By: Daniel R. Johnson
Aaron and Angie were born on a bitter cold morning in late November. Angie only a few minutes before her brother Aaron. Had they been born the same sex they would have been identical, but God had other plans. They were both healthy babies, they looked like their father, but had their mother�s eyes. For the most part, they would be destined to lead normal lives; not that being normal is a bad thing.
Growing up they were each other�s best friend, they were inseparable. At school they demanded to be in the same class together, and when they played games they always picked each other first to be on their team. They also were not afraid to stand up for each other�
�Suspended from school for fighting?� the twins mother demanded, looking really quite shocked at Angie. �Little girls don�t get into fights!�
�But Mom!� Angie replied, �Suzie called Aaron a doodie-head! I had to do something about it!�
�What you should have done was told the teacher,� she told her daughter, �Go to your room, you�re grounded.�
�From what?�
�I haven�t decided yet,� Angie�s mother replied as the girl stomped off to her room. �Only in the second grade and she�s getting into fights,� the frazzled woman muttered, �I hope she doesn�t grow up to be a terror as a teenager.�
In all reality Aaron could have cared less that Suzie called him a doodie-head. He�d just put a grasshopper in her hair at recess, and he�d be even. What really irked him was having to go to school for three days without his sister, something he�d never had to do before. So everyday after school he went home and gave his sister a full account of what had happened that day, and then they said mean things about old Mrs. Applewhite for suspending Angie, even though she was their favorite teacher yet.
Then, when the twins became older, Aaron decided to join the school baseball team. So, naturally, Angie joined the school softball team. Neither one was really very good and they both spent a lot of time sitting on the bench, but such is life. They both stuck with it for two seasons and then gave it up for an after school job at the local grocery store. They saw a lot more action there, and now they had spending money in their pockets.
Then came the junior prom, a very stressful time for the twins� father. Not only was he sending his little girl off with some guy he didn�t know as well as he would have liked, but he was shelling out a lot of cash for his son and his date. The twins� mother had to keep a close watch on her husband to make sure he did not overdose on Prozac. The father, however, was not the only one tense over the prom. Aaron was taking Suzan, who so many years before had called him a doodie-head and resulted in Angie�s suspension. Angie had never forgiven her for this and was totally shocked that Aaron would take her to the prom. On the same token, Aaron was not to pleased with Angie�s date either. The guy was named Jonathan, though Aaron was not so sure that really was his name, and had made Aaron look like a fool on several different occasions. Aaron was much more vocal about his disapproval in his sister�s date than she was in hers of his date.
�Five different guys asked you, and you picked him?� Aaron said, quite shocked on hearing the news from his sister.
�You know, he really is a very nice guy, I�m sure if you got to know him you�d like him a little better,� Angie replied.
�I don�t want to get to know him, I want to break his nose.�
�You�ll just have to get over it.�
The two had several more�conversations�about Jonathan, but Aaron finally gave up.
Then, in the July before the twins would enter their senior year of high school, one of Aaron�s friends invited them to a revival at a near by church. The twins were bored, and had never really been to church before so they decided to go. When the twins arrived at the church auditorium Aaron was really quite surprised. His previous mental image of church was obliterated. They had ordered tons of pizza and drinks, and were playing music that really was not half bad. Aaron was actually glad to be there. Angie, however, did not share his enthusiasm.
After awhile everyone took their seats and the speaker walked up on the stage. He was a young man, in his late twenties, perhaps early thirties. He was energetic and acted very excited to be there. Nothing like the old codger Aaron had imagined they�d be listening to. As the man began to speak and Aaron took in the message of salvation being delivered to him by this man, something happened inside of Aaron. At the end, when the invitation was delivered he went forward and accepted Jesus Christ into his life.
As the twins walked home that evening Aaron was ecstatic about what had happened but Angie just looked dejected. Aaron began to attend the church regularly, but his sister always remained home. Aaron tried to minister to her on countless occasions but Angie continued to reject the Lord. The twins� relationship never became distanced, but it never really was the same after Aaron�s salvation.
Graduation had come and gone and the twins were preparing for college. Angie had decided to stay home and attend the local community college, but Aaron had been accepted to the United States Military Academy at WestPoint. The day that Aaron had to ship out came too fast, and soon the family found themselves at the airport saying goodbye to Aaron. Angie, tears in her eyes, embraced Aaron and bid him farewell as he boarded the airplane to New York.
It was late in November, and Aaron was very homesick. Final exams were approaching and he had not been able to write to Angie on a weekly bases as he had been. Once this week was over though, he would be going home for an entire month. He was very excited. The past semester had been hell on earth and he could not wait to be with his family again. Then came a knock on Aaron�s dormitory door. Angry he was being taken away from his studies Aaron answered the door. At his door stood Lieutenant Colonel Anderson, the Commandant of Cadets at WestPoint.
