Traveler

It had been a strange morning so far for Pastor Robert, from the moment he opened his eyes.

Instead of waking up in his comfortable bed next to his wife, he found himself sitting on the stone steps of a huge, ornate building. Marble pillars rose high into the foggy morning sky. He shook his head, hoping to clear away the cobwebs and shake off the dream that must still possess him, but when he blinked, he was still there.

He stood up and looked around, wondering if he were the victim of some elaborate joke. An eerie feeling began to come over him as he surveyed the scene. Tattered, lifeless people lay around him on the steps. A weak cry came from the highest step. A baby lay all alone, crying helplessly and pitifully as the sunrise started to peek through the buildings all around him. He stared in horror at her. Her umbilical cord was still attached. He quickly went and took her in his arms, his breath catching in his throat at how cold she was. Surely she couldn't have survived much longer. Where was her mother?

What was this place, that left helpless souls on steps during the night to die? He took off his jacket and wrapped her in it tightly. He needed to find help for her. Where would the hospital be in this strange city?

He thought about the night before. He had been visiting some of the members of the church he pastored who were in the hospital. He had felt so despondent after watching one old man struggle to take each breath, pain evident in his clouded eyes, that he had driven to the lookout point on the hill over the city and shared his heartache and tears with the Lord. He couldn't remember driving home. He must have fallen asleep there.

And ended up here. "Here" looked suspiciously like Ancient Rome. Could he really have gone back two thousand years in time to walk the streets of one of the most powerful empires ever built? He supposed anything was possible for God.

A tiny sigh from the little one in his hands spurred him back to action. He walked as fast as he could down the side of the cobblestone street, trying to close his nose against the refuse that filled the trenches on either side. The street was largely empty in the early morning, but there were a few merchants setting up their booths and a few travelers on horseback. He saw a Roman soldier riding a magnificent steed and knew that he was indeed in Rome. He shook his head in amazement. While he received a few odd stares, probably at the sight of his clothes, he was basically ignored by all. He wondered where he should take this child. The soldier wouldn't be of help. He had no idea how to find a doctor or if the doctor would be willing or able to do anything for the sick baby.

Christians! He didn't speak Latin, but he knew some basic Greek or Hebrew from his seminary studies. He ran down the street, searching each booth for the sign of the fish or a cross.

He was delighted when he found one.

More to come...