Ding Dong

Finally, I will have a day off with no plans whatsoever. I enjoy the preceding night with a wonderful book by Ray Comfort. This book discusses how to share your faith with people of various other religions. I stay up until 4:30am reading about sharing my faith with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Right after I turn the light out and before I go to sleep, I offer up a simple prayer. “Lord, please send me a soul who is heart is searching for you. Let them be a Jehovah’s Witness. AMEN.”

At exactly 8:00am on a Saturday morning, the doorbell starts ringing. I knew it was exactly eight o’clock, because I found myself standing upright ON my bed staring at the clock, with my heart beating loudly and a startled look on my face. I was staring at this clock and wondering when did the alarm start sounding like a doorbell? My mind was racing at a million miles an hour, but it was not in any gear. The engine was revving loudly, but no distance was being made. The doorbell continued to ring non-stop. “Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong…”

My mind starting slowly comprehending that someone was at the door and that they were determined for me to answer it. As I am standing upright on my bed, wearing nothing but underwear, I figured that there was possibly an emergency happening. Maybe the house was on fire! My mind started to go into life-saving mode. I needed to get out of the house and to do it quickly.

The first step was to get off from the top of my bed. However, during the course of the three hours that I actually had to sleep, the covers had wrapped themselves around the bottom of my feet. I found this out when I attempted to move one leg to the floor. I accomplished this goal, along with my other foot and my entire body. In an undignified move, I came crashing down to the floor, but somehow still remained upright.

My arms stretched outward to the sides, as I tried to keep my balance. I would had stayed in that position longer, but the doorbell shook me out of that thought. “Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong…” My only goal at this moment, was to stop that awful sound. To stop it at any cost.

I sniffed for smoke but I could not smell any around me. A flash appeared before my eyes, of television cameras pointed at me in my underwear and a reporter asking me about my thoughts of having lived through a major fire. I did not want to be interviewed in my underwear, so I went to find some pants before I rushed out of the door.

As a single man, I went to the place where a single man would find some pants… on a chair at the kitchen table. It’s where all single men keep their pants. “Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong…” I must stop that sound!

I grabbed the pair of pants with the belt already looped around it, and attempt to put them on. My right foot only made it to the knees when I lost my balance. Since the right foot only made it up to the knees, my foot slammed to the floor, and that brought my entire body flopping down to the ground.

A person in their right mind at this point, would have stayed on the floor and put the rest of their pants on down there. However, my mind was still not in any gear. I stood up and decided to attempt it again from an upright position. This time, my right foot made it all the way through. I was more careful with my left foot. Goal accomplished!

This feeling of excitement was only short-lived. “Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong…” Oh yea… the house is on fire. I had briefly forgotten about that.

A person in their right mind at this point, would have raced out the door. For whatever reason, I decided to close my belt up. It was already looped through, so why not complete the job? My mind focused on getting the spike through the proper hole. However, I just could not get that spike to actually pierce the hole. Finally, my goal was accomplished!

The feeling of excitement was only short-lived. “Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong…” Oh yea… I keep forgetting that my life is in danger.

It was at this point, that I noticed that the kitchen table is visible to both the large front window and to the kitchen window in back. The shades were wide open to the entire neighborhood. I had already mooned anyone who actually dared to look through my windows. I had done a one-legged, hopping, burlesque show for the entire neighborhood!

I grabbed a tee-shirt from the place where all single men keep their tee-shirts… from the living room couch.

I opened the door.

I wish that I could say that I spoke with words from God, full of joy and praise. “Hallelujah, how may I help you, oh wonderful person that you are?” However, my words were spoken with the most evil sound that has ever come out of my mouth. An entire sentence came out with only one syllable, “Whatdoyouwant?!?”

A stunned man stared at me for a long time. His finger was still in the middle of pushing my doorbell. When he finally released it, the doorbell let out one more, “DONG!”

My mood did not improve with that sound.

The shocked man was wearing a suit and tie. Next to him, was a five year old boy, also adorned in a suit and tie. Many females might find it adorable that a five year old was wearing a suit and tie. However, to men everyone, this is an unnatural sight. It appeared that someone took a full size adult and ran him through the dryer and shrunk him.

The man mustered up enough confidence and spoke, “Would you like A ‘Watchtower’ magazine?”

I realized that my life was no longer in jeopardy. Unless, of course, if a crazed Jehovah’s Witness happened to be at my doorstep.

I live near an elementary school and a huge Catholic Church. Therefore, I was used to being interrupted with sales pitches for candy, magazines, gift cards, and boys with lawnmowers. Previously I had gone to LOWE’S and found a nice “No Soliciting” sign and placed it upon my screen door. At this moment, I decided to point this sign out to the suited man and his boy puppet.

The man became very irritated and almost shouted, “I am not trying to SELL you something! I trying to GIVE you a magazine!”

I gave him the best look that spelled out, “SOOOO?!?”

“Thank you for your time,” he said. “God bless.” I closed the door and started to turn away from it.

“Tracy?”

Did that man just utter my name from behind the door?

“Do you remember your request?”

It was NOT that man. It was a voice from deep within my soul. I thought to myself, “Which request? Hmmm…”

Uh-oh.

I remembered my request before the Lord asking Him to send me a Jehovah’s Witness. I figured out at that moment, that it was actually a Jehovah’s Witness at my front door.

I became angry towards God.

“Hey! I asked for LOTS of things and I do not see THEM on my front doorstep and ringing my bell early in the morning! Where’s the tall, blond and gorgeous supermodel, who just jumped out of her foreign convertible, to take me away to an exotic island, where she would spend hours lavishing me with kisses?” I became lost within my fantasy.

“Those things are not important,” the inner voice said. “When you gave the request for a divine appointment to talk with a lost soul, I became excited. I waited until daylight to give you your request. All of the angels in Heaven are waiting around and excited about this opportunity.”

“…Lavishing me with kisses!” I continued with my old thought. “Where’s the kisses?!?”

No response from within. Hmmm…

Conviction started spreading throughout my body. “Oh mannnnnn!” I screamed out. “Okay-okay-okay. I’m sorry.” I lied. I then asked God for another request that I did not actually want to come to pass. “Please give me another chance.”

I was still staring out my little diamond-shaped window in my front door. I noticed a woman in a long dress walk down the sidewalk and stop at my driveway. She walked up a couple steps behind my car and turned around. She was with a little girl, who had on the same styled dress.

After a few moments, the suited man and boy met up with them and they had a short discussion, just a few feet away from my car.

“Go NOW.” spoke the voice from within.

“I don’t know what to say!” I shouted back to the voice.

“You DO know what to say. You studied it for hours. Besides, you have My Holy Spirit inside you. He will tell you everything that you should say.”

I realized that I needed to be VERY careful with my prayer words. They were being answered rather quickly at this time.

“KISSES!” I shouted back to the voice with a raised fist.

I kept staring at the four well-dressed people… just a few feet away from my car. Conviction was filling my body. Then hesitation.

Finally… I whispered, “No. I will not do it.”

The man and the boy immediately proceeded to walk down the sidewalk. The lady and the girl fell in behind them. I watched them turn onto the side street until I could see them no more.

My head stayed at that window for a long time. I knew that I could still ask for another chance and I knew that I would get it. I knew that as plain as day. However, I made no movements of any kind.

This did not turn into a great testimony. It sure could have, though. I took the makings of a wonderful testimony and squashed it until no life existed in it. God was at work in me and through me. All I had to do… was to be faithful and to open my mouth.

God had already stated that the words would have come from the Holy Spirit. All I had to do… was to open my mouth. Be faithful and open my mouth.

This incident impacted me. God comforted me and I learned from it. I have thought about it many times since then. Whenever I am at that moment where God is flowing, I remember to be faithful… and to open my mouth.

Yield to the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to talk through you. People are not attracted to me, but to the Holy Spirit that is within me. If you allow Him to work through you, you could have a wonderful testimony to share.

What is your testimony?

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DING DONG YOUR DIVINE APPOINTMENT IS HERE
(C) 2006 Tracy Young