When submitting my writing for critique by an instructor for a writing course, I was limited to 500 words. If you know me at all, you know THAT was a challenge. Nevertheless, this is what I wrote. Chapter one of It's a God-Thing. 
..........She answered the door with a paintbrush in her hand. “Yes? Can I help you?”
..........“I‘m sorry to bother you. But my car broke down and I was wondering if I could use your phone,” he replied, with a look of desperation on his face.
..........“Wait right here please,” she said, closing the door behind her. She fetched the cordless phone and returned to him in less than a minute.
..........“Thank you so much. I promise it’s a local call and I’ll only be a moment.” He had this sheepish look on his face, like he’d just asked for the last piece of cake. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable asking for help.
..........“No offense, but it’s strange to run into someone without a cell phone these days.” She smiled as she said it, hoping to put him at ease.
..........“Actually, I do. I just left it on my desk. I’m calling my secretary to have her bring it to me. Who leaves the office and forgets their cell phone? And the first time I do, my car breaks down. What are the chances of that?” He had this way of making fun of himself without actually beating himself up. It was somewhat endearing.
..........“Must be a God thing,” she said, without a second thought.
..........“A God thing. What exactly is a God thing?” He seemed a little skeptical as he asked the question, like he was all ready to disagree with the answer.
..........“When something happens in a person’s world, something out of the norm, bringing them to a new situation where God needs them to be, that‘s a God thing. For instance, if you’ll allow me to speculate a bit, perhaps God wanted us to meet, either for your benefit or for mine. Perhaps God needed you to be late for where ever it is that you’re going, maybe to miss an accident or even to cause one. You know, like all those people who were supposed to be in the World Trade Center on 9/11, but weren‘t. Some were buying doughnuts for a meeting; some missed their regular bus. For whatever reason, God didn’t want them to die in that building that day, so He arranged for them to be someplace else. A God thing.”
..........“So, you’re saying that God wanted the rest of those people to die?”
..........“I hope that’s not the only thing you got out of that,” she said with a sigh. “The fact is, we’re all going to die. Some deaths are going to bring people together; some are going to tear people apart. But I truly believe that God has a plan for each of us and that all of our individual plans are intertwined. So, yes, I believe that God intended for those people to die that day. I don’t know why. Only God knows why.”
..........“Do you provide this service for anyone who asks to borrow your phone?”
..........“Nope, just the lucky ones.”
..........She answered the door with a paintbrush in her hand. “Yes? Can I help you?”
..........“I‘m sorry to bother you. But my car broke down and I was wondering if I could use your phone,” he replied, with a look of desperation on his face.
..........“Wait right here please,” she said, closing the door behind her. She fetched the cordless phone and returned to him in less than a minute.
..........“Thank you so much. I promise it’s a local call and I’ll only be a moment.” He had this sheepish look on his face, like he’d just asked for the last piece of cake. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable asking for help.
..........“No offense, but it’s strange to run into someone without a cell phone these days.” She smiled as she said it, hoping to put him at ease.
..........“Actually, I do. I just left it on my desk. I’m calling my secretary to have her bring it to me. Who leaves the office and forgets their cell phone? And the first time I do, my car breaks down. What are the chances of that?” He had this way of making fun of himself without actually beating himself up. It was somewhat endearing.
..........“Must be a God thing,” she said, without a second thought.
..........“A God thing. What exactly is a God thing?” He seemed a little skeptical as he asked the question, like he was all ready to disagree with the answer.
..........“When something happens in a person’s world, something out of the norm, bringing them to a new situation where God needs them to be, that‘s a God thing. For instance, if you’ll allow me to speculate a bit, perhaps God wanted us to meet, either for your benefit or for mine. Perhaps God needed you to be late for where ever it is that you’re going, maybe to miss an accident or even to cause one. You know, like all those people who were supposed to be in the World Trade Center on 9/11, but weren‘t. Some were buying doughnuts for a meeting; some missed their regular bus. For whatever reason, God didn’t want them to die in that building that day, so He arranged for them to be someplace else. A God thing.”
..........“So, you’re saying that God wanted the rest of those people to die?”
..........“I hope that’s not the only thing you got out of that,” she said with a sigh. “The fact is, we’re all going to die. Some deaths are going to bring people together; some are going to tear people apart. But I truly believe that God has a plan for each of us and that all of our individual plans are intertwined. So, yes, I believe that God intended for those people to die that day. I don’t know why. Only God knows why.”
..........“Do you provide this service for anyone who asks to borrow your phone?”
..........“Nope, just the lucky ones.”
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