Fine Linen, Chapter Four

Lina barely noticed when this cart started up with a jerk and rolled somewhere else. She awaited her destiny in silence.
The cart stopped in a place where the air was filled with a strange rippling sound. Yet again, hands came for the headless flax plants. What now? Were they going to throw them away?
It was a greater shock than all those before when Lina found herself plunged under cold water and left to drown. All the other plants were lined up near her, and the people had left. Nobody whispered silly rumors. Nobody said anything. There was nothing they could do but give up and wait for the slow-moving water to finish them.
Time passed. The sun came and went. Sometimes someone would come and turn all the plants with a fork, and pick some up and look at them. It occurred to Lina to wonder why the people were taking all this trouble over dead stalks. Was there, in fact, still some use for them?
After awhile, she grew to almost like the gentle movement of the water. It was much like the swaying of the wind she had loved all her life.
She felt herself growing thick and soft.

To be continued. . .
Repairing the Breach,
Debbonnaire

Fine Linen, Chapter Three

After a long time, rough hands picked up the pile of flax in which Lina was buried. Together, the plants were all carried somewhere in a creaking, jolting cart. One by one,they were taken off the cart and away. Lina shivered as she waited and wondered. What now?
Finally the hands came for her. They carried her to an evil-looking comb with long, sharp teeth, and to her despair, they dragged her though the teeth, removing the one good thing she had left - all her seeds. Her seedhead had been Lina's pride and joy, nourished and fed through the late summer. She had given up her beautiful blue blossoms for those seeds. Now they were gone, and she was an empty shell - just a dead, brown stalk.
She was thrown on a different cart with other headless stalks, and lay there, dazed.
It didn't matter now what happened to her.

To be continued. . .
Repairing the Breach,
Debbonnaire

All material copyright 2000 Debbonnaire Kovacs. No copying or sharing without permission.

Fine Linen, Chapter Two

One day, excitement floated again. People came, many people, colorfully garbed and laughing. Lina lifted her heavy head. What would happen now? The people spread out through the field, calling to each other and singing. They bent and straightened, bent and straightened. It was some time before Lina could see what they were doing, and when she did see, a shock of dismay ran right down to her roots. They were killing the flax! They leaned down grasped a plant near the ground and pulled, jerking it out, roots and all, and throwing it on a pile. Then they moved methodically on to the next.
Lina shivered with terror. The songs and bright clothes took on a sinister meaning. The golden sun, which had felt so warm and nurturing, now seemed only distant and unconcerned. What could she do?
Nothing, of course. Nothing at all.
A woman came down her row, bending and jerking, bending and jerking. Lina's neighbor. Then Lina. She felt a dreadful rending as her roots tried to cling to the warm, familiar soil, and then a shock as she landed on the pile.
And that was that. The end. Obviously, she would never be beautiful again, let alone valuable.
More plants landed on top of Lina, and the sun disappeared in darkness and the smell of death.
The rumor had been just that - a lie.

To be continued. . .

Repairing the Breach,
Debbonnaire
all material copyright Debbonnaire Kovacs, 2000. No copying or sharing without permission.

Fine Linen, Bright and Clean, Chapter One

Once upon a time, long ago and far away. . .
a field of flax waved and nodded in the sun. A whisper of excitement had come down the cool breeze. The flax plants leaned toward each other in order to hear better.
". . . something beautiful!" came the whisper. "Something radiant and fine!"
A particularly tall and graceful flax plant - we'll call her Lina - bobbed urgently. "What?" she rustled to her neighbor. "What are they saying?"
"It's some kind of opportunity," the neighbor replied. "We can be made into something fine and beautiful."
"We're already beautiful," Lina pointed out, looking over the sea of dancing blue blossoms.
Her neighbor bounced a shrug. "Well, I don't know. That's what they say. Something even more beautiful, and extremely valuable."
"Valuable?" Lina swayed thoughtfully. It would be nice to be special and valuable.
Over the next days and weeks the rumors grew and faded like the weather - sometimes lively and energetic, sometimes dull or silent altogether. Lina only knew that if the opportunity came to her, she would take it.
Blue petals fell into the wind, and seed pods swelled. The weather and the flax felt heay and lethargic. Perhaps it had been only a rumor, after all.
To be continued. . .

Repairing the Breach,
Debbonnaire
all material copyright 2000 by Debbonnaire Kovacs. No copying or sharing without permission.

Transplant Bible passages

It's taken me years to accept that although God does not cause the bad things that happen to me, it is truly His hand that is wielding my circumstances, good, bad, and indifferent, to shape me into the person He wants me - needs me - to be. And that I have a choice in this process. I can stop it and go in a different direction at any time.
This story is very autobiographical. People who know me well will know what some of the knives were, and how I screamed. Some of them were my own sins. As you read, can you see that some of the things that are so painful in your life, and seem so pointless, are being handled by a gentle and expert Surgeon who knows and loves you like no other?

For those who would like deeper study, here are some Bible texts for the different elements of the parable we have just finished.

• The surgery: Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Psalm 51:10
• The instruments: Romans 8:28; Isaiah 64:8; Jeremiah 18:1-12; Isaiah 54:16-17
• Pain medication: Psalm 30:11; 50:14-15; 51:8; 56:8-13; Isaiah 61:3; Philippians 4:4-6
• Emergency room nurses and EMTs: Leviticus 19:34; Isaiah 32:1-2; 35:3-4; 40:1-2; Galatians 6:1; Hebrews 5:1-2
• Exercises: Psalm 18:29; 119:32; 150; Isaiah 40:29-31; II Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 12:1-2
• Breathing Exercises: (Prayer is the breath of the soul.) Psalm 55:17; Danial 6:10; Matthew 26:41; Mark 13:33; John 17; Romans 12:12; I Corinthians 7:5; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; Colossians 4:2; I Thessalonians 5:17
• Daily anti-rejection medicine: John 15:4; I Corinthians 15:30; II Corinthians 3:18; 4:7-10

I hope you have enjoyed the story. Coming next:

Lina is a flax plant, growing happily in the sun, minding her own business, when she hears a rumor that she can be made into "something beautiful." Isn't she already beautiful? Does she want or need to be even more beautiful? Well, why not?

What happens next is shocking. . .

Repairing the Breach,

Debbonnaire

Transplant, Final Chapter

Every week since we had had our surgeries, we heart patients all gathered in the throne room of God to sing His praises with the angels, and thank Him for making us new. We drank the water of life, and washed our robes in the purity provided by the sacrifice the Son had made for us. We always left feeling completely refilled with joy and life and peace.
One day, after one of these meetings, I looked at Jesus and saw that He was gazing at something far away. His face, instead of reflecting joy, was wet with tears. Surprised, I went closer to Him, and followed His gaze. Far away, I saw the black fog that covered the pits of hell. I shivered.
"Can't you hear them?" Jesus whispered.
Straining my ears, I finally heard what He heard, weeping and hopeless sobbing. I remembered what that felt like, and tears came to me, too. I glanced behind me at the crowd of singing heart patients and thought, Those poor hurting people could be here with us.
"Will you go?" asked Jesus quietly.
I squeezed my eyes shut. "I'm afraid."
"I know, but I will be with you."
"Lord," I said hesitantly, "Forgive me, but. . . You were with me last time, and I was still scared, and it still hurt."
"Yes," was all He answered.
I sighed. "Will You hold my hand?"
Looking up, I saw His smile was back
"What a silly question! So. . . will you go with Me?"
I folded my hand inside His. "Okay," I said.
I have a feeling. There is at least one thing I have caught onto, in all these years.
I don't think the story is over.

The End

Tomorrow, for those who are interested, I will post the Bible passages that go with Transplant, along with some thought questions. If you wish to purchase a copy of the booklet, contact me. Remember, this is copyrighted material and may not be copied or published in any manner without permission from me.

Happy Easter! May the Dayspring from on high rise in your hearts and repair all your breaches!

Debbonnaire

Transplant, Chapter Ten

Quietly He would ask, "Have you been taking your medicine? Are you eating and drinking properly and doing your breathing exercises?"
I would have to hang my head and admit that I was not. So together, we would start again. It even happened that I had to go back to the hospital for some reconstructive surgery or special therapy. Then Jesus would ask again. "Will you go back with Me?"
But I couldn't. I just couldn't even think abut that horrible pit of darkness and fear, let alone go back there! Yet I didn't want to disobey. "I'll think about it," I would tell Him.
"Then come on some shorter journeys with Me," He invited.
So I did. I found out what incredible joy it is to tell others about the new heart Jesus offers, and to let them feel my pulse, and watch me walk and run. If they said anything like "You're so good at that!" I would hastily say, "Oh, no, it's all Jesus! He did surgery on me, and gave me a new heart. You should have seen how faint and weak I used to be! Even now, if I don't take my medicine, I start getting sick and dizzy."
If I had to , to make them believe me, I would pull back just the edge of the collar of my robe and show them part of my scar. But I never showed anyone the whole ugly thing.
It was starting to bother me more and more. How could I refuse Him anything, the one Person who had been willing to give up His life for me? When I caught a glimpse of His face, through the love there shone a little wistfulness, and it made me so sad, I found myself looking at His face less often.
Then I was really miserable.
To be continued. . .

Repairing the Breach,
Debbonnaire

Transplant, Chapter Nine

In the convalescent unit, there were other heart surgery patients, also recovering from their ordeals. As we talked,we found that each of our stories was different. We learned that we could encourage or discourage each other by telling them, depending on our attitudes and the ways we told the stories. We did our breathing exercises together, and learned to walk and not be weary, and even to run and not faint. We reminded each other to take our medicine.
However, I learned that there were also those living there who had not had heart surgery Some were living with us because they were trying to make up their minds about the surgery. They watched us closely all the time, trying to decide if the surgery was effective, and it it was worth the pain. Others did not have the surgery because they were certain they did not need it. No matter how pale their faces or how blue their lips, the insisted they were fine. No matter how faint they became, they said it was perfectly normal, and we were foolish to say there was more to life. It was very frustrating. I was so glad Jesus had convinced me to led Him do the whole operation.
Sometimses I forgot to take my medicine. When that happened, it was easier to drink a little less, and eat just a few of the foods I wasn't supposed to eat. Soon I would be feeling tired and sad again. Then the ones who did not have a new heart pointed at me and laughed. "See?" they jeered. "Doesn't last very long, does it?"
Sadly I would turn to Jesus, who was still at my side, thought I had not noticed Him much lately. "Lord, what can I do? Why am I so weak? Didn't You say this new heart would last forever?"

To be continued. . .
Repairing the Breach,
Debbonnaire
check out my website at www.debbonnaire.com

Transplant, Chapter Eight

One day, Jesus told me I was ready to be released to the convalescent unit. He sat with me and gave me careful instructions on the care of my new heart. There were certain things I could eat, and certain things I must not eat. I was to be careful to eat regularly, and to drink freely of the water of life. I was to exercise a little more every day. I must breathe deeply, and learn a special set of breathing exercises to do morning, noon, and evening. Then Jesus gave me a bottle of medicine. "You must take this medicine every single day for the rest of your life. "
I looked at the bottle. "I don't understand. I have a new, healthy heart now. Why must I still take medicine?"
"You have a new heart," said Jesus, "but until I end this world and create the new one, you still have the same old body. It sees this new heart as an intruder, and will build up antibodies every day to try to get rid of it. This medicine will prevent your body from rejecting the new heart and either killing you, or requiring another new surgery."
I shuddered at the thought.
"Your body will not miss a day of building these antibodies," warned Jesus. "You must not miss a day of your medicine. If you do miss a day, start taking it again immediately, and talk to Me about it. I will still be with you everywhere you go, and I will be watching over you and your new heart. And now, I have a request to make of you."

To be continued. . .
Repairing the Breach,
Debbonnaire