Short Stories
Part 1 of 3
Please note: This is an account of our human tendency to rebel against God’s loving-kindness. I hope that it vividly paints for us the faithfulness of God which is best seen in the person of Jesus Christ. While one may find parallels between this and some real-life situations, the characters described in this are completely fictional.
Mel stood gazing down at the stump of an apple tree that he had planted forty-one years earlier. He could still clearly recall preparing this special place for the small and slender sapling that was to be a living tribute to his baby daughter. He could remember how his mind and heart had been full of the joy and hope for the future that comes from young fatherhood.
The deep well of memory that was stirred within him was deeper than the hole that he had dug for the tender young tree such a long time before: sometimes it gave the sweet water of pleasant and warm memories but at other times it was the brackish and bitter hurt of painful trials and heartbreaking loss.
Mel had planted the tree on the first birthday of his daughter, Charla. He and his wife, Lydia, had envisioned its growing taller and taller, along with Charla, and looked forward to the days in which its branches would yield a harvest of sweet fruit, mirroring, they hoped, the prosperity and happiness that they wished for Charla.
At first, their hope and resolve ran strong, as they worked, played, laughed, and grew together in the living gift of each new day. Just as Mel and Lydia would nurture and prune Charla’s apple tree so that it might grow healthy and beautiful, Mel and Lydia worked to nurture and enrich Charla’s life by lovingly supporting her and exhorting her towards success, initiative, courage, kindness, honesty, and, most of all, an abundant relationship with God.
But, by the time Charla had turned twelve, there were other voices at work in Charla’s life… voices that were muttering subtle little lies to Charla, casting long shadows of doubt and suspicion in her mind, even towards the parents who had supported and loved her all during her life.
“You never get to have any fun…. Your parents are really tough on you. It’s like they enjoy their power over you…. You don’t get to see that movie? Man! Your folks are a real drag. Too bad your parents have such hang-ups…. You don’t really have any freedom, do you?”
Of course, those who spoke these lies, wearing the faces of friends or mentors, had generally been duped themselves, but the fact that they themselves believed what they were saying, gave a great deal of credence to what they had to say. Like water which slowly but surely grinds down boulders over time, the persistence and strength of their opinions and advice wore at Charla’s confidence in her parents’ love for her. Little by little, her confidence in her blessings was eroding away as she slowly came to believe that she was a prisoner in her own home. She began to see each rule, though intended to help protect and nurture her, as actually a chain meant to enslave her to her parents’ wishes.
She began to be distant in her relationship with her parents. At first, her countenance towards them became colder and more aloof. But then she began to repeatedly grieve them with an emerging disdain and impatience that was more and more frequently displayed. The realization that this was something far more serious than typical “pre-adolescent maladjustment” was unfortunately slow in coming to Mel and Lydia though they prayed and reached out to her constantly.
One late afternoon in spring, shortly after Charla had turned sixteen, Mel was standing outside, admiring the velvety-white blossom petals on the “Charla” apple tree that now stood well over his head. He suddenly noticed a strange, light colored ooze near a cluster of blossoms and knew what it was at once, for he had been “schooled” in apple growing by his brother-in-law. It was an early sign of a fruit tree disease called fireblight. He quickly took out a pocketknife, measured about six inches down the stem of the branch and then cut the blossom cluster off. He then inspected the rest of the tree but seeing no further signs of a problem, carefully disposed of the infected blossoms and twigs.
He returned to the tree frowning furiously as he considered the tree’s predicament, noting that it had likely become infected when an insect “pollinated” the tree’s blossoms with the bacteria that causes fireblight, bringing it from an infected tree in some neighbor’s yard. His mind turned from the tree’s disease to that of his daughter’s and it suddenly seemed to him that she too had been touched with a blight of discontentment.
As the weeks passed by, he saw more and more of the tell-tale blisters that signify fireblight in different parts of the tree. In each case, he did the only thing he could do and simply cut off and burn the infected parts.
Even though his daughter seemed for awhile happier and once again responsive to their love, a night came when she didn’t return home from an outing with her friends. No one knew what happened to her, no one had seen where she had gone. In spite of a massive hunt in the community and the state, no one could find her. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Family, friends, church members, and police searched and searched but no one could find her: she had just disappeared. For Mel and Lydia, the world had come to an end. Their tears flowed so often and so freely that their cheeks always seemed wet. One night as they waited, hoping against hope that this might be the night that their daughter might come home, their ears were greeted by a light rapping at the side door… the one that only friends and family ever used. Lydia went back to see who was there, but then gasped, throwing the door open so hard that it crashed hard against their kitchen counter. Mel hurried into the kitchen and saw his wife’s arms wrapped so tightly around someone that he couldn’t see who it was. But he then heard the long missed voice of his “little girl”. He joined his wife and daughter in their embrace and cried… only this time in joy and relief.
With so many questions on their minds and so many hurts in their hearts, they were hard pressed to not press her for answers that first night. But they held their tongues and simply did what they could to make her know how welcome she was to be back home. She, in turn, said little about where she’d been or with whom she’d been. All that she would say was that she shouldn’t have left and that she was sorry for making them worry.
As happy as Mel and Lydia were at their reunion, a strange sensation of uneasiness still haunted them. Mel noted too that the leaves on Charla’s apple tree were drooping ominously and seemed prematurely faded.
To be continued…
Copyright © Thom Mollohan.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 985 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Thom Mollohan or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 985 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.