Almost Heaven by Chris Fabry Page A

attached to this charge, are you not?”
    â€œBilly is compelling. There is no arrogance or pride in him, I don’t think. Even animals sense his gentle spirit and are attracted to him. Perhaps one who has seen such difficulty and loss is better suited to humility. But I’ve often wondered about his future. If there were some way to encourage him about what will be. How he will be used. I feel like there is something ahead for him.”
    â€œAnd if you leave him now, the plans for your charge will be thwarted?”
    â€œI know that is fallacious thinking. The Most High is sovereign over the affairs of all mankind. And I know that though my time away from him may bring trouble, nothing is outside the realm or influence of the One who loved him enough to die for him.”
    â€œPrecisely. He knows the beginning from the end, every hair of every head, every sparrow that falls. You and I know this intuitively since we have chosen to follow. Humans learn this experientially, which is what your charge will now need to learn more fully.”
    â€œSo he is going to go through more difficulty?”
    â€œI have yet to see a charge who finds smooth sailing through life. In fact, the ones He seems to use and love most must go through deep valleys. The Sovereign loves them infinitely but allows them to pass through trouble. This keeps them from complacency.”
    â€œHow long must I be away?” I said.
    â€œThat, too, is not known. Any more than I could tell you how long you would be with your charge to begin. But let me give you ample warning.” My superior stared at me with what seemed pity and a bit of emotion I could not understand. “When you return to him, things may be . . . different. Do not blame yourself. These events to come must occur, though we do not know what they are or how they will affect your charge. Do you understand?”
    â€œNo. How can you tell me of future things when you say you can’t even tell me how long I am to be away?”
    â€œBecause I have been instructed by One who holds the future in His nail-scarred hands.”
    His words troubled me, but I left and traveled to my post, carrying out my duties as a warrior in the army of the Lord. I had no trouble transitioning to the battle and leading our forces against the enemy. But in certain moments I could not help thinking of Billy.
    I had no idea a life could change so quickly.



8

    The orders came for me to return to Billy when the battle concluded. A long assignment had led to another that spread to wider regions. The more I was given to do, the more evil was unleashed, the more content and focused I became. It may seem strange that I would use warfare as my praise to the Almighty, but that is my specialty and I work tirelessly.
    Still, though I was glad to return to those hills, part of me felt estranged. I felt I had missed great chunks of Billy’s life, though in his time and space it was only a few years. When I finally settled into my routine of observance, I discovered Billy was in his own battle.
    Early on in Billy’s life he was forced to become a man, a provider, and he rose to those responsibilities. But he always retained a childlike quality. Not all humans have the ability to live in such a way. There was something about Billy’s imagination, the way he stopped and noticed small things, the extent to which he would go to help a friend or a stranger, the simple way he would return a shopping cart to the front of the grocery.
    There was a wonder to his life, and I could not tell if this childlike quality was a product of Billy’s upbringing, if it was endemic to his personality, if something spiritual led him on this path to a more simple way, or if there was some point in Billy’s life where he had become “stuck.” This quality could be deemed a two-edged sword because it made him a wonderful human being, but it also left him quite vulnerable. My experience