Gifts Of Love. Crystal Stovall

Jessie echoed. “If a person didn’t believe God watched out for them, a night like tonight certainly would change their mind.”

      When David lapsed into silence, Jessie swallowed hard. For some reason, in those few seconds, she felt his pain and confusion. Instinctively, she knew losing his wife had challenged his faith in ways she’d never experienced. She wanted to say something meaningful, to assure him that even in the most difficult times, God would never desert him. And she should know.

      But before she could come up with an encouraging response, David said, “The nurse just came in. Do you have any more questions about tomorrow morning?”

      “No,” Jessie said. “Don’t worry about your daughter. Get a good night’s rest and concentrate on getting well.”

      “Thanks to you, I feel like I can do that.”

      “Good night,” Jessie said. As she held the receiver tightly, she realized she didn’t want the conversation to end. She wanted to know more about this man who’d risked his life to save his daughter’s.

      “Good night,” David said. Then, with a surge of energy, he added, “Jessie’s blue bunny was in the car…”

      “Don’t worry, I’m sure my father will collect your belongings from the car.”

      “And Jessie,” David added, “tonight was a miracle.” And he hung up.

      Reluctant to break the connection, Jessie listened to the silence until the telephone company’s automatic recording came on the line.

      She closed her eyes, but sleep eluded her. Now that she was certain David and Isabel were both settled, she could let herself think about the tornado. Over and over, she relived the minutes she’d spent huddled beneath the overpass with David’s arms anchoring her in the tremendous wind. She recalled the deafening chug, the sting of gravel on her skin and the way she’d gasped for breath in the damp, swirling air.

      And while time would eventually polish the rough edges off these memories, she knew one instant would always remain sharp and clear—the moment David had let go. She would never forget his piercing scream, nor the way she’d instinctively reached for Isabel. Her body trembled with fear at what could have been.

      Snuggling next to Isabel, she believed without a doubt she’d been in the right place at the right time. God had dropped this child into her arms.

      Thank you, Lord, for this miracle, Jessie prayed, and then closed her eyes and slept.

      An early riser, Jessie eased from the bed at 6:00 a.m. Isabel had slept without waking, and she showed no sign of stirring soon.

      Uncertain whether she should leave Isabel in the bed alone, Jessie retrieved her laptop from the living room and settled into an overstuffed chair in the corner of the master bedroom. Angling the screen so the glare wouldn’t disturb Isabel, Jessie maintained a clear view of the child. She placed a pillow over the computer to muffle the initial modem sounds. Once online, she went immediately to giftsoflove.com.

      This was her baby.

      Three years ago, she’d started the Internet bridal gift registry with a modest inheritance left to her by Grandmother Angie. Though her parents had urged her to buy mutual funds, Jessie had decided to risk it all on a business of her own. She’d had no doubts her grandmother, an adventurous woman herself, would have approved.

      In the beginning, Gifts of Love had been an uphill struggle. Instead of staying in the larger metropolitan area of Dallas-Ft. Worth where she’d lived after graduating from college, she’d decided to move back to her hometown of Springfield, Missouri. But after working around the clock, six days a week, she could finally declare giftsoflove.com a success.

      As the homepage loaded, Jessie felt a familiar surge of adrenaline. Impressed by the new pages that the evening shift had designed and uploaded, she noted only a few areas that needed fine-tuning.

      When she finally glanced up at the clock, over an hour had passed. Shutting down her laptop, she hurried to get dressed before Isabel awoke. She even considered calling David to tell him the night had gone smoothly. Chances were, he was awake. Everyone knew no one ever got quality sleep in a hospital.

      She picked up the receiver, then, feeling foolish, set it back down. After staring at the telephone for another minute, she quickly punched in the hospital number before she could change her mind.

      “Hello,” David answered, sounding wide awake, much to Jessie’s relief.

      “I thought you might like to know your baby slept through the night.”

      “That’s good. I was worried she wouldn’t be able to settle down.”

      “And how did you sleep?” Jessie asked as she fingered the telephone cord. Not until she spoke did she realize how eager she’d been to hear his voice and to know he’d improved.

      “Fairly well. However, I feel like…” In the background, she heard the shuffle of sheets as David shifted his weight on the bed, his discomfort great enough to interrupt his words. “…a dump truck ran over me.”

      Though Jessie didn’t say anything, she assumed David would be out of commission for longer than he might be willing to admit.

      “Oh,” she said, “Isabel’s waking up.” Moving to the bed, she held the receiver next to the sleepy child’s ear. As soon as Isabel heard her father’s voice, she smiled and stretched. Jessie shared the little girl’s satisfaction and decided to treasure these special moments God had given her.

      Jessie was prepared for the look of surprise when she walked into David’s hospital room later that morning with Isabel balanced on her hip.

      “Hi, Pumpkin,” David called out to his smiling daughter, while his eyes asked why Isabel wasn’t at home with Elaine.

      When David inched to one side and patted the bed, Jessie securely positioned Isabel between her father’s chest and arm. However, she remained close to the bed, just in case the toddler started to squirm.

      “Elaine’s been delayed, hasn’t she?”

      As Jessie explained that Elaine’s sister had fallen that morning and Elaine was taking care of her sibling’s twins, empathy shone from David’s brown eyes. “You made the right decision in telling her to stay,” he assured her. “I would have told her to stay in Kansas, too.”

      He kept shaking his head. “I can’t believe this is happening to Elaine’s sister. She’s had a rough time lately.” Looking directly at Jessie, he added, “Sometimes, I really have to wonder what God is thinking.”

      Jessie merely shrugged and offered a tight smile. This wasn’t the moment to volunteer her personal insights about God’s timing.

      Shifting his gaze to Isabel, David relaxed a little. “The bright side is that I get to see my little girl. I wasn’t certain you could bring her to my room.”

      Jessie’s smile widened and she touched her fingertips to her lips. “I’m not certain whether it’s allowed, either. We just walked in like we belonged here.”

      “With you in charge, there’s nothing to worry about.”

      Briefly, she met his gaze, surprised by how much his respect meant to her. However, she wasn’t about to spoil her image and confess that his neat brick home looked like a disaster zone. By the time Jessie had cleaned up the dining room and kitchen floors, Isabel had dumped the box of toys in the living room, plus she’d knocked over a potted fern and rubbed dirt into the carpet. And while she’d talked to Elaine on the cordless telephone, Isabel had followed her curiosity into the nursery, grabbing at anything within reach. Jessie had stayed one step behind the crawling toddler, but it still amazed her how much chaos Isabel had created before she scooped her up.

      “The doctor is going to make me stay another night.”

      David grasped her hand, forcing her to meet his gaze again. This time she knew