Those people

A rich family lived in a beautiful home near the states of California. They were cold and selfish, an image of a classy wife wearing a knee length skirt and silky black top with red painted nails and toenails as always  and a husband with a suit and tie, but a daughter with neither an image nor pride whatsoever.

Her name was Scarlet; her father was a rich businessman and mother soon taking part in full time teaching.

But in an unfortunate series of event, her mother died in a car accident that night, with weather coming from the south, big storms and heavy rain to appear.  She was on the phone with Scarlet, telling her to get ready for dinner, as she lost control of the vehicle. She heard nothing but a crash, broken glass and sirens as the phone went off.

“Mom, are you still there?” as she dropped the phone, defendslesness and broken.

How a moment of impact changes everything! Life is for a moment is too short, the broken clock might be a comfort, but crushed souls, the pain and sorrows remains on, where the people who gave you the best memories becomes a memory.

After time had passed, her father could never bear to keep up with her, he didn’t exactly have the time or patience.

Working all the days of his life, hiding behind those office walls, society and where the money would lie.

 “Dad, do you believe in God?” Scarlet asked, as she showed him a picture of the Gulf of Alaska where the two oceans meet, but do not mix.

“What question you dare asking me quite this moment? I don’t have time for this, can’t you see how busy I am?” taking out his phone entering a call.

“Here is some money, buy yourself a decent dress and cover those cheeks, don’t be a disappointment to our name.”

As Scarlet took the money, she put one foot in front of the other, the way she was taught since the day she started walking.

She dressed differently, much less classy and more down to earth, wearing flip flops, nude painted toenails and wore flowers in her hair as she embraced her soul. She saw what money, image, society and selfishness did, as the tears streamed down her face, it simply broke her heart. – There was never a moment of true happiness, love and trust. It was all about everyday rush and following the same routine.

“When was the last time you knew who you were, before society decided who you had to be?”

If this question had to be answered I will never write again, nor will no man ever live to see the end of this story.

As the dawn broke of a new day, grass still white with frost, tangled up in sadness, she took one last look, wrote a letter to her father and left it at his bedside with the money he gave her:

Dad, money isn’t everything. It might buy happiness, but it definitely doesn’t by love . Even the best fall down sometimes, and that’s alright. I know you miss mamma, I miss her too, but hiding behind these walls isn’t going to make this a better place. I will follow my heart, and I will run through the eye of the storm if I have to, therefor I know I will find something extraordinary. Sometimes all we have is hope and I will hold onto it, because I know God has a plan!

                                                                                                                                I love you dad                                                                                                                                 Scar            x

That morning she left, she ran through forests, and she ran through rain and ponds and mud, she ran until she gave her last breath, inside out. Hours, almost a day has past, it was getting late and as her tiredness dragged her in, she couldn’t give another step. She was weak and hungry and stopped for a few minutes of rest, sitting down on a rock. She prayed, which she hasn’t done in a very long time.

Our Father in Heaven, if You can hear me, please give me an answer, give me strength, give me faith and give me hope. I haven’t prayed in a very long time and I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but if I am, all I ask is to be with me and show me the right path. I'm lost and I'm broken, I'm alone, but somewhere deep down I know I am part of Your master plan Lord.

Amen.

After a few minutes sitting down, thinking about her life, and the years still to come, she stood up, and walked her last few miles, until the nearest village.

It was strange at first, people walking with their donkeys, and dogs and children running around the streets, houses were made out of black stone and built close to each other. The path she walked on was made out of rocks, the grass was green and the flowers bloomed. Those people were so friendly and as she passed, a young boy, her age, stopped her and said:

“Hay there; I'm Eli, what is your name?”

“My name is Scarlet…” She replied softly, giving him that grudge look of why are you talking to me.

“Why are you giving me that look and why on earth re you so dirty?”

She started laughing as she had known. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and doubting in explaining her long story and how she got there.

She was afraid and cold, it was getting dark and she wasn’t certain of staying in the night, yet she almost had no other choice, with her long black hair and big brown eyes, like a lost puppy.

“Take a walk with me.” Eli politely said, giving her his leather jacket for a bit of warmth.

He took her hand and added, “It’s alright. You don’t need to be afraid.”

He felt a gentle glow of tenderness when he held her hand, and his heart melted the moment he saw her, so helpless and unable to cope with the wolves who abounded in the world of business.

She took a long walk with him, as they settled in his parent’s old cottage, having dinner – a warm bowl of soup and some fresh baked bread, with the whole family and spent the night.

She has never felt this way, not about the charms and beauty of a young fella, but the way she felt home. She felt safe and believed in kindness of strangers.

“Eli, would you like to hear my story, as I ran away in flights of shame. I know not where I was going, I am looking for answers, and went as far as I possibly could. I saw a wisp and it leads me to you, dare to hold your truth so purely, and keep me safe…”

She talked for hours at a time, passed midnight and still talking, covered in a warm fuzzy blanket in front of the fire place. She came to tell him everything, honesty was of course on top of the list.

As he held her through her tears, they fell asleep. Was he just a ghost wandering in her wildest dreams, or was he the Guardian Angel God had sent that exact moment she sat on that rock?

The next morning, eyes wide open, they awoke. She grabbed her shoes and made a promise to come back as soon as she possibly could. They had changed her life, the way she had seen things differently, the comfort and joy of that Promised Land. She had a long journey back to where she came from, but for all, it was more than worth it! Only one hopes… Was to not change the person her father was, but to change him in becoming a better man. To make him appreciate life as we know it, and making him believe in for better or for worst.

Craig Groeschel once said that the decisions we make today, determine the story we will tell tomorrow.

She walked into the door and saw her father sitting there, waiting ever so patiently…

She ran to him and gave him a hug saying:

“Dad, I'm sorry for letting you down, but right this moment you have to take my hand and come with me. Please.”

Her dad replied “I got your letter Scar, I'm just glad that you are alright. I was so afraid that something might have happened to you to.”

“Something amazing happened to me these last few days, something extraordinary. I have to embrace this moment and share it with you dad.”

As she took her father to the land of the poor, a small village, with people so honest and caring, with faith stronger than trust in mankind itself. Love- stronger than gravity.

They spent the weekend on the farm with Eli and his parents. Scarlet’s father was very picky at first and didn’t know the purpose of why his daughter would bring him here.

As they got back from the trip, sitting on the front porch of their house, bare foot, she asked:

“Dad, do you know why I took you there?”

He replied: “Please tell me because I am sitting here on my front porch, bare foot, and confused as hell. What would possibly be the reason you wanted to take me there Scarlet?”

“Well…”she said. “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches the front yard, they have a whole horizon. ”

“I can carry on, but just to prove my point, haven’t you noticed how poor we really are dad?

"We live by all these manmade things. That we simply forget to appreciate the beauty Our Father in heaven created. We live in a beautiful house for the comfort of it, but it is cold and doesn’t feel like home, we wear these expensive clothes, for what reason? To impress other people because they want us to live this way? It is pointless. All we have is money and nothing but. ”

“I’d rather live with the land of the poor, in a small village and know what it means to love and to appreciate, to live and to be able to count on one another and call it home-so imperfectly perfect, than to live with a country of the rich, staying in a big house, being cold and selfish and don’t know any of that- so perfectly imperfect.”

When she finished explaining her view of what she thought of life, her father was speechless.

It had changed his mind set over all, completely! After wishful thinking and a lot of explanations, he quit his job and sold the house, and gave up everything. In return everything was given back to them, with hope and blessing, laughter and joy, love, appreciation and most importantly faith.

Scarlet’s father started over, made peace and got a new job offer in the butchery at the village.

Of course he struggled to fit into their new life, but after a few months he fitted in quite perfectly.

She on the other hand continued her story, in finding the person she wanted to be and embraced her soul. She lived by the moment and eventually said yes, the day Eli asked her to stand on his right side.

You don’t know what you are going to miss if you stop.

You don’t know what it will cost if you don’t stop.