"I'm a drunk", the clergyman said, then intermitting for a while, "I know it's weird for a clergyman to say, but I no longer want to live with this secret eating me up gradually". The confessor who sat in a corner partially shaded from the clergyman became anxious to hear of his story. He recognised the figure but concealed his surprise, this was the first time in his service to meet a clergy walk up to the communion rail to confess. "Please go on" he urged.
"My name is George, and I'm 56 years old. I joined priesthood at the age of 18, this tells you I know almost every doctrine in this faith. I wasn't born with a partial crippled leg, and I never planned on becoming a priest. I only enrolled because that was what my parents always wanted for me. It became a torment for me, and I started to drink covertly to comfort my troubled soul". He sobbed, and constantly stopped to wipe up his tears.
"What do you want"? The confessor asked. He wondered Why he chooses to confess few days to his retirement? the confessor at the rail believed there was more to this.
"I want to fulfill my one time longing to experience the bliss in marriage" the clergyman said. The confessor was bewildered, there had been a rumour of spirits that torment priests at this season of the year with negative thoughts, but he had never believed it, neither did he believe George is face with such.
He knows George to be a dedicated priest and is punctual to every meeting. He is confident that the venue is set for mass at it exact time when George is around. "It's George" he comment each time there's contention on who had arrived to arrange the auditorium.
A journey, renewal and redemption. Thank you for this most interesting entry into @theinkwell Writing Contest.
Good to see your phone is working again, @dwixer!
This is a wonderful story @dwixer. So concise, easy to understand while driving at the theme "renewal". I really hope people who are forced into a culture, one way or the other try to make their own voice heard and go away from it. Thanks for publishing this
Lovely story of longing. Once satisfied, he found out his true calling and recognized it for what it was. He was then able to make his decision going forward with his free will.
This story is true not only in the church but in all of life. Forcing one to live another person's dreams and desires is bound to end in disaster. This is true especially for children. I've witness numerous parents living out their dreams through their children, especially in sports. It never works out the way it was intended.
Thanks for sharing this story.