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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781504398077 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Balboa Press |
| Publication date: | 03/27/2018 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 504 |
| Sales rank: | 938,110 |
| File size: | 760 KB |
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CHAPTER 1
VENTURE
So much to do! Not enough time! Now I was even late to rehearsal for the long-anticipated yearly reunion of the college choral group. It was the first day of May, and next month was to have been my graduation from a college in California. As I walked into the auditorium choir loft, I noticed an attractive man sitting behind where I found an empty seat in the soprano section. He noticed me and gave a broad smile!
There was something familiar. What was it? Could he be a classmate from previous years? I was intrigued. Surely we must have met in the past somewhere. How can I unobtrusively learn more? I shifted my position to look again as new sheet music was being handed out. Picking one for myself, I passed the remainder on down the row, giving a fleeting backward glance. There he was! His light blond wavy hair was parted on the side and brushed away from a tan face. It's amazing how much I could observe from less-than-second-long-glances! The varying streaks of blond hair framed an oblong, very masculine countenance. Strong jaw. Regal nose. High forehead above intense blue eyes that spoke even more deeply than his less dramatic mouth. He appeared slim, but strong-muscled. He was sitting in a chair two rows behind me, and a bit to my right, so I couldn't tell how tall he was. But I noticed the length of his bare arms, my eyes following their line to his long, slim fingers.
Aha! He shifted his position to where he could see me better and even smiled again! Who is he? I'm certain I've seen him before!
When rehearsal was over and all stood to leave, he seemed to unfold his lanky legs and stretch to more than six feet. Could it be six feet three inches? He was wearing smart, well-fitted black-and-white-hound's-tooth slacks and a black silky shirt with the top three buttons open, showing a little bit of bare chest. A smart dresser? Yes indeed!
He suddenly turned and looked the opposite direction toward an approaching brunette. He now smiled at her, squared his broad shoulders, and accompanied this attractive, slim, dark figure through the nearest exit. They are gone!
"Well, you can't win them all," my brain tried to mollify my ego, as I let out a long and disappointed sigh and headed to another door which was closest to my car. Unlocking my vehicle and flopping onto the seat, I looked straight into the mirror. Disappointment glared back. Determined, I flashed a sly smile at myself, knowing I would see him again tomorrow when the choir sang for church. Then again tomorrow night he would be at the Reunion Concert performance. I beamed messages of hope into my reflection!
As I drove home it finally dawned on me that I had seen his picture in a friend's dorm room earlier in the year. Then later I remembered he had dated my brother's fiancé's cousin somewhere in the dimly remembered past. Finally the name Victor Leigh slipped into my awareness, and relief relaxed my pondering.
By the end of the encored Reunion Concert the next evening, the lovely brunette had disappeared. Victor was alone at the crowded post- concert Reception! I was immediately enchanted as he and I distantly appraised each other over our cups of punch. Moments later I saw my brother-in-law chatting briefly with Victor, so I soon persuaded my sister to ask her husband, who obviously knew him, to introduce the two of us. Happily I spent the remainder of the evening in conversation with this handsome man. When Victor asked for my phone number, I also offered my address, making sure he could contact me. I had moved out of the dorm earlier in the year and was living a half hour away with my parents.
KAREN: IT IS IMPORTANT TO EVALUATE AS YOU PROCEED SLOWLY. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WISE FOR JUDY TO GIVE ONLY HER PHONE NUMBER. BY OFFERING HER ADDRESS, SHE WAS ACTUALLY BLOCKING THE CHANCE FOR THE "DANCE" OF ROMANTIC PURSUIT. TAKE ONLY ONE STEP AT A TIME. THIS DOES NOT REMOVE ROMANCE; IT ENHANCES IT BY GIVING EACH PERSON A PLACE IN THE DANCE.
As Victor walked me to my car through a large parking lot, we suddenly both became aware of a car, with its lights off, slowly following us after the reception. Immediately I recognized it was my very-recent-ex-fiancé checking up on me, and I told Victor who it was.
Victor: I felt blood rushing to my face, and my hackles were raised for fear this man would attempt to retrieve my new interest! So my usually passive tendencies evaporated, and determined caveman instincts rushed through my emotions. I will not allow any competitio n to inhibit me from setting up a date with this beauty NOW, or sooner, if possible! I detested saying, "Goodnight," to Judy as she turned the key in her car and headed home.
A few days later, the following letter came in the mail:
May 6
Dear Judy,
What a tremendous weekend. It was such a thrill to sing with the Chorale again. Music holds a prominent place in my life. I don't have any natural ability along musical lines, but I have had about ten years of piano lessons, five years of saxophone and several months on the organ. Not much of it "took," but I love to play for my own amazement and also derive much pleasure from listening to good music. During high school years I turned to popular music, but after attending college, my tastes gradually changed. My knowledge of classical composers is very meager; however I never miss a chance to attend a symphony concert.
Well that's enough about me. I want to hear about you. Who is your favorite composer? What sports do you like best? Do you like to hike in the mountains or sun yourself at the beach? Are you going to be working this summer? That's just a starter. I hope you tell me much more than that.
I really surprised myself the night we met, being so aggressive and all. I'm usually just the opposite.
May 7 (sent in the same envelope)
Well, here it is almost summer, and I haven't saved a penny for a vacation. I suppose I should be satisfied with my four days coming up at the Youth Congress in San Francisco.
I just received a notice to appear in person for my veteran's tax exemption on some property my grandmother and I own near college. That means I'll have an excuse to come see you, since I'll be in that area. I would like to come up Friday, attend to the business, take you to the church youth meeting, attend church with you and take you out that night. If you want me to bring my music, I will do so.
This is the best attempt I have ever made at writing a long newsy letter, so I'll be satisfied and quit. Hope you'll not be too swamped with schoolwork to have a date or to write me. I'll be anxiously awaiting your reply.
Sincerely yours, Victor Leigh
Excitedly I responded, trying not to sound as eager and breathless as I felt:
May 16
Dear Victor,
Thanks for your letter and all you tell me about yourself. I also was surprised at my own unusual aggressiveness in giving you my address, when you asked only for my phone number.
Since I was out of school for a couple months with infectious mononucleosis, I will be going to summer school to make up two classes. I may also be working at a part time job, but I'll need to study a lot to catch up so I can graduate by the end of the summer.
I suppose my favorite composer is Chopin. I play a number of his compositions. I like to go to concerts and swim at the beach, but especially love hiking in the mountains.
I might be interested in having a ride to the Youth Congress. I was hoping to go, but didn't think I'd be able to manage. Since you are a delegate and have to go, maybe I could sneak into a corner of your car.
Call me about the weekend you go on business regarding the property.
Your friend, Judy
Then another letter came, far different from anything I expected:
June 2
Dear Judy,
I hardly know how to begin. My heart is so full. Yesterday I was down in the depths of discouragement. I may repeat some things I've told you before, but I must tell this story in its entirety. Ever since I was old enough to think seriously of a vocation I have wanted to be many things. I suppose that's natural for a child to want to be like each person he or she idealizes. During my teens my health was so poor, and my grades even poorer, that I took little interest in school or finding out what I wanted to be. My parents wanted me to be a doctor. So rather than disappoint them, I took one science course in high school.
Before I started college my mother had me take vocation and IQ tests. The results showed I should be in some mechanical line of medicine. Why shouldn't they? I came from a doctor's family. I had been used to hearing medical terms at the table. As for the mechanical part, what fellow isn't interested in things mechanical? What does that prove? I put little faith in any of this psychology and testing. I will never put my child through tests like I had to take!
I began to like medical things less and less. But since I had no other suggestion that met with my parent's approval, I continued toward that goal. Near the end of the semester my grade average was D. I'd been told no students were accepted into medical school with less than a B average. I felt I had failed, so quit studying so hard. I was in despair until I got the army draft notice right after my 18th birthday. I was so thrilled to soon be able to get away from it all, that I failed all my school exams and therefore received no credits for that semester.
When I first went into the army, I had all the high ideals that my Christian background might foster. Five minutes after my introduction to my fellow recruits, I was confronted with a zealous ministerial intern of another faith. He brought arguments I was unable to refute. Study as I did, I couldn't find a flaw in his reasoning. I was stunned, but didn't turn to anyone for help, because I thought I must face this alone. Was I blindly following what someone else had taught me? I couldn't find the answer, yet felt I couldn't give up my faith either. Those principles had become a firm part of me. I knew mother would grieve if she ever found me renouncing my faith. I merely drifted from one worldly pleasure to another.
When I finally got out of the army two years later, I had no desire to go to college; however my parents had other plans, and told me to go back to school, or start paying room and board. I chose the former.
The Christian influences at college changed my outlook and I began to learn answers to my doubts. On my knees in my dorm room one particular evening I poured out my soul in earnest prayer for God to give me a definite sign as to what He wanted me to be. Down deep in my heart I felt I should be a minister, but I wanted to be sure.
A senior ministerial student was impressed at that moment to visit my room. I had just gotten up from my knees when there was a knock at the door. I opened it, and there stood a perfect stranger. Without any preliminaries, he introduced himself and directly asked, "Have you ever thought of becoming a minister?" That was enough for me! I believed it was the "voice of God" speaking directly to me. I told my newly found friend everything, and then we prayed together.
I went to my college counselor the next day and told him everything. He listened attentively but replied, "Fine, but you can't base your life's work on a supposed sign when it may have been only a coincidence. If you are determined to go this direction, why don't you take a religion major rather than theology, so you can go into teaching later if you desire?"
His response deflated my new dream. I felt it had been only an emotional high of the moment. But since I disliked medicine and didn't know which way to turn, I couldn't go very wrong by taking a religion major. When my parents heard of this change, they told me that whatever I wanted to be was OK with them, but I felt their disappointment.
Through the years I had developed the philosophy that the only way to be sure in the choice of one's vocation was to pick one which gave the most benefit to others. I had come to believe this should be a combination of medicine and ministry. Since I did not want to spend so many years in school to become a doctor, I thought I could obtain all the essentials in a nurses' course. Before graduating with my BA in Religion, I took the few necessary pre-nursing requirements and was accepted into nursing school after graduation.
I thoughtI was determined to stick to my course no matter how much I disliked some things. But during the latter part of my first year I became quite morbid from constant contact with the sick. I also felt that what I was learning in class did not challenge my intellect in the least. I received A's and B's without studying half as much as I did in college. After doing little except giving bed baths, I decided I was capable of a much greater contribution to mankind than that. As I look back on it now, perhaps I had the wrong attitude.
Then the shocking news came that my father and two other physicians had been killed in a small airplane crash. I joined one of the search parties, but was fortunate to be in another area when the horrible wreckage was found. Assuming my family would now depend on me for financial help, I bitterly walked away from my nurses' training unannounced. One day I just left the hospital, on the spur of the moment, in the middle of my nursing duties, without telling a soul.
These past few years, since that time when I asked the Lord for a sign, I have been impressed again many times to become a minister, but I would not yield. I passed it off as emotional excitement. The words of some of my teachers would come back to me: "You must have a constant burning desire to be a minister!" "If you can be anything else but a minister, be it!" "If you feel you cannot do anything else than be a minister, you will succeed; you will know you are called to the ministry!" My inner voice calling in that direction continued.
Last Monday I started a job that looked most interesting to me. As a county surveyor it offered outdoor exercise, a substantial pay raise, and used some of my college training. Everything went fine the first morning with the survey party, but after lunch my hay fever started to take over. Within an hour my eyes were watering, my nose was running, and my throat burned so badly I thought I couldn't stand it. I wasn't able to adequately do my work. That night I was completely discouraged and told Mom, "Now that I have failed to make a living with my college education and am not even able to survey for the county, I might as well give up." Before I went to bed I emptied my heart before the Lord in prayer, telling Him I was willing to do anything, even be a minister. If I was able to get my old job back, (which seemed impossible at that moment) I would see that as a sign that I should become a minister. The next day I called my former employer. Before I could tell him what I wanted, he interrupted me and said, "So you want your old job back?" I fearfully said, "Yes." The reply was, "Well, come on down, and we'll put you to work."
I am so happy that my future is certain, and that the Lord sees in me something left that is worthwhile. Judy, your friendship has meant a great deal to me, spiritually and otherwise. I hope I can be as much help to you. I can't think just what it is about you that gives me inspiration, but one thing that certainly helps is your sincerity. You have increased my faith in humanity. I'll see you next weekend and look forward to meeting your folks and also enjoying some music together.
Your friend, Victor
VICTOR: Looking back to the time I walked out of the hospital without telling anyone while on duty as a nurse, I remember criticism from my superiors about my slowness, particularly in giving bed baths, as well as everything else. It seemed the female nurses were always faster and more efficient than I was. This resulted in my being consumed with a sense of inadequacy and depression even before the horribly shocking news arrived about my father's death. After that, I remember only a blank numbness, a dark and empty emotional void. There was no room in my consciousness for recognizing any responsibility to the patients, the hospital, or the nursing school.
But to me, his letter exemplified twenty-six-year-old Victor's lofty desires, and I longed to encourage him. His revelation also excited me, because I truly had wanted to be a minister's wife for a long time. It didn't take me long to answer:
June 10
Dear Victor,
What a story! Thanks for trusting me enough to share your story. I believe in you, and I believe you would make a fine minister. I feel very comfortable being around ministers, since there are so many of them on my mother's side of the family. My minister father, the only child of his doctor father and teacher mother, has had a variety of roles: youth leader, religion teacher at both high school and college levels, a pastor, and is currently a hospital chaplain.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Flight To Embrace"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Margaret Baldwin; Melvin Baldwin.
Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Prologue, vii,
1 Venture, 1,
2 Vow, 23,
3 Lightning, 30,
4 Thunder, 41,
5 Hurricane, 49,
6 Deluge, 60,
7 Peril, 78,
8 Challenge, 94,
9 Undertow, 112,
10 Vaulting, 131,
11 Comedy, 146,
12 Aghast, 154,
13 Stretch, 179,
14 Falter, 187,
15 Extend, 199,
16 Endure, 215,
17 Expand, 232,
18 Apprehend, 248,
19 Ultimatum, 259,
20 Prism, 265,
21 Exhaust, 269,
22 Negotiate, 290,
23 Retort, 294,
24 Release, 310,
25 Mediate, 319,
26 Exult?, 325,
27 Tremble, 356,
28 Soar, 394,
29 Attain, 420,
30 Rainbow, 452,
31 Embrace, 467,
32 Glorify, 486,
33 Epilogue, 492,