It is 11:00 at night and the two of you hear a knock at the door. You move quickly to answer because your three children are asleep.
Before you can get there, an angel appears in the room and says, “Do not be afraid, though I come with troubling news. Both of you will die in one week and nothing can be done to change that. Between now and then you must choose new parents to raise your children. I will return at the end of the week for your decision.” The angel disappeared.
Panic sets in. Your thoughts are racing. “Is this real? It has to be real because we both heard it with our own ears and saw it with our own eyes. Why is this happening to us?”
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You wake your children and have breakfast together. After walking them to the bus stop and watching them leave, you look at each other. “This can’t be real. Who do we want to raise our children?”
At dinner that night, cell phones are banned from the table. That is easy for little Jimmy because his is made of plastic. The two of you and Jimmy talk and listen. Your two teenagers sulk and listen; dismayed by the recent ban. You want to tell them how little time you have left together, but you don’t because it will terrify them. At least it will if they believe you.
Over the next few days you consider all of your friends as potential parents, but none seem right. In fact, they are all like you: busy, distracted, frustrated, and often angry.
Through the week your evenings seem better as everyone learns once again how to talk and look at one another. The two of you even stop arguing about petty irritations because your ongoing struggle for power over each other no longer seems important. Both of you also stop wasting precious time complaining about work. Work is left at work, and home is kept at home.
Today is the day of the angel’s return. It is excruciating. What will you do? Should you keep your children home from school? If you do, how will you explain it to them? What will you do that evening? Where will your family go? You finally decide not to go anywhere. It is dinner as usual, which tonight is more enjoyable for your children than it was the first evening of the week because they are getting used to being together. Tonight is great for them, even though it is agonizing for you.
At bedtime the two of you can barely hold back your tears. You both spend extra time with each child telling them how much you love them and how proud you are to be their parent. Your hugs are tighter and last longer. Your teenagers begin to get worried. To them this is very weird. Nice, but weird. You pause at each child’s door before leaving their room. You offer a prayer to God who now seems unworthy of your trust.
It is 10:40.
You have twenty minutes to decide. You had a week of love, and now only twenty minutes. No one comes to mind. You hear the dreaded knock. You remain seated because there is no need to rise. As expected, the angel appears. You do not wait for him to speak.
“How dare you put us in this position? It is impossible for us to choose new parents for our children. We are their parents. We listen to them. We love them, and we tell them so. We tuck them in at night. We no longer waste our evenings arguing. So, no, we don’t have names to give you for the new parents who will raise our children.”
The angel spoke. “We knew you would not be able to choose new parents, so we found them for you…they are you.”
You sit there for a moment trying to process what you just heard. “Wait a minute. You said we were going to die!”
The angel replied, “That is exactly what has happened. During this week both of you have chosen to die to your old ways of parenting in order to become the new parents who will raise your children.” The angel disappeared.
Your choice: The parents you want for your children, and the family you want for yourself, is within your grasp. Pray for it, work for it, and die for it.
Rick Mills
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