossy auburn, with teasing blond streaks that seemed to shine as the light
danced off of the golden strands of her glossy hair. She looked like a
mixture of a blossoming spring morning and a tranquil fall afternoon.

    Luke was feeling extremely tired, and seeing the nurse all ready
skimming through the book, without ceremony, but with easy southern
politeness  asked, "Mam, would you be nice enough to read me a little out of
that book?" Looking into his face to see if he was serious, and seeing his
eyes slowly close, she saw that he was exhausted. She decided to accommodate
his request.

    "What exactly would you like me to read?" "
you were just reading is fine."As he spoke, he never opened his eyes, so
this made Alli fill more at ease, knowing that he was not staring at her or
attempting to play some kind of game.

    She started to read, and to Luke's silent gratification she read with a
soothing soft voice that was both clear and melodious. As she read, her
voice sunk into the text like an old weathered wooden oar lazily dipping
into the serene waters of a calm lake, bringing the deep meaningful words to
the surface where they sparkled and splashed a cooling melody onto the ears
of the listener.

   The text she read was as follows. "-Annie Johnson Flint 

Blessed Homeland 

Gliding o'er life's fitful waters, 

Heavy surges sometimes roll; 

And we sigh for yonder haven, 

For the homeland of the soul. 

Blessed homeland, ever fair! 

Sin can never enter there; 

But the soul, to life awaking, 

Everlasting bloom shall wear. 

Oft we catch a faint reflection, 

Of its bright and vernal hills; 

And, though distant, how we hail it! 

How each heart with rapture thrills! 

To our Father, and our Savior, 

To the Spirit, Three in One, 

We shall sing glad songs of triumph 

When our harvest work is done. 

'Tis the weary pilgrim's homeland, 

Where each throbbing care shall cease, 

And our longings and our yearnings, 

Like a wave, be hushed to peace."

As she finished the text and looked up she saw that Luke seemed to be
asleep. The expression on his face was that of a baby in his mother's arms.
If a face ever looked like an angels she thought, it was this strange
patient, who sounded like a cow hand and read books that seemed to be older
than her great grandmother.

With fresh thoughts in her mind and reflecting over the peaceful expression
on the face of her sleeping angel patient, she was struck with a strange
feeling that seemed to be tied to the words of the poem, and the reality of
the comfort that the words had brought to this man. 

She picked the book back up and found the poem again and reread it. This
time it seemed to become a little more attractive to her as she considered
the meaning behind the words. The last line of the poem seemed to strike a
longing in her own heart as she read them over and over,"

'Tis the weary pilgrim's homeland, 

Where each throbbing care shall cease, 

And our longings and our yearnings, 

Like a wave, be hushed to peace." 

    As she left the room she involuntarily let out a long, deep sigh. She
was at a point in her life where the scales start to fall away and the facts
of life become a haunting reality for those who have chose to walk the path
according to their own strength and understanding.

    She had graduated from college two years ago with a BA in nursing
management, got a condo a year ago, was driving a new pick up, the exact
same model she had always dreamed about, dating the quire director from her
church and in spite of her relatively easy and comfortable lifestyle, she
was still becoming more and more dissatisfied with her life each day.

    Peace was the one thing that she couldn't seem to find. The words ran
threw her mind again, "Like a wave be hushed to peace." Then she said to
herself in a patronizing voice, "Alli, how can you not find Pease? I have
one of the most stable lives out of all of the people I know. Jane is going
threw that divorce, Sue has that pill problem and Matt just lost his job.
What is it about me? Why can't I be happy?"

    Then her mind turned to Mike. "Maybe if he asks me to marry him things
will change. I don't know though. I don't even know if I love him, but does
that even matter now days?"