Changes Around Me

I ran around the corner of the alley with shortened weary breaths. Sweat tickled down from my forehead to my neck.

How could this happen?

They know I'm here. I shouldn't have tried running. Why didn't I just pay attention to my family when they warned me that this day was going to come. Deep down I always knew it, but never wanted to admit to it. What am I to do now? I am to find refuge.

I walked as stealthily as I could. I didn't want them to hear see me despite the fact that the streets were so dark. But tonight was different than most. The roads were still filled with cars and trash, however; there was no chaos. Something big most be happening tomorrow. I quickly ducked beside a car when I heard a kerplunk sound from afar. I lifted my head up to look through the window to see if I saw anything.

Nothing.

Just a dying world.

I regret so much. I regret not listening to my parents and being rebellious without even really knowing I was being that way. I regret not putting my whole heart in God like he had wanted for me to do. I regret not living my life the way I was destined to. I grew up in a loving home. But my family were lukewarm Christians back then. We did not know as much as we believed we did. Then, The Lord had given grace and mercy onto my brother and saved him. The Lord took my brother from out of the grave he dug for himself, and built him from his lowest point upward. My brother went from a drug dealer, drug user, and alcoholic to a loving, forgiving, laughter-filled peace spirit. It was the greatest change our family had seen in a while, we were all so happy. After that The Lord had shaped our family, or most of my family, into his little soldiers. We evangelized to many people about the Gospel. My brother even started a young Christian group called SISU and it blossomed from only two people to almost one hundred people coming every Saturday; worshipping and praising. Even I evangelized to my friends at school, but I didn't stick with The Lord. I was like a baby who got distracted easily by shiny things; this dying world. I went for the short-lasting material items in life. I went after things that would soon mean nothing. I always asked myself why but I never had a true answer. I has been a very spiritual child, nonetheless; I just grew apart from roots as a Christian. I still thank God that I haven't been brutally killed by now, but then again that would be nicer than staying on this earth. It's like a second Hell.

They did warn us that you would not know the day or the hour, but around the time.

~~~~~~~~~<~~~~~~~~~~<~~~~~~

FLASHBACK:

"Kendra, go get your brothers and sisters and tell them to get down here" my mothers demanded

"Yes Ma" I nodded

All year I had been worried. My family is a group of strong believers, with an acceptation of my mom because The Lord is still working on her heart. I was worried because my dad had always warned us about The Rapture after he got saved. Always telling us what year it may be around. The Bible said that Jesus' children would know and be ready for the day because they would be the ones to listen and see the signs that non-believers did not see. So when my dad, and practically my whole family, started agreeing on how soon I may be, I got a bit upset. I headed upstairs and rounded up all my siblings and we headed down to the kitchen. We were getting ready to go to a family reunion.

We all trampled out of the car and raced towards the array of various foods that stretched across the picnic tables with our parents trailing behind us. Foods like greens and macaroni and cheese to things like yams and chicken were set for us to choose from. We each prepared our own plates and sat down at one of the tables in the yard.

It was so nice and peaceful.

It all happened too fast.

I wasn't ready for it.

It took a split second for them to be gone. We were just eating. I was in the middle of a conversation with Kiara when...

poof

She had vanished in thin air, only her clothes were left behind. I screamed as loud as I could but it all got muffled by the screams and profanities being strewn around at the reunion. Everyone in my immediate family was gone except for my Mother, and we both knew why. The warm tears were already streaming down my face. I couldn't help it. I wanted to cry forever and ever and ever. I ran around the table and over to my mother as fast as humanly possible and held onto her tight. She tried whispering comforting words to me but my sobs of agony blocked out her gibberish.

They we're gone.

And I wasn't with them.

The Rapture had happened.