The Wreck Emerged

by Joseph Webers

  “Maggie didn’t tell me that part, but she’s concerned someone will try to disprove that God healed Jenny. I don’t know why they’d do that, but she’s afraid someone will try to steal Jenny’s medical records here. I wanted to get copies of everything, but it looks like what you’re giving me is much better than that.”

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Trillbey. People can’t just come in here and look at records, unless they’re the police. And I can’t approve anyone to take them out of this area.”

  Charlotte and Alma looked through the files and requested a copy of only one item, a doctor’s health certification.

  “Thank you very much, Nurse Jennings. You’ve been so helpful a thousand times over. One last thing—please don’t tell anyone we were here or that you gave anything to us.”

  “Okay. And when Maggie gets back home, please have her bring Jenny in. We would all like to see her new foot.”

  On the trip back to Cheltenham, Charlotte remembered the man. “She said there was another survivor, Mack. I tried to wheedle more information out of her about him, but she said she wasn’t interested. She told me he was older than me. Anyway, when we get back, we need to make two equal packets and we’ll each take one. That way, you’ll have something in case they make Nurse Jennings talk and I end up getting bumped off. Just hide it out of plain sight.”

  “Okay. And I’m glad we didn’t have to use our plan. I would have felt like a lunatic or a spy, or maybe both.”

  78

  Paul left the survivors alone in order to take care of business with his men. Matt got two chairs from the helicopter while Maggie found a shady spot next to the Stallion. Matt retrieved the largest piece of coffin liner he could find. They put Jenny in the middle of it on her back, and let her wiggle around on it while they chatted.

  “How is your mom? Or is it mum?”

  “Mum’s the word!” She laughed. “You know, we don’t use that word much to mean ‘silent’. And for me, it’s another word that’s the opposite of itself. At least until yesterday.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. Chatter, chatter, chatter! How I wished my mum would be quiet sometimes. After I went off to the university, we didn’t get along well at all. When we were together, it seemed she found fault with everything about me. It got to be unbearable, so I rarely went to see her. Looking back, she was probably right about nagging me so much. I was pretty miserable. But now, I want her to know Jesus like I know him. I can tell my whole attitude toward her is changing.”

  “That’s wonderful, but be careful.”

  Maggie leaned forward in her chair. “Be careful?”

  “Yes, the old Maggie will try to kick the new Maggie out of the way and take over. It’s the old thought patterns that need to be replaced. Your attitude is changing, which is good, but it will be tested immediately. Your mother will doubt that the change is permanent, and she may put you to the test herself. Just love her and share your life with her. Especially the part that started yesterday, even before the crash, but also the things that made you who you became on your way up. Of course, there are things you don’t need to share, and you’ll know what they are. I expect, when she sees that you are really changed, she will become your friend and greatest supporter. Except for me, of course.” He grinned.

  “Well, that’s as it should be. You’re my dad after all!”

  “Well, as your dad, let me counsel you: if you blow it and the old Maggie says or does something, be quick to apologize.”

  “Okay, that may convince her quicker than anything else.”

  They spent a few minutes quietly enjoying each other’s company. Maggie decided to bring up something she had started to wonder about. “Matt, I’ve been listening to myself talk.”

  “Yes?”

  “I sound so … gushy. Juvenile, like a pre-teen. Like I have no filter when expressing my emotions, especially when I’m telling you how wonderful you are, and have been, to Jenny and me. You must think I’m pathetic!”

  “No, not at all! I’m really delighting in your candor. What has happened, and you don’t realize it, is that you have become completely unguarded, totally unpretentious, with me. This is wonderful, a gift from God for both of us to enjoy for a time. Something died in your emotions when you were twelve, and God has brought it back to life. Yesterday, the thing that died restarted at twelve years old, and has been hurtling forward since then. You’ve entrusted me with all your secrets, and you are trying out your newfound emotions on me. You have a lot of catching up to do!”

  Matt picked a small piece of shell out of the dried mud with his shoe, and continued. “We have been very intensely personal with each other, and you have deemed me so trustworthy with your entire being that you thought it fitting for me to become your father. Don’t worry, you won’t behave this way with anyone else, and soon enough, you’ll be the right age in everything.”

  “Thank you for that. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me.”

  “Just relax and enjoy what God is doing in you. From my point of view, it’s really beautiful.”

  After a few minutes, Matt started thinking about the dirt. “This looks like a desert, Maggie. I wonder how and when the dirt will come, and how this island will hold up in a storm. I’ve heard of these massive dust storms in the Middle East. Perhaps that’s what God will use, but it will need some rain, too, to stabilize the dirt.”

  “I think the dirt coming will tie the knot in our story of The Boy. We told the intelligence group about the dirt coming. They must have thought we were completely bonkers in predicting the dirt. But when it comes, Matt, it should prove to them that we were the ones calling the island into existence, because we said it in advance.

  “Paul said he wants to hear the whole story. I’d like us to tell it to him and to as many of his men who want to hear it. Matt, if you don’t mind, I’d like to tell the whole story, with your help from time to time, especially your dreams and messages from God.”

  Matt looked at her in amazement. “That’s a great idea. Are you up to it?”

  “Yes, I believe so. I’m eager to tell how good God has been to me, to us, and wants to be to them. I feel deep down that I will be telling the story a lot when I get back home, so this will be practice for me. I’m a teacher, you know.”

  “You’re going to do wonderfully. Just remember your audience. You’ll be speaking to only men.”

  After a few minutes, Jenny let it be known that she was hungry. Matt got up to prepare another diaper, but Maggie said, “Wait, there’s something I want to show you.”

  She hiked her shirt up all the way under her vest to give Jenny access to dinner. “Look, Matt, at the scars!”

  There was the thinnest of lines going across, and the stitch marks had reduced to mere dots. “I noticed it the last time I fed her.”

  “Nice! Your body waited sixteen years to close itself up. It was waiting for your soul to be healed and the curse to be broken!”

  79

  Paul Washington was finished with his chores and joined them. Aside from the EOD teams still toiling away, it was quiet. “We have some time now,” he said, “and I’d like to hear the whole story, or as much as you want to tell.”

  Maggie said, “We’d like to tell it to as many as want to hear. God did some amazing things, and I’m sure your men would benefit from hearing how wonderful he has been to us. Would that be possible?”

  “Absolutely! I’ll round up everyone who’s free. I’ll get you two chairs and we can all sit in the tail of the Stallion. There’s enough work going on that we’ll have to have two groups, though. I sure wouldn’t mind hearing it twice, but are you up for it?”

  “Oh, yes,” Maggie replied, “that would be great.”

  While Paul was gathering his men, Matt prayed for Maggie, asking God to give her confidence and wisdom, and an open heart and mind to those who would be listening. Paul came back and arranged the area where they would be sitting. “They’ll be along in a few minutes.
Here’s some water. Take as long as you wish.”

  Their voices preceded them as the men approached. Boisterous and animated language, punctuated by cursing and vulgarity. Lieutenant Colonel Washington, looking somewhat distressed, started to go out to quiet them.

  “I know all those words,” Maggie let him know, “and more besides. And I used to use them with regularity.” She looked at Matt. “But not in front of the children.”

  He went out anyway, spoke a single word, and there was immediate silence.

  There were nine Marines besides the pilots and Lieutenant Colonel Washington, who introduced Matt and Maggie. “Men, these are the survivors of the airplane when it was shot down. Mr. Matt Carven and Ms. Maggie Trillbey. I’ll let Ms. Trillbey introduce her daughter. They have quite a story to tell, and I thought you all might be interested. Mr. Carven?”

  “Thanks. Please call us Matt and Maggie. I’m going to let Maggie tell most of the story, but I want to let you know why I was even on this flight. Within the past year, my daughter and her family were all killed in a flood on a mission trip to Costa Rica. A month after that, my son and his family were killed in an automobile accident in Arizona. A month later, my wife died of a burst brain aneurysm.”

  Matt started to choke up, but then went on, “As you can imagine, I was devastated, numb, and pretty much unable to function. Things happened so fast that I couldn’t even grieve properly before the next thing came. I was hardly able to hang on, but God was hanging on to me. He provided me some battle buddies who got me up and made me walk. I was feeling pretty useless, without any purpose, until God spoke to my heart and told me he had a job for me to do in England. I immediately got a ticket for that airplane out there, and here I am.”

  One of the Marines asked, “What was the job?”

  “I didn’t know then, and I still don’t know. I got the distinct impression I would find out when I got there.”

  Another, whom Matt recognized as the one using the loudest vulgarity, said, “So God told you to get on that plane? He knew it was going to be shot down. What kind of God is that?”

  “He’s a God I have found to be infinitely trustworthy.”

  “So he saved you and the woman and the baby. Why didn’t he save everybody?”

  “He could have, but he didn’t. He could have gotten all the people off the plane before it sank. He could have made all the bullets miss or bounce off, he could have made the attacking planes crash upon takeoff, he could have prevented whoever it was from obtaining bullets, and more, but he didn’t do any of those things.”

  “Well, what makes you so special?”

  “Nothing. There’s nothing at all about me that would make God choose me over anybody else. He does what he wants. Our place is to salute and say, ‘Yes, sir!’ I have found he has a plan for each of us—for me, for Maggie, for you—that if he told us in advance, would make us want to sit on the sidelines and let it happen to someone else. Do you know you’re not here by accident?”

  “I didn’t want to come. I don’t want to be here. My leave got canceled, so I had to come.”

  “I’m sorry that happened. What is your name?”

  “Lance Corporal Wilson.”

  “Thank you, Lance Corporal Wilson. Now I’d like to turn it over to Maggie. We didn’t know each other before yesterday, and how we met will be in her part of the story. Maggie?”

  “Thank you, Matt. As I start, I’d like to introduce my daughter. Jenny is about three months old. When she was born, she was missing a foot. During pregnancy, an amniotic band wrapped around her ankle and basically squeezed off her foot.”

  Maggie turned Jenny around on her lap, undid the blanket, and showed them both feet. “The other thing you need to know about Jenny is that she did not survive the crash. She drowned. But that is part of our story.”

  It took about five minutes for the charm of her accent to wear off, about the same amount of time it took them to process the differences in pronunciation. All in all, an even trade.

  Maggie handed Jenny to Matt, then started her story at the point of getting the plane ticket in the raffle, intending to show how God was taking care of her and Matt every step of the way. The listeners didn’t understand why she left first class to go to economy.

  “I didn’t really understand it myself. There was a mysterious drawing in my inner being, and I just had to go. It wasn’t Matt, because he didn’t know I’d be coming back to see him until God told him. He just happened to have an empty seat next to him, and if you look in the plane at my first-class seat, you’ll see it’s blown apart.”

  Matt was enjoying Maggie as she told their story, and became aware of another voice. The voice. His voice, speaking directly to Matt’s spirit. “It’s a delight to listen to your daughter, your pupil.”

  “Yes, Father,” Matt’s spirit answered. “I’m in awe of how much you have done in her so quickly.”

  “And yet, she is about to encounter something for which she is totally unprepared.”

  Matt was in anguish. “We prayed for wisdom and a heart to love the people. What did I not do?”

  “It will take more than wisdom, son.”

  Matt clearly saw himself tossing the bottle filled with seawater back into the ocean. He heard his words to Maggie again, and realized what was missing. “Father, please show Maggie what you are doing in heaven. Please send your Holy Spirit to reveal himself however he wants to, for your purposes. Let her hear your words and see what you would show her, I ask in Jesus’s name.”

  Maggie had gotten to the part where she had found herself in the water without Jenny, where she panicked and got hysterical. How Matt had told her the promise from God that she would nurse Jenny. How this strange sensation called hope was starting to make itself known.

  Lance Corporal Wilson spoke up. “I can see your daughter is healthy. She has both feet. How do I know you’re not just making all this up? I don’t think God, if there is one, would do that.”

  The other Marines, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the giant helicopter, became a little fidgety. They noticed their leader maintaining his relaxed attitude, so they settled down.

  Maggie was not taken aback. “There is plenty of proof that Jenny was missing a foot. X-rays, ultrasounds, photos taken when she was born. People who have seen her, eyewitnesses. Unfortunately, we don’t have those with us. And of course there’s a God. He did all these wonderful things for me, and I didn’t even know anything about him. The reason I’m telling my story, is to help you believe, too.”

  “No! I cannot believe!” Lance Corporal Wilson got louder and his hands clenched into fists. “And you claim God speaks to you. Do you expect me to believe that?”

  Matt marveled at Maggie’s calmness. Lieutenant Colonel Washington looked like he was about to intervene, but Matt quietly held up his hand and lightly shook his head. Let her handle it.

  Maggie replied, “Yes, and he is speaking to me right now.”

  “Is he telling you what a jerk I am?” His voice echoed in the cavernous belly of the helicopter.

  “No, he is not mentioning you at all. He is telling me about a woman named Rosilia Burkett, who is dying of brain cancer.”

  Lance Corporal Wilson suddenly looked stricken. “That’s my mother! How did you know about the cancer?” Tears started coming to his eyes.

  “Now he is showing me a picture. It’s a scene of you, screaming at him. You love your mother, don’t you, Juan?”

  “Yes, my mother is Rosilia Wilson Burkett. My father died and she remarried. She is all I have. I love her dearly. I’d do anything for her. I asked God to heal her, but he never did. I begged. I pleaded. I prayed to all the saints. She just got worse and worse. Why are you doing this to me? I got the news about her being on her deathbed. I wanted to go see her, but my leave got cancelled. I should have gone AWOL.”

  “We didn’t know!” “If you had only said something!” “Is it too late?” Evidently, no one in his unit knew anything about this; it was
a burden he had not shared with anyone.

  “Juan,” Maggie said gently, “you said you would do anything for her.”

  “Did God tell you my name was Juan? Yes, I said that and meant it. I did scream at God. He’s the only hope she had. He just ignored her. I told him he should take me and let her live. He didn’t even listen to me.”

  “Juan, God is showing me two pictures. In one, there is a pleasant-looking lady wearing a green and brown smock. The side of her head is missing, and mush is dripping from it into a pan. Her eyes are looking in two different directions. In the other, the same lady is there, smiling and looking very alive. God is saying you may choose one of those two pictures, but there is a cost.”

  “What if I don’t pick one?”

  “Then the first picture will just happen naturally. By not picking, you have really chosen the first picture. This is an opportunity God is giving you to change pictures.”

  “How can I know God would do this? What is the cost?”

  “This is all about trusting God to do something we are incapable of doing ourselves. The cost is very high, and you can’t pay it. But God has a question for you, and before you answer it, I want you to listen to more of my story. Then I’ll ask you for your answer. You see, I screamed at God, too, and said the same thing you said.”

  Juan gulped. “What was that? And what is the question?”

  “When I realized Jenny was gone, I got frantic and panicky, and something way down deep inside me screamed at God, that he should have taken me instead. Here’s the question: He is saying to you, ‘Are you really willing to die so your mother can live?’ He asked me the same question about Jenny, and I was in agony about how to answer.”

  “I just got back from Afghanistan a couple months ago,” Lance Corporal Wilson said. “We saw combat there. Every Marine has asked himself that question about his fellow Marines. We always answer ‘Yes, we would,’ but we always wonder if we would. We hope that in the heat of battle, our instinct would make us do the right thing. But right now, there is no heat of battle. I don’t understand how me dying would make my mother live.”