Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Gifts (of the Spirit or service) (11/22/07)
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TITLE: Hattie's Gifts | Previous Challenge Entry
By Judy Burford
11/28/07 -
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Whirling around, Isabella almost dropped the ornate crown perched atop her head.
“Oh! Gabriel. You startled me. I had just put the last diamond in this crown, and I couldn’t resist trying it on. It is the most beautiful crown I’ve ever been asked to make. Do you know who will receive it?”
“Actually, the recipient of the crown just arrived.”
“May I meet him? Is he a great evangelist?” Isabella asked as she turned and set the crown carefully on the worktable.
Gabriel smiled. “It’s not a him, it’s a her. If we hurry, you can hear just why she deserves that crown. Bring it with you.”
As Isabella and Gabriel entered the Great Hall, Isabella looked around for the special person that was to wear the crown. Seeing no one but a tiny, ordinary woman, and thinking that the crown could not possibly fit such an insignificant person, she inquired, “Where did she go, Gabriel? Did I miss her?”
“You didn’t miss her, Isabella. Listen.”
The voice of the Father reverberated through the hall. “Welcome home, Hattie Monroe. You are here in the Great Hall so we can acknowledge the gifts of service you contributed on earth during your ninety-five years there.”
“Oh, Father,” Hattie whispered, “I haven’t done anything worthy of recognition.”
“But you have, Hattie. You have been my child for almost ninety years, and you have used the spiritual gifts I gave you to great advantage. I take great pleasure in showing you the results of your work. Sit here beside me while we look at these treasures together.”
Timidly, Hattie sat. The door to the Great Hall opened, and a large crowd of people began to come in. As they passed in front of Hattie and the Father, they told what Hattie had done for them.
The first ones to speak had known Hattie as a child. They told of times she shared her lunch, helped them with homework, and introduced them to her Savior, Jesus.
As a teenager, Hattie had volunteered in a nursing home, bringing love and cheer to the residents there. In the process, she had led some of them to the Lord. They smiled their thanks as they passed by.
After her marriage at age twenty, Hattie continued to be an active member of her church. She taught a class of third and fourth graders, and under her guidance, each one came to know the Savior.
Loving children, and having none of her own, Hattie began teaching school. Many of the teachers and pupils at that school came to know the Lord because of Hattie’s gentle leading.
When Hattie was only thirty, her husband died, leaving her with a sizable insurance policy. She invested the money, taught school for ten more years, and then lived quietly in the small house she and her husband had bought. Her needs were simple, and she began to use her money to help others.
There were people whose house note Hattie paid. There were those who had been able to go to the doctor because of her giving spirit. Several deserving young people went to college with money she provided. Of those she helped, Hattie asked two things. The first was that they allow her to tell them about Jesus, and the second was that they tell no one where the money came from.
Hattie had always loved praying for people, and as she grew older and stayed at home more, her prayer time increased. She kept a journal of prayer requests and often spent hours in prayer. By far, the largest number of requests she received were those asking her to pray for someone’s salvation. Many that she prayed for came to know the Lord, but until now, she had not known the far-reaching effect of her prayers.
Hattie was amazed. “Did all these people really come to know You because of something I did?”
“Yes, my child. Your gifts of service have been well used. You may not have been noticed by the world, but here in heaven you will receive your rightful reward. Isabella, bring the crown.”
Isabella hurried forward, the gleaming crown held before her. She place it reverently on Hattie’s head, amazed as always at how well it fit the one for whom it had been intended.
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