A short story by Cassandra Benefield
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| David R. Tribble (on Wikimedia Commons) |
THE DAY began with the shade of gray on the sidewalk where
the girls took their oversized chalk and began drawing everything that came to
their minds.
“See here.
That’s my pa.”
“He sure
has a funny shaped head.”
And on that
same sidewalk a little girl took a tiny square and claimed it as her very own
with every color she had. On her slice of the world, there were blues and hues
only a Technicolor movie could have made brighter.
“What are
you drawing?”
“I’m
drawing Jesus.”
“You silly
goose, Jesus doesn’t look like that.”
“How do you
know?”
“I just
know.”
“Well, my
Jesus looks like that.”
Just then,
the little girl who was drawing her very own Jesus packed up her chalk and
walked merrily home. She even skipped some.
One step,
two steps, three steps, four. And off she went into her very own door.
“Hi
sweetheart. Did you have fun today?”
“Yes,
Mommy. I drew Jesus.”
“Oh. And what did He look like?”
“He was very
colorful.”
“That’s
nice, dear.”
The little
girl put her stuff in the foyer and took off her tennis shoes. It was easy to
do, since her laces were on the verge of being untied anyway.
She pulled
her socks up as far as they could go, which happened to be just under her
knees. She stood up, wiped the dust off of her pleated skirt and skipped to the
kitchen for her afternoon snack. She even hummed a bit.
“Mommy,
what does your Jesus look like?”
“That’s a
good question. I guess He’s the color of fire and of sinless perfection. Of the
fullness of time and of endless ages. He’s the color of air and the wings of
eagles. He has dove’s eyes and sounds like the voice of many waters.”
“That
sounds pretty.”
The little
girl smiled and swung her feet back and forth under the table. Both feet
forward, both feet back. Both feet forward, both feet back. Then, she was done.
She took her plate and placed it on the kitchen counter next to the sink, which
was just above her head.
After her
snack, she went into the living room and turned on the television.
“This just
in ….”
The little
girl saw on the television people who were angry at each other, yelling and
carrying on. Some even had guns.
“Today in
Jerusalem, hundreds have been injured due to a …”
“Mommy!
Mommy!”
“Yes dear,
what is it?”
“Where is
Jerusalem?”
“It’s in
the Middle East. It’s where Jesus walked.”
“But Mommy,
if Jesus was there, why is everybody so mad?”
“Oh, honey,
just because Jesus’ feet touched the same soil as the feet of those that are
there now, doesn’t mean there is peace. He told us there would be wars and
rumors of wars until His return.”
“But if He
goes there now, surely He will die.”
“No, dear.
The next time He comes, He cannot die. You see, He died the first time He came.
He conquered death and has the keys to both hell and death now.”
“You mean,
they can’t kill Him.”
“That’s
right.”
“I’m so
glad.”
“Do you
understand dear, that Jesus died so that we may go live forever in Heaven with
Him? All we have to do is believe He is who He said He was. That He was sent
from God, His Father, led a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose up from the grave alive, so that we may be saved from our sins.”
“Sins?”
“You know
all those colors you painted in your sidewalk today?”
“Uh huh.”
“Did you
use black?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well,
black is kind of like our sins, dark, and filled with all our bad things, like
lying, hitting, and so on.”
“Uh huh.”
“Did you
use red?”
“Yes mommy,
I used red.”
“That’s His
blood. That blood was what was shed to cover our ugly sin.”
“So the red
goes over the black?”
“That’s
right. But only, when we choose to believe in Him as our Savior.”
“Uh huh.”
“Did you
use white?”
“Oh yes,
that’s my favorite. It’s so bright!”
“Yes, it
is. When Jesus’ blood covers our sin, we are a new creature in Him. It’s like
He erases the black and puts in its place the color white. And this is our
color forever and ever.”
“Forever
and ever ... wow.”
“And even
though we may do bad things still, when we choose to believe in Jesus, He can
never take the white away.”
“I like
white.”
“Me, too.
Did you use yellow?”
“Uh huh,
Mommy, I used yellow. It’s like the sun. And it’s like those pretty flowers you
have in your garden.”
“That’s
right. My sunflowers. Let’s just say that yellow represents gold.”
“Like your
wedding ring?”
“Yes, like
my wedding ring. In Heaven there will be streets of gold. And when Jesus saves
us when we believe in Him, He forgives our sin making all our blacks white. And
then we are now able to go to Heaven and be with Him when we die.”
“But He has
keys to Hell, right Mommy? You didn’t say He has keys to Heaven.”
“That’s
true. Jesus is like Heaven’s key. He said ‘I am the door: by me if any man
enter in, he shall be saved.’ He’s the One Who knows who can enter and who can’t.”
“Those with
their black not turned white don’t get to come in, right?”
“Right.
Now, did you have any green?”
“Oh yes
Mommy! I had green, and I used it in my picture.”
“Well, what
do you know that’s green?”
“Umm, trees
and leaves and … umm, GRASS! Grass is green, and frogs. Frogs are definitely
green, too, Mommy.”
“Yes,
that’s right, dear. But for the moment, let’s just stick with the green grass.
When grass dies, it turns brown.”
“Like our
grass?”
“Yes, dear,
like our grass. But if we watered our grass, it would grow very tall and stay
green. After Jesus saves us, we need to be well watered by the Bible, in order
to stay green and alive.”
“I have a
Bible.”
“Yes, you
do, and when you learn to read a little more, you will be able to grow by
reading it. You can also grow by praying and by going to church.”
“Mommy, I
love church! I love to sing. I love to learn those Bible stories. I believe
Jesus. I have some blacks that need to be white. I’ve lied before Mommy. I want
Him to turn my blacks into pretty white. I want to go to Heaven.”
“That’s
wonderful dear. Let’s ask Jesus together. ‘Dear Jesus.’”
“Dear
Jesus.”
“Jesus, I
believe You are the only way to go to Heaven. I believe You can turn my blacks
into beautiful white so I can go to Heaven, too. Thank you Jesus for saving me.
Please help me grow. In Jesus name, Amen.”
The little
girl finished the prayer with her mom. Then, she gave her mom the biggest hug
ever.
“I knew I
drew Jesus.”
(Originally written in 2003)
