Daddy, I Felled
By Linda Wood Rondeau
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
In my social work career, I often
came across families who taught me important lessons in my spiritual journey.
Sometimes, in everyday occurrences, God enlightened me through a child’s eyes.
The two-year old darted around the
apartment like a butterfly in a flower garden, touching this and climbing that.
“Kaylee, get down. You’re going to
get hurt,” the father repeatedly warned.
Kaylee’s desire to explore her
world proved insatiable, every chair and stool a challenge waiting to be
conquered.
The father used diversion, stern
threats, and still Kaylee refused to listen.
“Kaylee, sit down now while I fix
your soup,” the father said.
Hungry and always asking for her
favorite soup, the father hoped she would settle down. Kaylee scurried to her
favorite chair. But while her father’s attention was turned away, she stood and
rocked it, tumbling unto the floor with a loud bang. Her father rushed to her
side, swooped her up and checked for injuries.
Tears streamed her cheeks as she
sobbed, “Daddy, I felled.”
The father knew the fall was the
child’s fault. In her stubbornness, she pursued the course of disobedience. But
rather than chide, the father simply kissed her tears and said, “It’s alright,
Kaylee. Daddy’s here now.”
From that moment on, Kaylee sat in
her chair as a proper young lady should.
As I witnessed this father’s tender
interaction, I thought of how many times I’ve tempted God with my disobedience,
even though He has repeatedly warned me that I will fall if I’m not careful.
How many times, have I run to Him with watered eyes, “Daddy, I felled.”
Yet, whenever I seek Him in my
contrition, He picks me up, wipes away my tears and reminds me with all the
love a father has to give, “It’s alright, Linda. Daddy’s here now.”
SECOND HELPINGS is perhaps one of my favorite
books to write. I can so relate to Jocelyn’s crazy world. My three children
were close in age and their antics crowded our days. A veteran social worker, I
have counseled many dysfunction families. Perhaps there is a little of me in my
character Naomi. Written in a you-are -there mode, the first-person present
tense point of view will allow you to journey with Jocelyn as she zips through
her forty-fifth birthday. I trust you will identify with her dilemmas and perhaps
laugh a lot. It’s okay. Jocelyn won’t mind.
Today is Jocelyn Johnson’s 45th birthday. Unhappy
with her marriage of 22 years, the parenting talk show host has planned a
noonday tryst with her cohost. A phone call from her college daughter, a peek
into her teenaged son’s journal, a sick preschooler, a Goth daughter’s identity
crisis, a middle-school son’s prank, and her husband’s inflamed suspicions, not
only interfere with her hopeful birthday plans but throw her family into more
chaos than a circus on steroids.
In desperate need of counsel, Jocelyn invites a Christian to
dinner, her guest from her morning talk show segment. However, the evening
holds little promise of calm. In the midst of bedlam, a forgotten faith
rekindles causing Jocelyn to rethink her life and her marriage.
You will laugh and you will cry from the first page to the
last as you journey through the day’s events and Jocelyn’s search for Second
Helpings.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Second-Helpings-Humorous-Contemporary-Novel-ebook/dp/B087C744HZ/ e book
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| lLinda Wood Rondeau |
A multi-published, award-winning author, I am the Managing
Fiction Editor for Elk Lake Publishing, Inc. I live in Maryland with my spouse
of over forty years, a patient man if ever there was one. I enjoy hearing from
my readers. Contact me at lindarondeau@gmail.com
Thank you for hosting me today.
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