20 march 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2681: deep groan

Image by Šárka Jonášová from Pixabay

“Lord, I just want to thank You, because I really needed an Insta-Resort with two floors, because living in a house with one floor with nine people on a rainy day is a lot, and now, I can just come upstairs and sit by this window in the sunshine and just chill, and I really needed this vacation and for You to have it rain enough to take care of my veggies back home, so I really needed all of this, and I just wanted to thank You for breaking good on our lives so I could be here with all my siblings and friends but also have space – I need space so I can be calm and really work on being a sweet little girl and I just thank You for this because I needed this!”

Eight-year-old Edwina Ludlow broke down and cried from relief as she was praying, and with that oversized contralto voice she had, her basso profondo grandfather from whom she had inherited instantly ran up the stairs like he was 40 years younger than his 58 to find out what was going on. Edwina was not alone up there, though; Mrs. Thalia Ludlow and also quite quiet six-year-old Grayson Ludlow were upstairs when Capt. R.E. Ludlow finished his run.

Mrs. Ludlow explained, and noticed the strange look that succeeded her husband's relief, but he thanked her and went back downstairs because three of their remaining grandchildren Lil' Robert (5), Amanda (7), and George (9) were downstairs playing in the big sitting room with Gracie Trent (8) and Milton Trent (9) from next door while their two oldest grandchildren, Andrew (10) and Eleanor (11) were at the Trents' place next door with Gracie and Milton's big sister Velma Trent (11) and their cousin Vertran Stepforth (9). The Ludlow grandfather was playing Uno with three Uno decks with them, and enjoying their conversation – but they were all coming up the stairs after him and needed to be reassured by him.

“Edwina and God are having a good conversation – she's fine, but let's give them their alone time.”

“See, I've been praying for this, because we all need to have breakthroughs when we are constantly thinking we gotta break bad and we are only eight,” Gracie was saying to Amanda on the way back down.

“I have too and this is good and I know she's going to feel so much safer now!” Amanda said.

“Yeah, but – I gotta go back and be sure, because reasons!” Lil' Robert said.

“Robert,” his grandfather, also “Big Robert,” said, “God's got this.”

“Well, OK, because He doesn't need help doing His job, but if He ever wants some, He does know where I am!” Lil' Robert said.

Back to fun and games, and Edwina and Grayson and Mrs. Ludlow came back down soon enough and joined the game, and the day went on.

Much, much later, Mrs. Ludlow heard a deep groan from her husband and saw that he had knelt by that same window that Edwina had knelt by in prayer, the moonlight lighting up his pure white beard like the sunlight had lit up Edwina's dark brown hair.

“So, You had Edwin Ludlow be disobeyed, and all the powerlessness of the best of men in the face of mankind's folly be displayed, so his great-granddaughter Edwina could see You breaking good in her life … Your ways, my God, are higher than my ways, and my earthly father's ways, and Your thoughts higher than all our thoughts … and in this quiet place, my Father in Heaven, the light of Your glory breaks also on Edwin Ludlow's last surviving son, slow though Baby Bob be to learn anything!”

Six-year-old Grayson came right back up the stairs for the same reason he had come for Edwina earlier hearing her before anyone else had … but he was dragging a whole cushion from the sofa this time.

“That seems to be a popular place to pray, Papa,” he said, “but that floor is hard and you need a prayer pillow too and you're kinda big, so, here you go.”

“You did this for Edwina too?” Capt. Ludlow said.

“Yep, but she's not as big, so, I took the pillow off your bed, but I took the pillow slip off first so I could put it back on before you put your head on it so your hair would stay nice."

Capt. Ludlow could only smile … Edwin's little great-grandchildren were all problem-solvers, but they did not quite understand all the steps they needed to take not to create additional problems. However, of the whole group, Grayson was the best natural systems thinker … Edwin Ludlow's gifts were precociously coming out!

“How deeply thoughtful of you,” he said. “You remind me so much of my father, Edwin, but of course, you're Grayson, and that's even more special.”

“I try,” Grayson said as he hauled the cushion up as his grandfather reached down for it. “I mean, Robert talks way more so he's easy to find, but God knows where I am too, and so, if I know people need prayer cushions, I gotta find a way, or build one.”

“Kinda hard to get your wagon up the stairs,” Capt. Ludlow said gently.

“Yeah, I would build a ramp, but this isn't our house,” Grayson said. “But George and Milton usually have good ideas, so, we'll all talk tomorrow.”

Capt. Ludlow almost jumped and fell down the stairs, and was glad for his prayer cushion after tucking Grayson back in, because … .

“First of all, thank You in Jesus's name for all those years of command composure so that I did not fall down the stairs at the idea of our favorite two winter-wonderland-with-baking-soda-almost-getting-everybody-evicted-ebony-and-ivory besties 'helping' Grayson figure out how to build a two-story ramp with Legos! Second of all, I thank you that Grayson is six, and will forget by tomorrow morning!”

So, Capt. Ludlow went to bed rejoicing, and he and Mrs. Ludlow had a good laugh before going to sleep.