The Light Always Shines Through

A man discovers the word of God

For God so loved the world that he gave his One and only son, and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

I cannot believe such a simple straightforward passage. My name is Timothy Connor. I am not a religious man. I believe in the faith of economics. I am a tax collector at everyone’s favorite job in the world, The IRS in Washington D.C. I absolutely love my job. It all started when I realized how amazing it was when I was a child, I received money for doing work. The more work I did, the more I received in pay. Over the years I discovered banking and saving money. It is such an adrenaline when you know that you are making more money than most of your friends in high school. I went to Duluth Senior High School in Duluth Minnesota. I wasn’t the most beloved kid in the school because of my egotistical attitude. My family was very rich and I was automatically considered the snotty rich type. Which to an extent I was, but I didn’t seem to mind the comments. I knew that once I graduated, all of the other students would be working for me or working at low run down restraunts such as McDonalds. I live independently, and that’s the way I like it.

I live in an apartment complex in the southern part of Washington D.C. it isn’t the most amazing place in the world but it helps me save money. The hard part of living in the southern part of the city is going to bed at night and hearing someone being mugged in the alley. Or the worst case scenario that I have experienced so far was that you heard a couple arguing downstairs. The husband was always drunk and the woman was constantly crying her eyes out, questioning where the real man she married had left too. I have considered moving out but that requires me to actually spend my money.

One day on a Friday evening, I was leaving the office after a “successful” day at work. I had received my monthly pay of $50,000. The adrenaline of feeling richer than someone else in the world was kicking in. I waited all month for this moment! As I revved up my Pontiac GTO, I was the powerful king in that parking lot. I sped off down Pennsylvania Ave. and headed towards home. I entered Rebel village, a neighborhood in Washington where it did consist of people from all over. Mostly blacks. I glanced to my left and noticed an old, creaky gospel church on the side. There were people from Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, and from all other parts of Africa entering the church. They had done this every Friday. They would go into the church, sing at the highest voice of their lungs, to praise the Almighty God. I am not a religious person so I never understood why they would praise a God who seemed that he didn’t care about them. These people were living in the most disgusting place in town, they have no money, and some really can’t afford their next meal. I never had a care of what they did, I had no interested in giving to them because it’s my money, and I earned it all by myself. But every time I drove past that church, I question to myself, “Is there really a God and why do they praise him?”

In the midst of my useless confusion, my tire had exploded, spinning me to the right side of the road. It was a complete blur. As I spun out, I could see people running in every direction. I make an effort to control the steering wheel. My Pontiac went into a curve and completely shut down in the middle of the street. Great. I didn’t pack a spare tire, and now I have to contact a tow truck company. I stepped out of the car and I heard the sound that I was quite accustomed to hearing. Silence. Everyone stared at me in complete gaze and confusion. Automatically, they knew what kind of man I was just by telling what type of car I owned and how I dressed. I made my way to a payphone, trying to be unnoticed, even though all eyes were on me. I contacted the tow truck company and the latest they said would be there was a half hour. As I stepped out of the payphone, silence had ended. Everyone returned to their business, but they were aware of my presence. As I wandered around Rebel Village to pass the time, I heard an organ playing music behind me. During the spinout, my car and literally spun me into the front of the church I had passed earlier. Out of my curiosity I went inside.

As I stepped into the church, I had to give it credit, on the inside of the church, there were stained glass windows, red leathered benches, and a large crucifix at the front of the church altar. The setting sun beamed through the stained glass windows, shining onto the people’s faces. There was a large band at the front of the church. In this band were musicians with different types of instruments. They varied from electric guitars to the organ I had heard earlier. As the organ ended, the pastor stood up from his chair and began the service in a loud booming voice “Praise be to Him!” and the congregation replied, “AMEN!” The pastor was a very energetic man, he had black skin, wavy brown hair, and he seemed to be in his 40’s. His voice was so loud and uplifting, he had the attention of every soul in this congregation. Shivers crawled down the back of my neck and into my spine as he proclaimed the word of God. The pastor was preaching on how one can be saved through the belief in Jesus Christ. He quoted from John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his One and only son, and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Halfway during the sermon, I had suddenly stepped back in fear, for the pastor yelled in the midst of his sermon that caught my attention, “Can you see the light my brothers and sisters?” Everyone answered his call in a loud response, except for me. He asked again and everyone replied in a joyous tone, but this time I had mumbled my response in a suttle voice just so barely anyone could hear. The pastor pointed to me this time with a serious face and kept repeating the question. Each time I replied, my answer grew louder, my soul began to rise. The light from the stain glass window begin to pour into the hall and fill the room with a warm feeling. Each instrument at the front had begun to join in! First the guitars, then the bass, the organs, and all other instruments! My egotistical attitude finally broke down and faded to dust. I proclaimed my love for the Lord Almighty. I had seen the light. “Praise Him! Praise Him! I see the light!” I screamed his name so precariously, that my voice cracked into a falsetto for I had seen the light. Everyone began to cheer and dance, and the band was beginning to play into a fast upbeat jazzy gospel tune. I didn’t know what it was that motivated me but I ran down the aisle, doing a front flip before the pastor. He simply laughed and clapped his hands for my astounding flexibility. I think it was also for my recognition that I found the Lord. The congregation began to join in. I had danced with everyone in that church. I realized that these good people went to church because they believed there was a God. No money or high class can distinguish the love for the Lord. Earthly possessions don’t need to make someone happy. The friends we have, the love we share. We proclaimed Hallelujah! The experience in that church had given me a new perspective toward life. My goal was to give and help others. I believe that there is a God and that he does watch over us. Be proud of who we are with and who we believe in. We all have our faults, but with the right inspiration, our long term goals can be met.

As I exited the church around 10:00 P.M., I had a long conversation with the pastor about what I can do to be saved. He said to simply believe that Jesus had died on the cross for our sins and that he rose again 3 days later to defeat the devil. He also mentioned that I was allowed to come to the church on a regular basis because it would be good for my soul. After our small conversation and headed my way to my car. I had realized that there were two things wrong at the time. One, did the tow truck repair man find and fix my car? And I had forgotten where I parked my car.

Author's Note

This is my first story for a creative writing class. any ideas on how to spice it up etc.?

Reviews

[Southern Cross]

I enjoyed this very much..Seemed a bit bigoted at first and then I saw the light as well..Found this a good read and I never like to read long short stories..it needs an ending though