Of Angels and Angles

[frogue†]

[Georgia Lee Day continued from In C]

Georgia Lee folded chairs one by one and stacked them in a pile by the wall. Outside, the faithful gathered around collapsible tables to eat food and snacks that had been brought by members of the congregation. Inside after the service it was peaceful, and Georgia Lee liked that.

It was one of the reasons she volunteered to help clean up on a Sunday morning. There was something about being by herself in the beautiful, old building that somehow really resonated with her. She thought it might be the feeling that it was just her and God here. She knew He was all-seeing of course, and that it was an irrational sensation, but she still on some level felt like He could notice her more easily when it was just the two of them.

Or perhaps it was simply easier for her to notice Him? Georgia Lee was so terribly, terribly busy in her day to day life, it was rare for her even to think about God, let alone to feel His presence. She felt Him now though, as she tidied the empty church. He was all around her, she knew, and He had a plan for her, she knew, and everything would be alright.

She liked to think back to these moments of fleeting spiritual epiphany, whenever things were hard. It wasn't an easy road she'd placed herself on, she knew that, but he also knew that God wanted it that way. The cruellest benediction that God could grant would be that of an easy life: how would you know who you were, if you were never tested?

Georgia Lee had heard a woman talk, on NPR. She'd been a swimmer, and she was fast. She was far, far faster than any of her competitors, and she'd said that she really had no idea how fast she was, since she'd never really been tested. Everything about this woman Georgia Lee had admired, and yet all could feel for her had been pity.

The room was almost empty now, and the sunlight through the windows was sharp, almost intrusive. Dust motes swirled in the sun as it cut through the stained glass and into the floor. It made, she noticed, the exact same slope as the base of a letter "K".

A verse came to Georgia Lee then, as she finished stacking the chairs and paused, for a moment before going outside. James 1:2-4, on trials and temptations.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Georgia Lee wiped her hands on the back of her jeans and stepped out into the sunlight. She felt at peace.

[Georgia Lee Day continued in Empire of Dirt]