A Bad Dream

 A Bad Dream:


Value: Forgiveness and Reconciliation


“DAD how dare you look in my diary?” Max screamed at his father in fury. Chuck wasred with anger at his little boy for what he read in that diary.


“How dare you lie to me? You said you would never smoke a cigarette and right here inthis diary, you confess you have. Your promises are no good to me now Max!” Chuckyelled at his young son.


“Well my privacy is ruined. How I can ever trust you again!” Max said crying.


“Me? Its you who lied and I can never trust you again. I wish I never had a son.” Chucksaid and right away he was sorry he said that. Max burst into tears and ran out the doorto go down the block to his friends house to hide. Chuck slammed his hand down on thecounter and hurt it. He hated fighting with his son. Parents hate it when their childrenare mad at them. It hurts them way down inside but sometimes they are proud and don’tknow how to make things are ok.


“That kid drives me crazy.” Chuck fumed thinking of what he read in that diary. “Lethim go. I will just take a nap.” And with that Chuck laid down on his sofa and wentsoundly to sleep.


Chuck woke up suddenly and looked around. It wasn’t his bedroom but some otherplace. He was on a flat white stone sleeping and there was no furniture and everythingwas dark all around him.


“Fluffy, where are you fluffy?” Chuck heard a familiar sound.


“Grandpa?” Chuck said as the elderly man walked past him looking for his dog. He saidcurious of how this could be considering Chuck’s grandfather went to be with Jesus longago.


“Why hello little Chucky, are you ok?”


“Yes Grandpa, just didn’t expect to see you. Where are we?”


“Well I am in heaven. I am looking for our dog Fluffy. You remember Fluffy? Youloved him so much. Well he is here now and he still likes to run away. Where are youFluffy! Say, I am not sure why you are here. Is something wrong Chucky?”


“Well I sort of had a fight with Max and I guess that is on my mind. Oh yeah, Max is myson, your great grandson. He looks a lot like you Grandpa.”


“Aww, well I am sure he is a spark plug like you and your dad were growing up. Listen,the only regret I have from my life is that I went to heaven with some people who had notforgiven me. You probably don’t know this that when I died, I was not speaking to yourmother, my daughter. It was something silly now that I look back on it but I wish I hadapologized and got past it so I could have hugged her before….”


“ARF ARF.”


“Oh there you are Fluffy. Gotta run now. I have to get Fluffy home. Grandma is waitingsupper on us.” Chuck’s grandfather said and then he was gone. Chuck didn’t knowexactly what to make of it when he looked up and a large powerful man walked past himas he sat on the slab. The man walked like he had someplace important to go and did notlook to the right or left.


“Dad?” Chuck said with amazement. The big man stopped in his tracks and looked atChuck curiously.


“Son? Is that you? What are you doing here? Wait a minute. Are you asleep?” The bigman asked.


“Well no Dad. Well, ummm, yes, I think so.” Chuck confessed.


“I thought so.” Chuck’s deceased father said with his big barrel laugh. “Ok spill it, whatdid you do wrong. When you were a kid, you always took a nap when you had donesomething wrong.”


“Well, it’s Max. He and I had a fight. I read his diary which was wrong but found out helied to me which made me really mad and now I can’t forgive him.” Chuck told hisfather, the one guy he could always talk to.


“Chuck do you think you have ever been forgiven?” His Dad asked.


“Well, by you maybe, a few times.”


“Try 10,316 times Chuck. But that’s not what I mean. Who forgave you of everythingand made it possible for you to go to heaven?”


Chuck thought for a moment and then he remembered his Sunday school classes when hewas a child. “JESUS. That’s it isn’t it? He died on the cross so I could be forgiven.”


Chuck said with excitement for getting the right answer.


“That’s right Chuck. God forgave us all of lots worse things than Max has done. And ifHe was willing to give his life for our forgiveness. It’s the least you can do to forgiveMax, ask his forgiveness too. Do it now son, before it’s too late.” And with that Chuck’sdad stood and began to fade out.


“Wait dad, I wanted to ask you about how to build a shed.”


“No time now son. I have to go. Have you seen your Grandpa? He just stepped out towalk Fluffy.” And he was gone.


Suddenly Chuck woke up with a start. He realized he was home now but the visits fromhis ancestors had not been for nothing. Suddenly he heard the door to the house open.“Max is that you?”


Max entered the room looking very sad and staring down. Chuck stood up and put hishands on his shoulders and just said, “I’m sorry.” To stop themselves from crying (whichmen don’t like to do), Chuck and Max hugged and Chuck knew he would never let somelittle issue come between him and his son again.

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