Today we continue our week-long visit with Clare Revell as she shares something she treasures with us....
When you’re growing up with brothers and sisters, sometimes
you wish they’d just go away and stop bugging you. Especially the younger kind
who always want to hang out with you when you have friends over. Or play in
your room cos it’s so much better than theirs. Or just bug you because they
can.
But then suddenly, almost in a flash, you’re all grown up
and going your separate ways. In our case that’s quite literally all over the
world. Even though I was the oldest, my brother left first, to go to
university. (I stayed at home and went to the local college and ended up with
letters after my name that way.) After graduation, he got a job locally and
moved back home again. Things continued as normal — my sisters each left for
university, but my brother was always there.
Until the day I realized that I was actually right about
“Miss Right living in Australia.” And so Andy moved. 12,000 miles away. And now
we see each other once every three or four years. And all those irritating
memories suddenly become priceless and all you have to hold on to. Along with
the fact he still thrashes me daily at words with friends. Honestly, either he
cheats or I just get the rubbish letters every single time. I’m not sure which.
On an extended holiday from the
UK, John Connington finds himself in Sydney with nowhere to stay. Only a
telephone number from a friend of someone his sister works with offering him a
place to stay. Trusting that God knows what He’s doing, John rings and asks a
total stranger if he can stay.
Jo can’t believe the audacity of
the man, yet when her flat mate knows of this arrangement there is nothing she
can do. She’s not prepared for the avalanche of feelings produced by seeing
John. Not impressed by God’s sense of humour she fights how she feels until
just before John leaves for home, both their lives change forever.
Can a long distance relationship
really work or is God just teasing them both?
He slid his card through the
phone and dialed the number. It rang twice.
“Hello?” a very warm and feminine
voice answered.
John took a deep breath, not sure
about asking for a place to stay from a stranger. He wasn’t impulsive and never
made a decision without praying about it for several days first. “Hello, my
name’s John Connington. Is Pippa there?”
“I’m afraid she’s not. I’m Jo,
her housemate. Can I take a message? I can get her to call you back.”
For a moment, John was tempted to
hang up, and he wiped his damp palm on his jeans, before he slid his free hand
into his pocket. “Not very easily, I’m afraid.” Something prompted him to
speak. “I’m calling from a pay phone. I was given Pippa’s number by a Christian
friend of hers—Sandy Franklin. She works with my sister, Emma, in the UK. The
short story is I was told if I needed a place to stay in Sydney, that I should
ring Pippa, and she’d put me up.”
Silence echoed before the voice
stammered. “I—I see. Well, like I said, Pip isn’t here right now. She should be
back in an hour or so. Call back then.”
His heart sank. “All right. I’ll
do that. Goodbye.” He set the phone back on the wall. What do I do, Lord?
Gentle feelings touched him that
he should go on faith and just leave the hostel. No room at the inn, yet they found a stable. I will provide.
An Aussie Christmas Angel can be purchased at Pelican Book Group, Amazon Kindle, and Barnes & Noble Nook.
Hope you enjoyed today's treasure! Stay tuned tomorrow when Clare visits with another of her books, and the rest of the week for Thursday Thoughts and Saturday Spotlight!
PamT
1 comment:
I loved this story! I think it's great that you could use true life to write such an amazing story! God is indeed good!
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