Mary burst out laughing. “Dear me, I haven’t even taken an aspirin in ages! But, yes, I will be glad to give you what I have. You come. Even after this crisis is over, come and be a part of our fellowship. You’ll see what I mean. We’re not closing up. These are exciting days, and you are more than welcome to join us.”
“So what’s the catch?” Stan’s cynical side still remained unsatisfied. “After you get me in the church, you bilk me out of all my money, is that it?” Continue reading
“It sounds as though you have your own little club going here,” said Stan with a smile.
“Oh, not alt all. In fact, our church is winning more people to Jesus than ever before. Every day new people show up at our door. Some come, of course, because they heard that we have food available and are willing to help. Others come because they have no place else to turn. But a lot of people want to be a part of a church that cares.” Continue reading
“But then calamity after calamity started to happen. At first it was awful. Everybody was at one another’s throats, arguing over all sorts of silly things, but little by little, the Lord began a marvelous refining process in our congregation. I’m not sure, but I think that’s what the Bible means when it says that Jesus will return one day soon for a church without spot or wrinkle. I think He’s getting the spots and wrinkles out of us by using all these tribulations we’ve been going through …” Mary paused in front of two large sets of doors. Continue reading
The church wasn’t a fancy building. From the outside, it looked more like a school, complete with gymnasium, than it did a cathedral. Stan gathered his family’s belongings, and Christine hoisted Natalie onto her shoulder. They walked to the side door of the sanctuary and stepped inside. Although the electricity was still off in the area, the interior of the building was well lit by dozens of candles and kerosene lamps, flames flickering against the lightly painted walls, giving the large room a warm and cozy feeling. It reminded Stan of the Christmas Eve candlelight services he attended as a boy.
The room was filled with bustling people, some carrying backpacks, others carrying sleeping bags, still others toting boxes, a few teenagers even sporting guitars. The scene looked like a busy summer camp! Continue reading
Stan shuffled his way through the lines, exited the grocery store, and returned home. The Chevy’s gas gage now edged to the left of the “E”. As he turned off the engine, Stan wondered whether the car would start again tomorrow with so little gas in the tank.
Christine and Natalie were wide awake on the sofa. “Stan! Where have you been? You’ve been gone for more than three hours …” It was then that Christine noticed the sparse amount of food Stan carried. “Simply to bring home some rice, bread, and beans? Stan, where in the world have you been? I’ve been worried about you. Our candles are getting low. And it’s really getting damp and cold in this apartment without any heat.” Continue reading
“NEXT IN LINE, PLEASE!” an exasperated voice somewhere up ahead of Stan called. “Come on, let’s go. There are a lot of people waiting.”
Stan thanked the elderly woman for the bread one more time, then stepped into the narrow lane in front of the cash register, while his benefactor waited in the line next to him. There were no scanners functioning at the checkouts, no calculators, computers, or working cash registers, so every transaction had to be calculated on paper. Continue reading
The automatic sliding doors were stuck in the open position and the flow of the people going in and out of the store seemed perpetual as Stan waited politely to slip inside. After waiting a few moments, he realized that most shoppers had long since discarded their manners as they made for the rapidly vanishing food supplies.
The large grocery store was dimly lit, as the juice dwindled and the battery-powered emergency lights dotting the walls. This store, like most modern grocery stores, drug stores, and department, had been built largely without windows to help prevent burglaries. It depended almost entirely on artificial interior lighting to brighten it’s aisles. Without electricity, the store became a huge, dark cave, with only the emergency spots providing any light at all. Continue reading
