“But she is soooo rich!”
Alma Aurora sighed. “All humans navigate problems—it’s part of life and it doesn’t matter how much money they have. I keep telling you that humans like complications.”
“But money solves so much!”
“Yes, but then it creates other problems.”
“Really?” Snowy asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
“I’m having a hard time believing that. How can having lots of money be a problem?”
“You’d be surprised.”
Snowy snorted. “But London Blair has so much fun with hers. You should see the awesome trips she takes and the amazing things she buys!”
“We’ve been inside her mind. You think she’s really happy?”
“She’s gotta be!!! I’d be thrilled to be in her shoes.”
“Are you sure about that?” questioned a solemn Alma Aurora. “Would you give up your family to be her?”
“No, of course not, but I’d love to have her money. Maybe my gramps could retire.”
“Snowy, I doubt if your grandfather will ever retire. He loves being Santa.”
Snowy considered what Alma Aurora was telling her. “Still, I’d love to have enough money to take all the trips that London Blair takes.”
Alma Aurora stared quietly at Snowy. “Last year you saw the world when we delivered the gifts. If I remember correctly you wanted to quit because you didn’t like what you saw.”
Snowy nodded. “We saw wars and many tragic things, but going on the trips that London Blair takes would be different.”
“Why?”
“London Blair only goes to fun places.”
“Those fun places don’t have tragedies?”
Snowy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.”
“Snowy, you can’t run away from life. Not even if you’re a Worthington. It’s time for you to realize it. It’s time for us to visit the big man himself.”
“We’re visiting Mr. Worthington?”
“Brace yourself.”
Chapter 15
Entering Eben Worthington’s bedroom, Alma Aurora and Snowy saw that he was soundly asleep. It was a much different picture than the one Elvinia Worthington made in her study.
“Does he know about his wife?” murmured Snowy.
“He chooses to ignore it.”
“How can he ignore something like that?!” Snowy blurted.
“As I’ve mentioned before, humans are excellent at not facing what they don’t want to face. This especially goes for Eben here—his name matching who he is.”
“What do you mean?”
Alma Aurora sighed. “He’s a real life Ebenezer Scrooge.”
“That can’t be possible!”
“Sure it can.”
Snowy vehemently shook her head. “You don’t understand, Alma Aurora! This man is a good man, a very religious man! I’ve seen it with my own two eyes on the reality show! He goes to church every week.”
“I’m not denying that he goes to church on a regular basis.”
“Then why are you calling him a Scrooge?! He’s a good man who is dedicated to his family and church. Scrooge was nothing like that!”
“I tell the truth, Snowy.”
“The only thing Scrooge and Mr. Worthington have in common is their business success.”
Alma Aurora sighed. “Business. Money. Status. These are the keys to Eben Worthington.”
Snowy shook her head energetically. “You don’t understand, Alma Aurora.”
“Yes, I do.”
“But he’s so dedicated to his church!”
“Being dedicated to a church or to a religion doesn’t mean dedicated to God.”
“But he’s so active in his congregation—he’s a deacon, an example Christian.”
“Just because certain people call themselves Christians doesn’t mean they are dedicated to the teachings of Christ.”
“But Mr. Worthington teaches about Jesus in his bible study class every week.”
Alma Aurora shook her head sadly. “Just because he knows the stories behind Jesus doesn’t mean he really wants to understand them.”
“What do you mean?” blurted Snowy. “You’re confusing me.”
“It’s better if you see for yourself. Let’s get inside his head.”
Once Alma Aurora and Snowy were inside Mr. Worthington’s mind, Snowy energetically looked around, trying to come to terms with what Alma Aurora had told her. Why did she say such contradictory things about Mr. Worthington when I’ve seen the opposite on the reality show? It’s so frustrating to be doubting what you’ve see with your own two eyes!
It was such a conundrum. If I can’t believe what I seen then what do I believe in?
To Snowy’s relief, Eben Worthington’s mind was not a murky place as it had been for the rest of his family. Even though it was a little on the shadowy side, it was a colorful green.
“Pretty color,” stated Snowy.
“Don’t let it fool you. Just because it’s not dark in here doesn’t make it any less gloomy.”
Chapter 16
Snowy’s eyebrows arched up in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”
“You’re not seeing the whole picture,” she insisted as she waved her hand. After the golden flecks flew in the air, a bright light materialized. Snowy gasped when she realized why Mr. Worthington’s mind was green. His mind walls were plastered with money bills!!!
“Now, do you see what I mean?” asked Alma Aurora.
“It’s probably this way in here because Mr. Worthington is an amazing businessman,” Snowy blurted defensively. “He’s a self-made billionaire! Of course he has to constantly think about money.”
“Let’s see if you think the same thing when the night is over, Snowy,” sighed Alma Aurora.
“With all due respect, Alma Aurora, I’m getting really frustrated. You still haven’t told me the main reason we’re at the Worthington compound! You say the Worthingtons aren’t any more special than other people, but yet we’re here!—apparently trying to save their Christmas. What’s up with that?”
“Don’t get so upset, Snowy.”
“Then tell me why we’re here.”
Alma Aurora stared at her for a few seconds and then nodded. “Okay, here goes—each human life affects so many lives in a single lifetime. It’s too bad most human beings don’t realize it. Snowy, we’re here because the Worthingtons affect so many lives at this moment that it’s important to try to get them on the Jesus path.”
“The Jesus path?”
“The path of love, redemption, forgiveness, gratitude, humility, sharing, empathy, and compassion.”
Snowy gasped with exasperation. “But the Worthingtons seem to have all those qualities on the reality show.”
“Seem?”
Snowy nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah!”
“Appearances aren’t good enough, Snowy. Do you remember what I taught you last year about the appearance of what’s important?”
Snowy grew pensive. “You said that acting important is very different from doing something actually important.”
“That’s right. You don’t really know Jesus if you just act like you do by having him at the center of your life by—
Snowy’s eyes grew wide with surprise. “We shouldn’t have Jesus at the center of our lives?!!!”
“Instead, Jesus should be at the core of your being, so all the qualities I just mentioned just come floating out of you. But if Jesus is just at your center, you struggle with the qualities, and even find a way of justifying going against them like Eben Worthington does. He may do all the surface work—going religiously to church, appearing to follow some rules, and even praying like crazy. On the outside all of that looks good, but it doesn’t mean anything if you take the Christ out of Christian.”
“Mr. Worthington does that?”
“You’ll see.”
Snowy’s eyes
scanned the room once more. Her eyes travelled up and found a banner. This time she wasn’t surprised at all by it. Of course it said, ‘Be worthy of being a Worthington’.
“Want to guess what’s underneath?” Alma Aurora asked grimly.
Snowy already knew what would be underneath, but she still jumped up and tore down the top banner to reveal a bottom one. Of course the new banner said, ‘Am I good enough’?
“Again the same sign,” blurted Snowy as the first sign installed itself in front of the second one as had happened the previous times.
“I keep telling you about how insecure human beings are.”
Snowy eyed her with a pensive look. “Do I have the same banner in my head?”
“Yes, Snowy, you do,” Alma Aurora murmured gently.
Chapter 17
“I do?” questioned a surprised Snowy.
“Yes, but don’t concentrate on the sign. Instead, think about how you fill that void of insecurity. You’re fortunate to have family around you that demonstrates how valuable you are to them on a daily basis.”
“Yeah, my family is awesome!”
“The Worthingtons are not like your family.”
“But on TV they—”
“Let’s not start on the reality show thing,” declared Alma Aurora.
“Okay.”
“Let’s keep going,” suggested Alma Aurora. “It’s time to fit the puzzle pieces of tonight together. It’s time for you to understand what all this has been about.”
“Great!”
“Follow me.”
“Just lead the way.”
Alma Aurora stepped into a long hallway. Snowy followed her with a puzzled expression. The hallway seemed endless.
“Where are we going?” Snowy asked.
“First, we’re going into his closet.”
“Okay.”
“Take a guess at what we’ll find there,” Alma Aurora said gravely.
“I have no idea.”
Alma Aurora stopped at a door. “What’s in here should come of no surprise to you. You should be the one to open the door.”
“Will anything fall on me?” questioned Snowy, concerned.
“Well, yes, but it won’t hurt you.”
“Okay,” Snowy said, putting her hand on the knob with trepidation and then turning it.
Plop!
When Snowy saw what had fallen from the closet, she started chuckling. It was good ole hard cash like the bills on Eben Worthington’s mind walls.
“Stand back,” Alma Aurora said.
Snowy took a step back just in time because mixed in with more money, a sparkling jewel encrusted crown and scepter jumped out.
“Wow!” Snowy blurted as she kneeled to pick up the lustrous objects. “Aren’t these amazing?!”
“They’re just things,” sniffed Alma Aurora.
“Just things?! Have you taken a good look at the precious jewels?”
“Rocks.”
“Rocks?!” blurted Snowy incredulously. “Do you know how much they’re worth?”
“You mean money-wise?”
“Yeah! These precious jewels are worth a lot of money!”
“They have the value that you humans place on them.”
Snowy snorted. “They have a huge money value and that’s that!”
“That’s that?”
“Yes!”
“Do you think Jesus would value them like you do?”
Snowy’s mouth went dry. “I suppose not,” she murmured.
“No.”
Snowy got her equilibrium back. “Despite the jewels, the crown and scepter are super cool because of what they represent.”
“What is that?”
“Imagine being able to rule a whole kingdom! To have that kind of power!”
“It was more of a burden to Jesus than a heady experience,” murmured Alma Aurora.
Snowy’s eyes fell to the floor. “I suppose you’re right.”
“Being a good leader is extremely difficult. Being a bad leader who leads because of a power trip is easy.”
“I suppose so.”
“Let’s keep going. We still have lots of things to do.”
They stepped back into the long hallway. Once more, Snowy eyed Alma Aurora with a puzzled expression. “Where are we going now?” Snowy asked.
“We’re going into Eben Worthington’s dreams.”
“What?”
“We need to talk to him,” asserted Alma Aurora.
“Why don’t we just wake him up?”
Alma Aurora shook her head. “We can’t let him see us in person.”
“So that’s why we’re talking to him in his dreams?”
“Yes. Even though we can’t just suddenly pop up in front of him in person, we still need to show this Ebenezer Scrooge a few things.”
“Is he really like Ebenezer Scrooge?”
“More than you can imagine.”
“But on the reality show he—“
Alma Aurora sighed. “Why are we still talking about the supposed reality in reality shows? I thought you already understood about the lack of truth in them.”
“It’s just so hard to question what I’ve seen with my own two eyes on TV. It’s just that Mr. Worthington doesn’t appear to be anything like Ebenezer Scrooge.”
“On the outside he doesn’t appear to be like Ebenezer Scrooge, but below the surface it’s a different story. He may not look like a miser but his heart is as tight as one. We need to get him to see that.”
“Are we going to pull A Christmas Carol thing on him? Will we be like the ghosts?”
“Kind of.”
“Can I be the ghost of Christmas present?”
Alma Aurora chuckled. “Snowy, we’re not talking to him as ghosts.”
Snowy’s face deflated, disappointed. “I thought it might be fun to be a ghost.”
“It’s much better to be ourselves.”
“Okay, this oughta be interesting.”
They finally stopped in front of a flashing bright red door. Alma Aurora placed her hand on the door knob and then turned to Snowy.
“We’re here,” Alma Aurora murmured.
“This is where Mr. Worthington’s dreams are?”
“Yes, but I have to warn you. We’re about to enter a dream already in progress.”
Snowy’s eyebrows rose. “That’ll be strange.”
“Don’t worry or freak out—remember I’m with you and God is with us.”
“Okay, Alma Aurora. Let’s go in.”
Chapter 18
“First I’ll need to hide these,” Alma Aurora asserted as she fluttered her golden wings.
“Why?”
“Eben Worthington is not quite ready to see them yet,” Alma Aurora explained as she waved her hand. When the golden flecks appeared, a golden coat materialized in the air. Alma Aurora shrugged it on.
“We’re good to go,” stated Alma Aurora, her hand on the door knob again.
As she turned the knob, Snowy held her breath. She had absolutely no idea what entering someone’s dreams would entail. When she heard a loud applause, she let out the breath.
She and Alma Aurora entered what looked to be a celebration. The scene was somewhat fuzzy as dreams seemed to be, but still perfectly decipherable. Guests were seated in a huge ballroom that was in full luminous Christmas decor. Enthusiastic people sat at elegant tables loaded with champagne and appetizers. It had been their applause that Snowy had heard. They were looking towards the front of the room where Eben Worthington was standing at a podium as if he was about to speak. Over his head hung a banner that said, ‘Congratulations to the man of the year!’
Mr. Worthington basked in the applause before speaking, scanning the room with a huge grin. “Thank you for honoring me this way,” he burst, giddy.
“What a dream, huh?” asked Alma Aurora, shaking her head.
“Doesn’t everybody want to be the center of attention?”
>
“Really, Snowy? You think it’s that great being worshipped? Jesus didn’t think so. He didn’t call attention to himself just for the attention. He wanted the attention on his dedication to helping humanity improve.”
“Jesus was so amazing.”
“Let’s follow his lead, don’t you think?”
“Thank you for making me man of the year,” Eben Worthington continued. “I promise to keep expanding my little business and creating jobs.”
“His little business is Bargain-Shop,” stated Alma Aurora.
Snowy nodded. Through the reality show, she knew the Worthington story by heart. Eben Worthington had grown up a poor but scrappy kid who promised his parents that someday he’d be wealthy enough to make all of their dreams come true. When he opened his first Bargain-Shop, it had been an instant hit. Now he had Bargain-Shops all over the United States. All thriving even when the economy was bad.
It was this admirable story that made Eben Worthington a hero to Snowy and to so many others around the world.
“I’m so overwhelmed,” Eben Worthington stated. “Thank you.”
Suddenly, a huge, life-size cover of Time magazine on a giant screen appeared behind him with his image on it. Then Forbes magazine appeared with him also on the cover with the words, The richest man in the world, above him.
Alma Aurora shook her head. “Your dreams are about what’s foremost on your mind. He should be dreaming about the problems of his family, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“His family is nowhere to be seen. Let’s hope we can get him to understand a few things.”
“You think we can?” Snowy asked meekly. She didn’t know how Alma Aurora wasn’t intimidated by the man. He certainly intimidated Snowy. After watching him on London Blair’s Fabulous Life and reading his bestselling book, Worthy of being a Worthington, Eben Worthington became larger than life to her—like a gargantuan giant, even taller than a North Pole snow monster, hovering over mere mortals.
“We have to at least try to get through to him,” Alma Aurora insisted.
Snowy’s mouth dropped open as Alma Aurora marched up to him. He stared at her with surprise. “Eben Worthington, I need to talk to you,” she declared.
Chapter 19
“Can’t you see I’m in the middle of a speech?” Eben Worthington snapped incredulously. “Why are you interrupting me?!”
“It couldn’t be helped,” Alma Aurora said nonchalantly.
“Who are you?” Eben Worthington questioned gruffly.
“I’m Alma Aurora Angel. I’m at your service— your true service.”
Angel Gifts Page 4