Lizzie was wandering down the road of life in a wilderness of dark despair. Her heart had stalled out in the tunnel of darkness. She was loaded down with the backpack of fear, discouragement and failure. Her spirit was out of gas, out of hope and out of desire to go forward. She had no power, no reserve to push into the light beckoning in the distance.
Lizzie drug herself under the bridge out of the downpour, away from the sharp bolts of light piercing the ground as it shook under her feet. She was alone, shivering in the darkness. Pulling her hoodie over her face, she was afraid to look around. She didn�t want to know what animals might lurk there.
Everyone hated her she knew. She had tried to please her parents, her boyfriend, her classmates by acting out what they wanted her to be. She was angry! She was alone even before she jumped out of Eric�s car and ran into the woods.
She could hear it as she put her hands to her ears, voices screaming over and over in her head. �Lizzie why don�t you . . . Lizzie what have you done, why can�t you ever learn . . . why won�t you see you . . .� Lizzie knew she was expendable, useless, unless she performed to their expectations.
Her mind was the most alert she had been for days; she knew it had to be now or never. Eric, her boyfriend, had asked her to go to another one of those parties, she submissively responded, biding her time. Lizzie had pretended to need to use the restroom and escaped through the side door of the Stop n� Go. It was on the edge of a wooded lot which led into the city park�s partly restored grounds.
Lizzie didn�t know how long she had lain in the dark, the thunderstorm raging around her until she heard a rustling in the fallen leaves. She didn�t know whether to run or sit tight, breathing deeply she sat still.
She shuddered as a cottony masculine voice whispered in her ear, �I�ve come to rescue you, Lizzie.� Who on earth knew her name? How did he know she needed rescued?
She wanted to yell out, �who can save me now?� but she just sat there, her arms limp at her sides. Mebe she should listen? What did she have to lose? She had nowhere else to run.
�Lizzie, I love you. You don�t have to perform for Me. All you need to do is Trust Me with your life. I have forgiven your sins from the Cross. You remember that pamphlet you read lying on the city park bench last week? I�m Your Savior if you will just Trust Me and ask Me into your heart right now. I�ll live in you and with you. I will enable you to walk where I walk in the light, out of this darkness. Will you Lizzie?�
Lizzie didn�t know what to say. It sounded so much better than all those �you should�s� everyone else demanded of her. �Yes. Yes, I want to love You, Jesus. I believe you died for my sins and You will live in me from now on. I need You, Lord. I want you to live in me now.� Lizzie reached for the earth under her, she felt like she was floating in the air. She gazed toward the stars, seeing one bright star flash brilliantly in an opening, as the dark clouds separated for an instant.
Someone touched her arm. �Hi! I�m Luke from your art class. I saw you as I was filling my car with gas at the station. I hope you don�t mind, but I sensed you were in danger. Would you like to join me for a cup of hot cocoa at Cappy�s mission? I�ll give the directions and let you drive if you are afraid.�
�Did you hear someone talking to me? Did you hear me tell him all the things I�d done? Are you sure you want to be around me?� Lizzie watched him smile and nod, touching her hand ever so lightly.
�Yes, Lizzie I heard you tell Jesus you lived like a prostitute with boys and girls alike. That you carry a baby whose father you don�t know. That you have stolen from your granma to buy drugs. I heard all that.�
�Lizzie, I belong to Jesus. When I saw you running, I knew Jesus was telling me to go after you, for your sake and His. Walk with me in His Grace, Lizzie and experience His Freedom. He came to set captives Free, Lizzie. We are free. All we have to do is let Jesus live in us now.� Lizzie stretched forth her hand, as Luke lifted her on wobbly feet, she gazed up once more and beheld the twinkling star winking in the heavens above the congregation of stars looking down through the clearing sky.
Are you alone in an inky black darkness? No one to help? You aren�t treading virgin pathways, my friend. Others have walked there before you.
There is One who has walked that pathway, so He does understand. He reaches out with open arms to heal your wounds. You can find release and freedom from the prison darkness on the road you travel. Jesus, the Bright and morning Star will shine in your life as well. Just ask Him into your heart today. Lizzie did!
2004 Pamela Gray Karges |
