Heaven, that’s what everyone called her. No one knew where she came from, one day she was just there, on the streets. It seemed so strange even to the street folks that such a pretty young girl would be there passing out tracks that talked about Jesus Christ. Oddball couldn’t understand it, but he, like the others watched out for her, making sure no one harmed her. Street folks looked out for their own, and Heaven had become just that. Every day she was there after three o’clock, handing out tracks and smiling, and every day he brought her whatever food he could get from the mission. He figured she was about twelve. He worried about her, she was so thin. Her huge brown eyes looked sunken, and her thin frame could be seen clearly from beneath her jacket. It was like a race to see which one of them could do the most for her. Sheets brought her milk every day, and Bangles made sure she had something sweet , and old Hanna picked up clothes that oddly fit pretty well. But at night she was always gone. Where she went to was a mystery, but also a relief, since he knew night time was more dangerous than the daytime for women, and being older men they often fell asleep, and it was cold too, far to cold for a young girl like her. As he laid down in his
box to sleep, he smiled to himself as he thought about her. Heaven had never heard of such names like theirs before. Oddball, Sheets, Bangles, and old Hanna, and she like them all. She didn’t laugh like some of the other folks on the streets. She always smiled and said” Jesus loves your names, and I do too”
He was just about sleep when he heard footsteps coming close. He grabbed the bat he kept with him for protection, and jumped up quickly. At first he only saw shadows, but they quickly got clearer and he could tell it was two people. He blinked in disbelief as they came closer. It was Heaven and some man. The man had her hand in his. What he had been trying to protect her from had happened. Some man had gotten her and was taking her away to harm her, maybe even kill her. He jumped to his feet swinging the bat wildly, ready to pop the man in the head and grab Heaven from him. He stopped abruptly when he saw Heavens face. She
was smiling so happily, like he had never seen her smile before. Then he looked at the man holding her hand and blinked in shock. It looked like the man in those tracks she gave them, she said his name was Jesus and that he loved everyone, even those on the streets. She had told them that Jesus wanted her to live with him in a beautiful place, a new home that he had for her, and that he wanted to make a home for them too if they would ask him into their hearts. Heaven smiled at him, and looked up into the man’s face and he smiled back at her, and then looked at him and smiled too. He watched them both as they started to walk away, but not before Heaven turned and waved goodbye. The man took her into his arms, and then to his amazement they both vanished.
Morning came, and oddball wasn’t sure if it was a dream. But the news was all over the streets. A young girls body was found wrapped in blanket outside of a local church a short distance away last night. While others waited for Heaven to return at her usual time, oddball didn’t. He knew where she was, it wasn’t a dream. She was with Jesus, warm, happy, and loved, and he wanted that too. As the tears fell from his eyes, he fell to the ground and asked Jesus into his heart. A joy filled him that he couldn’t explain. He was so happy, and deep inside he knew Heaven was too . Amen:
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