Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: CHILL (10/29/15)
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TITLE: The Unwanted Friend | Previous Challenge Entry
By Carla Rogers
11/05/15 -
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April pushes her hands further into the pockets of her pants as she shuffles toward the car. Dread was creeping in as she knew what was coming. Just about every day at this time, her unwanted friend would show up.
“So, how is it going?” her friend says.
“How do you think?”
“Come on. Let’s find something else to do other than go home. Let’s find more work to do! You know you don’t want to go home”
“It is no use putting off going home. You will just be waiting for me there too.”
“I know. I love being around you and I am always ready to help.”
“But you AREN’T helping. In fact, you are hurting me. Don’t you see that?”
“I am just trying to protect you by trying to keep you busy.”
“But by doing that, I am becoming too busy to do the needful things;to heal.”
With that April pushes on toward the car. On the way home, she recalls when she first met her unwanted friend.
It was a beautiful day in June. Opening the door to the house after work, she noticed a chill in the air, one that ran down to her soul like dripping ice that eventually turned into a waterfall. She cried out to her husband, but no reply. Walking the long silent length of the house, she found him lying face down on the bedroom floor dying from a stroke, gasping for breath.
Right after that is when the friend showed up, very unannounced or wanted. She stayed with April all through the night.
“What are you going to do if he doesn’t make it? You will never go anywhere again because he was your GPS! He handled all the insurance, do you have enough? You will never be a part of a family again. You will never be able to adopt a child now. You will always be alone. “
Her friend never said a good or helpful thing. In fact, her friend always punched her right where she was the most insecure.
On the way home from work, April knew her spiritual life also had a chill over it. This same friend was always pumping doubts of God’s goodness into her soul.
“If God is so good, why did He allow your husband to die? Why would he not allow you to adopt? Why serve a God that takes more than gives? Where are your blessings and joy? Why are others being blessed, but you aren’t?”
April wondered why she couldn’t get rid of her friend, whom she had named Daphne Dread. She was spending way more time with Daphne than with God.
She knew all the Scripture that was supposed to help during times like these, but they just didn’t comfort her. Everything seemed hallow. She found that it was almost impossible to study God’s word as long as this chill was in her, but it was impossible to get the chill out without God’s word.
April knew what she had to do, even though it was so hard. Every day, she battles her unwelcomed friend so she can come home to read the Scriptures. April found the more she did this, the less she saw of Daphne Dread. The more she filled her mind with God things, the less time Daphne had to sow doubt, dread and fear. A warmth started to fill all the chills.
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I met Daphne Dread (great name)years ago and it took a lot of practice giving her the boot!
Keep up the good work!