Apr 25, 2010

.The Battle Surrendered - Part Eight.

The Battle Surrendered
Part Eight
Storyteller SilverLoom



     This was a battle I could never win.
     With the last strength I had, I made my choice. Covering my eyes with my hands, I cried, “Jesus, help me! I can’t do it without You!”
     Not even one second passed before He came. I sensed Him standing in front of me, and I looked into His face. The creatures were behind Him, but they were no longer docile. Furious at His interference, they launched themselves onto His back, trying to tear at Him with their nails and teeth. He remained unscathed by their livid strikes and ignored them completely.
     The shadow creature’s false light still shown, but my mind was clear. Though their deceptive fingers had released me to attack Jesus, I was too shocked to stand.  
     Jesus simply stood, watching me with a smile tugging at the corner of His mouth. I noticed His strong sword still hung in its sheath at His side.
     He saw my glance and shook His head. “You still don’t understand. Dear heart, they have already been defeated.” He reached down toward me, the scars made by the cross clearly visible. Grasping my hands in both of His, He pulled me to my feet. “You cannot defeat them. You cannot even resist them, except through Me. Use My strength; don’t depend on yours. I am faithful. I will provide a way out so that you can stand up under them.”
     It was so easy, and yet so difficult. I suddenly felt like I wanted to cry, now that I was beginning to understand. “So,” I asked past the lump in my throat, “all I have to do is…?”
     “Hold on to Me.”
     Gripping His hands tighter, I said, “Ok. I trust You.”
     The smile that burst upon His face was the grandest I had ever seen.
     Soon after, some of the shadow creatures tried to bring me back under their power. They whispered in my ears and pulled at my arms, but I kept a firm clasp on Jesus’s hands and never looked away from His face. It was almost funny, actually; what chance did the shadow creatures think they had while I was holding onto my Savior?
     Eventually, the shadow creatures tired of their fruitless efforts. Their light faded, and their masks of white skin disappeared with it. They slid, one by one, into the forest.
     “We’ve arrived,” said Jesus. He turned me around.
     Between two trees, like two door posts, I could see my bedroom.
     “I’ll always be with you. Always use My strength. Don’t forget.”
     “I won’t.” I spun back and threw my arms around Him. “I love You.”
     “I love you so much, dear heart.”
     I didn’t let go.
     After a minute, He laughed. “Go on. You know this won’t be the last time you see Me!”
     I nodded and pulled away. “I know. Ok. Bye.”
     “Bye? Didn’t I just say I will always be with you?”
     “Oh, yeah.” I laughed along with Him and walked toward my bedroom.
     Though I was coming out of late afternoon, the first rays of dawn greeted me through the windows of my bedroom, chasing away the night’s darkness.

"Our temptation is to face adversaries from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” [John 16:33] even when seemingly defeated by adversaries, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God."

-Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost for His Highest”


~The End~

16 comments:

Mackenzie A. Lockhart said...

Awesome ending,storyteller! That was an excellent piece of writing, haha, I was almost expecting more, but that was a great place to end :)

Squeaks.

Jessica Greyson said...

Oh, how beautiful Storyteller. I love how Jesus always addresses her as dear heart. It is so precious.

Thank you for sharing this marvelous story.

Jake said...

Wow... That was great. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Madeline said...

Whoa, that was excellent, ST. I read all of the parts - that was a wonderful look at the heart of God. We have a lot to learn from that short story - a lot!! And we wonder why God "never does anything" about our problems...we're trying too hard! Again, amazing job. =D

Storyteller SilverLoom said...

Thank you so much for reading it, everyone!

Jessica, I have to admit that the "dear heart" was stolen from C.S. Lewis; Alsan calls Lucy "dear heart" in "Voyage of the Dawn Treasure."

Galadriel said...

I love the phrase "dear heart" as well. A very satisfactory ending

Jake said...

Hey, would you mind if I politely pilfer your idea and do sort of the same thing on my blog, eventually? It's such a great idea, you know... :)

Mine won't be allegorical (not that I can think of, that is), but it's fairly long.

Storyteller SilverLoom said...

Do you mean "my idea" as in the splitting the story into parts and posting them on separate days? If so, then of course! I won't send the FBI after you. ;)

Also, for anyone who is reading this, feel free to distribute the story on the internet or in your youth group - basically anywhere. Just, if you do that, I would appreciate it if you'd keep my name with it, for copyright's sake. Thanks. :)

Cacia said...

-happy sigh- Wonderful ending. And you wrap so much truth into such a short story. I love it.

I really needed this story. I've been trying to fight, and failing miserably. This has reinforced and reminded me of truth that should be before my eyes every day. Thank you, ST. God's using you. =)

Gwendolyn said...

A touching and sweet story, ST. I enjoyed it very much. ^^ And, to echo what was already said, the phrase "dear heart" is a beautiful addition. Truly.

~ Gwendolyn

Unknown said...

Lovely post. I'm a huge fan of Oswald Chambers. I find something new in My Utmost every time I read it.

Storyteller SilverLoom said...

Thank you all so much! I am just praising God for giving me the ability to share this story with you.

Anonymous said...

Nice dispatch and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thanks you as your information.

Unknown said...

I L.O.V.E. this story it is the kind one only dreams of reading. So would you mind if I put this awesome story in a girls magazine that is recivied by less than 20 girls under the age of 14? It is such a awesome story!Ok I'm mad about it -being a writer and all that, but it has such life. Anyway, looking forward to your reply.

Unknown said...

I understand if you'd rather not

Storyteller SilverLoom said...

Tiffany Henry-

Wow, thank you so much for your encouraging words!

Absolutely, you may put the story in a magazine! It is actually currently being featured in another magazine for girls (The Christian Girls Club), and I rewrote the last bit for that magazine. If you'd like, email me at storytellerjourney@hotmail.com and I'll send you the "new and improved" version in a Word doc.

I'm curious; what's the name of the magazine? Are you the creator of it?