Following Elizabeth down the corridor, Mary said a silent prayer: Jesus, please help me now. Please guide me and give me wisdom so I do what honors you. Help me to hold my temper and accept her criticism. Tell me what to say and do. Amen.

No sooner had she finished than a strange, warm sensation came over her. Mary had never felt anything like it in her life. She was enveloped in complete calm and peace. She no longer felt anxious and afraid. In that moment, a profound air of confidence filled her.

When they got into the office, Elizabeth closed the door and picked Mary’s report off her desk.

“You didn’t make any changes to the natural gas section like I told you to.”

“My first figures were correct,” Mary replied calmly.

“I don’t think so,” Elizabeth shot back.

“What do you base that on?”

“Are you questioning my authority? You may have researched these projections, but I’m the one who has to take responsibility for them. These figures are crucial in next fiscal year’s budget-making process.” Elizabeth’s face reddened as she became more angry. “The reason we do these so far in advance is so we can make revisions as new data comes in. If we have to pay more for natural gas than you’ve projected, it will cut into our profits. You know how competitive our pricing is. A couple cents a unit can be the difference between us retaining a customer or their going to Sunrise Milling or Breakfast Bowl. When I tell you to do something, do you think I’m just doing it to waste time?” Elizabeth’s face was red, tense, her right hand clutching the report and her left clenched tightly into a fist.

Then it came to Mary. It was not exactly a voice, but she heard it inside her head, clear and simple. It was so true that she knew exactly who it came from. Mary looked at her angry supervisor a moment, took a deep breath, then asked.

“Elizabeth, would you and Kevin like to adopt my baby?”

For an instant, Elizabeth looked stunned. Her eyes grew wide as she realized that Mary was not joking. Then her lower lip began to tremble, and she exploded into tears.

Mary took a step forward and hugged her tightly. Elizabeth’s entire body was wracked with sobs. She could not speak. Clinging to Mary, she cried and cried for several minutes until her chest stopped heaving and she could manage a few words.

“I thought…I thought..”

Taking Elizabeth’s hand, Mary eased back so she could see her face. “My pastor was going to arrange a private adoption. He had two couples in mind, but he hasn’t told them anything yet in case, well, you know, in case something goes wrong with the birth. They don’t know, so they can’t be disappointed.”

Then Elizabeth began crying again, shaking her head and looking at the floor.

“I’ve been so…mean to you. How could you…?”

“That’s not you, Elizabeth. You’re a good person. A kind, loving person. And Kevin is a wonderful man, too. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather trust this child’s future with.”

“I don’t know what to say, Mary.”

“Will you say ‘yes’?”

“Of course, of course.” She got out a short laugh, then began crying again.

“It’s all right. Everything’s going to be all right, Elizabeth. The baby’s due any day now. Are you and Kevin going away for Christmas?”

“Just to my mother’s in Waukegan,” Elizabeth sniffed. She went to her desk, got a tissue from a box, and dabbed her nose and eyes. “But we’ll wait for the call.

We’ll be there as soon as you need us.”

“Our insurance will cover the delivery and doctor’s fees, but do you think you and Kevin could pay for any incidentals that aren’t covered? That was the arrangement my pastor and my lawyer were going to make with the other couples.”

“Yes, yes. Whatever you need, Mary.”

“I’m going to go now so you can call Kevin.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No, no. I’m going over to his office. I want to tell him in person. I want to be there with him, I want to see his face when I give him this news.”

“I don’t blame you.” Mary laughed. She picked up her report from the desk and turned toward the door. “I’ll get back to work on this and see what I can come up with.”

Elizabeth stepped forward quickly and took it from her. “No, I don’t know what I was thinking of. The figures are what they are. You put a lot of time and work into this, Mary. I’m sorry I was so unreasonable.”

“It’s all right.” Mary felt an inexpressible sense of joy, almost lightheadedness.

“I’m going back to my desk. Can you call me later and tell me what Kevin says?”

“Sure. Thank you, Mary. I can’t put into words what this means to me.”

“I think God answered both our prayers,” Mary said. She left, closing the office door behind her.

When she got back to her desk, Jill came over. “What happened to you? You look like you’re walking on air.”

“I feel like it too! Elizabeth and Kevin are adopting my baby.”

“What?” Jill’s mouth dropped open. “Did she ask you for it? How…”

“No, no. I offered. I know them, Jill. They’re both good, kind people. They go to the Lutheran church in Naperville, and Kevin even teaches Sunday school. The child will be raised in a loving, Christian home. I couldn’t be happier.” Jill frowned. “But what about the company picnic and things like that? You’re going to see your child grow up. It’s going to be awfully painful, Mary. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing here?”

“I’m absolutely positive.” Mary was embarrassed to tell Jill about the prompting she had received. “I don’t know right now how it’s all going to work out. I just know that it will. God is involved in this, Jill. I’m sure of it.”

Jill gave a nervous laugh. “You always say that like you’re on a first name basis with him, Mary.”

“I am. You could be too, Jill, if you’d just make the decision.”

“Maybe. Maybe someday.” Jill looked almost surprised at her own reply. “Hey,

I’ve got some news too.”

“Yeah? What?”

“I called Dave Meade. I explained the rescheduling idea to him, and he snapped

it right up. No more accusations, no trying to put it all on me.”

“That’s great, Jill! Is it all going to work out?”

“Here’s the unbelievable part. I called the printer in L.A. to tell them I’d dropped the ball, and my rep said another job got cancelled, so they have a press window open tonight to print the Krunchy Krowns boxes. Can you believe that, Mary?” Mary smiled. “Sounds like a miracle to me, Jill. I’ll tell you what. Let’s celebrate our good news tonight. I’ll treat.”

“Okay. I drove in today, so after work I’ll take us anywhere you want to go.”

“How about that Chinese place in Wheaton? I’ll buy, and no arguments.”

“Works for me.”

Both women had brought sack lunches, so they ate together in the break room, giggling like junior high school girls. Mary’s elation was tempered, though, when she called Pastor Don late in the afternoon to tell him the news.

“Are you certain of what you’re doing, Mary? A child is not something you can give away, like a toaster or a coffeepot.”

“You’re right. But life is a gift from God. You taught me that yourself, Pastor. I can’t raise this child myself. I feel that I’m just an instrument that God is using to answer Elizabeth and Kevin’s prayers. Haven’t you always told me that God uses unlikely means to accomplish his plan?”

The minister laughed. “Okay, you’ve got me. How can a man argue with his own advice? You’re sure there are no other motives here? You aren’t doing this to ease tensions at work?”

Mary decided to tell him. “Pastor, you, of all people should understand when I tell you I felt a prompting from the Holy Spirit. I believe, with all my heart, that this is what God wants me to do.”

He was silent for several seconds then said, “I know you, Mary. You are a good, kind person with a generous heart. If you tell me that the Lord spoke to you in this way, who am I to doubt?”

An hour later, Mary took a call from Kevin McAllister from his office at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He was only slightly less ecstatic than Elizabeth, and his voice caught several times during the conversation, as he tried to tell Mary how grateful they were. Elizabeth came on the phone as well and gave Mary the details of a conversation they had had with their attorney about private adoptions.

When the work day was finished, Jill retrieved her Honda Civic from a parking garage, picked up Mary at the curb, and they squeezed into the rush hour traffic.

As they drove west, freezing rain began to fall, pattering on the roof of the car. Jill switched on her wipers.

“Was this predicted?” Mary asked.

“You know Illinois weather,” Jill said. “It changes by the minute.”

Their conversation became more subdued so Jill could concentrate on her driving.

Mary felt completely safe; Jill was a cautious driver, but several big SUVs sped around them, as if somehow they had been gifted with better traction.

“After we eat, you’re staying at my place tonight,” Mary said. “I don’t want you driving home in this.”

“Works for me. Think that cute beige suit of yours will fit me?”

“Hey, I haven’t always been as big as one of those inflatable cartoon characters in the Macy’s parade.”

As they entered Wheaton’s city limits, Jill found that the salt trucks had not beenout yet. Intersections especially were hazardous.

“Take this side street here,” Mary pointed. “There’s less traffic and it’ll get us there quicker.”

Jill flipped on her turn signal. Both women looked through the ice-encrusted windows when they heard the deafening blare of a horn.

Mary screamed. A delivery truck was skidding sideways across two lanes, headed directly for Jill’s car!

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7] [Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10]

- Jack Zavada
©2006 by www.inspiration-for-singles.com

This a just a chapter of a free ebook entitled “Mary’s Christmas Gift” which can be downloaded from http://www.inspiration-for-singles.com/mary.html

Jack Zavada’s new ebook, Single and Sure, not only shows single people how to rescue themselves, but how to become a happier, more confident person in the process.