Trickles of Life

WHAT HE WOULD HAVE DONE

I managed to hold back a grunt as someone bumped into me. My backpack dropped to the ground. I crouched to pick it up…

Strength Lord, strength…

I silently prayed in my head.

“Sorry," the masculine voice I knew too well said in a mocking tone.

I sighed, rising to my feet.

“Good morning, Will," I said with a smile, a smile I knew was not mine, or rather a smile I knew I would not give normally.

He grinned, chuckling as he walked away from me.

I unzipped my backpack.

Good job, Ava.

“This is hard, Lord," I whispered back.

Who said it would be easy?

I stared at the packets of chocolate in my bag. For what was not the tenth time today, I groaned.

You can do this, Ava.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. I could do this, with God's strength.

I flinched as shouts of oohs and aahs filled the hall. I immediately turned away as I sighted the source of the commotion. A couple, kissing, right there in the hallway. Urgh!

I walked away from the scene, heading for my classroom.

Help me, Lord. Please. I prayed in my head.

Only a few students were in the class presently. I walked over to Sean, the geek of the class. He looked up at me quizzically. I smiled at him.

“Jesus said to give you this," I handed him one bar of chocolate, a paper taped around the middle that read  ‘Jesus loves you’.

He grinned.

“Gee. Help me thank Jesus, then," he replied as he received the gift. “Happy Valentine's"

I smiled and walked over to the next recipient. Well, this started out well, though I suspected it was because Sean was nice, really nice.

The rest of the morning, I went around sharing Jesus' valentine gift to everyone. Some thanked me, some grunted in reply, some merely glanced at me, and some made no indication that they even saw me.

Go to her…

I winced mentally. I knew who God wanted me to go to, but I wasn't ready for it. The burden only grew even bigger. I walked over to Kelsey.

“Hi," I forced the word out of my throat. She sent me a look that said ‘You again’.

For some reason, God had specifically been asking me to pray fervently for this girl and speak to her about His love, but Kelsey was like a brick wall, blocking everything and everyone out.

She glared at me even now, massaging the wrist of the hand that held her phone. I noticed a bruise along her wrist, like someone had grabbed her really hard. I tried to show no reaction, knowing she would yell at me. This wasn't the first time I'd been seeing her with an injury like that, but every time I tried to pry, she would explode on me.

So God had given me another solution. Show her love.

Her phone rang just as I was about to speak. She froze, and I saw the fear that crept into her eyes. She rose, dashing out of the classroom as fast as possible.

I blinked. Something was off.

Follow her.

What? That would be intruding on her privacy.

Follow her, Ava.

I followed. She was running like crazy when I saw her, dashing around a corner. I kept following until she finally entered the boy’s locker room. I frowned. What was she doing in there?

Go

I followed her in only to be greeted by an unexpected scene.

Her brother was towering over her, glaring at her with a manic light in his eyes.

I hid behind a locker.

“Didn't you see my messages?”he growled.

Poor Kelsey was trembling like a leaf in a storm.

" I… I’m sorry. I was…"

And then he hit her across the face. I couldn't stop the gasp that escaped my lips. Her brother turned towards the source of the sound.

“What do we have here?" He raised an eyebrow at me. Kelsey looked paralyzed as she stared wide eyed at me.

My heart was thumping in my chest, but my fear was suddenly replaced by a righteous anger.

“Stop hitting her."

“Oh. Is that what you want?"

This time, he smacked her so hard that she fell. I rushed over to Kelsey, yelling her name.

“If you want to leave here alive, you better shut it, girl," he snapped. I looked up to see a baseball bat in his hands.

Instead of the fear I expected, an unexplainable sense of protectiveness overwhelmed me.

“Leave her alone."

He laughed.

“You're only making this worse, Ava." Kelsey sobbed.

I saw the bat swinging down just in time, and I threw myself over Kelsey. Her scream was loud and long.

“Will you shut up?" I could tell her brother was getting agitated.

You’ve done well, Ava.

That commendation was enough to make me forget the pain in my back.

Several students and a teacher rushed in, intervening. Kelsey's brother, Jasper, was whisked away, and Kelsey sat next to me, tears in her eyes.

“You protected me. Why?" she asked.

I smiled wearily as the teacher yelled for someone to get the school nurse.

“Because that is what Jesus would have done." I replied.

I looked around. A small crowd had gathered.

" That is true love. Not this nonsense happening around.” A feminine voice said from the crowd.

I smiled at that.

" Tell me more, Ava.”

My eyes clouded over. Thank you Jesus!She is finally ready to listen!

I told you Ava. All you need to do is show a little love.

***
Sometimes , all you need to do to bring the lost to Jesus is to show love. You don't necessarily need to take a beating like Ava did. A little smile here , a little helping hand there, and that can be enough to make them intrigued about the light you carry.

Thanks for reading🥰
And make sure to show love wherever you go❤️❤️