Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Illustrate the meaning of “A Stitch in Time Saves Nine” (without using the actual phrase or literal example). (01/03/08)
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TITLE: Seek Ye First | Previous Challenge Entry
By Joy Mounce
01/10/08 -
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The last thing that caused regret and pain involved her job. She had taken a position making more money, thinking it was her big break only to find another detour. If only she had looked into the company, then maybe she could have avoided the set back. Starting over at her age wasn’t something she relished.
“Pray about it.” Where did that come from? She remembered long ago staying with her grandmother, and how she prayed about everything. She used to think that was so lame. Couldn’t she just make her own decisions? But now…maybe grandmother knew something she didn’t, wouldn’t hurt to try. She knelt beside her bed (somehow this seemed important to her, kneeling was the only thing she knew about prayer) and began to talk to God. She told Him that she wasn’t sure how or if prayer worked, but that she had made a real mess of her life, and if He could help, she would appreciate it. She quickly got up, showered and went to bed.
The next morning she scrolled the newspaper and found a few ads of interest. One almost sounded too good to be true. “This time, I will check out the company before accepting any position,” she said out loud!
As Janet entered the company with the favored ad, she felt peace. It was tangible even! Since quitting her job a month ago, she hadn’t had any sense of peace, only melancholy heartache.
When she got home that day, her answer phone was blinking. The message was from the company where she had felt peace. They wanted to talk to her further. She went online to see if there was information that would help her find out more about the company. She found the company’s web site with the founding partners’ profiles. As she read, there was that same peace again. Then she noticed they were Christians. Each had a Scripture verse at the bottom of their profile. She thought this kind of odd, but looked up the financial status and found the company to be sound with good reputation.
After further investigation and interviewing, Janet accepted the position. Even in the first few weeks of employment, she felt “at home.” She felt like this was the new beginning she had been looking for for so long. She was learning about the business and everyone was so helpful, unlike the last place! “Oh well, don’t look back,” she told herself.
One evening after work, her eyes fell on the Bible that her grandmother had given her long ago. She picked it up and found these words, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” She realized then that she had prayed and God had actually answered! She began to thank Him. At first this felt awkward to her, but then it got comfortable, even joyful!
She became fast friends with a co-worker who kept asking her to go to church. She finally did. And it was as if her friend had told the pastor all about her as the message seemed tailor-made for her. At the end, he asked for those who needed to solidify their relationship with God to come forward, and she found herself walking down the aisle!
After church that day, she went out to eat with her friend’s family, including Pat’s brother. Everyone was so celebratory! She couldn’t believe that she felt so included in these people’s “normal lives.” But she was so grateful.
Many years have passed since that day. Patricia is now Janet’s sister-in-law. Yes, even at 40, God can fulfill the desires of your heart. It didn’t mean that life would always come easy, or, that everything would always seem “normal,” but with God at the center, she found everything she had been searching for.
”But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 KJV
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The ending seemed more like a summary of "the rest of the story".
I'd recommend, if you do anything more with this, to re-work the first paragraph so that it doesn't start with the cliche. It's as likely to turn off readers as it did your protagonist.
This was a very pleasant read--thanks for entering it!