Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: MATCH (08/26/21)
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TITLE: The Boy Who Played With Fire | Previous Challenge Entry
By Mariane Holbrook
09/01/21 -
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Growing up on his grandmother's farm, he was afforded many opportunities to slip into the woods or down by the creek where he could strike a match and set a little blaze. It excited him.
Kenny's mother died while giving birth to him, leaving him with no memories of her. His father, feeling no responsibility for Kenny's care, deposited the newborn with his in-laws and joined a group of men riding boxcars to California to seek their fortunes in gold mining.
The Great Depression lasered its indelible scars on Kenny as well as the grandparents who raised him. Grandpa could only find work chopping wood or collecting gensing roots in the forest behind his small farm.
The elderly grandma was not prepared to raise another child. Her six daughters had married and moved away. She was bone-tired and had looked forward to being alone with Grandpa, working in her garden, milking their only cow, and gathering eggs on the wobbly stairs in the old barn where the ornery hens insisted on laying.
But the couple had no choice but to raise their abandoned grandchild who proved to be a handful from the beginning.
Kenny often watched as his grandpa selected a wooden match from a cardboard box to light a fire in the kitchen woodstove. It also served as the only heat source for the modest house.
One day, four-year-old Kenny took one of the matches into Grandma's bedroom closet. Striking it against the wall, it soon set a housedress on fire. Kenny, pleased with his success, huddled in a corner and watched the fire progress.
Seconds later, Grandma, smelling smoke, opened the door to grab Kenny and rush outside while Grandpa hurried to the well to pull up buckets of water for Grandma to squelch the blaze.
"But Grandma," explained Kenny, "I was just trying to keep warm. Our house is always cold."
The box of wooden matches was kept high and hidden but Kenny always managed to find them somehow.
With no children nearby, Kenny spent his time alone, wishing he lived somewhere else. He found his grandparents impatient and demanding and when he reached his sixteenth birthday, he ran away to live with a cousin in a neighboring state.
Kenny refused to finish high school and found odd jobs to earn spending money. Before long, his cousin asked him to leave because he was so disruptive in their home. Twice he was arrested for setting fires on the porches of rival gang members.
Never having been to church, Kenny was surprised when a girl he met asked him to attend the morning service at her church one Sunday morning. He found the pastor's sermon mildly interesting and the congregation friendly. To please his new friend, he began accompanying her every Sunday.
A few months later, Kenny knelt at the altar where he confessed his sins and gave his heart to Jesus. Now in his twenties, he had a steady job and a small apartment near the church and eventually agreed to teach a boys' Sunday School class.
His friendship with his girlfriend continued and after two more years, they were married and began a family of their own.
After the birth of their fourth child, Kenny felt the strain of providing for his growing family. He took odd jobs in addition to his regular work but still couldn't seem to make ends meet.
One night, sitting alone on his front porch, he tried to think of ways to earn more money. He and his wife were buying their small house with a barn far back on the property.
In a planned and daring move, Kenny took a match and slipped into the barn where he set a small fire. His intention was to collect the insurance which would be adequate to get them out of their financial crisis.
The blaze burned the barn to the ground. In time, Kenny received a handsome check from his homeowner's insurance company.
Kenny's wife was unaware that he had set the fire until one Sunday morning, Kenny knelt at the altar and confessed his sin to his wife, his pastor, and his God.
The insurance company agreed not to prosecute Kenny after he confessed and returned the money. In a kind letter from the company president, Kenny read, "The spiritual fire within you has burned brighter than the fire around you. Live in peace."
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“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate."
As Christians, we cannot use the Older Son's unforgiving, harsh response; instead, we are commanded to follow the example of the forgiving father.