Top of the Hour

Hints, bits and pieces with the distinct beep of the countdown. Today could mark ‘top of the hour!’

“Wonders will never cease! Even you are part of the reason the rest of us can’t enjoy top layer today?!” teased Joe loudly, mischievously casting a gesture at Chris, the long jump school representative in the championships. This evoked wild laughter from the group of boys gathered outside the dining hall,admiring the athletes. The school bus was slowly driving toward the parking lot as the athletes clad in their colorful sports gear hurried from their early lunch in readiness for departure.

“Very funny!” added Joe cheerily, arousing more laughter. There are moments he wished he were only dreaming. This instantaneously became one of them as he noticed the school principal beckoning at him from the window just above them. The school bell rang fifteen minutes later in a dramatic turn of events and the entire school gathered around the pitch to witness the most incredible day in the history of the high school. The scheduled departure for the athletes was temporarily put on hold. As Joe took his place at the starting point to the long jump pit, he heard the principal’s words terrifyingly replay in his mind for the fiftieth time in fifteen minutes! “You either break Chris’ record or you will dearly regret your remarks for a long time to come!” With shoes off, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and made a quick distress-call of a prayer with his fists tightly clenched…

***

The gentle tap at my left shoulder woke me up with a start. I heard the animals bleat at a distance and looked up alarmed, only to find Jimmy, one of our farm attendants standing next to me.

“The master says it’s time for your errand. I have come to relieve you.”

“That’s okay Jimmy!” I tensely answered. “Couldn’t you allow me to get to the end?!”

“What are you talking about?!”A visibly puzzled Jimmy enquired.

“Never mind.” I quickly replied before picking up my travelling bag and hunting gadget, ready to leave. I paused briefly to adjust the earphones in place. Just then, Jimmy made an outrageous leap in the air and loudly shouted in horror, pointing a few meters to the left, “Lion! It’s a lion!”

“Calm down please. Dead lions don’t bite! Watch out though. We have plenty of them around here lately. I am out of here!

“Hey Jimmy,” I added a few strides away, “You missed the bear to your right.” I laughed in amusement as he made his amplified dramatic performance once again then watched speechless as I departed.

The morning sun shone brightly as I navigated through the familiar plains on the routine errand. Coming up the camp I noticed some unusual stir. Propelled by intense curiosity, I dropped off my bag and ran to the fore. I was just on time to witness the most horrendous sight of my life.

His build was reminiscent to the phenomenal archeological accounts of dreadful extinct species of days gone past. His voice arrested the airspace, sending forth saturated signals of dread round the entire vicinity. His customized eyes flashed forth a horrific scene from hell. A lofty sky-scrapper, unmatched and unmoved, with his feet planted firmly on the ground. His towering face panned slowly round the horizon with great command, as if calling the heavens down for battle. His footsteps sent out deadly echoes of terror. Lights went out at the sound of his voice!

I felt a flicker of radiance come alive within me, rapidly consuming me with great intensity and mission. Suddenly it dawned on me I was standing at no ordinary moment at all. I had no idea how I had arrived here. So much ran through my mind simultaneously.I looked at our camp, squarely intercepted to a halt and brought to its knees by the blockade of this patronizing spectacle. What a moment!

Somethings will never flow together. They neither fuel from the same source, nor feed from the same pasture; they were never meant to meet. Such is the relationship between faith and unbelief. I had always heard that fear will alienate and turn one’s very own allies to foes! At the height of the ensuing drama my very own esteemed kindred stepped forward in panic, unleashing an assortment of tags on me as an impulsive, proud and insolent mini-shepherd! Amazingly, none of it would quench the fire that was by now threatening to explode within me.

Within moments, I was ushered to the royal quarters. My stature as a novice could not be more underlined than when I was unable to move my feet under the weight of the official combat gear. At this stage I was faced with a life defining challenge. I realized I was at the point of no return. It dawned on me with sobering reality  there was no turning back. I had crossed the line. This duel was going all the way!

It all happened so fast. For a moment, I just lost it.I saw my eulogy scroll before my eyes as the monstrous creature advanced toward me amid a volley of threats, loathing me for mocking him. I even had a glimpse of my elder sibling doing a presentation on why youngsters ought to listen to their elders at my burial! I wished I had turned back when I had the chance. I repented scaring Jimmy earlier that day. I heard my words to him vividly echo back. “Dead lions don’t bite!”

Suddenly I felt the tide begin to turn. If I could take out this hulk, then he would lie motionless as the lion. And why not when with my own eyes I had seen both lion and bear humbled in defeat. Suddenly, hints, bits and pieces that had dotted my course began falling in place. Someone had been with me all along. Someone watching over me with the blue print of his mighty hand. Even when I wasn’t consciously aware of it. I strongly perceived him with me right then. The moment! I was going for it with everything in me. He had preceded it long before, so he would make it happen right at the top of the hour. This was the reason I had been born!It struck me right then i was live on air!

A divine set up! I felt embraced in a powerful loving embrace. Powerful beyond description. Right there I sensed with amazing clarity the battle wasn’t mine. As I loaded my hunting gadget, I not only envisioned the enemy’s annihilation process but serialized it to him in declaration, word by word; loud and clear. As I lunged forward carried in a powerful compelling wave, I knew I was connecting with destiny, I knew it would not be the same again. I deployed my gadget right on target, ending the forty day nightmare in an instant. The ground shook violently as the skyscraper crashed in a thud. I watched in awe as lights momentarily came on and our camp came alive.

So, as you step out today on your errands, keep your earphones tuned for ‘top of the hour’. For in the hints, bits and pieces of your course lies a far greater reality in the one who is before all things; in whom all things hold together.