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“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8–9 KJV

This is a comforting thought and a truth we wholeheartedly believe. At the same time, it’s a truth we don’t always enjoy. After all, we like to understand everything,  and prefer life to go our way all the time. However, it hardly ever works that way and especially when life shoves us down a path that looks all wrong from where we stand, our faith gets tested.

But this is where it gets interesting, for it’s in these places we discover how great God truly is. What  seemed at first like a stumbling stone often turns out to be the very bread that sustains us. God’s ways may confuse us, but they never fail us.

This idea lies at the heart of the next Story of the Week. Fun fact: it was originally written for a writing competition and had to include the words chaser, arches, and search, and, to my chagrin, couldn’t be longer than 750 words. That’s no small feat for someone who tends to be a bit long-worded. Let’s just say some heavenly editing was involved.

It’s my hope these simple scribblings will bring a smile to your face and a bit of joy to your heart. It really is the only reason I write in the first place.

I wish you a great and happy weekend, filled with peace and the blessings of our dear Savior.

Kind regards

JK

Footsteps in the Dark

By JK Stenger

She first spotted Chaser on her way home.

She’d never met him, but heard enough to know he was there. Some called him the Punisher, always ready to deliver judgment for past sins and shortcomings. That was no comforting thought. Not after the way she had treated her family.

Others knew he embodied oppressive death itself, crushing every morsel of joy left in this miserable world..

And now he was coming for her. Who else would be following her on this dark, narrow road in this horrible weather?

He was there in the distance. She heard something, in any case; footsteps, breaking twigs, soft cackling laughter … or was it her imagination, triggered by the howling wind and the distant hoot of an owl?

Once home she threw open the door, stormed inside and locked up. But would she be safe here?

It was doubtful. Some said, Chaser had incredible power. Nothing could stop him. With just one breath of his mouth, he could ruin her house. There was nothing you could do when Chaser was around. His pursuit meant your end.

Although, a strange  old man claimed  no one needed to be afraid, that healing could be found under Chaser’s wings. You just had to go to the ruins of an ancient temple, where the arches and foundations still stood.

It had been a holy place for their superstitious forefathers. There, under the arches, was something that would destroy all anxiety and fear. Even better, it was free for anyone who wanted it.

No such things existed though, and most people thought him to be a demented old geezer whose brain had taken a tumble when his wife died.

And yet …

As she sat in the dim silence of her hut, something deeper than fear stirred within her. It wasn’t just Chaser she feared, it was the weight of her own emptiness.

Could the old man be right? Was there a place where she could be free from all anxiety? Maybe, just maybe, the story of the ruins wasn’t madness, but mercy.

And so, the search began.

She packed some food, put on her raincoat and stepped outside again into the night. The wind still howled, the owl hooted and the rain fell, but Chaser did not seem around anymore. Apparently, he had business elsewhere.

The road toward the ruins of the old temple was difficult, but at last she spotted the arches, just as the first morning rays made their appearance. 

She’d heard the place was an undesirable mess, overgrown with thistles and thorns, a hideout for rats and varmints, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as they’d told her. Instead of thistles, there were lovely flowers and instead of a rat, a deer casually looked up from a small stream behind some overturned building blocks. She understood why some folks claimed this to be a holy place.

But what was she even looking for?

Just then, an early sunray, slicing through the morning fog, touched one of the arches, illuminating a weathered stone cross behind it.

A cross, here in the wilderness?

Intrigued, she approached. After climbing over the building blocks and crawling under a fallen beam, she came face to face with the massive cross that stood ablaze in the morning light.

What a sight.

An unusual peace welled up and tears stung her eyes, as she realized she was in the presence of holiness. She spotted a book under the cross. It looked old, but still in good condition. The title read: “The Word of Life.”

She wanted to touch it, but a noise behind her startled her and she looked up. A man approached, dazzling in bright clothes, his face like the sun, eyes shining and hair as white as snow. He smiled lovingly and when he spoke, his voice sounded like the rushing of many waters. “Some call me Chaser,” he said, “but that’s because they don’t understand me. Have no fear, for I have died for you and I will be with you forever. I have longed for this moment.”

Time stopped, heaven opened and she fell on her knees while her anxiety washed away. “My Lord and my God,” she whispered. “Forgive me for everything.”

The old man had been right.

There was healing in Chaser’s wings, and she had found it.

____

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