I Got Jesus

Inspiring People

Maxwell told me he needed to talk to me, so I met him in front of the school during lunch.

"What's up?" I questioned, blushing.

"The whole thing in science. You know, totally roasting Mrs. Lavender." Maxwell began.

"I'm not roasting her." I protested, "I'm just speaking the truth."

"Yeah, ok. Well..." he shrugged, then sighed, "You're really brave standing up for your beliefs like that. You've inspired me to get to know God. There's something different about you, and I want it. Where do I start?"

My heart leaped. I never thought that I could have this sort of influence on someone. Its just proved once again how important it is to follow God's lead and to stand up for him.

I smiled softly, "Well, you'll need to start by praying and seeking God. Get yourself a Bible too."

"Where do I get a Bible?" He asked.

"I can bring one to school tomorrow." I suggested.

"Cool, thanks!" he hesitated for a second before asking, "Do I have to buy it from you or something?"

"No, I'll give it to you for free." I smiled."

"Oh okay. Cool. So will I have to give it back?" He blushed.

"No, Maxwell. You can just keep it! It'll be yours!"

"Oh okay!" He blushed even harder. "Thank you so much Chloe!"

"Yeah of course." I smiled. He hesitantly started to give me a hug. I stared at him for a moment, blushing, then I hugged him back. After we pulled away, we looked at each other for a while, both of us red in the face. He awkwardly coughed, then ran off, mumbling something about needing to meet his friends.

"Chloe!" Clarice called at me. I paused preparing for whatever hate she had for me today, then turned around to face her. She wasn't with her friends and she wasn't all dressed up like usual.

"Clarice?" I sighed.

"Chloe," She gulped, "I need to talk to you. Do you have time?"

I looked at her confused, "You want to talk to me?"

"Yes."

"Okay." I rubbed my arm nervously. "I have time."

"Listen, something happened to me, and my friends don't care about it." she sighed, "They don't care about me. They were just friends with me to smoke, drink, do illegal things together. Just to party and have fun." Tears started to pool in her eyes, "But they never really cared about me I guess." She moved her feet around in the grass.

"Clarice I'm so sorry to hear that." My voice stuttered. "What happened?"

"I went to the doctor the other day," her voice cracked. "I have lung cancer." Tears began flowing down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them, but they fell too fast, slipping past her hands and hitting her shirt. "It's all because I decided to smoke and do stupid things. Now I could die because of it. Before, the people who actually cared about me would tell me what could happen to me. I didn't listen to them, I told them if it really is going to happen that would be for later me to deal with. I shut those people who actually cared about me out. Now I'm here and I have no one who cares about me anymore. I don't know what to do." She took a deep breath trying to stop herself from crying. My mind had dozens of thoughts racing around, I felt so bad for her. I didn't know what to say.

I gulped and looked at my hands, fidgeting them. Then when I finally decided on what to say I looked up at her. "Clarice. Things like this happen for a reason. I mean everything happens for a reason. Maybe God has decided it's time he wants to bring you home, but you want to make sure you will be going home to God. Clarice I'm saying this from heart. Seek God. Believe in him. Accept him as your Lord and Savior. Because if this really is your time to go, you want to know where you'll end up living forever."

She began bawling again, giving up on wiping her tears as they fell, "How do I do that?"

"You can start by reading his Word. I have multiple Bibles at home. I can bring one to you tomorrow." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry." I looked straight into her eyes. She nodded biting her lip.

I looked through my bookshelf and pulled out two Bibles, placing them on my bed and sitting at the end. I couldn't stop thinking of what Clarice told me. She was willing to open up to me, after making fun of me. We weren't friends, but she was willing to tell me, out of all people, what she was going through. God placed me into her life for a reason. I may be the only light in her life. So many people don't know God. They don't have Bibles to read, and they may not take their time to go to church and youth group to find God. What if I could bring God into school, like I brought Him to Maxwell and Clarice?

The next day, before the bell rang, I went to the principal's office. He welcomed me in and I sat in the chair by his desk.

"What can I help you with? Chloe. Right?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's me." I nodded, "I want to start a club." I began.

"What kind of club?"

"I was thinking a youth group sort of thing."

"Youth group?" He rubbed his hands on his chin. "Like a Christian club?"

"Yeah. I mean you guys have all sorts of clubs already. Like magic card club, chess club, drama club. I mean I wouldn't be forcing this club on anyone, it would be their choice to come."

"What days would it be on?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"I was thinking Wednesday's during lunch?" I smiled.

"How about this, Bakers. I'll present the idea to the school board at the meeting today and I'll let you know by the end of the day. Sound good?" He sat up and clicked his pen.

"Sounds good." I smiled.

As I was walking to my last period class, my name was called to meet the principal in his office.

"The school board confirmed it. Because you aren't forcing it on anyone it's okay. It'll start next week. If you'd like, you can let people know about it via announcements. You can also place one flyer on the bulletin board. What will you be calling it?" He said.

I hadn't thought about what I'd call it before. I thought about it for a moment and then smiled, "I'll call it the I Got Jesus Club."