| Spiritual Fiction posted October 8, 2017 | Chapters: |
3 4 -5- 6... 
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...Chapter 5 of The Waiting Room
A chapter in the book The Waiting Room
Amusement Game #1 'What If?'
by Mustang Patty
| Background A telling story of the time we spend in anticipation of the most important meeting of our lives. We will discuss every moment, every decision, and our good moments along with the bad. |
In the first part of the story, we were shown the sumptuous 'Waiting Room.' Its description tells of a wonderful place to wait for your appointment with Him. Each one of our souls will spend time in this room. This story chronicles the journey of seven souls.
As we met each character in Chapters 2 and 3, we learned their names. (see the List of Characters in Author's Notes.) We know we have people of different faiths in the Waiting Room, yet, we do not know the belief system of each person, apart from Janelle. While at the end of Chapter 3, Roger was called to enter the door at the end of the room, Chapter 4 allows us to meet the rest of the souls who are in the Waiting Room. With a bit of information about each one, we are about to learn more using the amusement games along one of the walls.
From the Introduction:
On the last wall was a bank of amusement games. They appeared to be some type of pin-ball machines, but there wasn't any money required. Above each machine was a small placard with a question. The first game's sign said, "What if?" and across the row of machines, the other signs read, "Whatever happened to," followed by "Different decisions," "The Forks in your path," and lastly, "What was the real plan?"
Among the amusement machines, the first one on the left was entitled, 'What if…?' The game was designed for curious souls who wanted to find out the provocative question many people face. It dealt with things like, 'What if I had done it another way?' 'Would my life have been better or worse?'
Divinely designed, the game's main screen changed to suit the questions of an individual soul. Using this diversion gave the soul something of great interest to occupy their time while waiting. Each soul's waiting time was designed specifically for them, and they chose how they wanted to spend it.
Within the group of souls present in the Waiting Room now, Mark, chose to entertain himself with the 'What if?' pastime. At the touch of his fingertip, the gadget sprang to life, and he was presented with a menu list of questions. He marveled at the significance they held for him. How could a machine know what he questioned about his life?
Mark, who identified himself as a Buddhist, had originally been raised in the Protestant faith, was curious about the biggest decisions he had made in his life. The contraption seemed to immediately understand what he questioned. The menu items presented to him were:
What if I hadn't joined the Air Force?
What if I hadn't married Jong Sun?
What if we had stayed in Korea, rather than coming back to the states?
By using the button on the left side of the machine, he found he could scroll through the menu, each item would be highlighted. By pressing the button on the right side, the highlighted item glowed for a minute, and the screen showed a video screen like the ones seen on YouTube.
Having selected the item, 'What if I hadn't married Jong Sun?', Mark hesitated to press the arrow and play the video. Did he really want to know the answer to this question? He couldn't help but think the machine would allow him to play the Devil's Advocate question and answer game.
Wondering if this room could be the gateway to Nirvana, Mark questioned if he would be offered the chance to be reborn as he believed. While Buddhists believe in hell realms, they do not believe in a being who presides over all of hell. Sometimes tempted by Mara, the temptress, they may be hindered from following the right path. Mark's understanding involved Siddhartha (later, the Buddha) being tempted by this being before enlightenment, but he stayed true to his convictions.*
While Mark followed the teachings of the Buddha, he knew he returned to the concepts he was taught in his Lutheran church. Now, he couldn't help believing marrying Jong Sun and converting to Buddhism was the wrong thing to do. After all, he was standing in the waiting area to enter through a door that would probably take him to talk to Jesus Christ and God. Was he doomed?
With great trepidation, he pressed the play icon on the screen. Jong Sun's lovely face from the day he met her filled the screen. He felt himself begin to smile. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. The screen phased out to their first date.
Watching their relationship enfold and following it through their short engagement, and hurried wedding reminded Mark of the trouble he caused for his mother. But as the screen phased out and brightened again, he saw the births of his children. He could feel the acceptance in his mother's heart as she considered his children's eyes. Though these grandchildren looked different from the others, she really didn't care.
He was given a glimpse of the familiar face of Jong Sun as she looked the day he passed into this realm. Her smile dimmed with the screen. He was faced with the word, 'If.'
A new video beckoned him to press the arrow to 'play.' Mark knew this differing reality would be hard to face, but he wanted to know how his life could have been.
His shaking finger pressed the play icon, and the screen came to life once more. The video showed the younger version of himself returning to his hometown when he completed his enlistment in the Air Force. Laughing at the vision of himself with short hair, and without his beard, he smiled at the muscled body.
Without Jong Sun's cooking, I remained skinny for my entire time in the military, he mused.
Watching younger versions of his mother and father, he enjoyed seeing his homecoming. His parents threw a huge party, and the extended family and friends were all there. Seeing people he hadn't seen in years caused him to wonder if they dropped out of his life because of Jong Sun.
After phasing out and coming back into focus, the presentation brought a lovely blonde into view. He watched their love blossom and followed their relationship through marriage and children. He couldn't relate to the children on the screen, but he could tell he was happy.
Surprised to see a hospital scene, he watched the blonde looking up at him at the bedside. His heart felt heavy as he listened to her last words. "We were so lucky to have each other, weren't we?" Her eyes closed, and there was the sound of a steady tone. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. The screen faded out as tears rolled down his face.
The device went dark and Mark couldn't get it to light up again, no matter how many buttons he pushed. What did it mean? Could it be that it wouldn't have mattered who he married?
Before Mark could ponder his experience too much, Adele, aka Nosey, summoned everyone in the room to come and chat.
* http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/2001/08/what-the-devil.aspx
 Recognized |
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photo courtesy of pinterest.com
All Biblical Quotes come from The Holy Bible, King James Version, or English Standard Version
List of Characters:
Those Who Wait:
Janelle Sorrell, very limited belief system, doesn't identify with any religions
Roger Cummings, staunch member of the Methodist church
Adele Pinder AKA Nosey Parker, a born-again Christian
Joe Kaufman, Self-identified as non-practicing, he is a man of Jewish descent
Austin Zinkowski considers himself a Roman Catholic
Mark Malone, ex-Air Force staff sergeant, he converted to Buddhism when he married his Korean wife
Lisa Patel, a faithful Mormon
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. All Biblical Quotes come from The Holy Bible, King James Version, or English Standard Version
List of Characters:
Those Who Wait:
Janelle Sorrell, very limited belief system, doesn't identify with any religions
Roger Cummings, staunch member of the Methodist church
Adele Pinder AKA Nosey Parker, a born-again Christian
Joe Kaufman, Self-identified as non-practicing, he is a man of Jewish descent
Austin Zinkowski considers himself a Roman Catholic
Mark Malone, ex-Air Force staff sergeant, he converted to Buddhism when he married his Korean wife
Lisa Patel, a faithful Mormon
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