Life Is Puzzling
by GEORGIA PEACH

It was a normal Saturday afternoon in Angel Grove· Well, in some ways. Leeza treaded through Angel Grove High, in search of Billy, who at the moment was working in the computer room. Leeza finally found the room, walked in, heavily threw her skate bag down which gave a very loud thud, and slumped down in a chair out of breath.

Billy turned to face her. "How come I have the oddest feeling that if I were to ask how practice went I'd be going into uncharted territory?"

"Probably because you would be." She stated sounded frustrated.

"Well, I'll live dangerously· What happened?" He gestured.

"Billy, I could barely even land a double toe-loop, let alone a triple! My skating today was horrible! It's probably the worst practice of my life!·And trust me, with skating that's really long." She let out a heavy sigh of frustration.

Billy sat down next to her." We all have our off days Leeza· It's not like you're the first person to have a bad practice· Maybe, you just weren't focused enough on your skating."

Leeza sighed." I suppose your right·I'm just really worried about the competition next week· I haven't competed in a big competition in awhile and I'm really nervous about it· This is also my big debut· I'm representing Angel Grove, not New York· I don't want to let them down."

"Leeza, it'll get better I promise· Don't worry about it." He gently touched her chin. "After all how could someone like you let anyone down." [

Leeza sighed." I hope everyone else shares your opinion·. Because if I mess up at Regionals, I've got a big problem·Nothing seems to be going my way these days· Do you know what I mean?"

But before he could answer the familiar beeping of their communicators sounded. Billy immediately picked up his watch and spoke into it. " This is Billy. What's up?"

An alarmed Alpha voice appeared." Billy, you have to come here immediately! Something's wrong with Zordon!"

Billy and Leeza exchanged a confused look. Leeza spoke through her communicator. "Alpha, be more descriptive, what's wrong exactly?"

"His, voice is becoming unclear and he's fizzling out like an old TV set· I have no idea what to do."

"Calm down Alpha, we'll be right there. Tell the others that there's no need to panic, but just to be ready to come in at any time." Billy ordered.

"Okay." Alpha agreed.

"What do you think is going on?" Leeza asked as they got ready to teleport.

Billy sighed," Not sure, but we'll all find out soon enough won't, we?"

"Yeah." And with that the conversation ended as the two teleported to their next journey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they arrived in the Power Chamber, they realized that Alpha hadn't been descriptive enough. Zordon was beginning to disappear, the alarm was on and one of the control panels was smoking.

Billy had an old memory flash throughout his mind. It was two years previous, when the mysterious Green Ranger had appeared. That's exactly what Zordon reminded him of. But obviously nobody had broken into the Power Chamber. But for some reason he asked anyway. "Alpha, was anyone in here earlier?"

Alpha shook his head, " No Billy, it's just been me and Zordon."

"Alpha, how did these break?" Leeza asked turning her attention to the console panel with smoke coming from it.

"It's been like that for the past minute or so· A fuse might of blew or something like that."

"Did you check all of Zordon's wiring, is everything connected?" Billy asked.

"Of coarse Billy·I might be a robot but I still have some form of intelligence. "

Billy sighed. For a robot, Alpha was really sensitive. " That isn't what I meant· I was just making sure you had checked everything. "

"Billy. " Leeza called, still investigating the steaming console." Is it possible, that if this console were malfunctioning it could be causes Zordon to be unclear?"

Billy nodded." That is a feasible option Leeza· But we need to check everything· It could be as simple as a lose wire or as complicated as a computer virus." He flinched as he said the words, remembering the deadly virus they had, had only a few months earlier.

"Here, maybe this will help you." Alpha waddled over to a different console and got what looked like a deformed remote. It was shaped just like a remote, but at the top it was bent, with weird colored lines running threw it. Alpha handed it to Billy. " Run this scanner up and down the console·If there's anything wrong with it, you'll hear beeping. "

Billy shrugged." Sounds simple enough· I think it's underneath it, so I'm starting bottom up." And with that he disappeared.

"Well." Leeza sighed." We won't be seeing him for awhile, will we?" Alpha shook his head in agreement." I'm gonna go check Zordon's wiring, just to make sure everything's in the right place· No offense Alpha, I just want to double check."

"None taken! In fact, I think I'll help you." Alpha stated waddling behind her.

CHAPTER TWO

Well, half an hour passed and still, no answer. Billy slid out from under the console. He had searched high and low and found nothing. The panel had stopped smoking, but Zordon was still out of whack. He couldn't figure out, what the problem was. From what he could see there was nothing abnormal with this console.

Leeza's luck wasn't much better. She was just as confused as Billy was. Zordon's wires were all in tact, nothing appeared to be wrong. Technically there was no reason why Zordon should be having this problem.

Leeza walked up to Billy to find out his news, but as soon as she saw his face she already knew what the answer was. "Nothing, huh?"

"Nope, nothing· There's nothing wrong with this console." He stated gesturing to it.

"Then, why was it smoking?" She asked plainly.

"A small fuse blew· But it was nothing that could of affected Zordon, it blew a minute or so before we got here·Technically speaking there's no reason why he's malfunctioning." He tried to explain.

"Well, obviously there's something wrong! He wouldn't be fizzling out if there wasn't." Leeza sighed and rested against a console. She really hated it when she couldn't figure out what was going on. The thing was, she had a feeling the problem was very small, and right under their noses and they just couldn't see it. "Could it be a computer bug or something?"

Billy shrugged." I sure hope not. No offense but I think we've had our share of computer virus' for awhile· Either way, I think it's time we contacted the others· They should know about this, and maybe with their help we can find the problem."

Within a few minutes a rainbow of colors appeared in the Power Chamber. Tommy stepped forward immediately prepared for battle." What's going on Billy?"

Billy took a breath in. This was really hard to define. Zordon was malfunctioning obviously, but he found no reason as to why. And if he couldn't find the answer the others were liable to panic. Not like anyone would admit it. But deep within their soul they all would feel a form of fear and panic as to what was happening to their leader. But the truth had to be stated, and it had to be stated now.

"Zordon is malfunctioning for some bizarre reason· Neither Leeza or I could find out the reason."

"Whoa, wait a minute· What do you mean be malfunctioning? What's wrong with him exactly?" Tommy inquired forcefully.

Billy sighed." We don't know·From what we can see, his screen is malfunctioning·There's nothing wrong with him, it's just his image that we're having problems with· The only problem, is we can't find out why he's having problem's with his imagery."

Adam jumped into the conversation. "How long has he had this problem?"

Billy glanced to Leeza and she gazed to Alpha, who gave an ashamed whimper. "For about two hours·At first I didn't think that there was anything wrong, so I didn't want to bother you·Than the problem continued, so I contacted Leeza and Billy in hopes that they could figure out what was wrong· But they couldn't." He sighed.

"Do you have any ideas as to what's wrong with him?" Katherine asked.

Billy bit his lip." Well, it can be a matter of two things. One, it could be a bad part in the computer, but since I checked it and didn't find anything, it's unlikely. Two, it could be a computer virus of some kind."

Rocky threw his hands up." What are we prone to virus'! Do we have a sign on the door that says "Virus' come this way", or something?"

Everyone broke out laughing. Than an astrained silence came over the room. When Rocky had said it, it had been funny. But when they thought about it there was really nothing funny about that statement. Two months ago four of the rangers' lives had been put on the line. If it had not been for their tremendous courage, faith·and belief in something stronger than themselves, they never would have gotten through it.

Faith. Now that was a very big topic for each and every one of them. Most of them didn't feel like they had to believe in something, other than each other. I mean when you have super human powers and have saved the world from bizarre creatures several times, you really don't feel like there is anything else you to have to rely on. And if things get really bad, you just rely on each other, and in your leader. But recently something had sparked within each and everyone of them for something more, something stronger. It was becoming hard to believe that they had escaped the grasp of death so many times·all on their own. Something was looking out for them. The question was·What?

The rangers minds were drifting away in deep thought, when Alpha's voice broke the silence. "Rangers, what should we do?"

"Let's break up to different parts of the Power Chamber, and check out any possibility that could be affecting, Zordon." Billy suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Tommy agreed not really knowing what else to do. They all gathered together and picked out sections. Five minutes passed and everyone had their assignment given.

"Okay." Katherine said in her normal cheery voice." And may the best man, or woman win." They all chuckled and went over to their assigned areas.

CHAPTER THREE

The rangers had broken up into their own spaces inside the huge chamber. Each one with different things on their minds. Could this be another virus? If it was what would they do about it? Three of them knew what the answer to that question was. Trust God that everything will work out, place it in His hands and then what happens, happens. Because ultimately, He's in control, and no matter what you do, what He wants·will be. So believing in Him is some comfort, because it gives you some kind of answer, as what is to be.

This kind of thing was new to Adam. He had never thought that there was any reason to believe in something. Life was just the way it was. Sometimes things would work out, and sometimes they wouldn't. Now he was learning that there was something that could be done. Things would still go wrong, bad things would still happen·but there was something that could comfort you and take care of you. No matter what happened you knew that someone was there whenever you needed it. And that, Adam thought, was pretty cool.

Tommy walked up behind Adam. He jumped unaware of Tommy's presence. "Tommy! Man, you scared me·What's you got there?" He pointed to some kind of device.

Tommy held it up. "Alpha said to use this· He said it might help us find out what's wrong with Zordon's imagery·But, personally speaking, I don't think it's going to help much. If Billy, or Leeza didn't find out what the problem was already, there's probably no chance of this thing finding out," He held it up," I just hope it's nothing serious· The last thing we need is to have another serious virus or something."

"Don't worry about it· I doubt its anything serious, because the only thing that is wrong with Zordon is his imagery·It's nothing physical, so he should be okay." Adam tried to be of comfort. But deep within his heart, he was just as frightened. What had happened two months before had permanently scared him. That memory would never fade. No matter how many times he tried to push it out of his mind or cover it up· It would always be there. A physical scare heals, but an emotional one never does.

"Adam. Earth to Adam, come in?" Tommy waved his hand in front of Adam's face .He had stopped talking mid-paragraph and Tommy wanted to make sure he was all right. "You okay?"

Adam jerked. He had drifted off and forgotten that there was someone with him. "Yeah, I'm all right. I was just thinking." He said with a light sigh.

"I know what you mean·I've been doing a lot of thinking myself·Adam, can I ask you something?"

"Always."

Tommy was hesitant. It was probably his imagination. He always jumped to conclusions, but whatever was going on was becoming more and more evident. The rangers had always been protected by theirs suits, but when the battle raged for awhile it would begin to wear down. But lately, the protection was stronger than usual, and he noticed that he barely felt the shots. They just bounced off him. There was something more happening, there was something else there. And he wanted to know what.

"Have you been feeling more protected in battle lately?"

Adam stopped and looked directly at him." What do you mean, by protected?"

"In battle, I've been feeling like there was something else there·shielding us· Does that make any sense?"

Adam paused. That made more sense than Tommy realized. The thing was Adam really wasn't sure how too word it. He was just beginning to understand it himself. There was no way he could explain something, if he was just learning it.

"Tommy·"He began," I really don't know what to tell you· You're right there has been some kind of protection in battle lately·But I really don't know how to explain it·"Adam paused. Tommy had a right to know what was going on. "Why don't you ask Billy?· He explains things pretty well·and he knows more about what's going on than I do. "

"I think I will· I just hope he can answer this for me without me needing a dictionary." Tommy chuckled.

"Trust me Tommy, this isn't anything scientific· It'll be plan and simple· He's in the zord room, why don't you go?"

"Yeah, I'll go." Tommy sighed." Thanks Adam·Good luck finding something."

"Good luck to you too·" He shouted as Tommy headed towards the zord room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Billy was hidden underneath a console in the zord room. He was making sure all the wires were connected. There was really no other reason as to why Zordon was malfunctioning. He was trying to think of any possibility, but none were coming to mind. It was as if everything he had ever known about computers was useless. He had no clue as too what the problem was.

Tommy strolled in. He hadn't been in the Zord room in awhile. In fact, since the day of the virus. That thought shook him with fear. He tried to forget the thought and went on with his mission. "Billy, you still here?" He called.

"Down here!" Billy yelled back. Tommy followed the direction the voice had come from. Billy was laying down, with a bunch of wires covering his face. "There you are·How's the view from down there?"

Billy placed his scanner down and rolled out from under the console. He got up and stretched his back." I've seen more interesting things, believe me· Nothing I could use though."

"Too bad· Would you mind if I talked to you? Or do you want to get back to work?"

"Please, talk to me now. My mind's gone blank· I have no idea what's wrong with Zordon· And no idea how to find out." Billy sighed.

Tommy shrugged." Two heads are better then one right?" Billy laughed. That was just what he needed to take the edge off." That's what they say. So what's bugging you?· Hopefully nothing like last time." He stated remembering their last talk alone.

Tommy brought his hands up." I assure you its nothing that serious, believe me·I've just been noticing some things and I wanted your opinion on it."

"Well," Billy leaned against a console panel." Talk away."

Tommy took a deep breath. How could this be put in a way that Billy could easily grasp? Tommy himself couldn't grasp it, and if he couldn't grasp it how was he supposed to explain it. "It's kinda hard to explain·It's probably just my imagination, but here goes· I've been noticing lately, in battle it's·it's felt like we've had· I don't know· More protection· Does that make any sense?" He asked; feeling as if he had just made a total idiot out of himself.

Billy lowered his eyes, searching for an answer. What Tommy had said did make sense·A lot of sense. The past few months in battle Billy had noticed that the shots from the monsters seemed to fly off him. There was defiantly some kind of shield there, protecting them from their enemies. Billy knew deep within his heart what it was. The question was how to convince Tommy, and how too convince the other rangers.

But than again that was the point. The point was to convince them. If the whole team could come to God with the infinite power He provides, plus with the power they have as rangers, the thoughts were inevitable. Talk about having nothing to fear! But now what mattered was how to state this to Tommy. If he chose to believe it great! But if not, well Billy would just have to pray for him to come around.

"That makes a lot of sense Tommy· I've noticed it too. And it's because there is something protecting us."

Tommy looked into Billy's eyes and said," What?", partly in curiosity, partly in fear.

Billy took a breath." Something, that we can't see·And we can't touch· But it's there. It was there during the virus, and so many other things you'd be amazed· During every tragedy, and every triumph·It was there·The funny thing is, I know what It is, but· I don't know how to explain it·I'm just learning it myself."

"You seem," Tommy interrupted." You seem, like you know it very well·Why is it so hard?"

Billy paused. Why did it seem like when one hard question was answered an even harder one was asked? "But I don't·" Billy turned his back to Tommy." I've always thought of myself highly intelligent· And after all the problems we've had, possibly the most intelligent person on the planet· But several months ago, I realized that I don't know a thing· And the little bit of knowledge I'm learning now is nothing compared to what I need to know. Life has a different meaning for me now·"He turned to face Tommy." I always used to be afraid of the monsters that Rita, Zedd, and the Machine Empire would send down· Now they don't even phase me. It's as if they hold no threat to me, so there's no reason to be afraid· And it has nothing to do with my powers as a ranger· I really wish I had recorded what I just said, because I always seem to forget my advice when I need it."

Tommy chuckled. Then he lowered his eyes to study his shoes. Even though Tommy was the leader of the team· He had always felt some kind of fear· He just never showed it· You can't when you're in command. When your teammates, a town, the whole planet and possibly the universe rely on your decision. It's very nerve racking. What if he were to make a mistake? A wrong turn? A wrong decision? What if one of your teammates disagreed with you? There was a number of frightening possibilities· Each one that had been kept buried deep within soul, for no one to see or learn of. He thought about talking to Zordon, but every time he was about to, he lost his nerve· What if Zordon found him incompetents to lead the team anymore, and wanted to replace him? Whatever this thing was Billy had he sure wished he had it. "I wish I was as brave as you. " Tommy whispered.

Billy stared at him. What had Tommy just said? He wished he was as brave as him? Had Tommy forgotten how Billy used to wear overalls with striped shirts, and odd looking glasses, not to mention talking as if he was some kind of computerized dictionary. Billy had always looked up to Tommy like some kind of hero. Now Tommy was looking up to him? Talk about a switch.

"What in the world are you talking about Mr.? Your one of the bravest guys I know. You've fought space aliens, and monsters, and each one of us that had so many spells of some kind, including yourself, that I can't remember. And your saying your not brave· Is this some kind of April fools joke?"

"But I'm not·So many time I've been scared to death· That's being a coward·not being brave." Slowly Tommy began to explain his thoughts and feelings. It was very hard for him. He had never shared them with anyone before. They had been kept locked down deep within his soul. Now suddenly they were being emerged. Billy seemed to just pull them out of him· And yet it wasn't Billy, it was something within Billy that Tommy told. Something he possessed. Something fascinating.

"Tommy," Billy slowly began. He had to find the exact way to word this, or it might hurt Tommy, rather than help him." Just because you get frightened, doesn't mean you're a coward· If you didn't get frightened than I would think something was wrong· Fear is an emotion, and if its not felt then there's a problem· And the most amazing thing is, you never show it to any of us·Now that's courageous· When all odds are against you, and there may be no chance at all, you stand tall and keep fighting·Who cares if you're afraid· If you weren't then you wouldn't be human. Don't worry about it·"Billy walked up to Tommy and placed his hand on Tommy's shoulder." You're a great leader for this team. And every ranger that has served under you knows that, and is proud to know you. "

Tommy nodded forcefully. Part of him believed what Billy was saying, and yet part of him didn't. "Yeah·I guess you're right."

Billy looked into his eyes." You guess?"

Tommy knew at that exact moment that what Billy was saying was true. And he also knew that Billy was not going to let him go anywhere, until he stated that. "Yeah, you're right."

"Good." Billy stepped back." Want to go check on the others and see how they're doing?"

"Sure· Got nothing else to do. " Tommy agreed.

They proceed towards the door when something in the Zord room caught Billy's eye.

"Tommy· What's in that corner over there?" He asked pointing to a bunch of boxes on top of each other.

Tommy followed his glance." Oh, Rocky and I came in last night and helped Alpha move some supplies in here· Why do you ask?"

Billy felt a very strange feeling. Something was telling him to look at those boxes. But what was the point of that. What could possible be over there that he needed to see? Nevertheless, he headed over to them, and started to move the boxes. "Help me move them."

Tommy was surprised. Why in the world did Billy want to move them." Why? What's the big deal if those boxes are there?"

Billy stopped. "I really don't know Tommy· I just feel like were supposed to look here that all· Now are you going to help me or not?"

Reluctantly Tommy went over and started moving the boxes. What was the point of this? They had absolutely nothing to do with Zordon. The boxes had been there since last night, if there was going to be a problem wouldn't it of happened the night before? But Tommy was silenced a second later as the last box was moved, and there lay a long thick cord on the ground. "What is that?" he asked shakily.

Billy stooped down and examined it. The cord was a dull gray color, and had to be five inches thick· And was unplugged. Could this possibly be the cause of Zordon's malfunction? Billy picked it up. It felt as if it weighed a ton·Or could be a ton. If this was Zordon's problem, that would probably be why it took around twelve hours too disconnect. It was very durable. It would have to take a lot of pressure for this thing to give out. It all began to make sense. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier! It would have saved so much time and energy· But it wouldn't have helped Tommy· The real reason why this happened was for both of them to face their fears and do a little soul-searching.

And for each ranger in the power chamber to realize their fears. Every one of them had, had some fear about the deadly virus a few months ago resurface. And along with that the fear of a new virus possibly arriving. When Billy had said that their may possibly be one, a chilling hush had fallen over the chamber. Things had always been odd for the rangers·But over the past few months things had changed. Most of them not knowing why. The rangers had fallen upon something that affected them forever now.

It was a big mystery· Then again life is a mystery isn't it? We always have to figure everything out· Everything has to have a purpose an a specific reason behind the purpose. Nothing can just be·Pretty weird world· But we made it that way didn't we?

We're always looking for the truth· And yet we couldn't believe the truth that was stated a very long time ago. So in actuality we only want to believe our form of the truth.

Now Billy had been quiet for a few minutes. Tommy snapped his fingers in front of Billy's face. Billy jerked back. He really was beginning to hate it when his mind would wander when his friends were near him. They were probably beginning to think that he was nuts· Well, it wouldn't be the first time. His mind couldn't help, but wander away. So many new thoughts so many new experiences. The spirit is bound to want to experience them.

"Sorry· I just kinda got caught up in my thoughts for awhile·I've been doing that a lot lately. I just can't seem to keep my mind in one place."

"It's okay· I just wanted to make sure you were all right· Do you have any idea as to what this thing is?" Tommy asked squatting down.

"I'm not exactly sure· But if the boxes have been on top of it since last night it might explain Zordon's problem. Because the wire is so thick it would take a long period of time in order for it to dislodge itself. "

"But how do we know, if that's connected to Zordon?"

Billy shrugged." We don't· But like I've said before, in science nothing is certain. We just have to get the right facts and take the chance· Otherwise we'll never know." Billy paused." And in my case, I send up a prayer and hope God will help me put the right piece here or there·Otherwise, I'm sunk!"

Tommy chuckled. "Like Titanic, huh?"

"Worse than Titanic! But that's besides the point· We have to find the outlet for this thing to see if it will work or not."

"How about over there?" Tommy pointed further into the corner were you could make out the dim shape of some kind of outlet.

Billy sighed, embarrassed that he hadn't noticed it. "That could work· Help me bring it over there." Billy got up and started dragging his part over.

"Billy·"Tommy asked shakily when they were just about to plug it in. "Is there a chance we can get electrocuted if we plug this in?"

Billy pondered that for a second. " Tommy· There's a chance of anything happening·. We just have to trust God that He'll be there to help us get through it, and lead us to the other side· Cause there's no way we can get there without his help· And yes you can quote me on that."

Tommy gave a nervous chuckle. He picked up his end. When he lifted the wire, it felt as if it weighed a ton. _ That defiantly explains why it took so long to disconnect._ he thought. Slowly he came up to the outlet. With shaky hands he and Billy counted off and stuck the plug back in the wall.

An electric jolt spurted through them and they flew back. Safely they returned to the ground on several boxes. They remained silent for many seconds. Partially from fear of speaking, and from shock. The silence would have continued if it had not been for a sudden loud beeping. The two startled.

Tommy somehow pulled himself back into his 'leader mode', and answered beeping.

"Tommy, here." His voice sounded strained, as if speech were impossible.

"Tommy!!!" Katherine's cheery voice flowed from the watch. "I don't know what you just did, but whatever it was, it worked. Zordon's back online, and communications are working again."

Billy immediately took it from there. "Communications? Kat, what do you mean by communications?"

"Everyone in the Power Chamber has been trying to contact you and Tommy for around fifteen, to twenty minutes· All of our communicators were working, but yours weren't. We ran a couple of scans but couldn't find out exactly where you were· The computer said you were on the premises, but couldn't find your exact whereabouts."

Tommy and Billy just exchanged glances. Nothing needed to be stated or spoken. The looks said everything that needed to be said.

"Boys· Are you still there?" Kat asked after a long silence from them.

"Yeah· We're still here· We'll be in the Power Chamber in a minute· Tommy out."

Tommy dropped his arm. Silence continued. Nothing could be spoken. Nothing could be said. Tommy racked his brain to say something, but nothing came to mind. Their communicators had been working perfectly. Something else had concealed their whereabouts. And Tommy was getting a pretty good idea at what that something was.

"We better be heading back." Billy said breaking the astrained silence. " Com'on." That said, the two headed for the main room· Bringing more with them than anyone knew.

CHAPTER FOUR

Deja vu happened two days later. Billy was once again in the computer room at Angel Grove High, as Leeza surged throughout the school searching for him. The only difference was Billy was searching for her also. Leeza headed for the door to the computer room, so did Billy and; CRASH!!!.

"Hey watch were your going, will you!" Leeza shouted jokingly.

"Well, excuse me." Billy joked picking her bag up." So how was practice; dare I ask."

"Better than Saturday. I even nailed a triple loop/double loop combination· But my routine's still a mess!!!"

Billy smirked and pondered what she said for a moment." Did you pray before you went on?"

Leeza paused mouth wide open, and a moment later sighed." No· I haven't done that in awhile. I've been too focused on the new routine and the upcoming competition·"She lowered her eyes." I guess that's probably my problem, huh?"

Billy shrugged," It could be·I mean you're the one that told me with His help nothing is impossible, and without His help everything is· Don't you remember the cave?"

Leeza chuckled. "How could I ever forget that." The two started headed for the exit of the school. " We both had some really close encounters that day·. And I don't just mean life threatening ones·"Leeza paused. She reflected back on that day in her mind. "I did the same thing then as I'm doing now·. I kept fretting, worrying, and panicking over everything·. I couldn't just trust God on it· I had to do everything on my own· Am I just not trusting enough? Is that my problem?"

"Nah, Leeza· We all have that problem· We all want to do things on our own· Look at real young teens for instance·"

"Oh, boy, here he goes with one of his stupid analogies again."

"Oh be quiet, "Oh, ye of little faith"· Now let me remember where I was before I was rudely interrupted· Oh yeah, look at young teens, they want to go here, there, and everywhere so to speak, but their parents won't let them. Because they know what's best for them and where they're supposed to go· In a way its the same thing· Only difference is it doesn't matter what the age is."

"Okay Billy, as usual you have totally confused me·Please translate into English. "

Billy let out a sigh of frustration." What I'm trying to say is, God is our parent and knows what's best for us. Even though we may not be able to see what He wants from us, or of us right away ,He has a plan and we just have to let go and trust Him· Than everything will fall into place and work out for the best· Right?"

Leeza was purposely staring off into space, pretending to ignore him." You were saying something?" She said sweetly.

Billy rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna kill her." He whispered quietly." She never listens to one word I say, but heaven forbid if I don't pay any attention to her."

Leeza looked up at him." Gotcha. I always listen to you· I just pretend that I don't because I know it irritates you, and I like seeing you mad·Aren't I a nice person?"

Billy sighed, and threw his hands in the air." Leeza, what am I gonna do with you?"

Leeza pondered that for a moment." You can go and buy me a smoothie at the Juice Bar."

Billy shrugged." Okay·. After you." Billy gestured meaning for her to go forward. And that was one more piece added to their lives.