Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Anger (01/24/05)
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TITLE: Let Freedom Reign | Previous Challenge Entry
By Kathy Bruins
01/29/05 -
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His job at the investment office suited him well enough. Harry wore conservative business suits, which really didn’t fit his personality, but he always looked nice. If given the chance, I’m sure everyday would be casual day for him. I picture him more in a tie-dyed T-shirt and cutoff shorts.
Harry’s passion for people drove him to a top sales position with the financial firm. He loves people and shows it. Harry knows everything about a person on their first encounter. People would naturally feel free to share their innermost secrets with Harry after five minutes with him. His customers enjoyed their time with Harry, who could always find something funny in the world and would share it with the people around him. Laughter made his eyes dance with joy!
Harry truly cared about the financial stability of his customers. He would agonize over any losses his customers would experience in their investments, and worked twice as hard to make up the difference. Customers knew they could trust this young man to handle their money with the utmost care.
Using a personal day to catch up at home, I was folding my laundry watching the news, when time seemed to stop. A bomb exploded in the building where we worked. There weren’t many details as yet, but I knew I had to get there. My friend is in trouble and I need to be there. I left the laundry, grabbed my jacket and purse, and flew to the car. Traffic was blocked for miles from the site, but I knew I had to get through. I pulled my car over to the side and began walking, and then running to the site. When I arrived, I witnessed a ghostly shell of what once was a spectacular award-winning building. Smoke eased out of the once beautiful reflective glass that now was shattered, just as the world felt shattered at that moment. Firefighters could be seen now and then at the windows as they continued to search for people. I looked everywhere for Harry in the crowd…I desperately wanted to see those dark eyes that danced with joy. I saw the rescuers helping some people out, but none of them were Harry. People were pushing trying to get to the building to find their loved ones. The police tried to hold everyone back, and one got my attention by grabbing my arm and shouting at me to stay behind the line.
The anger rose inside as I heard the names of the men and women who died in the attack. Justice needed to be done! My deepest fear became reality as they read Harry’s name. I knelt down where I stood and prayed. I didn’t know what to pray, but just called on Jesus. I wanted justice now! My heart ached. Someone had to pay for this atrocity. Life would never be the same.
A militia group was the cause of the attack. Through the court hearings, I realized that these people who destroyed the lives of many were so lost and misguided in their thinking. It was sin that caused the destroying of so many lives. My anger turned into sadness at the deplorable event. The chains of anger and bitterness were weighing me down, where I had lost my freedom. I knew Harry wouldn’t want that for me.
Sin is a grave reality in this world, but it doesn’t have the victory. Jesus gave the hope for tomorrow in His great sacrifice. Sin does not have the last word! Jesus has the power to remove the chains of anger, if we trust Him with it. Let freedom reign by letting Jesus reign. (The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed. Luke 4:18 NIV).
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Nice job of drawing the reader in at the very start of the story. You made us care about Harry.