| Author: | Michael J. Alcorn | ISBN: | 9781310199561 |
| Publisher: | Michael J. Alcorn | Publication: | November 2, 2014 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition | Language: | English |
| Author: | Michael J. Alcorn |
| ISBN: | 9781310199561 |
| Publisher: | Michael J. Alcorn |
| Publication: | November 2, 2014 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition |
| Language: | English |
Richard Hardgrub was a grey man in a grey world. When the world stole his wife from him through cancer, he turned his back on the world in retreated to his own private sanctuary of sadness. Unfortunately, that left him frequently unaware of his surroundings, including the car that lost control and struck him as he walked on the sidewalk.
When he wakes up, Richard finds that it is Christmas Eve, and the normal church service he attends (once every year) has been moved into the slums of the city. Out of habit, Richard follows the congregation as they move into the city and begin to minister to the people at “the bottom of the world.” Here he meets a veteran, forgotten by a society who did not need him any more; here he also meets a generous, if frazzled, shelter operator who sees in him what Richard has tried to hide from the world; here he also meets a woman, abandoned by a man (by a society?), desperately fighting against pride and isolation to keep her family alive and together; here he also meets a boy named Joshua, who, in spite of the world being stacked against him, still fills the concrete canyons with laughter and hope.
In the middle of this dark and drab world is a church service, in which the children leave under the Christmas Tree their most treasured possessions, and the preacher challenges the congregation to redeem the children’s Faith. And then the preacher delivers a very personal message to Richard: return to the world, son.
Richard reawakens in a hospital bed, not sure if what he has seen is real or a pain-induced hallucination. But when his estranged daughter shows up at his bedside and introduces him to his grandson, he realizes that God has given him a second chance—and it’s one that he is not going to miss!
Richard Hardgrub was a grey man in a grey world. When the world stole his wife from him through cancer, he turned his back on the world in retreated to his own private sanctuary of sadness. Unfortunately, that left him frequently unaware of his surroundings, including the car that lost control and struck him as he walked on the sidewalk.
When he wakes up, Richard finds that it is Christmas Eve, and the normal church service he attends (once every year) has been moved into the slums of the city. Out of habit, Richard follows the congregation as they move into the city and begin to minister to the people at “the bottom of the world.” Here he meets a veteran, forgotten by a society who did not need him any more; here he also meets a generous, if frazzled, shelter operator who sees in him what Richard has tried to hide from the world; here he also meets a woman, abandoned by a man (by a society?), desperately fighting against pride and isolation to keep her family alive and together; here he also meets a boy named Joshua, who, in spite of the world being stacked against him, still fills the concrete canyons with laughter and hope.
In the middle of this dark and drab world is a church service, in which the children leave under the Christmas Tree their most treasured possessions, and the preacher challenges the congregation to redeem the children’s Faith. And then the preacher delivers a very personal message to Richard: return to the world, son.
Richard reawakens in a hospital bed, not sure if what he has seen is real or a pain-induced hallucination. But when his estranged daughter shows up at his bedside and introduces him to his grandson, he realizes that God has given him a second chance—and it’s one that he is not going to miss!
