a diversion. Whether stemming from a divine illumination or his own human curiosity, he decided to take a moment to figure out Anne’s due date. Knowing that her pregnancy began on March 25, exactly one week before April 1 (Ashley’s “April Fool’s Day” rant chiseled that date onto his mind), and assuming Anne goes full term, he ascertained that the birth would take place on December 25! Was this a coincidence, or yet another one of George’s surprises? He double-checked his math. It all added up. The re-birth, the re-incarnation of Jesus was scheduled for Christmas Day. Thoughts flooded his heart. What a gift . . . to Anne . . . to our family . . . to the church . . . to the world. He found solace in this diversion, that is, until he got the call.
“This is Officer Bedford. Your wife has been in an accident. An ambulance is on the way to take her to the hospital. She insists, though, on speaking to you. Here she is.”
Payne desperately tried to make sense as Ashley cried every word.
“I was listening to the radio and they were talking about abortion and I wondered if maybe Anne’s baby could be aborted. But it was such a horrible thought—what if that baby really is Jesus? And then I thought about how it all happened so fast and I wondered if Anne even had a choice in things. I was so angry, so angry at you that I didn’t see it. I didn’t see the light turn.” The words were barely intelligible now.
“Honey, are you hurt?”
The only answer was more crying on the other end of the line and then the officer’s voice, “We need to get her to the hospital right away.”
“How badly is she hurt?”
“Meet us at the hospital and the doctors will be able to fill you in on that.”
Payne opened his mouth, but the officer had already hung up the phone. Slowly, he stood up from his chair and walked out into the little office where the part-time secretary sat, typing up the church bulletin. “Mrs. Fleury, Ashley was in an accident and I need to go to the hospital.” He held up his hand to forestall any questions. “I don’t know how bad things are. I won’t know until I get to the hospital. Let Bernard know that I won’t be able to meet with him about the cantata until later.”
He didn’t wait to see whether Mrs. Fleury had heard him as he rushed out the door to the parking lot.
* * * * *
Pastor Donovan missed the cantata. The church would have understood if he missed Easter, too, since Ashley had only just been released from the hospital; but he chose to be with his flock and to preach. He was a husband, but he was also a shepherd. Resurrection Sunday brought more people to church than expected, possibly because news had spread about the pastor’s wife’s accident.
The message focused on Jesus’ bodily resurrection in history and how this seals His followers’ future bodily resurrection. Knowing that the people knew about the accident, Pastor Donovan spent the second half of the sermon sharing about the frailty of our present bodies. He quoted the Apostle Paul when he wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians that “the outer man is decaying.” He shared how the accident reminded him that our earthly bodies are not built to last forever. To curb the tears, he pointed to his balding head and said with a smile, “Hair today, gone tomorrow.” He told the congregation that in college he weighed 150 pounds and bench-pressed 275 pounds, but that now those numbers are reversed. He used this humor to convey that our bodies are likened to tottering tents, but he got serious about “the eternal weight of glory” awaiting us. “We will exchange our tents for mansions, bodies fit for all eternity. And what will we do with our incorruptible bodies? We will reign with the One who rose from the dead on that first Easter morning. We will be involved in God’s ongoing creative activity—a team effort with eternal significance and productivity.” Pastor Donovan looked right at George and the team seated in the back pew as he delivered this last sentence. A glimmer of hope spanned the entire sanctuary. Eternity was in their hearts.
* * * * *
Payne handed his wife the CD of his Easter sermon when the kids and he returned home after church. He was concerned about her state of being and thought that what he said might be medicine for her soul. She laid the disc on the dresser, and then laid her body on the bed.
As Ashley isolated herself from the world, Payne and Anne marched forward on the road of transformation set before them. They could not dawdle until she accepted the reality of Anne’s pregnancy. There were decisions to make and strategies to execute.
The team, including Anne, met at SarkiSystems to go over the plan. (Doug stayed home with his mom and enjoyed the delivered pizza.) George explained that Anne would perform her normal routines and graduate from high school. Then, before she began to show, she would go away until it was time to give birth. Forming quote signs with his fingers, he indicated that, when asked, they would say that “Anne is studying abroad” and that “she is expanding her horizon.”
George announced to Anne, “You will be going to Israel incognito and on a mission. No one but the team will know what is happening in your womb. While you are in the Holy Land, you will visit various sites. We will film your journey and make a documentary of your pilgrimage.”
George then addressed Pastor Donovan. “Let me reassure you that your daughter and the baby will be well protected and cared for the entire time. She will eat well, sleep well, and receive regular prenatal checkups. And you will receive regular updates.”
Maxwell queried, “What is the purpose of capturing her trip on film?”
“I’m glad you asked this, Maxwell. Through the use of technology, we will be able to show the world that Jesus has indeed returned. We will, in the fullness of time, broadcast worldwide a documentary of the events that have already taken place—the acquisition of the cord and the implantation of the embryo—along with the events that have yet to take place—the pilgrimage of our ‘Virgin Mary’ and the birth of our Coming King.” Then George avowed that when their efforts were presented, “Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
At the moment, Pastor Donovan was not interested in every knee and every tongue, just his wife’s. He knew that Anne’s pregnancy and now trip formed Ashley’s curse, not confession. He would pastor the congregation, but he would do so without his helpmate, for she walked on her own pilgrimage, a crusade into the castle of despair.
4
Pastor Donovan acknowledged his daughter and the other graduates on Graduation Sunday. He congratulated each one by name and said a little prayer for them. For Anne, he thanked God that “Anne is going to study abroad” and that “she will be expanding her horizon.”
The next day Anne boarded a plane to Israel. Before she checked her bags, Payne looked her in her eyes, and with tears in his, he said, “I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” With these words from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he let go of his little girl—and then returned home to hold tightly his wife.
He entered the summer as he would any uncharted waters, unprecedented events that would test his faith and patience. He prayed for wisdom and strength. His daughter was far away, out of his control—as was his wife. And there was Doug, missing his mom and sister. Wasting no time to set sail into the unknown, Doug asked after the breakfast prayer, “What if she has a girl?”
Perplexed initially, then annoyed, Payne looked at his son, and then he stared at the cold cereal in the bowl. It’s the first day of summer and I already miss Anne, and I miss Ashley’s world-famous waffles. Bracing for the storms lurking on the horizon, he resolved not to focus on the rough waters. He would not be like Peter when he took his eyes off Jesus in the midst of the storm. But this would not be easy. He felt himself begin to sink when Doug bellowed, “Or, what if she has twins?”
* * * * *
What if? Doubt entered Pastor Donovan. What if the plan did not work? What if this was not God’s plan? What if something happened to Anne? When he was just about to spiral down into the place where