Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Home for Christmas (11/20/08)
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TITLE: From Survival to Victory! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Corinne Boback
11/22/08 -
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She moved quietly to the alley. Looking through the trash, she hoped to find a morsel of food for her ravishing hunger. She rummaged through the cans, fighting off stray cats for any tiny bite of nourishment her body so desperately needed.
She shivered, pulling her thin coat more tightly around her shoulders. Threadbare gloves were not able to keep the bitter cold from her numbing fingertips. The hood of her tattered jacket was continually being blown off her head by the howling wind. She must find cover for the night, or surely she would not survive the elements.
Back on the lighted streets, she made her way to a neighborhood known for the wealth of the people who lived there. Perhaps she would find an open garage, or an enclosed porch, or even a storage shed in the yard to take cover in for the night. It was late, and she hoped people would be in bed and fast asleep by now.
It was Christmas Eve, well past the midnight hour. She passed the houses, searching for the shelter she needed to make it through the night. Some were still brightly lit with Christmas ornaments in the yards and windows. Others were dark, with children in bed waiting for the Santa Claus she learned at the tender age of five did not exist. Her tears began to flow harder now, thinking of the years of her childhood, and the cruelty she had endured. She grew into a woman who knew no love, and who had no family. She was taught to survive, and she did what she had to do to live day by day. She had no idea of how to live as others did. She was a survivor, nothing more, nothing less. The tears stopped. As that survivor, she would make it through this night, and through another holiday season, too.
She came to a church building, in the middle of this fluent neighborhood. The lights were still on inside, and there was the sound of singing that could be heard from the street. Why were these people still singing after midnight? What would cause them to want to sing at this late hour? She stopped and listened. Sitting down on the front steps, she suddenly felt warmer than she had all evening. Her stomach stopped rattling for food. She was warmed and filled by the music. How could music do that? What was happening to her?
She took the steps two at a time, pushing open the church door. Stepping inside, looking at the beautiful, expensive clothing of the folks there, she started to turn and leave. A woman in the back row pulled her into the pew, putting her arm around her shoulders, and kissing her on the cheek.
“Welcome, child, to the Lord’s House. He is so happy you have come home for Christmas at last!”
When the singing had ended, and people went their separate ways, that dear lady invited this impoverished girl to her own home. She offered her real food and shelter. She showed her how to live as others do. Soon she was more than a survivor. She became a productive human being, and a beautiful handmaiden of the true and living God. This transformation came because she was taught the meaning of true love, which is the love of Jesus Christ shining through His children to the hurting of the world.
She now walks through the streets on Christmas Eve, a yearly tradition. She looks for the lost sheep, those mere survivors who are searching for love in all the wrong places. When she finds one, she takes them to the Lord’s House, and tells them how happy He is that they are home for Christmas at last. Then she does what that dear Christian did for her so many years ago. She makes them part of her family, and shows a lost soul what true love is. That love is the love of Jesus that shines so brightly through her. It is an unending love - a love that says they are home at last, for Christmas and for all eternity!
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