Sweaty, messy and happy, I flopped back into a comfy chair to catch my breath. Out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention. I raised an eyebrow and turned my head to investigate. There was a flicker of light in the distance. Entranced, I stood up and made my way towards it. The closer I got, the darker it seemed to get, and the more lights began to pop up in the distance. I stopped, unsure. I glanced back towards my comfy chair and dance floor where everything still appeared bright and sunny. I knew I should probably go back... but I'd never seen this kind of thing in my heart before, and was curious.
So with a shrug and quick promise to myself that I wouldn't go too far I set off to inspect. I gingerly approached the first light. When I reached it, I discovered there was nothing scary or nasty about it - it was simply a screen with a recipe for great pancakes on it. I licked my lips. Mmm... pancakes. I peeked around the screen to the one behind it. That one held a funny comic, so I walked up to it. I laughed heartily at the antics of the characters on the screen and began to proceed to the next screen in line. There were screens with my friends, screens with movies, screens that had all kinds of useful information, screens that had games to play - and I wanted to see all of them. I moved through them in wonder, soaking everything in.
While I was particularly engrossed in one screen, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I glanced behind me to see Jesus standing there, clad in his usual blue jeans, t-shirt and wavy brown hair.
"Hey Shalene." he said
"Oh, hey." I replied, going back to my screen
"I have something to show you." he told me as I giggled at the characters on screen
"Can it wait?" I asked "I'm kinda in the middle of something here."
"I suppose... when will you be done?"
"Soon, don't worry. I'll come right away."
"Okay, see you soon." he said as he walked away and disappeared in the sea of screens.
My show finished, and I looked around for Jesus. As I began to go searching for him, another screen caught my eye. I stopped to look and admire, and was soon engrossed. When I finally remembered what I had been doing before, quite a lot of time had passed. I turned from the screen, and began again to search for the lover of my soul. When I couldn't find Him among the screens, I thought maybe I could find him back on the dance floor or by the stream. I started to head out, but suddenly stopped. Which way was out? I was surrounded by screens flickering in the dark, seducing me with their swirling colors and tantalizing words, and for the first time I began to see what was really on them - lust portrayed as love, violence as a game, superficial items as needs, scantily clad photoshopped bodies as beauty. On and on it went, blatantly opposing everything Jesus had ever taught and showed me - and the vast majority of it hiding behind a thin mask of being helpful, useful and innocent.
Disgusted, I picked a direction and began to run. But the twisted passages of the screens were like a gigantic maze that I couldn't navigate. I finally came across an open area with large circle of screens. They towered above me, screaming their lies of lust and greed at me, growing louder and louder. Then their yelling suddenly faded, and Jesus stepped out from behind a particularly large screen and stood silently before me in the flickering light. As our eyes met, I saw the sorrow and pain in His, and my heart broke. I ran up to Him and threw my arms around His neck.
"Make them go away" I whispered
"That's something you have to do for yourself." He whispered back
"How? They're everywhere!"
Jesus moved my arms from around His neck and pointed. I followed his hand and saw a large switch labeled ON and OFF. I immediately moved towards it, but as I wrapped my hands around it, and was about to pull, All the screens simultaneously began blaring my favorite shows, websites, products, and music. My resolve wavered. I looked back to Jesus.
"It's your choice." He said gently
I grasped the switch with both hands, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I pulled. Everything went dark. I turned back towards Jesus. He was a dark outline among the now silent screens. I walked up to Him, and He took my hand.
"I have something to show you." He whispered "I made them just for you."
"What is it?" I asked
He pointed up towards the sky where millions of stars shone and danced on their black canvas. I couldn't see them when the screens were on, and they took my breath away. I laid down and admired them. Jesus laid down beside me, and began pointing out different constellations to me.
"You made all this for me?" I asked incredulously
"Yup. You like it?"
"I love it! Thanks!"
I snuggled into His arms happily and laid my head on His chest where I listened to the steady rhythm of His heartbeat.
"I love you." Jesus whispered
"I love you too." I whispered back
He gently kissed the top of my head as we both closed our eyes and fell asleep under the stars that He had made just for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment