Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 31 - Blue

Jessie stayed with Greg at the hotel in Escondido while the rest of the family went to Good Friday services with Stephen, Jenny, and their children at the local church. They were planning to meet at the hotel following the service before going out for dinner together afterwards.

In the meantime, Greg watched while Jessie entertained herself in the living room of their suite. She was studying the six eggs she'd decorated with Jenny that afternoon with such intensity Greg couldn't help wondering what she was thinking. He got a clue when Jessie began talking to herself.

"That one is yellow, because of the fire. That one is pink because of the flowers that grew around the cottage where we lived. That one is purple because we were all confused. The green one is for when we lived in Ireland. The orange one is for when Egg and I lived in New York City and we bought pumpkins every year to remind ourselves of the country. This life ... I had to make blue. It's the only color left. But what does it mean?" she said.

Greg watched, fascinated that she would even try to consider her past lives in terms of Easter egg colors.

She turned the eggs from side to side, as if to gain better insight by looking them from different angles.

"Papa, what does a blue egg mean?" Jessie finally asked, turning her attention to him.

"I could ask you the same thing," Greg told her. "What were you thinking about when you colored it?"

"That it was the only color left ... the only one I hadn't tried yet," Jessie told him.

Greg arched a brow. "Perhaps that means in this life, you should try something new. Something you've never tried before."

"Is it an answer?" Jessie wondered.

"I wouldn't think so," Greg told her. "But on the other hand, the Lord can find all sorts of ways to answer our questions or to tell us what he has in mind."

Jessie nodded, coming to sit on the sofa beside him. "I heard Mama talking to Uncle Stephen today about the blue."

"Oh?" Greg said.

"I think she said it to remind him about God," Jessie remarked.

"That could be," Greg told her. "I've heard your mama say something like that before too when talking to her brother."

"Why, Papa?" Jessie asked.

"Because Uncle Stephen has trouble believing in God, Jessie. People sometimes do when bad things happen," Greg said.

"Sometimes they stop believing when everything is good too," Jessie told him seriously. "Then it takes something that makes you feel blue to remind you."

"That is sometimes true too," Greg agreed.

"Is feeling blue supposed to make you think about God?" Jessie wondered.

"Not necessarily, but many people do believe they need him more then," Greg told her. "The truth is, we need Him all the time, not just when things are particularly good or going wrong."

"Maybe that's what my blue egg is supposed to remind me of," Jessie said thoughtfully.

"Maybe," Greg said agreeably. They'd just come to that conclusion when a sound at the door announced the rest of the family had returned. They were back from church and it would be time for dinner soon.

"Hi," Susan said as she opened the hotel room door with her key.

"Hello. Are we going to dinner right away?" Greg asked.