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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Blue (10/08/09)
The late afternoon sun cast a wane light in through the windows darkening the shadows in the corners. A single lamp lit on a desk near the middle of the room, unsuccessfully tried to brighten the atmosphere. Tristan was slumped in his office chair staring out at nothing in particular. In his hands he held a notice, the words jumping off the page in bold, blue letters.

A noise outside broke through the emptiness that filled his thoughts, causing Tristan to give a quick shake of his head before glancing back down at the paper he held. With a snort, he tightened his hand around the page ready to crumble it up, but something stopped him.

‘What if they are right, Tristan? What if you could find some answers by going to this class?’, the voice in his head reasoned.

Glancing back down at the notice he read it again. ‘Are you afraid? Is fear part of your daily life? Does today’s world leave you feeling discouraged and vulnerable?’, the blue letters swam before his eyes for a moment.

He could feel the tight grip that fear had over his life, it gnawed at his insides, daily clamored for attention. His stomach clenched for a moment, tensing against the tightness of his muscles, blowing a deep breath out he relaxed.

His eyes continued along the next line written in smaller letters, ‘Attend a seminar on God’s promises. Learn how to daily let go of the fear in your life. Monday night, 6pm.’

Beneath that was a Bible verse,
‘Fear not, for I am with you,
Be not dismayed, for I am your God,
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

He attended church sporadically, thought of himself as a Christian, and although he had a hungering to follow his God he had never fully committed. Life had always managed to distract him. Despite that he could feel a place deep inside of him hungering to believe those promises, the assurance that no matter what, he would never be alone.

Setting the flyer on his desk, he smoothed his hand over the crumbled corner noticing for the first time the gloomy weather outside. With a weary sigh that reached deep down to his toes he turned to answer the insistent ringing of the phone.

Later that evening as Tristan lay in bed, half reading, half listening to the local news, the newscaster’s voice caught his attention. ‘…a 25 year old woman found dead. It appears she was abducted…’, he tuned out the rest realizing even as he did how tense he suddenly was. Reaching for the remote he watched as the television went dark and silent, echoing the emptiness in the rest of his house.

Out of the silence came the words, ‘Fear not, for I am with you…fear not.’ He sat shocked it was as if someone had spoken the words from right beside him. For a moment a hint of fear flashed through him followed immediately by a strange calm, the words echoing in his mind.

His sagged back against his pillows letting the words marinate for a bit. ‘Fear not. How nice would it be if I actually believed those two little words?’

A nagging feeling interrupted his thought process and he looked around the bedroom wondering what it was he forgot to put away, cover up or close. Finding nothing amiss, his eyes wandered to his bookcase, glancing across the titles, his gaze settling on his old, dusty copy of the Bible.

‘Fear not’, again the blue letters from the flyer flashed in his weary mind. Curiosity overcame his exhaust and he slipped out of bed to retrieve the book, opening it to look up Isaiah. Turning to the right chapter, he slipped back into bed reading over again the promise of the Lord.

Sometime later still engrossed in reading, struggling to keep his bleary eyes open for just a bit more, he fell asleep. Bathed in the light from his bedside lamp, his Bible lay open next to him and with a peaceful sigh escaping his lips, his hand closed tightly around the book that held all the peace he would ever need.

The world slept, wrapped in a cloak of darkness while Tristan’s house shone unbeknownst to any of the living, with a light that pierced the darkness like a beam shooting up into the night sky.
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This article has been read 656 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Philippa Geaney
10/16/09
Seems to me the MC Tristin is onto something Wonderful. I can tell you love words. It is almost as if you are touching them feeling and then placing them in order.
diana kay
10/16/09
great peice of writing!
Karen Pourbabaee 
10/16/09
The power of God's Word to change things...thanks for illustrating this with your
peaceful story.
c clemons
10/18/09
The writing was very good.
Shilo Goodson
10/19/09
That was a wonderful piece about the comforting power of God's words.
Mildred Sheldon
10/19/09
This was beautifully written. We serve a God who is so EXTRAORDINARY that watching Him in action is wonderful. I enjoyed this very much. I love the way God uses little things to get our attention and plants a tiny seed. Good job.
Colin Nielsen
10/21/09
Well written. Great subject matter. I would go through it and watch out for punctuation, comma use. That sort of thing. Other than that, well done.