Accepting Grace

Chapter 1

"Grace, come here!" Mrs. Wattson yelled up down the hall of the apartment. "It's dinner time!"

A door on the right opened and a small head with long blonde hair and big dark green eyes came out.

"Just a minute!" Grace shouted, then hurried back into her room to grab her iPod. She quickly grabbed her headphones and iPod, then went to the dining room and sat in her seat. Her mashed potato's, green beans, and bun were still steaming as Grace turned, Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor on.

She slipped the headphones into her ears then started eating. The rest of her family (her mother, father and nine month old sister Hope) were all doing their own things. Her father was reading the sports section of the newspaper (mainly soccer). Her mother was trying to get Hope to eat her mashed banana's and carrots, while Hope was trying not to eat the food.

Grace smiled as she listened to her music, watched her family and ate. "My family is awesome," she thought.

Grace took out an headphone and looked at her mother. "Mom, can I go visit Jamie after dinner? She said she had big news to share."

Mrs. Wattson made airplane noises and made Hope's food fly around until Hope's mouth opened to receive it. Grace patiently waited until Hope's food was eaten and Mrs. Wattson looked at her.

"Sure... But when you go downstairs take the garbage with you."

Grace groaned at the thought of holding stinky garbage but brighten quickly.

"Okay, thank you!" Grace shoveled her food into her mouth. Then chewing quickly she got up ran and put her dishes in the sink. She then grabbed the garbage she ran downstairs excitedly. She passed more of her relatives as she ran downstairs. Some said 'hi' to her, while others just waved. She got to apartment B27 and set the garbage bag in front of the door, then knocked. Telling herself that family was more important and would do the trash later. This was a perk of living in an apartment that your family owned. You got to see your cousins all the time.

"Hi Grace!" Jamie said as she opened the door. "Come on," she motioned for Grace to come inside then backed up so she could.

"What's the big news?" Grace asked as she stepped in to the warm, citrus smelling apartment.

Jamie grinned broadly then quickly frowned. "I can't tell you out her my parents aren't to happy with my choice and don't like to be reminded..."

Grace frowned. "Jamie always makes the best choices. Why would Aunt Helen and Uncle George disapprove?"

Grace followed Jamie into her bright orange room. Jamie flopped onto her bed and Grace copied her. They lay there in silence before Grace couldn't hold it in any longer. She sat up.

"What's your big news?" she asked.

Jamie grinned brightly. "I made Jesus my Lord and Savoir!"

"What?" Grace's inner confusion reflected outside.

Jamie laughed at her confusion. "Have you ever heard of Jesus?"

Grace shook her head. "No."

"Well, he's God's one and only son and he came down to earth to die for us."

"Why does he need to die for us? We're fine on our own aren't we?"

"No, we're not fine on our own. We're full of sin, and because Jesus loves us so much he died a painful death on the cross so that we could go to heaven. If we don't believe in him then we'll go to hell."

"But if he loves us so much then why doesn't he just let every one go to heaven? I guess I don't get it..."

"I get it but I guess I can't explain it very well. You should come to my new church and meet the youth pastor there. He can explain it to you." Jamie sighed. "I just wanted to share that with someone so that maybe it'd spread and then we'd all go to heaven if we died."

"Oh..." Grace shifted uncomfortably. "I need to go take the trash out..." Her voice trailed off.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jamie looked at Grace and had tears welling up in her dark brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, I just can't right now." Grace hugged Jamie before running out. She grabbed the trash bag and raced down the stairs. "I don't get it. Why would Jamie go all religious on me?"

She past more of her family in the lobby before going out back and around to the dumpster to throw the trash away. After doing so she trudged back into the building, feeling a big weight on her shoulders. She headed towards the elevator and got on, then pressed the button for the 3rd floor. It wasn't to crowded. A few new tenants, but being crammed in a small space with strangers wasn't a big deal for her as she had been for the past 10 years of her life. The elevator music was soothing, though a bit annoying. She hummed along feeling the elevator move up, then listened for the distinctive bing as they reached the second floor. All of the strangers got off but her family members remained as the third floor was reserved for family.

"Speaking of family I should apologize to Jamie," She thought as they went up. "It's not very fair of me to hold a choice that doesn't affect me against her."

BING! Grace got off determined to write an apology letter to Jamie. They rest of the night went by slowly, but Grace never got to writing the letter.

"I'll do it after playing with Hope," she thought.

Ten minutes later it was. "I should help my mom clean the house."

Soon her excuse was,"I need to get ready for bed."

Finally as she drifted of the sleep she though, "I'll do it in the morning." But that never happened.