Hey there and welcome back to The Quoted Blog! So, before I published my first book, I shared a good bit of book content over on my blog. Here's everything I shared: https://miribrooks1.wixsite.com/quoted/my-blog/categories/quoted
I know that my book is huge, and it's not extremely cheap, but it's my lil' baby lol. Anyway, there are a few devotions in my book that I'm in love with, and this short story is one of them, and I decided that I wanted to post it on my blog for those who don't have a copy of my book.
I asked one of my really good friends to give me a prompt, then I wrote this short story, and I love it. So, for those of you who have my book, this is the devotion for October 19th.
For those of you who don't have it, here's this short story exclusively from my book Quoted: A Guide for Teen Girls!!
October nineteenth: Rescued and Redeemed
“I’m super excited for this entry.” -The author
“Kate? Why don’t you make your bed and come join us in the kitchen for breakfast?” Mrs. Morrison, a friendly neighbor said.
Kate had been having a hard time at home lately, and Mrs. Morrison and her family had offered to have her spend a couple nights in their home. Her mom had just been arrested, but Kate couldn’t figure out what her mom could have done wrong. She didn’t think her loving mother could have done anything to deserve jail.
Kate watched her neighbor leave the guest bedroom she had been staying in. she was not only ashamed of what her mom had done, but embarrassed that everyone knew what was wrong and thought they could help her. Kate didn’t think anyone could make things better.
Ten minutes later, Kate was walking slowly into the kitchen as she had been told. She sat down at the table and looked around. The kitchen was decorated with flowers of all kinds. Kate waited for Mrs. Morrison to notice her before she got breakfast.
“Kate, do you like scrambled eggs or fried?” Anna, Mrs. Morrison’s daughter, asked. Anna was fifteen, two years older than Kate.
“I’m not hungry. I’ll just wait until everyone is finished.” Anna nodded and grabbed herself a plate.
Mr. Morrison exchanged a glance with his wife, “Do you think she’ll come to church with us on Sunday? I heard she’s never been before. What if she says she won’t come with us?”
“Relax Tom. I’m sure she will come and I think it will be good for her,” Macy Morrison patted her husband on the shoulder and grabbed a plate.
When Sunday rolled around, Mrs. Morrison gave Kate a pretty purple dress to wear to church. “You don’t have to wear this, but I thought you might like too.”
Macy left the room and Kate watched her leave. She had never been to church before, and had no idea what to expect. What with everything going on, she felt nervous. Without hesitating, she slipped the dress on and was ready to go by the time everyone was in the car.
Anna smiled at Kate and commented on her dress, “Ya know, that was my dress when I first went to middle school. I thought it looked horrible on me, but I think it looks great on you.”
“Thanks,” Kate smiled back. “What do you do at church?” She wondered.
“Oh! Well, we read the Bible, share our testimonies and so much more. Have you ever been to Church? If you haven’t it’s okay. Everyone is so nice there and they will welcome you. It will be an amazing experience and I know you will love it!” Anna opened the door because they had made it to church, and Kate scrambled out behind her.
Kate entered the church behind the Morrison family and looked around. Mrs. Morrison showed her where her class would be and wished her a good time. “I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes after church.”
In class, the teacher introduced herself as Sharon and began with a Bible verse. “Today’s verse is Jeremiah 29:11. It says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Sharon wrote the verse on the whiteboard. Then she looked at everyone sitting around her in a circle. “Today I think we should all share anything bad that has been happening in our lives. Let’s start with you, Susan, and go around. When we get to you, say your name and don’t be afraid to tell us how you are doing. If you don’t want to share, say ‘pass.’”
Susan began and shared with everyone what was going on in her life. “My parents just got divorced and I haven’t seen my dad in a while. It’s been hard, but coming to church really helps me to have hope for my future.”
The next kid went, then Sharon stopped everyone. “Before we continue, I have something to say. Let’s look at the verse of the day again. The verse said that God knows His plans for each and everyone of you, and he has plans that are good for you, not bad.” Sharon smiled, “Susan, I know things are hard with your family right now, but just remember that things will get better. Now let’s continue sharing.”
Every kid shared their feelings until they got to Kate. Kate didn’t say anything, but just sat there and looked around. She felt awkward, and was not ready to share her feelings.
“What is your name, sweetie?” Sharon asked.
“Kate,” she mumbled.
“Would you like to share your feelings or not?” Kate shook her head no. “I know it must seem like we are digging into your privacy, but trust me Kate. It will make you feel better to get your feelings out of your chest.”
Kate nodded again and decided to give it a try. Maybe Sharon was right, and it would make her feel better to share how she felt. “Okay. Well, my mom was just arrested and I don’t know why. I've been living with the Morrison family for a couple days now, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see my mom again. The past couple of days I have felt lonely and sad. I was unsure of what to do and say. It’s kinda weird living with someone you have only met a couple times, but mom wouldn’t let them bring me to a children’s home, not that she even had a choice,” Kate swallowed, “Who is God?”
“Thanks for sharing, Kate. God is our father. He is also our Creator and He knows everything that will happen to us because he planned our lives. Listen, I have a Bible study all about God every Wednesday night at five, and if you will come, we can talk more on that subject. Right now we are gonna get back to the verse of today. Before you leave today guys, I want you to remember what we talked about today. Remember that God is in control of everything that happens in our lives, and He will always be there for us. Everything bad that happens, God has a plan to make it into something good.” Sharon turned to Kate, “Kate, I think God has already given you something good in your life. Even though it is hard not getting to see your mom, you have come to live with the right family and it was a blessing to have you here with us this morning. You are strong girly, and I know you’ll get through this because God will be there with you all the way, and now you know a little about who he is. Come on Wednesday and we can talk more. Never give up, Kate. Never give up.”
CHALLENGE OF THE DAY:
This was for a challenge, and what I was supposed to do was ask a friend what they like to read, and then write a short story for them. I asked my friend Hannah Grace, and she said she likes reading stories of a character having a transformation to look to Christ from a challenging testimony. I tried my best, and hopefully this is what she meant. I was so excited to write this for her and it was so fun! If you’re reading this Hannah Grace, never give up! You are amazing and I love how you are always sharing the Word of God. ~Ella
And that's Rescued and Redeemed. I hope you like it, and I hope it inspires you to check out my book! You can check out my author website if you want to learn more about Quoted: https://www.christianfaithpublishing.com/books/?book=quoted-a-guide-for-teen-girls
Thanks for reading this blog! ~Ella