Chasing Sunsets (34 page)

There was nothing but sunshine and happy days ahead.

He was about to ask Sami Dawson to marry him.

Epilogue

Angel Town Meeting—Heaven

O
RLON FELT THE SAME
concern as everyone on his team. The mission had taken a very difficult turn. The baby who was supposed to be born in time might never be born. Their greatest goal was definitely in jeopardy. Like everything else good and true and right on earth.

The angels entered the room, their faces somber, serious. Usually at the end of an Angels Walking mission there would be cause to celebrate, reason to know they had succeeded.

Not this time.

When every angel was accounted for, Orlon moved to the front of the room. “I’d like Jag and Aspyn to join me.”

The Angels Walking team moved to their places beside him. “I want to make one thing clear.” Orlon’s voice was strong, resolute. “You did not fail this mission.”

Jag set his jaw, his face slightly raised. If any angel needed this talk, he did.

Orlon continued. “Jag . . . you and Aspyn were the perfect angels for this mission. Just as we all agreed before you left. You were given several tasks, and you succeeded in each one of them.” He ran through the list. “Most of all, you kept Marcus Dillinger alive and saw that his would-be killer was placed behind bars.”

Jag put his arm around Aspyn. The two of them looked down for a few seconds, as if they were remembering the intensity of their time on earth.

“I can’t remember a recent Angels Walking mission with so much danger, where so many lives were at stake.” Orlon looked at the other angels. “We watched and we prayed. And now we will give thanks to God for His miraculous intervention and for the success of the work done by Jag and Aspyn.”

This was one of Orlon’s favorite parts of being an angel. Listening to the applause break out through the room, the soft utterances of Jesus’ name and the praise meant to glorify God alone.

When the noise settled down, Orlon took a deep breath. “Any questions?”

An angel in the front row raised his hand. “Did you ever see Ryan Williams? The little boy you saved the last time you went on an Angels Walking mission?”

Orlon could tell by the look on Jag’s face that the meeting hadn’t occurred. He put his hand on Jag’s shoulder. “The boy is a police officer. Just out of the academy.”

Deep concern filled Jag’s eyes. “I . . . I didn’t know.”

“Yes.” Orlon looked to the angel who had asked the ques
tion. “Ryan may be a part of another mission. We’ll have to see.”

“I’d . . . like to watch when that happens.” Jag’s tone was proof that the long ago failed mission still stayed with him. “If that’s okay.”

“Definitely.”

Other questions came. Concerns about how Jag was able to control his anger. Orlon was curious about that, too.

“Very simply, I didn’t control it. I felt everything a human feels and in light of the little boy being shot, I wanted to kill. The desire ran through my veins.” Jag looked at Orlon. “I’m being honest.”

“We know.” Orlon was grateful for the way things had turned out. “The question was, how did you find control?”

“The name of Jesus. Lexy shouted Jesus’ name, and the anger left me. All in a rush. I belong to Him. I couldn’t think about acting on my own after that.”

Orlon felt a sense of pride over Jag’s actions. Many angels in the room would’ve struggled with the same challenge. It was another reason why it was so important to choose the right angels for each mission.

Angels Walking always came with risks.

This one more than most.

Jag and Aspyn were dismissed back to their places among the others.

The unknown ahead was their greatest problem now. Orlon faced the angels and straightened to his full height. “We must talk about what’s next.” He hesitated. “The main concern now is Mary Catherine.”

He let that sink in. “She will go to Africa, and she will get
sick. The next stage of our mission will be nearly impossible. There will be very great heartache.” Michael had confirmed that much. Orlon looked at their faces. “You are heaven’s most prepared angels. Experts in matters of the heart. But we will need two very experienced angels next time around.”

The meeting was dismissed and Orlon spoke to Jag as he left the room. “I’m proud of you. I know how hard this mission was. There wasn’t an hour of rest.”

“Thank you, sir.” Jag ran his hand through his blond hair. “I just wish we could’ve done something for Mary Catherine.”

Orlon smiled. “You did.”

“Sir?” Jag clearly didn’t understand.

“You kept Marcus Dillinger alive.”

With that Jag smiled and headed after the other angels. When the room was empty, Orlon got down on the golden floor and lay his face to the cool stones. For the next hour he talked to the Father, begging for wisdom and direction.

If they failed the next mission, there would be no going forward.

All of heaven and earth would pay the price.

Dear Reader Friend,

I promised you this time around I’d share my own angel encounter. Like all interactions with angels, I can’t be sure I was really in the presence of a heavenly being. But I know this.

There’s no other way for me to explain what happened.

It was 2007 and I was headed to Atlanta, Georgia, for the International Christian Retail Show. That year my book
Even Now
was up for book of the year—the first time a novel had been nominated. Before I left, my mom and dad drove to my house—just to say goodbye.

My dad, Ted Kingsbury, was especially emotional. “I wish I could be there,” he told me. “I know you’re going to win.”

It was the same way with my dad ever since I was a little girl. He would read what I’d written and rave over it. From the time I was twelve he would tell me, “Someone has to be the next bestselling novelist, Karen . . . it might as well be you!”

All my life my dad believed in me, and that night before I left for Atlanta with my kids Kelsey and Tyler, my dad was convinced the big award would be mine.

The award show happened two nights later, and my dad’s prediction came true.
Even Now
was named book of the year. Back home my dad was so excited. He spent the next day talking to my mom and calling my husband, Don. “We need to throw Karen a party,” he told them. “Let’s think of something.”

But the party was not to be.

That afternoon my dad suffered a massive heart attack. One minute he was talking with my mom, and the next he was out. Laid back in his recliner like he’d fallen into a deep sleep.

My nephew Andrew was thirteen at the time. He was the first to think something was wrong. He called 911 and an op
erator talked him through giving my father CPR for the next fourteen minutes. Keep in mind my dad was very heavy and he wasn’t on a flat surface. He was in a recliner.

By the time paramedics arrived, my dad was blue and unresponsive. Andrew ran into the next room and started sobbing. He thought he’d done something wrong. He believed his grandpa’s death would be on his shoulders.

The house was chaotic, the paramedics working feverishly on my dad. Ten minutes became fifteen and there was talk of calling in the time of death.

Suddenly a police officer rushed into the house. He found my mother and pulled her aside in the next room. “Do you believe in Jesus?” he asked her.

“Yes!” she cried out. “Yes, we’re believers.”

With a peace-filled intensity, the man looked straight into my mom’s eyes. “We’re going to pray that God gives your husband life again.” He pointed back to where young Andrew was still crying. “We’re going to pray because otherwise that boy out there will spend the rest of his life thinking this was his fault.”

And so the officer took hold of my mom’s hands and he prayed. “Dear God, we ask that the power that raised Lazarus from the dead would breathe life into Ted Kingsbury this very minute. In Jesus’ powerful name, amen.”

The very second the officer said, “Amen,” from the other room the head paramedic yelled, “We have a heartbeat!”

They were able to keep my dad alive all the way to the hospital, where he lived another six weeks in ICU. We had time to tell him everything we ever wanted to say. We laughed and remembered every wonderful memory and we prayed every possible prayer.

When he died, our family was at peace and so was my dad.

Later my mom tried to find the officer who randomly came into the house to pray with her that day. She called the police station and asked the paramedics. No one had ever heard of the man.

We came to believe that the officer was an angel, sent in response to so many prayers being cried out on behalf of my dad. An angel, maybe, on an Angels Walking mission.

Now you know why I allowed Jag to be a police officer.

Keep a lookout this fall for book three in the
Angels Walking
series. Mary Catherine, Marcus, Tyler, and Sami have so much ahead. The Wayne family, too.

Until next time, keep your eyes open. God is working all around us. Sometimes it’s just a matter of looking.

In His light and love,

Karen Kingsbury

P.S. Connect with me on
Facebook
or
Twitter
, @KarenKingsbury. If you found yourself changed while reading
Chasing Sunsets
, if you became closer to God or if you gave your life to Jesus for the first time, then drop me an email at
[email protected]
. Write “Life Changed” in the subject line. If you do, I’d love to send you a Scripture letter I put together. Also, if you are unable to afford a Bible, and if you are unable to borrow one from your church or a family member, I will send you one. Simply write “Bible” in the subject line of your email.

Forever in Fiction

A
SPECIAL THANKS TO Angie RHYNE,
who won the Forever in Fiction item at my One Chance Foundation auction in 2012. Angie chose to name her mother, Sally Hudson, as a character in this book. Sally is small with beautiful blue eyes that long ago gave her the nickname “Blue-Eyed Sally.” She loves her family, including her husband, four children, and ten grandchildren. Her favorite vacations are the ones that take her back to Ohio to visit extended family. Sally loves reading and cooking—especially her annual “candy-making day” with her daughters and granddaughters. Beyond that, Sally found a faith in Jesus when she was first diagnosed with leukemia in 2001. She needed a bone marrow transplant, but no one in the family was a match, so Sally and her family prayed. A match was found and Sally received a lifesaving transplant. Years later she had the opportunity to meet her donor in what was an emotional reunion.

In
Chasing Sunsets
, Sally is a nurse at the doctor’s office
where Mary Catherine is a patient. In the book, Sally’s story serves as an encouragement and allows Mary Catherine to believe that God is not finished with her just yet.

The One Chance Foundation
is an organization that grants money to people at the end stage of adopting. For more information, please check my website—
KarenKingsbury.com
.

Reading Group Guide

Chasing Sunsets