A Lesser Power | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: A Lesser Power | Previous Challenge Entry
By Gary Ritter
05/18/15
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Since leaving home Abby never thought much about religion. Once off for college she figured she’d said goodbye for good to the superstitious religious traditions of her family. More than once during her youth she’d scoffed at what she considered to be silly activities her parents tried to foist upon her. “This is the 2ist century,” she said. “People don’t do those things now. None of it’s real.” Her uncle tried to warn her: “Don’t mess with what you don’t know.”

She had no intention of messing with it, simply to ignore it and get as far away from her crazy family as she could. That had its downsides. Rejecting what her folks believed meant they refused to help with her college expenses. That meant paying her way through on a work-study program. It also meant not allowing outward distractions from her singular purpose of attaining her degree. It didn’t matter whether it was the Christians or the New Agers who came to evangelize her, she ignored them all.

As it turned out, because of her entirely secular focus, she had no concept of spiritual matters, whether for good or ill. It’s said that ignorance of the law is no excuse. For Abby, her ignorance of otherworldly forces proved to be no excuse either.

Abby’s father tried one more time to – in her estimation – ensnare her, by offering to bring her into the family business. She said, “Not a chance.” Soon after that weird things began to happen.

Always healthy she contracted a series of debilitating diseases. Having landed a plum job her illness forced her to quit, as she was too new for the health insurance to kick in. She got depressed and experienced strange pains that doctors couldn’t diagnose. Through months of this she grew suicidal.

One afternoon she mentioned her troubles to the woman named Mary in the apartment next door. A day later Mary came to her, said she was a Christian, had prayed about Abby, and gotten a Word from the Lord.

That was the last thing Abby wanted to hear, but when Mary said God told her that demonic forces had attacked her because of a curse, Abby stopped protesting and grew pale and trembling. She remembered the activities of her family that she had turned from: midnight masses, blood sacrifices, strange sexual pursuits. Curses on those who crossed her parents in any way.

“What can I do?” she pleaded. Broken by her ill health and the knowledge that her own family had done this to her, she realized she needed a radical change in her life.

Mary told her about Jesus and Abby turned to Him. “There’s more,” Mary said. “You need to praise God for all things in your life, the good and the bad. To overcome these dark forces you have to wage spiritual warfare, to become a soldier for Christ in His battle against evil. You do that through praise, worship, and prayer. Only by taking up the cross of Jesus, fighting His way will you conquer this enemy, because it’ll be by the power of Christ, not your own strength.”

This was all new to Abby. She followed Mary’s lead, attended church, and grew in her faith. Mary said to her, “You must confront your parents.”

On a warm spring evening the two women knocked on the door of Abby’s childhood home. She felt the dark presence and knew why she’d hungered to escape. Her mother answered the door and gasped. Abby’s father stepped alongside her with blazing eyes, and said, “What do you want?”

In response the two young women began to sing. Their voices rose in praise and adoration of their Savior, one worship song after another. Her parents covered their ears, trying to block the sweet melodies, but failed. They sank to the ground moaning, uttering guttural curses, their bodies thrashing. The women continued singing.

The evil spirits left her mother and father in a final panicked rush, fleeing the presence of Jesus manifesting so strongly upon the singers. At last their voices stopped. Abby knelt and said tenderly, “I forgive you Mom; I forgive you, Dad.

Tears streamed down the cheeks of her parents. Her father begged, “Your Jesus is so much stronger than our gods. Can He help us? We’re so lost.”

Holding back a sob, Abby said, “With the One true God, nothing is impossible.”

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