Short Stories

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It was a typical winter day, or so it appeared. Snow covered the ground, everything seemed normal for that time of year. Quiet, colorless and bleak. I had taken my dog outside to get some exercise when he ran over to one of the neighbor’s houses. Being new to the neighborhood and not having met anyone yet, I wasn’t sure how this would be received should they come out and see us in their yard. I quietly kept calling my overly anxious dog to come back as I didn’t want our first chance meeting to be a negative one. Just as I had feared, the door opened and a woman was standing there. She seemed pleasant enough. I quickly apologized for my undisciplined dog and attempted to get him off her steps.

To my surprise, this woman actually seemed happy to see me. She asked if I would like to come inside. Before I could say anything, my pup darted past her to see who his new neighbor was. Her name was April and she had a Pomeranian named Boo. I had a Pomeranian/Shih-tzu mix named Bid. He ran inside and promptly made himself at home searching out Boo’s toys and playing with them. April appeared to be about the same age as myself. She gave me a tour of her house which seemed comfortable and homey. On her walls were pictures of her grandchildren and she proceeded to introduce me to each and every one by name as any proud grandparent would. I felt a little bit of envy because I didn’t have grandchildren to brag about. My first thoughts of April were that she seemed content and wasn’t in need of anything.

It was then that I learned that she lost a very dear loved one. I then realized that she needed alot. She never got over the death of her beloved niece whom she dedicated a wall to. Underneath her picture was a shelf with teddy bears and angels, the things her niece had loved. But what really got my attention were the pictures of Jesus on either side. One picture was of our Savior as a Shepherd with His flock of sheep, and the other was showing His despair as He knelt in the Garden and prayed for His Father’s will to be done. I assumed April was born again and had a relationship with her Lord. Strangely enough it was at that moment I felt she was the one I had prayed for. I had asked God if He would put someone of like mind into my life. I gave April enough information to let her know that I also was a Christian without getting too carried away, just in case she really wasn’t. She responded favorably as I told her I taught Bible study once a week. But the conversation didn’t seem to go any further. I thought...in time.

I told April that I was happy to have met her and hoped we could get to know eachother better. I gave her my phone number and told her to call me should she ever need anything. I planted a seed of friendship, but it took awhile before it reaped a harvest. I would see April out walking by herself and I would wave. Sometimes she acted like she couldn’t be bothered. Had I said or done something that offended her? I chalked it up to people just being private when all is said and done. Perhaps she thought I came on too strong and that, in her opinion made me insincere. Well, I gave it to God and prayed that if anything were to come from it, He would bring it about in His time.

I happened to see April outside awhile later one day as I was coming back from walking my dog Bid. It would’ve been easy to walk past her and act like I didn’t see her. I could have given her the impression that she had insulted me and therefore just ignore her standing there. But, instead I gave her a hearty wave and called out “Hello April!” as I approached her. I noticed she was in a bad way. She had cuts on her face and her arm in a sling. Not wanting to be nosy, I made a comment about her agonizing condition. She continued to tell me about an auto accident she had just been in. I felt so useless because I wasn’t there for her. That friendship never seemed to blossom and I regretted that fact. She also told me she was getting divorced. Wow, I never picked up on this the first time I met her. I assumed her life was almost perfect and saw happiness in her face, or so I thought, that day when she bragged about her grandchildren. But, there was a deeper side to April that was invisible to me. It made me feel empty because God didn’t bring us together at a time when she could’ve used a friend and I could’ve used one as well. All I could say was how sorry I was to hear about how everything seemed to be going for her. I did let her know if she needed anything, to please call me. I kept April in my prayers as it was all I could do at that point.

The winter snow melted and spring came forth with the most gorgeous buds and flowers that I can remember in years. I had been living here now for a few months and nothing seemed to change as far as meeting any neighbors. I had respected people’s privacy but was always willing to wave and say hello should I get the chance. I remember asking God why He didn’t put April into my life when it was obvious that she needed a friend and so did I. I had to dismiss it and think, she wasn’t the one.

But, God always does things in His own time. It was a few weeks ago, when April walked over to my place with her dog Boo. It was brief, but at least it was something. Before I knew it, she was coming over more and more. We seemed to be hitting it off and I felt comfortable being around her. There were so many things about both our past that lined up almost identically. She seemed to be relaxed around my husband and me and I was sure by then that she was the one God brought into my life. There was something about her that made me want to reach out and be there for her. Her life began to unfold as she confided that her marriage was a mess. She had decided to stay with her husband but only out of desperation of having no where else to go. I saw this woman as a hostage in her own home. Soon her husband made sure that our friendship would go no further as he forbid her to see me anymore. In the meantime, I had been able to witness to her and give her messages from the Lord and she held onto each and every word. She was searching for God in her life so hard and couldn’t hear from Him. She was trying to find meaning to everything and didn’t know where else to go. I assured her that I would always be there for her whenever she needed someone to talk to and would help her get to know her heavenly Father better.

I prayed about her situation as I asked the Lord to touch her husband’s heart enough to allow us to continue seeing one another. As that weekend passed and her husband went out of town again for his job, she called me on the phone with an uplifting tone in her voice. I know God answers prayers but this one came almost immediately. She told me her husband had apologized for the way he was behaving and wanted her to be friends with me. We proceeded to look up Scripture concerning some things that she was having trouble getting past, such as unforgiveness. She admitted that she was mad at God for taking her niece’s life and couldn’t forgive the boyfriend who was driving the car. I told her that God did not take her niece, but perhaps He spared her from living life as a vegetable as a result of the accident. It was then I presented the clear fact that in life, we all have the freedom to make choices. Sometimes they aren’t the right ones, and there will be consequences as a result. Knowing that in order to get past the unforgiveness in order to be healed spiritually, I immediately turned to Ephesians 6. Aside from the 23rd Psalm, April didn’t know the Bible.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

“God’s Word makes it perfectly clear, that it’s not people we are unforgiving of, but it’s the enemy that brings all this chaos into our lives,” I said to her. Forgiveness is an unconditional commandment that God lays before us. “Unless we can forgive others, God cannot forgive us,” I continued to tell her. I told her that I didn’t know all the facts of what led to her niece getting in that car on that fateful day, but Satan had a hand on it. I wanted her to take her anger off of God and the young man who was at the wheel that day and put the blame on the one who was guilty...Satan. She began to understand that we have a very real enemy that wants to destroy our walk with the Lord. That is just what this adversary was doing to her.

I proceeded to read the pieces of armor that she is to put on and why. God would not have given this to us unless we were fighting a very real force of evil. As I ended with the Sword of the Spirit, I explained that this was God’s Word and why it was so very important to know it and speak it aloud. After all, this is what Christ did when Satan tried to tempt Him in the desert. “It is said...” Christ reminded Satan three times, that the Word of God is what provides the power and Jesus is the Word! This is the only piece of armor that is used for offense, all the rest are used in defense. This one cuts right to the quick and lays the truth out for all to see. Even Satan had to shrink back at this. He still does when we yield this sword around. God’s Word is essential for going to battle with Satan.

April seemed to have a weight lifted off her shoulders as she began to realize this fact. I could see that she was hungry for more and a desire to know God more intimately. As we sat on the couch together she said, “Do you remember the first day you came over?” She proceeded to tell me that was the day she was planning on taking her life! No words could fill that gap. I grabbed her hand and just allowed the Holy Spirit to pray over this situation. It was then I knew God was drawing her back in and I led her in the sinner’s prayer. Tears were flowing down her cheeks and she told me she felt the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who came to reside inside of her. She said she felt the Lord tell her that He loves her and wanted her to just trust Him. It was then I realized that God put April in my life at just the right time. Even when we don’t see something, He sees it all. He is Mighty to be praised because as I walked out of there that morning, I knew I had just witnessed a small piece of heaven come down that day.

God is always on time, no matter how long it takes.

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