"Musing" #3 - Story

Hello, friends! Another "Musing" for you, this one (once again) a short story. (LOL) Like I told you last week, you'll be getting a nice flood of these "short stories." Enjoy! 

All for Christ

Eleven-year-old Emma clutched her papers and swallowed hard. This had been a dreaded moment. Her pulse quickened, and her stomach clenched. Her lips moved slowly as she mouthed her part of the Christmas pageant.

           Why, oh why, did Miss Cleaver choose me to be Mary’s cousin Elizabeth?
           She tried to tell herself that she had no reason to worry. She’d practiced her lines over and over again. She could say them in her sleep. But…
          What if I forget them suddenly? Horrid thought! Emma’s cheeks flushed just thinking about it. 

            Sweat oozed from her palms and soaked the papers she held. The sheets of paper were lined with the quotes “Elizabeth” was supposed to say…in front of all those people.

          “Emma, you all right?”
          Emma, already a nervous wreck, jumped at her sister’s soft-spoken question. She sucked in a deep breath and swung around. “I-I’m fine.”
          Charlene was one of the older students, so she’d requested not to be part of the Christmas pageant this year. However, after Fred Morris came down sick, Miss Cleaver had hired Charlene quick as a wink to be a “substitute shepherd boy.”
          This was Emma’s first time seeing her sister in her full costume, and Charlene looked quite comical. She was dressed in a long robe and sandals. All of her pretty, dark hair was shoved up into a raggedy head covering.
          Quite a difference from all these previous years, when Miss Cleaver always asked Charlene to be Mary or Elizabeth, Emma thought. She giggled softly. The butterflies in her stomach lessened their fluttering. “Thanks for helping me feel better,” she whispered.
          Charlene’s eyebrows rose high. “Huh?”
          “Never mind.” Emma waved her hand, and in so doing dropped one of her sheets of paper.
          Charlene knelt to grab it. Her eyes grew big. “Emma, this sheet is saturated.” She stood and handed the paper over, then wiped her hand on her robe. “What’s all that water from?”
         Emma bit her lip and showed her sister one of her palms. “I’m all sweaty.”
        “I’ll say.” Charlene shook her head and fixed her hazel gaze on her little sister. “What’s wrong?”
        “Well…” Emma ducked her head and said in a barely audible whisper, “I’m scared of going out there, Charlene. What if I botch my lines and everyone laughs at me?”
        For a moment, Charlene was silent. Emma kept her head down. The toe of her shoe traced a pattern on the floor. From behind the curtain, Carrie Onstrong’s voice could be heard, loud and clear, as she repeated The Magnificat.
        Emma’s fingers went back to clenching her papers. “Mary” is about to go visit “Elizabeth.” That means it’s almost to my part. Can I really do this? She shuddered. Carrie sounds so lovely. I’m sure there’s no way I could ever speak so—
       “Emma, look at me.”

        Emma raised her head. Her brown eyes locked with her sister’s hazel ones. “Yes?”
       “I want you to promise me something.”
      Emma swallowed. “What?”
      “When you go out there, I want you to pretend there is no one watching you. No one but Jesus. Can you do that?”

       Emma immediately understood what her sister was talking about. When I try to “people-please,” I turn into something I’m not, and I work myself into a dither for no reason at all. But if I want to serve Jesus, and focus only on bringing Him glory, I need to be me. I need to stop caring about what others think and focus my thoughts on Jesus. God didn’t make me like Carrie, or like Charlene, or like anybody! He made me in His Image, for His glory. I need to go out there and give it my all. For Jesus.
      She nodded at Charlene. “Yes, I can do that. I can be Christ’s servant, not man’s.”
      Emma breathed deep. Carrie finished her last line, and Emma stepped out from behind the curtain.
      She would do this.
      For Jesus.

           

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” GALATIANS 1:10

p.s. So I won't be leaving anyone hanging, I'll tell you that Emma kept her thoughts focused on Jesus. The pageant went just as her Savior wanted it to, and she left with a peaceful heart and a confident soul. Charlene later told her, "You were marvelous, sister," and Emma knew her sister meant that compliment in more ways than one.


~Ellen

Musing #2 - Story

Hello, and welcome to my second musing. If there's one thing I like to write, it's stories. Not that I need to tell you that. You'll no doubt be fully aware of this after I've posted half a dozen "musings." ;-).

Yarn Across the Hall

 "Mama, I've nearly finished my scarf," nine-year-old Libby Harris exclaimed, holding up her teal-yarn creation.

 Mama looked up from her book and smiled. "So you have. Let me see that."

 With a pleased grin, Libby handed the scarf over. "It's near as good as yours, Mama. I've been working hard."

 "I'll say." Mama took the scarf onto her lap and looked it over closely, the twinkle never leaving her soft brown eyes. "I'm certainly proud of you, Libby. You've put a lot of thought and effort towards this."

 "She's teaching me to crochet, too," eight-year-old Anne proclaimed. "I already have a nice warm scarf, so I'm making a blanket for my dolly."

 "That's good," Mama commended. "I like seeing you two work together. May I see your blanket, Anne?"

 "Later," Anne answered, eyes aglow. "I want you to see it after Libby helps me put on a line of teal. I'm making a pattern of purple, teal, purple, teal."

 "Yes, and I plan to put a line of purple on mine," Libby added. "Then I'll crochet on a little more teal and I'll be finished."

 "Hmm." Mama gave the scarf back to her daughter and wrinkled her brow. "Don't you have the purple, Anne? And don't you have the teal, Libby?"

 "Yes, Mama."

 "Then how can you switch? Don't the balls of yarn need to be attached to your creations as you work?"

 "We'll figure it out somehow," Libby assured her mother.

Welcome to My First "Musing"

Welcome to "Ellen's Musings"! Thanks so much for stopping by. You are greatly welcome here. 
A little bit about my blog and me:
I (Ellen) love to write and read, and I do so with a passion for Christ. This blog will include all of my "musings," whenever I feel like writing down a thing or two. I don't promise any regular posts, nor do I promise any one type of writing. Some days it may be a poem, and other days a story. You never know! And whatever I write, it's all for God's glory! 
For my first post, I completed a poem titled "God's Great Gift," which talks of what happened that Christmas Day. As we approach this special day, I hope you know how much you're loved.
This day and every day.

God’s Great Gift

Love came down to die for us

It did not come by plane, car, or bus.

It was a Heavenly Being, a Righteous One,

Who came in the form of a Baby Son.

He was born by a woman and laid in a cradle of hay

So that we might all come, and have hope while we pray.

His Father sent Him down to die for the sake of all,

There is no sacrifice like this, that He obeyed the call,

Leaving His palace of splendor, His gates of gladness,

To come down to this earth, this earth full of sadness.

Christmas is the twenty-fifth of December;

This is the day on which we all remember

That Jesus Christ is our loving Savior, our selfless God,

Who leads us now with staff and rod.

Really, Christmas is not just one day a year,

But a joyous thought that could bring us all cheer,

If only we stop oft and think on such a glorious thought.

God’s sacrifice saved this earth from the trap in which we were caught.

Every day is Christmas, in a way, and Jesus deserves to be praised,

For He, the Righteous, Holy One, was born, and killed, and raised,

To give us hope and endless life,

To give us a promise amidst the pain and strife.

Who has greater love than He,

Who gave His Life for you and me?

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." JOHN 15:13

And (my personal favorite):

"For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His Life as a ransom for many." MATTHEW 20:28

I hope you enjoyed this little "musing"! Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments :-). I love hearing from readers.

~Ellen