Alice lay in the hospital bed, trapped in her own body. She was aware of her surroundings, but she was unable to communicate with the world around her. One side of her body felt dead and useless. Her inability to speak was beyond frustrating. She lay in uninvited isolation from the world she had known, upset and anxious for her future. As she lay there struggling to come to terms with her condition, she wondered how in the world she could care for the children. Alice fought hard to keep her anxiety at bay and remain calm. She needed to get well. She needed to be whole. The children needed her now. Somehow, she needed to let the Ferguson’s know what had happened, where she was, and how to find her.
In the afternoon, she observed two strangers walk into her hospital room with two children. Her eyes brightened at the sight of them and her heart skipped a beat when she thought they might be her grandchildren. Were they? After all, she hadn’t seen her grandson since he was an infant. She looked at the boy. He was holding onto the woman’s good arm so firmly, since her other arm was in a sling and cast.
Oh, how that child looks like my son when he was a boy, the same eyes and coloring, she thought, and how grown up he is. Soft tears formed in the corner of her eyes as her grief returned. Then she noticed the little girl. That must be Faith, she reasoned as she watched the little girl hiding behind the woman.
Alice understood why the children were so unsure. Tom wouldn’t remember her and she had never met Faith. Her son and daughter-in-law had sent pictures and letters in the beginning, but the hard work and struggle to farm in that difficult country had taken its toll on the Madison family. Eventually, too soon really, they had resorted to periodic phone calls.
Now, years later, she had the memories of a wonderful son, beautiful daughter-in-law, along with a few precious photos and worn out letters of the small family in Africa. The last photo she had received was of the baby and a note of the day, time and weight of her new granddaughter, Faith Evangeline Madison.
Alice lay in her bed, trying to think, trying to bridge the gap of time and loss she felt, and somehow get her life back, so she could take care of the only family she had left in this world. The fear of foster care for the children and the bureaucratic welfare system weighed heavily on her.
Shelly walked over to the bed with the children in tow. “Mrs. Madison, these are your grandchildren, Tom and Faith,” she informed the old woman under the white sheets, as she pointed to each child.
“I’m Shelly Ferguson and this is my husband Jim,” she continued the introductions. “You and I talked every day from the embassy in Nairobi.”
Alice could do nothing, but wave her good hand and make garbling sounds. With her speech slurred and her frustration evident, she remained entombed in her broken body. There was so much she wanted to know, so much she needed to tell them. How was she going to communicate with them? What would happen to these little ones now? How was she going to care for them? Where were they even going to spend the night? Tears slowly rolled from the corner of her eyes and down her soft, wrinkled old cheeks.
Shelly and Jim could see her anxiety. Shelly laid her good hand on the old woman’s shoulder and softly said, “Alice, it’s all right… we’ll figure this out. We’ll see that the children are taken care of. Please don’t worry,” she offered, guessing some of Alice’s apprehensions.
“Why don’t we try this,” Jim enquired of Alice as he traded places with Shelly. He sat down in the chair and took hold of her old, frail hand. “We’ll ask questions to help communicate and you can answer us with your good hand. Squeeze my hand once for yes and twice for no. Let’s see if we can get some things settled that way. Do you want to try it?” he asked.
Alice tried a smile which brought about a lop-sided grin. She squeezed his hand once.
“Good.” he said with satisfaction.
“I know my wife has already shared with you all that she knows about your family and how the children were rescued in your phone conversations with her, but are there any more questions about Africa, for now?” he asked.
Alice squeezed his hand twice.
“Alright.” he replied.
In that way they communicated for a while. There were times when Alice could not answer with just a yes or no. Like the time Jim asked if she wanted them to stay at a hotel and she had answered no. But then she realized she couldn’t tell them where to sleep and what food to use and so many more things related to them staying at her home that she changed her mind. A hotel would probably be best, but how could she tell them? She was cutoff and adrift in her anxiety to converse with them.
Eventually, Jim and Shelly were able to figure it out, but the fatigue and stress had taken a toll on Grammy. They knew she needed to rest.
“We’ll find a hotel nearby.” offered Shelly, warmly, as they prepared to leave.
The children shyly hugged her and they assured her they would be back in the morning. Alice waved with her good hand, as they left the room. She was so tired, so weak, she closed her eyes and slept.
The next day, when they returned, Jim took her hand again and said, “Alice, it’s clear you are in need of help, and not only for yourself, but with the children as well. Shelly and I have discussed a solution. We think it would be best if you let us take over for a while. Shelly and I can’t stay here. We both have jobs waiting for us. So we’d like to find a place for you, temporarily, near our home in Mica, Washington. The children can stay with us until you are well enough to take over.”
“I’ll stay here and make arrangement for you to be transferred to a nursing home near us, as soon as the doctors say it’s possible. And I’ll see that your home is prepared for your absence. I’ll do everything I can to see that you and the children are cared for. Is that alright with you?” he asked.
Alice closed her eyes for so long that Jim wondered if she couldn’t bring herself to accept the help or if she was too ill and had fallen asleep.
Shelly added, “I’ve come to love Tom and Faith very much in the last few weeks. I would give my life for them. They will be safe and cared for with us, until you can take over,” she added.
Tom said softly and with feeling, “Please Grammy.”
When she opened her eyes, she looked at Tom and Faith and could see the pleading in the boy’s eyes. He obviously felt safe with the Fergusons. She looked Jim in the eyes and squeezed his hand as long and as firmly as an old sick woman could.
“Good.” He said with satisfaction. He realized it must have been hard for her to trust complete strangers with her life and those of her grandchildren. He wouldn’t let her down.
Alice was grateful to have these caring people step in and take charge for a while. A tension eased inside of her. She closed her eyes and rested, really rested for the first time in quite a while.
* * * *
And so the plan was enacted and during the next three months the strangers became friends, the children visiting their Grammy daily. Papers were signed and the Ferguson’s became Tom and Faith’s Godparents.
Grammy looked forward to their visits, as they came without fail each day. They always brought her something to brighten her room… flowers, or a stuffed toy, even a shawl for her shoulders. But it was the times she spent with her grandchildren that made her life bearable.
Shelly or Jim would read to her and encourage her to get well. She tried and was even able to sit up in bed after a time, but her speech never returned.
Soon, too soon really, she became tired, oh so very tired. With a soft breeze blowing through her window and a full moon lighting up the warm summer night sky, Grammy gave up her life and passed away in her sleep.
Through Jim’s boyhood dream, God had stepped in to provide a home for two orphans, while fulfilling the desire for children for the Fergusons and creating a family, a family that loved Him and wanted to serve Him.
Author’s Note
God is not limited by time. He was there at the beginning of His creation. He is present with us now. And He is already there waiting
for us at the end of this age, when time on this Earth will end. He knows how the story of our planet unfolds, and its ending.
Yet, He will intervene when we pray. People are healed, saved, rescued and helped because we choose to ask Him for His help and grace. He loves to grant the good and give light in this sad and dark world.
But He also intervenes when we don’t ask. In times of war, death and destruction, He kept Jim and Shelly safe, providing what they really needed. Mattie’s life was spared by the presence of Dr. Nathan Emery on the freeway that day. God knew it was time for Tom and Faith’s parents to return home to Him, so He directed Shelly across the African wilderness to find the farm. His protecting arms kept them all safe and guided them to a place of rescue. And in the end, the deep desire for children was fulfilled for the Fergusons.
God provides all good things to those who love Him. It may not be happiness, health or riches in this life, though that can happen. But when we leave this Earth, we will be happy forever living in His light, obtaining heavenly bodies of beauty and grace, and receiving all the riches that God bestows.
While we’re here, though, it’s up to us to live the Christian life according to His light and teachings. Not making up our own rules, but living by His. Walking in that light, while God grants us the time to do it, down that narrow path to that single door, that is our Lord.
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…Bryne Press
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