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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Salt and Pepper (07/24/14)
I met little Jessie last week in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. Jessie had black shoulder length hair and was missing her two front teeth. She had the biggest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. And when she looked into your eyes it made you exhale and you could feel your insides turn to mush.

Jessie is not your typical 5 year old. She has been through more and has been without more than you and I could ever begin to imagine. Along with her big brown eyes she wore an old t-shirt as a dress. With this dress there were no shoes. Just two little muddy feet that have to walk around through the dirt, rocks, and broken glass.

Right now she lives in one of the highest poverty stricken counties in the country. Surrounded by a prescription drug epidemic and a rising arson problem that’s painting the landscape, this is no way for a child to grow up. It makes them hard before they can even spell it. Jessie lives with her grandmother, her mom, and three older siblings.

Because of arson they all live together in a one bedroom shack. And until last Friday they haven’t had water in their home for two years. Now they have a brand new bathroom. It still only has cold water, but we’re getting there. It was like taking them to a carnival when they walked into the bathroom. They each took turns turning on the water at the vanity. They must have flushed the toilet at least a dozen times.

Then we showed them how to turn on the shower and it became a free for all. All four kids tried to get in there at the same time. They splashed so much water on the floor it took me 20 minutes to mop it all up. The excitement and joy on their faces made it all worth it. I would spend the rest of life mopping up after them just to see them smile everyday.

As the day was winding down Jessie asked if the kitchen sink worked, so I showed her how to use it. While she was giggling I told her this is how brothers and sisters take care of each other.

With her hands on her hips she says to me, “We’re not brothers and sisters silly.”
And I said, “Do you know who God is?” And she points to the sky.

I said, “God is our heavenly Father and that makes us all brothers and sisters, how cool is that?"

Now with her left hand still on her hip and her right hand pointed at me she says, “Well did you know that we always have to listen to what Jesus tells us to do?”

I then asked her if she knew why I was there. She shook her head no and I told her that Jesus told me to go there. And that we wouldn’t have met each other if I didn’t listen to Him. Then she lunged at me and gave me the biggest hug ever. When she let go of me and with those big brown paralyzing eyes, and this time with big crocodile tears. She says while we are both crying now, “I’m glad you listened.” And I said, “Me too.”

People say that life is funny that way. I don’t find it funny, I find it very frustrating. Everything in life as we know it has a complete opposite of it’s self. We have up and downs and top and bottoms. We have right and wrongs and start and finishes. We have black and white and black and blue. We have ketchup and mustard and we have salt and pepper. You can have one with out the other. But, still need them both because they compliment each other. They work in unison with each other. One needs the other in order for it to be complete.

The list goes on forever, but in my opinion the greatest one is that we have rich and we have poor. And out of all the pairs out there, this one could be broken up. Knowing that someone has to suffer for me to feel good about myself keeps me awake at night. Please pray for all the children of the world. Pray for a cease fire across this land and ask that they come together in peace and find a solution to end poverty and world hunger instead of fighting with each other.
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This article has been read 461 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
C D Swanson 
08/02/14
Thank you for sharing this entry with multi-layered messages.

You bring so many truths into
your article, and I like how you conclude your piece...with profound mention of much needed prayer.

God Bless~
Rachel Barrett
08/02/14
I like the way you use words. "Just two little muddy feet that have to walk around through the dirt, rocks, and broken glass"...wow, that was concise yet expansive description at the same time.
Larry Whittington
08/02/14
I liked what you wrote. Are you familiar with that area? In places it comes out.

The last paragraph had too much - to many ideas or themes.Some of it was not needed and could be left out for a better ending.

I like to say we have the poor (since Jesus says we will always have the poor) so God can test who are his true children. Those Christians who would give and help the poor show themselves to be God's children. The others God will have to talk to and deal with.

Is "without" one word or two? I saw it as "with out". Maybe it doesn't matter.
Phillip Cimei
08/03/14
My heart bubbled with the enthusiasm of the children for what we take for granted. You showed that very well. I was a little confused as to your relationship to them and how you came about meeting them. Maybe I missed it. Keep up the hard work. It will pay off.
Sheldon Bass 
08/07/14
This story had a wonderful foundation! You have such a great talent for story telling! I could really sense the scene well as you described little Jessie and her living conditions. She captured my heart.

I saw just a few grammatical mistakes, but reading it over and over many times, then polishing it up, I think would fix that.

One thing that helps me, is to read the story out loud to someone before submitting it. It helps us catch grammatical errors and we also get another opinion on the story.

I felt as though you sort of forced this piece to relate to the topic. And though I understood your premise, it seemed like a bit of a stretch.

Other than that I think you have something here. Especially with it being based on real events. Since my teen-aged years, I've always loved the Appalachian mountain folks. Especially the accent of their speech, and colloquialisms. Many areas are very impoverished and in need of Christian charity and love. Perhaps too often we help people overseas more than we do our own neighbors, and that should not be. Thank you for sharing this. keep on growing with us!