Jasper and the Shelter of Angels Page 2
HUMANS…
EARTH; the world of materialism where money makes the world go round, but arguably the same could be said for emotions. Humanity could go on without money, but emotions? Who could escape those? Angels influence and encourage people, while Demons work to undermine all good works. Unlike Heaven, earth was a place of shadows and darkness, but it wasn’t without its grace and splendor. Just as the sun brings light and warmth to each new day, there are people who bring their choice of light or darkness into every situation.
The small town of Princeton was beautifully nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, where a crew of men showed up at their construction site. At six o’clock a.m., when the morning sun began to crest the horizon. The day was already hot and being as early as it was, the temperature was only going to rise throughout the day. An older red jeep Cherokee pulled into the construction zone alongside two other vehicles. The fore-man’s pick-up truck had the company name displayed on the door, ‘Princeton Construction Corp.’
The driver of the jeep, Jasper; a young man of twenty-three years. His hair, somewhat long and scruffy, under a dirty dark blue baseball cap that shaded his unshaven face.
Sitting beside him was his friend, Ned, who was a heavy set man with a heart of gold. He took a sip from his coffee he’d picked up at the gas station where Jasper regularly gave his friend a lift to work from. Generally, Ned remained calm and was, for the most part, always smiling. Pulling into the work site, today a small church, the young men were happy to be employed. Jasper eased his jeep to a stop, half watching Ned, who decided to slurp a sip over the curb. Opening his passenger door, Ned rolled out, careful not to let go of his lunch box or tip his paper cup of hot steamy caffeine brew.
“Hey, Ned, don’t spill a drip, okay?” Jasper said as he opened his door.
“Oops!” Ned responded with snarky laughter, “Sorry Jasper. It looks like I saturated your upholstery.”
Jasper gave Ned a wry expression, “I’m not worried about the upholstery. Just don’t burn yourself.”
“Oh, gee, that’s thoughtful Jasper, thanks. Oh, and thanks for the ride too.” Ned answered with a happy jostle of gratitude.
Jasper slammed his door. “Do you know how hard it is to find good help in this town?” he asked with a sarcastic grin.
Ned started laughing, “Ya, well, thanks just the same.”
The workday started out no different from any other. The two companions joined the rest of the crew, which totalled five, including the project fore-man, Jesse. The fore-man quickly filled out the attendance record and briefed the men on their progress. “This project is running a little behind schedule,” Jesse informed the crew.
The project was to build a new church for the community. Most of the project had been completed. The fore-man, Jesse, looked at Rob and Bob. “You guys are on clean-up, I’ll unload the tools, but we need to have everything completed to begin renos inside, and we need to have it ready by yesterday.”
“Did you bring water?” Rob asked in another of his annoying tones.
“Yeah Rob, we’re going to fry today. The news caster on the radio said we’re supposed to break records with heat temperatures in the high pluses for the rest of the week. Every year the summers get hotter and hotter,” Bob explained like a true weather-man.
“You said it, Bob. This year is supposed to be the hottest yet. We’re going to fry.” Added Rob, in his notoriously repetitive and predictable way.
“Don’t worry. I know it won’t be easy to get everything finished today, but we have to stay hydrated. I heard the same news report on my way in and I picked up extra bottles of water,” explained Jesse with stern care before he turned to Jasper and Ned. “Ned and Jasper, you guys need to start off by applying the exterior base coat to the side walls of the church. When you finish, I need you both to go up on the roof to secure the church bell. We have two come-alongs in the truck. You’re going to need them.” He looked at the four men, “We have a lot to do today. Last night I got a call from the head honcho of this church and he said he’ll be in sometime today to check up on our progress. Let’s not disappoint him, all right?”
The crew agreed before they split up and prepared for their day of work. While Ned and Jasper were busy painting the outside of the church with paint rollers attached to extension poles, Ned asked his partner. “Hey, Jasper, have you had the guts yet to even say ‘hi,’ to Jessica yet?”
“Take a guess, Ned,” Jasper replied, bothered by Ned’s heckling. It was only a matter of time, Jasper knew, before Ned would ask the same questions all over again.
“Boy, are you crazy or what?” Ned smirked as he rubbed it in. Jasper told Ned he was interested in a girl from town but he was too shy to talk to her. “If I were you,” Ned went on, “I would have all the women of this town begging to go out with me. I lost three pounds last month and it’s just a matter of time before it’s all gone. If you don’t make a move soon, I just might snatch her out from under you.”
Jasper was silent for a moment, “I live a private life, and I kind’a like it that way.”
“Huh? Have you ever been on a date?” Ned asked with a suspicious eye, though both he and Jasper knew, even if Jasper answered ‘once’ it would be more dates than Ned had ever experienced.
Jasper was silent again. Then Ned figured it out. “You haven’t been on a date? What, not ever?”
“So what, Ned!” Jasper became defensive, “Neither have you.”
“I’m just a few calories away from Mr. Stud,” Ned lifted his eye brows a few times, “Boy, but you? You live like a turtle in a shell.” Jasper stopped and looked at him for a moment. “You’re going to have to come out sometime in your life. Look at us. Two losers. Life is just passing us by while everyone else is living it up.” Ned’s voice became quiet with thought, “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever measure up... I suck!”
It was like looking through a window into Ned’s vulnerable side for a moment. Though Jasper had never seen Ned like this before, he had suspected his constant smile was covering something.
“We suck, Ned. We suck.” Jasper spoke softly, encouraging his friend so he didn’t feel so alone. They lowered their paint rollers to the paint tray at the same moment. Clicking their rollers together, they called, “Cheers!” Smiling at one another, they continued to work. The first hours of the day passed quickly.
Ned looked at Jasper with sad eyes, but he quickly brightened up again as though he put his smiling mask back on. “It must be lunch.”
The two friends went to sit on a log at the edge of the parking lot. They opened their lunch kits. White paint was all over their hands and coveralls. Jasper ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while Ned ate a bun that was loaded with vegetables and meat.
“What is that, Ned?” Jasper asked, “It looks like a Scooby-Doo sandwich.”
“It’s nutritious,” Ned explained as he tried hard to work his mouth around the bun alone. While Ned was chomping on a mouthful of food, he looked at the church and began to speak around each bite of his nutritious sandwich, “You know what the biggest miracle of this church is? It’s how people will come to it. They come to listen to some guy shouting at them. They’ll pray about stuff that they have no control over, to a God they have never seen, when all the while they could pray anywhere they want.” Ned swallowed hard. Jasper wondered, for a split second, if he would have to save Ned from choking. Before Ned was finished chewing, he took another big bite and said, “An even bigger miracle is when these people give money. That’s what it’s all about anyway, you know, money.” Bits of his sandwich flew from his mouth when he spoke. “I don’t get it. They must be putting something into the juice and crackers at communion. Brainwashed! I tell you, they’re all brainwashed!” Spit and crumbs flew from his mouth more than ever as he became worked up. “I mean why did I take first aid? If I went to church I could slap your head and heal you if you were hurt.” Ned slapped Jasper at the back of his head as he went for a bite
of his peanut butter and jelly. Jasper was annoyed at first but then the two of them laughed. It wasn’t easy for Jasper to remain angry at his happy friend.
“Maybe you’re right, Ned. Maybe you’re right.” Jasper said, keeping an eye on Ned to be sure another slap wasn’t on the way. “But I hope you’re not wrong.” Ned looked at him curiously. “Otherwise,” Jasper continued. “We’ll have a scorch’n bath waiting for us.” Jasper laughed only to realize he was laughing alone. Ned didn’t like the pun, because it meant there was a chance he was wrong. Wrong? Ned couldn’t accept that. God was an impossible idea. Such a concept was completely absurd, wasn’t it?
When they were finished their lunch, they went back to work. Painting the last wall to completion was a quick job to finish after the break, but before the day was through, they had one last task to complete: They had to secure the bell in the bell tower.
Jasper leaned the extension ladder up the side of the church. Ned came around the corner carrying the come-alongs.
“Hey, Ned aren’t you forgetting something?” Jasper asked with a slight head tilt to assume whatever it was, was very obvious.
“Like what?” Ned countered, as he mashed his eyebrows together. “I have everything we could need right here in my tool belt.” He patted the large old leather pockets of his belt.
“Well, I was thinking about the harnesses. It is steep up there, you know.”
“Oh, we won’t need those. I’ve done this a million times before. I even put this roof on with my own two hands,” Ned explained confidently.
“All right, team leader, but I’m going to put mine on just the same. Let’s just get this over with.” Jasper wiped the sweat from his fore-head. The sun’s rays were beating down on them pretty good and this was the final task of the day, then they would be going home.
Just before Jasper began hoisting his body up the ladder, the fore-man showed up and another man was also with him. “Hey you two, hold up a minute.”
“Sure, Jesse.” Jasper answered back quickly.
“This is Pastor Jay Reynolds. This is going to be his church when we’re finished with it.” Jesse smiled and slapped his arm around the Pastor as though they were best friends.
The Pastor reached out his hand to shake with Ned and Jasper. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I thought I might miss this moment when the church bell would be hung.” Smiling warmly, the Pastor was like a man at peace with the world.
“Well, this is very good timing on your part then, isn’t it?” Jasper replied, trying to seem witty.
“Yeah,” Ned started, as he felt he should say something also. “Don’t ring the bell until we’ve come down, though. I don’t feel like earning my wings today.” He chuckled.
The Pastor forced a chuckle of his own.
“Ned.” Jesse said with a frown. He would be very upset if Ned were to say something inappropriate.
“Oh, that’s all right,” the Pastor said quickly sensing the tension. “I do want to hear the bell ring for the first time, but I tell you what. How would you two like to be the first to pull the rope and ring it? This way, we know it won’t ring until you’re both down. It looks dangerous up there.”
“Oh, the pitch doesn’t bother us.” Ned told the Pastor. “I’ve worked on steeper roofs than this.”
“Okay, very good guys, but the bell won’t get hung all on its own. Let’s get to it.” Jesse turned away with his arm still around the Pastor.
“God bless.” The Pastor said as he turned away with Jesse.
The two companions took what they needed up the ladder to the peak of the roof. Ned was somewhat irritated that Jasper was wearing his harness and carrying the rope. “You see Jasper, all we need to do is shimmy along the peak to the bell tower and secure the thing. Then we’ll be done. A two second job. It takes more time to figure out how to put on the harness and measure the amount of rope we need.” Ned tried to explain.
“I hear you, buddy. I’m right behind you, but since I’ve already put mine on, I’ll go up with it.” Jasper sighed. He felt safety was simple enough but arguing with Ned; that was complicated.
Little by little they slunk their way forward to the bell tower, straddling the roof with Ned out in front. Attaching one end of a come-along to the metal frame work above the bell, with the other end clipped to the bell itself, Ned began cranking the handle tightening the cable. As the sprocket turned and clicked to tighten the cable, Jasper noticed the heat of the day was really getting to Ned. They were both sweating heavily. The church bell began to lift. Uncomfortable as he was, Ned tried to shift his weight around to fix the second come-along in place. Reaching out to grasp the bell tower, his large body rocked to one side. Off balance, the come-along slipped from Ned’s sweaty fingers and clattered down the steep metal roof. Gravity took it over the edge. “Look out below!” Ned shouted. The come-along had vanished over the edge without hurting anyone.
Jasper couldn’t let his friend go over the edge with it. Unclipping his tether line from his harness Jasper leaped to his friend. Snapping the clip of his tether to Ned’s tool belt, Jasper quickly found his feet wouldn’t grip to the steep metal pitch of the smooth tin roof. Ned stopped. The tether line became taught in support of his weight. Ned’s limp body slumped over the safety straps. Jasper reached out for Ned and Ned reached back to Jasper but their fingers barely touched. “I’m slipping!” Jasper called out urgently.
“The roof hasn’t been screwed down yet,” Ned confirmed with a start. With no screw heads to provide traction under Jasper’s shoes, the roof was as smooth as a playground slide. Lying flat out on the roof, there was nothing Jasper could do to stop the inevitable. Ned shouted as loud as he could, “Jesse! Jesse help! Jesse!” With the sound of a long dry squeak of flesh against metal, Jasper slowly slid down the roof and watched helplessly as the edge approached. The end of his life approached with many thoughts racing through his mind. His entire life literally flashed before his eyes.
Recognizing himself as a boy, Jasper saw how he yearned to live a carefree life in search of the perfect paradise. In his quest and easy going ways he had experimented with alcohol and smoking. In his later teens Jasper found pleasures in other substances through his connections to various street drugs. He always considered himself careful and a lover of the ladies, only the ladies rarely loved him in return. Feeling such resentment he quickly became very indignant and a loner. Learning to trust his gut when making big decisions in life, he felt religious folk must be very insecure. Deep down, he hoped there was no God so he wouldn’t have to atone for his choices. Jasper’s need for money caused him to make some regrettable decisions by breaking the law. Life was hard and Jasper was remorseful for the few fights he landed himself into. A great sense of conviction hit him when he saw the people he hurt in his life and how subsequently he’d been hurt also.
“Could you forgive them?” A voice spoke to Jasper. He knew instantly, the voice referred to the people who’d crossed him in his life.
Knowing this was likely the end of his life, Jasper answered, “Y-yes, yes I forgive them.”
“Could you find it in your heart to love them?” Came another question from the voice.
“Wha?” Jasper thought about the question. Why was he going to die this way? “Yes, I could love them. I only did what I did because I feared them!” When Jasper spoke these words he had a clarity of mind come over himself. He suddenly had the capacity to understand so much more than he ever could before. Recognizing the voice speaking to him wasn’t Ned’s, nor was it any other co-worker, Jasper speculated curiously. “God, if that’s you. Please spare me. I’m not ready to die. I wish to do something special for you, - something special with my life!”
‘Why am I praying to God?’ Jasper wondered, ‘Does he even exist?’ One thing Jasper was certain of; he was about to find out.
There was so much he still wanted to experience in his life. ‘What a waste that my life should end now... Like this...’ Jasper thought. His heart sl
amming against his breastbone. He wasn’t ready to die. Ned was still reaching out to Jasper and screaming for Jesse to help.
Finally, Jasper slipped over the edge and fell twenty feet to the cement below. Smacking the back of his head with the sound of a great crack, Jasper blacked out.
Within a shroud of darkness, Jasper stirred. Feeling lighter in weight, he easily stood up straight. Feeling no sense of injury from the fall, Jasper spoke, “Hey, who turned out the lights?”
Thoughts ran through his mind. ‘I did fall. Has something changed? Am I blind? Will I ever see again? Where is everyone? Am I alone?’ Jasper reached out with his arms to find the church wall, but it wasn’t where it was supposed to be.
Calling out to his co-workers; “Hey, guys! I’m over here! Can you hear me?! I think I’m blind!” But Jasper found no answer. Moving his hands up to rub his eyes, Jasper found his hands pass right through his own head. Pulling his hands down quick Jasper held them out as though he was looking at them though he couldn’t see a thing. Clasping his hands together, again Jasper found his hand move right through the other. A cold chill came over him. Feeling alienated, Jasper wondered why everyone abandoned him, but not for long. A presence began to approach him from the darkness... A distinct presence of evil. A sense of anxiety quickly closed in around him, smothering him and his throat began to hurt like he was being choked. “Guys, help! Where am I? HELP!!!”
“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!” A very deep beastly voice shouted at Jasper and scared him to his core. With his eyes wide open, Jasper strained to be able to see into the darkness, but for all his effort he couldn’t see a thing. “IT’S NOT FAIR! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO STAY HERE WITH ME! YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW HIM!”
“Who don’t I know?” Jasper asked, innocently.
“SHUT-UP!!! YOU HAVE LIVED A SINFUL AND FAITHLESS LIFE!!! THAT IS WHY YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MINE! IT’S NOT FAIR!!!”
The creature paced and circled Jasper like an angry lion. He could feel its movement and distress. Jasper turned to face the creature in the darkness when he found himself facing a penetrating bright light. It shone on him and all around him. It protected him and Jasper knew, without a doubt, the creature wasn’t stronger than the light. The life energy within the light lifted Jasper. For a moment, Jasper turned and looked down. There he caught a glimpse of the beast slinking away into the darkness. It was hideous and evil with white curled horns like a goat, long white fangs, glowing yellow eyes and dark thick hair.
Feeling safety in the light, Jasper turned to face up again and found he was moving through a passage of some sort like a tunnel or portal. Firm arms of light held him tightly. Someone was delivering him to Heaven. Rising out of the portal, Jasper ended up in a room of pure light. The light was warm and comfortable and didn’t hurt his eyes at all. From the light, a person stepped near to Jasper. This person was composed of the same glorious light, but due to the immense brightness it was difficult to make out the features of his face. The clothes he wore weren’t stitched of fabric but devised of material light and fashioned like a robe of sunlight. This person’s eyes were extraordinary; full of knowledge, power, authority and love. His hair; so white and flowing, this man’s countenance seemed completely ageless.
“You are God!” Jasper said with awe.
“Jasper, you have searched your whole life for paradise. In this moment, I wish to offer you that which you seek.” With a wave of his hand, God opened a circular window through a wall of cloud. Jasper couldn’t believe his eyes. The most amazing colors and undeniable beauty struck his heart deeply and he knew without a doubt, this was where he belonged. Though Jasper wasn’t allowed to see much, what little he did see changed him forever. Many colors he had never seen before existed in that place. Even simple things like rocks made him feel happy as though they radiated positive emotion. The water of the lakes and small brooks sparkled with its own source of light, not from a reflection but from a power of goodness that it possessed from within. Jasper couldn’t describe the beauty of trees and flowers, for it was like nothing he’d ever seen before. Then there were the beautiful and perfect people all a glow, who seemed to call to him with unmeasurable and unconditional, love and acceptance.
In that moment, Jasper perceived how the ‘real world’ wasn’t ‘real’ anymore, but the ‘spiritual realm’ was more real than any other place he ever knew. Unable to imagine going back to his regular life, Jasper found himself both gripped in wonderful joy and terrifying fear. He was certain he’d wake up any moment to find it was all a very realistic and convincing dream.
At one glance, Jasper yearned to enter the paradise of Heaven and commit to the paradise he’d been after his whole life, but before he could, the Lord shut the window and said. “A moment’s glance of Heaven is much greater than a thousand years of the highest life on Earth. My offer stands, but it is your choice. Do you wish to enter, or do you wish to return to your previous life?”
Jasper thought about his two choices and wondered why he wasn’t naturally drawn into Heaven. ‘Why do I have to make a choice? I could be asked the same question a thousand times and the answer would always be the same. Of course I’d choose Heaven. But this is really God standing before me. He knows my name. He knows the deepest and furthest inner part of me better than I know myself.’
Remembering his sinful life, Jasper found he still carried a strong sense of conviction deep inside. Certainly, Jasper knew he could make a better life for himself and others if he returned to the land of the living, but this idea perplexed him to no end. It wasn’t easy for him to articulate his answer, but because of God’s question, the right answer, though he didn’t like it, couldn’t be clearer, “God, I wish to return, but the work I wish to do might be too much for me, I’ll need help. Will you assist me so I remain on the right path?”
“Indeed, you know I will. For you, Jasper, I will send some assistance. Who can be so blinded as you, but my servant?… It is for the work of judgement that I came into the world… to give sight to those who cannot see, and to make blind those who can… If you were blind you would not be guilty…”
“I see! You need to make me blind to remove my guilt.” Jasper didn’t fully understand but he was compelled to dialogue with God respectfully and do what he had to so he would be accepted into Heaven.
“Because you claim to see, your guilt remains. Now, you understand, when I called on my servant Paul, My Glory struck him blind. My light only revealed his true condition. In this same way, you must now be struck blind in the natural so you can see by My Spirit. Be on your way until I see you again. My servant, Jasper, I give to you, your previous life and forget not; I will never leave or forsake you.”