A Curious Encounter

Avery Bridges was a man who on the outside seemed like he had it all put together, but even though he felt like he was doing all the right things, he always felt an unsettling feeling in his heart, like there was more to Christianity that most understand.

He was a hard worker, the operations manager at a local manufacturing facility. Husband of twenty years to a beautiful wife Maggie, father of three wonderfully stubborn teenagers, and the captain of his rec league basketball team. An active deacon of his church and bible study leader.

On his bedside table was a well-worn copy of Oswald Chambers’ devotional My Utmost to His Highest, right next to his heirloom King James bible that his grandmother had passed down to him.

She always was a little kooky, Avery thought. She did love Jesus and all, but she always made it seem so sappy, like somehow, he was there with her IN the room.

As a kid he didn’t really know what to do with that, but at the same time, he could never shake this feeling that there was more. His dad would laugh it off like Grandma’s crazy, and we should be careful to just stick to our bibles and memorize scripture, as living a holy life is the only way to please the Almighty God.

Avery knew what Dad was saying in his mind, but what did Grandma know that he didn’t? He knew God was almighty, but was he approachable in a way that two friends can know one another? God as a friend? THE Almighty? The creator of the universe?

He remembered a time when he would spend the night at Grandma’s house and have to get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. As he was in the kitchen he would hear a sound coming from Grandma’s bedroom. He would hear laughter…just rolling joyous, enraptured laughter. “No Lord, you’re too much! I knew it!” Almost as if they were joking back and forth and having the most wonderful time. He would hear the gentlest smooth sound of singing coming from the room, which almost sounded angelic. Rays of light would come through the crack beneath the door. It would always seem a little too bright to be from her lamp, he thought. But of course, it was her lamp, what else would it be?

Sitting on his bed that night, contemplating these things stirred something in his heart he had no other way to describe but a tug to know God. He was a bible man through and through and could quote verses with the best of them, but nothing he ever knew had rivaled what Grandma seemed to have with the Lord.

What was it? Why was dad so protective of me seeing her all these years?

As he was opening and thumbing through his bible, he stumbled upon a verse with a note with Grandma’s familiar bubbly cursive handwriting. He’d seen it a thousand times. Except today something was different.

He felt a tingling on the back of his neck and a warm burning sensation in his belly. He read the scripture; it was John 17:3:

“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

It was underlined and right next to it he saw this note from his grandmother: “AB, this is for you.”

Huh? How had he missed this? She called him “AB” since he was a kid… pronounced “Abe” but it fit since his initials were A.B.

“How could this be for me?”, Avery thought.

He knew he had said the sinner’s prayer many years ago at a youth rally, so this was why he usually skipped over that verse. But as he pondered it more, he began to wonder if there was more to eternal life than just where we go when we die. What if there was something deeper? And what if this is what Grandma had discovered?

He closed his bible and put it back on his nightstand. As he was drifting off to sleep, he wasn’t quite sure from where, but a prayer bubbled up inside him. He thought: “Lord, will you show me what eternal life is? What does it mean to know you?”

The next thing Avery knew, he found himself walking in a spacious, well-lit hallway, ornate and filled with the most intricate mahogany craftsmanship he had ever seen. The floor was polished white marble, with gold strands rippling through it. Up in front of him was a huge archway with what looked like a vine etched into it with the most beautiful lettering in a foreign language he didn’t know. It appeared to be made of solid gold.

He took a few steps forward, wondering how he was even in this place. It was so real; it couldn’t be a dream. He looked down and was wearing the same St. Louis Cardinals T-shirt and lounge pants he normally wore to bed. He felt a little out of place, but at the same time, he felt a gentle warmth that seemed to wash away any feelings of self-consciousness that would try to come over him.

As he passed under the archway, he saw two towering Oak double doors ahead of him. They weren’t quite as ornate but had a simple beauty of their own. Above the doors was an inscription: “The Father’s Place”.

With an insatiable curiosity, which was out of character for his normally well-reasoned and cautious temperament, he pushed both doors wide open and briskly entered the room.

As he entered, he saw this room was a personal study of some kind, but of someone in Royalty. There were exquisite bookshelves, various gold-bordered pictures on the walls, exotic plants bearing the most vibrantly colored fruit he had ever seen, and an enormous window at the rear of the room which was overlooking a crystal-clear lake with spruce trees and towering snowy mountains in the background. To his right there was a fireplace warmly crackling.

Across the room he saw a majestic looking, stately older man sitting at the head of a table, with about ten other men and women around him. They were deep in conversation, strategizing, coordinating affairs that seemed serious in nature. However, they all had an otherworldly glow about them, they were resolute, but looked at one another as if there was a deep inner knowing of one another, a bond that went beyond brother or sisterhood. An eternal bond. It was as if they knew each other’s thoughts before a word even came out of their lips.

It was utterly incredible, Avery thought. Where am I? Who are these people?

Not knowing what else to do, and wanting some answers to where he was and what was going on, Avery shouted: “Excuse me….um… I’m lost. I, uh… was in the corridor and found this room. Do you- “

Immediately the man at the head of the table stood up, and Avery saw he had the most incredibly warm and loving expression he had ever seen on a human being. He had a shortly trimmed white beard and glowing curly pearl locks of hair gently swept back. He was wearing stately attire, almost reminiscent of a traditional suit and tie, but entwined with a majestic elegance that made him instantly know he was a King.

The man looked at those around the table and said “These matters can wait. Please come back tomorrow. I must spend some time with my son.”

“What did he say? My son?” Avery thought. How can he know me?

As the others exited the room, the man beckoned for Avery to come sit with him by the fire in some elegant but comfortable looking lounge chairs.

Nervous with excitement, Avery walked over and took a seat on the right side of the fireplace, and the man slowly but intently sat down in the chair across from him.

“Avery” The man began, “Please. Please tell me how you have been? How are the kids? Have you finished your blueberry garden? Is Benny still terrorizing your squirrel population? I want ALL the details!”

Somehow this man KNEW Avery, and made him feel at home and more loved than he ever thought imaginable. Hours upon hours seemed to pass by. There was much conversation, sharing of stories, even some delicious cookies and a heavenly cup of coffee that sent him over the moon.

This man was giving him his FULL attention. He was hanging on every word Avery was saying. Laughing at every joke. Crying at every story of struggle and of triumph. As Avery would look into his eyes, he would get sucked into them and waves of the most intoxicating delight would wash over him as he knew he was the only person in the world that mattered to him in this moment.

Finally when Avery’s belly ached with laughter and face almost hurt from smiling, the man stood up and beckoned for Avery to come and give him a hug. As they embraced, he said “I love you son. I always have. And I always will. Never, ever, ever forget this moment. I can tell you, I never will. Please come back, will you? Don’t be a stranger!”

As he let go, with a wink and a smile, the man said “I’ll stop boring you and let you get on to more important adventures. Please tell Maggie and the kids I said hello?”

Avery, filled with gratitude for this most wonderful encounter, turned and walked out of the room and through the double doors. He turned back and saw a heavenly bright light outlining the man who was waving goodbye to him as his vision started to fade.

Avery’s alarm clock blared its familiar tune, and he was jerked awake from the most curious dream. “Was it 6:30am already?” Avery thought. He had a feeling of warmth and wholeness inside him, unlike anything he had ever experienced before in his life.

Reaching over to grab his phone to turn off his alarm, his hand stumbled upon a business card which was on top of his family bible. He didn’t remember it being there before and picked it up. It was a business card for a coffee shop which read “FATHER’S PLACE. A Heavenly Cup of Coffee. Come and visit us any time!”  

Curiously, there was no phone number. As he turned the card over, it simply read in gold embossed text: John 17:3.

At that moment, with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, Avery finally knew what his Grandma had found. He would never be the same.