“Aww,” said Barbara Anne. “She is so pretty, Mama. Look at how light she is!”
For only the second time since Beulah had taken her from her mother, the little girl opened her eyes.
“Oh my,” said Otis. “Look at those pretty brown eyes.” He watched as the baby focused on the five faces surrounding her. She glanced from one to the other as she seemed to consider who these people were and why she was here.
Then she looked up into Mama’s face and smiled.
“Ummph, must be gas,” said a smiling Beulah, explaining away the baby’s smile.
“No, Mama,” said Cassie, the eldest girl. “I think she’s really smiling, like she knows she is supposed to be here.”
Beulah glanced at the baby girl again, bundling her up to take her home. She was determined to not let anything happen to this child. And if she had to keep this little one away from her daddy, then that was what she would do. Her son was making some very poor decisions. She wouldn’t join him in his mistakes but she would take care of the mistake he had already made.
In the Unseen …
Many sets of eyes watched as the baby and her entourage moved through the airport to the waiting car. These demons had been alerted from the moment of conception of this little one. She was one who needed to be destroyed immediately before she could wreak havoc on the kingdom of darkness.
Destruction, Ignorance, Abuse, and Rebellion surrounded the family. They were biding their time until they heard the clarion call from the Seat of Darkness to go in and do what they were called to do. They had each already prepared their associated demons that stood ready to do the bidding of darkness. Fortunately, they were not the only eyes watching this precious one.
High above in the atmosphere surrounding the child and her family, Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge soared through the skies as they trailed the vehicle bearing this soon-to-be warrior for the Kingdom of Heaven. They were joined by Protector and Comforter who constantly traveled between the Throne of Grace and the Earth bearing instructions on how they would keep this little one until the time appointed.
These angelic presences knew that time was of the essence. Being under authority, they also knew that their time was not their own. Their time belonged to the Creator of Time, Almighty God. He alone would be the decision-maker on when things would happen according to His time for this child.
Joyce
THIRTY
In the Unseen …
Condemnation flitted around Marie Jones’ head as she rode the train with her twins toward the Atlanta Amtrak station. He knew which buttons to push with this one. Feelings of condemnation had steadily built in this young woman from before her pregnancy until the present time. The feelings had not diminished in any way.
Guilt and Despair also dogged her every step each time she spoke with her loving parents without telling them what had occurred in her life. Each time she hung up the phone from speaking with them, she felt dirty. She knew of no way to wash herself clean from the guilt she felt.
Once Despair sunk into her spirit, it seemed that all hope was lost. She knew her parents loved her. Unfortunately, she didn’t believe that love was strong enough for them to forgive her for the indiscretion that would bring so much shame to her family.
Now that this young woman was on her way home for the celebration of the life of their mortal enemy Jesus Christ, Condemnation, Guilt, and Despair persistently waged their attack against her so she would have no peace in finally coming clean about what had happened in her life.
Atlanta, Georgia: December 21, 1961
“Mama, I’m at the train station,” Marie Jones told her mother when she called from the Atlanta Amtrak station.
She was scared to death! Jeffrey and Joyce were now six months old and quite a handful. During the trip down South, many of Marie’s fellow passengers had pitched in when both the twins cried from hunger or just needed attention while their mother was busy with the other.
One lady came to Marie’s rescue several times. She thought Marie had left her husband in New York while she took the babies home for Christmas. Marie didn’t correct the woman. Feeling very condemned, Marie thought the lady would condemn her as well.
She loved those little twins with all her heart. Each had his or her own separate personality. Marie was amazed that they both could be so different and yet have come from the same womb. She thought about herself and her brothers and sisters and could only remember the sameness they all shared. But these two …
Marie still hadn’t found the heart or courage to tell her parents about her children. As many times as she had spoken with her siblings, she hadn’t told any of them either because of the shame. When does the shame end? she wondered. Marie felt as though the burden of shame would be hers to carry alone for the rest of her life.
After having the twins in June, Marie had struggled to survive in New York City. Becoming friends with several other single mothers, one of them offered to baby-sit when she went back to work. The only price she charged was groceries and snacks for all the children.
Marie spoke with her parents often but always made sure to call them while she was at work. She didn’t want to risk them hearing the babies. Desperately missing her family, she finally worked up the courage to go home at Christmas. This was the one time of the year when they all came together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and family. Marie hoped everyone would be so caught up in the Christmas spirit that not too much would be said about the shame and disappointment she had brought into the family.
“Ree,” her mother said, calling her by her nickname. “Daddy’s on his way there now. He should be about there, honey,” Ethel Jones informed her daughter. Excitement filled her voice since she hadn’t seen her youngest child for almost two years.
Ethel and Homer had planned to visit Marie in New York several times. Those plans were quickly canceled by Marie with one excuse after another. First, she was taking some classes she needed to advance in her job as a paralegal. Then she had to go out of state for training for the same advancement. Marie’s ultimate goal was to become an attorney.
Finally, Marie’s parents decided they would wait until she came home. They knew she was all right. She was just a young girl away from home for the first time and probably really enjoying her newfound freedom. They trusted her and felt good that she was making her way in the world.
Marie took a deep breath, deciding to break the news to her mom before she arrived home with the babies. Marie loved her mother so much. Oh, how she hated to break her heart!
“Mama, I got to tell you something,” she began, tears welling up in her eyes. Dread filled Marie’s heart as she tried to think of the best way to put what she had to say to her mother.
“Mama, I …” She didn’t know how to tell her. Yes, she was twenty-two years old and a grown woman. Yes, she was out on her own. But she had shamed herself and her family. How could she tell her?
“Mama,” she tried again. This time tears choked her voice. Other than telling her parents she wanted to move to New York by herself, this was the hardest thing Marie had ever contemplated telling her mother. How could she? Maybe she had made a mistake in coming home for Christmas. Maybe …
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Ethel asked, concern in her voice. “Baby, it’s all right,” she said, trying to soothe her.
Ethel knew something was wrong. God had woken her early over the past several mornings to pray. By the time she roused herself, Homer was already in the kitchen sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and the Bible. The first morning of the call to pray when Ethel went into the kitchen, she asked her husband, “Honey, what’s wrong? Can’t sleep?”
“No, Telly,” Homer answered, using his pet name for her. “The Lord woke me up to pray for Ree. Something’s going on but I don’t know what it is. I’m glad she’ll be home in a couple of weeks. I miss that child,” he shared, deep concern etched across his face.
They prayed together every morning for two we
eks, both pouring out their hearts to God concerning their youngest daughter. Their early-morning prayer sessions lasted about one or two hours. When they finished praying, it was already time to get up. Aside from thoughts and worry about their daughter Marie alone in New York, they were refreshed and started their days.
While listening to her daughter on the other end of the line, something flashed through Ethel’s mind’s eye. Two something’s to be more precise. Babies. But that couldn’t be. Surely her daughter would have …
Well, maybe not. Lafayette, Alabama had its share of out-of-wedlock babies. But none of them had come from Homer and Ethel Jones’ children—eight handsome, strapping boys and seven beautiful girls, not a one with a baby out of wedlock. Maybe not until now, Ethel thought.
“Honey, what’s wrong,” Ethel asked as Marie continued to sob into the phone. “Are you … pregnant? Honey, answer me,” Ethel said hesitantly, dreading the answer her daughter might give.
“Oh, Mama,” Marie sobbed, a faint smile showing through the tears as she thought about her situation. “Mama …” Marie shook her head, not wanting to say. “Mama, I have … oh God, Mama, I have the babies already. I have twins, a boy and a girl. Mama, I am so sorry,” Marie said with a rush, relieved she had finally told but still dreading the outcome of her admission.
Ethel Jones sat down hard, thankful a chair was so close to her. Twins. Twins? Questions flooded her mind. “But Ree, honey, when?” she asked.
“Mama, the babies are …” Marie hesitated again, knowing this confession would hurt her mother even more. Hurting her more was the last thing she wanted to do. “Mama, they’re six months old,” she answered resolutely. It was going to come out when she saw them anyway.
Marie wondered if her parents would ever be able to trust her again. She had gone off to New York to make her way in the world. Her family had all expressed big dreams for her and she had shot those dreams down one by one.
Marie turned around just in time to see her handsome father Homer striding toward her. Oh, how she loved her daddy! As the youngest girl in her family, it seemed as though her daddy had poured all the love he could upon her. Even though he said it wasn’t so, everyone knew she was his favorite. Until now …
She started to cry into the phone again as she saw him increase his stride toward her. “Mama, Daddy’s here. I am so sorry I disappointed you, Mama. I am so sorry …” she cried.
Homer grabbed her in a big bear hug that lifted her off the floor. Marie held onto the phone as though it were a lifeline. How could she tell her daddy about the children? God, please help me! she whispered in her heart.
She threw her arms around this big burly man she called ‘Daddy.’ Oh, it felt so good to be in his warm embrace again, to feel his whiskered face against hers. Homer worried as his little girl cried as though her heart were breaking.
“Daddy, oh, Daddy. I’m so sorry,” she cried through her tears.
“Baby? Ree, what’s wrong?” he asked, worried. He set his daughter back on the floor, the phone receiver still clutched in her little hand. She had forgotten she was talking to her mother.
“Mama, you still there?” she asked. Ethel was crying softly into the phone.
“Baby, I’m still here. Hang up the phone. I’ll see you in a little while,” she assured her daughter.
Ethel thought back to the flash of the babies in her mind’s eye. She was hurt, so hurt, that her youngest daughter had felt she couldn’t share this problem with her parents. Even though she and Homer were stern disciplinarians, they had always brought their children up to be honest and straightforward with their parents. How had it come to this?
“Lord,” Ethel prayed. “Please help us to love Marie through this time in her life. Father God in the name of Jesus, please help us to love her as you love her, unconditionally, with our whole hearts. Please help her to come through this as gold purged by your fire. Lord, I thank you. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.”
After she prayed, Ethel felt better. She wondered, though, how her husband was faring as he faced the truth of Marie’s indiscretion.
THIRTY-ONE
Marie hung up the phone and turned to her daddy.
“Daddy, I have something to tell you,” she began.
As she pondered the best way to tell her father her secret, flashbacks of childhood ran through her mind. She could remember the many times her brothers and sisters had gotten into trouble and told their parents. She remembered Daddy going out to the woodshed to get a switch from the ‘switching’ tree when they were younger. As time went on, the switches became belts and the belts became paddles that Daddy made on his workbench. Each of the fifteen Jones children received their fair share of whippings from both Ethel and Homer, Homer being the sternest of all disciplinarians.
Before she could completely formulate what she would tell him, the twins realized they hadn’t seen the face of their mother for quite some time.
Joyce, the instigator it seemed, began kicking her legs, causing Jeffrey to cry. As Jeffrey wound up for a good, ‘I’m hungry and somebody had better feed me right now!’ cry, Marie turned to her father decisively and said, “Daddy, I’ve got something to tell you.”
Homer followed his daughter’s glance as she looked toward the rocking stroller. He had never seen a contraption such as this one. My goodness, he thought, it’s big enough to hold … two babies!
He tentatively followed his daughter as she walked over to the stroller. It dawned on him that this was the reason God had gotten him and Ethel up to pray during the early morning hours for the last two weeks—to prepare them for this moment.
“Marie,” he said her name, thousands of questions in his eyes. He looked down into the stroller and saw two sets of the deepest, brownest eyes he had ever seen in his life. One of the little things was dressed in blue and the other in pink.
Homer sat on the bench next to the stroller. Joyce and Jeffrey stopped crying long enough to stare back at the eyes staring at them. Grinning toothless grins, their arms and legs flittered about trying to grab the attention of the owner of this new face so they could be picked up.
As Homer considered these babies, he remembered when Marie Anne Jones was born. Both these babies were the spitting image of his precious Ree. His only problem was that he couldn’t figure out how she could have had these two beautiful babies without him knowing anything about them.
As Homer turned to her, Marie thought he was going to blast her. Instead, he opened his loving arms to his daughter. Pulling her down onto his lap, tears rolled down his face. He thought of the hardships she must have gone through and must still be going through from trying to care for these two beautiful babies alone.
“Honey,” he began, heartbroken but not for the reasons Marie thought. “Why didn’t you tell us, Ree? Honey, everyone makes mistakes. We could have helped you,” Homer told his daughter as she sat on his lap quietly weeping.
Marie felt even guiltier as she thought of how she had kept these babies from their grandparents in addition to getting pregnant in the first place. Regardless of the mistake she had made, Marie knew her parents would still love these babies, no matter how they had gotten here. She realized she had allowed pride to keep her from allowing her family to help her in the situation she found herself in.
“Daddy, I brought shame to the family. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want you to have to suffer through this because of me,” Marie explained.
Homer looked at this brave young woman, his daughter. He remembered when she was eleven and broke her arm falling from a tree she had been told not to climb. Marie walked around for almost two days without telling anyone about her arm. She didn’t want to get a whipping as a result of her disobedience.
When she could stand the pain no longer, she told her oldest sister Carrie. Carrie took her to the doctor so their parents wouldn’t find out until later in the day. When Homer found out, he whipped Carrie for not telling and promised Marie she would get hers when her arm hea
led. Marie milked her injury much longer than needed because she hated whippings and would do anything not to get one.
Homer smiled as he thought about that incident. Some things never changed, he realized.
“Honey, we’ll make it through this,” Homer assured as he set her aside. He reached into the stroller, cradling a twin in each of his massive hands. The twins cooed warmly as they cuddled into the hands belonging to this strange, kind face. They felt at ease with this person and forgot about being fed and picked up. They were receiving the attention they craved.
Homer knew Marie would explain later why she hadn’t told anyone about what she was going through. He was hurt because he was just now finding out about these precious grandchildren, hurt because his daughter couldn’t find the courage to tell her parents.
Even more hurt because of the reason why she didn’t tell them—his reputation as a stern disciplinarian—Homer recognized that his daughter had probably feared admitting what she had done.
That was water under the bridge now. He would not condemn his daughter or these babies. He would love them and help her as much as he possibly could. After all, that’s what family was for.
In the Unseen …
Condemnation, Guilt, and Despair fervently fought the darkness pulling them away from their once welcoming victim, Marie Anne Jones. They were losing their grip on her mind as she sat with her Earth-father and her children.
“Nooo!” screamed Despair. He had fought so hard to keep this one. He was not interested in losing her, he thought as he scrambled to get a better hold of her mind.
Love, Hope, and Peace settled over the family as the man prayed a quiet prayer of thanksgiving, asking Almighty God for direction as he helped his daughter and these two precious babies. The Hosts of Heaven gathered around the family and pushed back the darkness that had followed the young woman for so long. As light beamed in every direction, the minions of darkness gave up their stronghold and fell away to the pit from which they had come.
The Baby Chronicles Page 14