The Divine Appointment Read Online Free PDF Page B

Oval Office,” one of the agents said into the tiny microphone hidden in the sleeve of his suit coat. President Wallace liked the code name the service had assigned to him. He had overheard one of the agents using it not long after the primaries were over and had inquired about its origin.
    “You act like one, sir,” came the stiff reply. Whether it was meant as a compliment or not, President Wallace wasn’t certain, but he decided to take it as one.
    He had been elected to the presidency after two terms as the governor of South Carolina. The race was close. His opponent had more money as well as the backing of popular celebrities from both coasts. Liberal-interest groups ran television ad after television ad critical of Wallace’s social conservatism, but that seemed only to fuel his own campaign. When the votes were tallied, he had won, and that was all that mattered. Now was the time to make good on his campaign promise.
    President Wallace and Lauren had been married for thirty years and had two children. Thomas was in medical school at Duke, and Joann was a senior at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Even though the demands of public service were great, he had vowed never to shortchange his children. And he had followed through on that vow. He had attended every athletic event, every recital, and rarely had missed an evening meal. He had also introduced each of them to Jesus Christ, the most important Person in his life. Best of all, his children were following through on their own commitment to God.
    Before sitting down to his simple breakfast, President Wallace gazed around the room. He respected the Oval Office and had made sure when he took office that certain furnishings remained from prior administrations. The white marble mantel from the original Oval Office—constructed in 1909 on the south side of the White House—adorned one wall; the American and presidential flags stood faithfully on either side of his desk; and the presidential seal embossed on the ceiling presided over all meetings. President Wallace had chosen the resolute desk given by Queen Victoria of England to President Hayes in 1880 as his personal desk, although it was necessary to remove the two-inch base that President Reagan had added for his lanky frame in 1981. The paintings and prints that covered the walls of the Oval Office were of lighthouses and seascapes. They were on loan from museums throughout his native South Carolina.
    After preparing a cup of coffee with a dash of half-and-half and two cubes of sugar, he settled in behind his desk for his morning Bible study. Purposefully, he studied a passage from the fourth chapter of Esther in the Old Testament, focusing on the woman who was called by God “for such a time as this.” President Wallace could relate. He felt certain, and humbled, that God had chosen to put him in the position he had and knew that he also was called to serve “for such a time as this.” He prayed every day that he would be worthy, knowing that he never would be but accepting the responsibility that lay before him. And, like every day, when he had completed his Bible study, he spent time conversing with God.
    Then he began to review the contents of a stack of manila folders that had been placed on his desk overnight. He began with the clippings of headlines and news articles from newspapers around the world and the translation summary that accompanied them. Media reports were rarely accurate, but it was important to digest what information was being disseminated to the world’s population.
    Next were intelligence reports. The Middle East was always boiling, but recently there were elevated concerns about terrorist cells in Sudan and the Philippines. One folder contained a report on North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear production. He read through the reports briefly before placing them in the manila folder printed with the words For the President’s Eyes Only . The national security advisor,