Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Making Ends Meet (01/16/14)
-
TITLE: Cinderella's Sandals | Previous Challenge Entry
By Rachel Malcolm
01/23/14 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Stepping over to the sink, I laid my hand on his arm. “Is everything all right?” Kevin just shook his head and pointed at the area that he had scrubbed. Tilting my head I could see fine scratches on the glass. I looked at him with alarm and noticed that his eyes were red from holding back tears.
“I grabbed a new scrub pad before I left this morning and didn't even realize it wasn't glass safe,” he said as he squeezed the scrubbie in his fist and threw it down into the sink, splattering water on the clean dishes in the drying rack. “There was salt spray all over the windows, so I was scrubbing them, and I couldn't see that they were getting scratched because of the glare.” Kevin sunk his head into his hands and groaned.
“When I went into the house and started washing the windows,” he continued, “I was surprised that so many of them were scratched until...until I used the scrub pad on the inside of the windows and realized it was me.”
Kevin trudged to the other side of the room and picked up the phone. I admired how strong he was as he dialled the owner's number and explained that he thought he had scratched many of their windows.
Fear settled on me as the couple later met us at the door. It was a beautiful home on a bluff overlooking the ocean. Oh Lord, I inwardly wailed, there are windows everywhere!
I felt a sense of horror as we were led around the house and stopped at each window. “See the scratches here?” the woman asked, placing a yellow sticky note on each window we needed to replace. Later we were given an estimate of the damage—$3200.
What followed was a season of earnest prayer for work for Kevin, so we could begin to pay off the bill. I was thankful when work came, but I struggled with resentment as we lived as cheaply as possible and set the majority of each pay cheque aside for people who already had everything.
Little things bothered me, like not being able to afford a pair of sandals during the hot summer. “Lord,” I prayed, “I really am thankful for the work you gave Kevin and that we have everything that we really need, but could I have a pair of good sandals with velcro straps.”
Only a few days later, I was visiting a friend. “Do you want these?” she asked holding up a pair of the exact sandals I had prayed for. “My mom left them here,” she said in a tone of exasperation.
“Yes!” I said as tears filled my eyes. I tried them on and they were a perfect fit of course. Unlike Cinderella, I didn't turn into a princess that day—but I did realize that I was one. My Father is the King of the universe. He allowed us to face a financial disaster so we would learn to trust him through the storm, and he gave me a pair of sandals just to show how much he loves me.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
Thanks for sharing.
This was fabulous and so amazingly written.
God bless~
God bless~