The Promise

Author – Emily T.

A long time ago, in the land of saints and sinners, there lived a man like no other . It was said that he could heal the blind and make lame men walk. It was also said that he could even bring people back from the dead. Some believed that he was the son of God. His name was Jesus. There was also a man named Jarius. Jarius was an important man, for he was the ruler of a synagogue. He had a pretty good life. He had a wife, a daughter, and a nice home as well. One day his daughter got sick, and so he went to his synagogue to pray. As he was coming home, he saw a crowd. In the middle of the crowd was a man he had never seen before.  It wasn’t that the man was ugly or alien. He had a look similar to others. Yet, there was something about him. Maybe it was the way his eyes shined with love, or maybe it was the warmth that radiated from him, or it could have been the feeling that the man gave him; the feeling that everything would be all right.  Jairus didn’t want to simply pass him by, but he knew he had to get home. Reluctantly, he left the crowd and walked toward his house. As soon as he got there, he could feel that something wasn’t right. His wife confirmed his premonition when she ran out of the house, face red and wet, tears flowing from eyes streaked with sorrow. He ran to her and enveloped her in a protective embrace. “What is wrong he asked?” “M…M…Maria is d…d..dead. Our little girl is dead” she wailed . Jairus tore into the house, and then into his little girl’s room. He stoped and stared at his daughter’s pale, lifeless, body, willing her to be alive. He slowly knelt, reached out to hold her dangling hand, and sobbed with head bowed, onto the side of her bed. Then, in the midst of overwhelming grief, a thought came to Jarius regarding the man he had seen earlier. With a flash of insight, he knew who he was. He was Jesus. The man that could heal. He could heal Maria. He jumped up and ran with desperation faster then he had ever run before. As he neared Jesus, he couldn’t break through the crowd, so he frantically cried out “Abba father, heal my daughter.  Lord please come with me.” The crowd parted, and Jesus, recognizing Jarius’ anguish, came.  The passion, the charisma, and the strange energy that seemed to surround Jesus, followed in his wake. His soft, strong, hand reached out and touched Jarius. Jarius felt warmth, steadiness, and somehow even a sense of hope, seep through his skin, and he thought, “I would do anything for this man.” “I could trust him to do anything for me.” As if time stood still, the two men stood silently, soaking within each other’s presence.  Jarius could see in Jesus’ eyes the reflection of his pain. Then, Jesus spoke with the purest and most compassionate voice, “Take me to her.” When they got there, Jesus simply reached out and touched Maria’s forehead with his fingers. She opened her eyes, smiled, and glanced around. Jarius was overcome with joy. He would never forget Jesus. Jesus talked with his daughter in a voice that only she could hear, and then he left. Her parents asked her what he had told her, but she never said . From that day forward, Maria grew up caring for people and loving Jesus . She grew into a beautiful woman that many wanted to marry, but no matter what was promised, she turned them down. Only she knew why. She spent her life as a widow because of a promise she shared with Jesus. She would be his bride, and no one else’s . She was his, and he was hers . She gave her life fully to him just as he had given her life back to her.

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