Maria thumped down onto the hard dirt floor. She was tired and angry, and wanted nothing more than to sit in the quiet room with nothing but herself and her stories.
But she was not alone.
She glanced around the barren room for inspiration. As she looked around, her eyes fell on a small doll with a pink dress which had been forgotten in the corner. Maria grabbed a small charcoal stick and a piece of paper, and started to write.
The pencil flew across the page, and Maria’s tension eased as she slipped into the world of her created characters. First she saw the doll, dirty and ragged, held in the arms of a small girl. Her thoughts clarified the picture and she saw that the girl was even more ragged than the doll she cradled in her arms; she looked as though she was made of shattered glass which could break at the slightest touch. Maria’s heart cried out for this small girl, lost and forgotten in a cruel world.
***
The little girl cried out for help every night, but no one ever came. Her parents had gone; they had abandoned her in some dark place far from home, where she would never be able to find her way back. No one seemed to care for the ragged girl who was worse off than her only possession, the doll. At least the doll had someone to care for her, but the girl had no one to show her what love truly meant.
She desperately wished for someone to come who would love her, care for her, and take her to a place which she could truly call home. One day, she found herself in a small village which looked rather nice. This day would change her life completely.
A newly married couple took pity on the lonely girl and brought her into their home. They bought her new clothes and showered her with enough love to fill her lonely heart. But she still felt as if there was something missing. She felt loved, but she was not yet home. It was not until the first time she went to church that she understood what her heart had been longing for.
In Sunday school she heard about a man who had loved her so much, before she was even born, that he died for her! He died so that all of her sins could be washed away. She was amazed! How could someone like this man, who had never sinned, care for someone like her, a retched sinner who no one loved?
That day she was happier than she had ever been in her life, because on that day she accepted Christ Jesus into her heart and realized that she had never truly been alone or forgotten, because God loved her and remembered her.
Now, her long white hair falls down across the pillow behind her head. As she shallowly breathes in, and then out, she smiles. Her face is full of peace and joy. If you were to ask her why she is so happy, she would immediately answer you “I am finally going home.”
In John 16:33 Jesus says “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
But she was not alone.
She glanced around the barren room for inspiration. As she looked around, her eyes fell on a small doll with a pink dress which had been forgotten in the corner. Maria grabbed a small charcoal stick and a piece of paper, and started to write.
The pencil flew across the page, and Maria’s tension eased as she slipped into the world of her created characters. First she saw the doll, dirty and ragged, held in the arms of a small girl. Her thoughts clarified the picture and she saw that the girl was even more ragged than the doll she cradled in her arms; she looked as though she was made of shattered glass which could break at the slightest touch. Maria’s heart cried out for this small girl, lost and forgotten in a cruel world.
***
The little girl cried out for help every night, but no one ever came. Her parents had gone; they had abandoned her in some dark place far from home, where she would never be able to find her way back. No one seemed to care for the ragged girl who was worse off than her only possession, the doll. At least the doll had someone to care for her, but the girl had no one to show her what love truly meant.
She desperately wished for someone to come who would love her, care for her, and take her to a place which she could truly call home. One day, she found herself in a small village which looked rather nice. This day would change her life completely.
A newly married couple took pity on the lonely girl and brought her into their home. They bought her new clothes and showered her with enough love to fill her lonely heart. But she still felt as if there was something missing. She felt loved, but she was not yet home. It was not until the first time she went to church that she understood what her heart had been longing for.
In Sunday school she heard about a man who had loved her so much, before she was even born, that he died for her! He died so that all of her sins could be washed away. She was amazed! How could someone like this man, who had never sinned, care for someone like her, a retched sinner who no one loved?
That day she was happier than she had ever been in her life, because on that day she accepted Christ Jesus into her heart and realized that she had never truly been alone or forgotten, because God loved her and remembered her.
Now, her long white hair falls down across the pillow behind her head. As she shallowly breathes in, and then out, she smiles. Her face is full of peace and joy. If you were to ask her why she is so happy, she would immediately answer you “I am finally going home.”
In John 16:33 Jesus says “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”