Answering the Call

It happens quickly.
One minute I lie on the bed, the next I stand in darkness.
I can hear whisperings.
I instinctively know the whispers concern me.
And, it is strange…

I am naked.

I hear a tone, but it is different. I hear it with my skin.
A voice that is both strange and familiar speaks to me.
“Unworthy. You cannot stay here.”

Shame takes me over, moving from my belly and out.
I remember the deeds of my past.
The talking, the writing, the walking.
Even the things I thought good seem silly.
My blind eyes lower to the floor.

The chill around my body turns warm like honey in the sun.
I can feel a hand take mine.
I instinctively cling to it.

A voice speaks next to me.
It is the same as the first, yet different.
I tremble.

“I have claimed this one.
This one I have marked.”

As though the words had cleansed me, I saw.
A glorious face is before me.
I know Him.
He knows me.
He sings with delight, and I am enfolded by the arms of my master.

My heart might break with joy.

He releases me and turns me toward the crest.
“Father, this one I have called.”