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MidReal Story
Divine Paths: A Faithful Journey
Anonymous
May 25
Scenario:Jesus Christ is the best source of life available
Create my version of this story
John Smith
believer, friends with Mary and James, average build, short brown hair, compassionate and faithful
James Carter
mentor and guide, knows both John and Mary, tall with gray hair, wise and patient
Mary Jennings
skeptic turned believer, close friend of John, slender with long black hair, intelligent and curious
I met Mary Jennings at a party.
She was sitting alone on the couch, nursing a drink, and looking bored.
I was doing the same thing, so I decided to go over and talk to her.
We hit it off right away.
She was intelligent, funny, and had a great smile.
We talked for hours, and by the end of the night, I knew that I wanted to see her again.
I asked her out on a date, and she said yes.
That was six months ago.
Now we’re sitting in church together, listening to the sermon.
Mary’s never been to church before, so I’m glad that she’s here with me today.
I’ve been going to this church for years now, and it’s become like a second home to me.
The people here are kind and welcoming, and the pastor is one of the best I’ve ever heard.
As I listen to him speak today, I find myself stealing glances at Mary.
She’s sitting next to me, her head slightly tilted as she listens to the pastor’s words.
A lock of black hair has fallen out of her ponytail, and I have to resist the urge to tuck it behind her ear.
I’ve been doing my best to be a gentleman when I’m around Mary, but it’s hard not to want to touch her all the time.
I try to focus on the sermon once more, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m going to be in trouble for the rest of my life.
That was how I’d felt when I’d first met Mary at that party, and it’s only gotten stronger since then.
I’d been instantly attracted to her beauty, but it was her intelligence and sharp wit that had really drawn me in.
We’d talked and laughed until the sun came up, and by the time I’d dropped her off at her apartment, I’d known that I was in trouble.
But as I look back on that night now, I realize that I had no idea just how much trouble I was really in.
Mary and I had talked for hours at the party, and we’d continued talking non-stop for the next few weeks.
We’d gone out on a few dates, and soon we were seeing each other almost every day.
We’d both been so busy with work that we hadn’t had time to think about taking things to the next level, even though we both knew that we wanted to.
But one night last week, as we’d been sitting on my couch watching TV, Mary had turned to me out of nowhere and said, “I think we should sleep together.”
I’d been so surprised that for a moment I hadn’t been able to respond.
Then she’d smiled and said, “Unless you don’t want to.”
And just like that, all of my reservations had disappeared.
Now, as Mary sits next to me in church, I can’t help but think about what will happen when we finally take that step together.
“Come on,” I say, gently tugging on Mary’s hand.
She glances up at me in surprise.
“Where are we going?”
I grin and lead her inside.
As soon as I open the heavy wooden doors and step inside the church, I feel a weight lift off my shoulders.
It’s my favorite place in the world.
The pews are filled with people, the choir is singing hymns, and the whole room is filled with light and warmth.
I lead Mary down the aisle and sit down in one of the empty pews.
She follows me, looking around in wonder.
“This is my first time in a church,” she says.
I nod, suddenly feeling nervous.
This place means so much to me, and I can only hope that it will mean something to her too.
Pastor David takes his place behind the podium and opens his Bible.
He begins his sermon, speaking in a calm and clear voice.
I listen intently as he talks about faith and community, two things that have become incredibly important to me over the past few years.
He says that it’s not enough just to believe—you have to take action too.
“Faith is the foundation on which we build our lives,” he says.
“It gives us strength in times of need, and hope when all seems lost.”
I steal a glance at Mary and see that she’s listening intently too.
Her eyes are wide and her hands are clasped together on her lap.
She looks like she’s hanging on to Pastor David’s every word.
I can’t help but feel grateful that she’s here with me right now, sharing this experience together.
After the service is over, I lead Mary over to Pastor David so that we can introduce ourselves.
He’s a tall man with gray hair and kind eyes that crinkle at the corners when he smiles.
He’d been one of the first people to welcome me to this church when I’d started coming here years ago, and his warm smile had made me feel like I belonged here from day one.
“It’s so nice to see you again,” he says when he sees me.
“And who is this lovely young lady?”
he asks, turning his attention to Mary.
Mary smiles and holds out her hand.
“Mary Jennings,” she says.
Pastor David takes her hand and shakes it.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he says.
“And you must be John’s girlfriend.”
I feel a rush of pride and joy at his words.
“Yes, I am,” Mary says.
“It’s so nice to meet you too.”
Pastor David smiles and nods.
“Well, I’m glad you’re both here.
This is a very special place, and I hope that you will both find it as welcoming and comforting as I do.”
We chat for a few more minutes before Pastor David has to leave.
As we walk back down the aisle toward the door, I can’t help but grin at Mary.
“Thank you for coming with me,” I say.
“I’m so glad you did.”
She squeezes my hand and smiles back at me.
“I’m glad I came too,” she says.
“Your church is really beautiful.”
I nod in agreement.
“It’s my favorite place,” I say.
I know that it was the right decision to bring Mary here today.
We exit the church hand in hand and make our way back out to the car.
“I know it’s not perfect,” I say as I lead Mary around to the passenger side door.
“But I think it’s important for us to have faith in something…something bigger than ourselves.” I glance at her and see that she’s looking at me with curious eyes.
“So how did you like it?”
I ask as I open the door for her and help her inside.
She turns in her seat to face me and gives me a shy smile.
“I really liked it,” she says.
“The sermon was really interesting.”
“My dad is a pastor too,” I say.
“I grew up in church.
So this is all pretty familiar to me.” I close the door and walk around to the driver’s side before getting in myself.
Mary nods and watches me as I buckle my seatbelt and start the car.
“Can we talk about it?”
she asks in a small voice that’s so full of curiosity and wonder that it makes my heart swell with love for her all over again.
I can’t help but smile.
“Of course we can talk about it,” I say.
I reach over and thread my fingers through hers.
“What do you want to know?”
she asks as she looks down at our hands.
“I don’t even know where to start,” she says.
She hesitates and then looks up at me with those big brown eyes.
I feel like she’s looking straight into my soul.
“What is salvation?”
I give her hand a squeeze.
“It’s the message of hope,” I say.
“It’s the message that God loves us and has made a way for us to be with him forever.”
I pause to see if she needs me to explain more.
When it looks like she’s following along just fine, I continue.
“Because we are sinful people and cannot enter heaven on our own.
We need a savior to make that happen for us.”
“So Jesus is our savior,” Mary says slowly.
“Yes,” I say with a nod.
“He came to earth as a man and lived a perfect life so that he could be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
“But we can’t earn our way into heaven,” Mary says.
“We can’t be good enough to make up for all of our sins, right?”
I can’t help but feel proud of her for understanding so quickly and easily.
“I know it seems simple,” I say with a shrug.
“But sometimes the simplest things are the truest things.”
Mary blushes and looks down at our hands again.
“Sorry if it sounds like I’m being argumentative,” she says in a small voice.
“I’m not trying to be.”
“It doesn’t sound like you’re being argumentative at all,” I say gently.
“You’re asking questions, and that’s good.It’s good to question and to seek out truth.”
She grins and looks up at me again, and my heart skips a beat as it always does when she looks at me like that.
“Thanks, John,” she says softly.
I grin back at her and can’t help but wonder how we got here…how we ended up meeting at a party and talking about life and faith and then ending up on this journey together, side by side in church.
