Thoughtful

 
 


 
This week’s guest poster had to reschedule because of technical problems, so this week I decided to share with you the middle portion of the first chapter of my Nanowrimo novel.  I hope you like it.


 
Jason woke Saturday morning at his normal six a.m., despite the late night. With no reason to get up right away, he rolled over toward Caroline. She was sleeping deeply, with her mouth open just a little and her whole body relaxed. Watching her sleep, he considered their twelve years of marriage and how she had grown even more beautiful over the years.

He pulled himself away and climbed out of the bed, pausing to peek in at his sleeping daughter as he headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Once his first cup was in hand, he opened the front door to get the newspaper from the porch. He first glanced over the headlines and then turned to the help wanted section. Skimming over the listings, he found a lot of positions for over-the-road truck drivers and health care professionals, but not much for an accountant.

Tossing the paper aside, he fired up the computer in the corner of the kitchen. He opened a word processing program and began building his resume, listing the three positions he held at Davis Trucking since he started working there. He had worked there since finishing college, and he was hoping that would reflect well on himself for potential employers. He also listed his education and his skills. He added Marjorie as a reference, remembering the recommendation letter still in his box in the car. He listed Tom as well, and, after considering who else would be a good reference, he added Melissa Close, whom he had worked with for several years until she quit to be a math teacher at the junior high. Once everything was in place, he looked it over for mistakes and then printed five copies of it. Sliding the copies into a file folder, he determined that for the rest of the weekend, he was not going to worry about or even think about losing his job. Monday would come soon enough, and he would deal with it then.


After a few minutes spent in silence with a second cup of coffee, he went back to the bedroom where Caroline was still sleeping. He sat gingerly on the bed, hoping to not disturb her, and he picked up his Bible from the bedside table. He made it a point to spend a little time reading and praying every day, and when he missed it, his whole day felt out of sorts. This particular Bible included devotionals for every day of the year, so he turned to the one for today.

The devotion was well suited to him this morning. Philippians 4:6-7 was quoted at the top of the page. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (NASB)

He read the scripture twice and then read the short meditation that followed it. It was all about trusting God, but it seemed to ignore the second verse. Jason considered both verses together.

Prayer and thankfulness go together, he thought to himself. When I come to God with my requests, I should be thankful for the things He's already given to me. And when I talk to God about what concerns me, He'll give me His peace. Supernatural peace sounded pretty good. He closed his Bible and began to pray.

Lord, I am so thankful for all of the good things You've given to me. You've taken care of me my whole life. You gave me a beautiful wife who is so good to me, a daughter more wonderful than I could have asked for. I have a house and good friends, and up until yesterday, a good job that more than adequately provided for my family. I know that You aren't going to suddenly stop caring about me or for me, so help me to trust that You are going to bring something else along that will take care of my family and further Your plans for the kingdom. Give me Your peace that surpasses understanding while I am in between jobs and guide me to the people and places I need to see in order to find that job You have waiting for me.



Thank you for stopping by!  I'd love to hear what you think of this little part of my novel.  If you're writing one this month as well, I'd love to hear about it.  If you're interested in following my word count, you can see my counter in the top right corner of this page.