It was a warm summer afternoon, the kind that makes you wish there was something really exciting to do. Annie and Lynn lived on a farm where there were lots of things to do. If they asked Mother what they could do, she always suggested they pull weeds in the big garden by the barn or make sure the little calves had plenty of water or watch their little sister and brother while she worked in the house. They didn’t like these suggestions. They wanted to do something really fun. They wanted to have an adventure!
As they sat on the front porch watching the kittens play in the grass nearby, Annie said, “I know! We can pretend that we are pioneers and some enemies are after us!” That was one of the girls’ favorite games.
“Yes,” agreed Lynn, “but we always play that game.”
“Well ... ” Annie was thinking. Her imagination did get her into trouble now and then, but this time she had a really good idea. “Let’s play it the real way,” she exclaimed.
Annie jumped up and ran to the barn with Lynn close behind her. It’s no fun just to pretend that you have a horse to pull the covered wagon. Annie had a better idea.
“Lynn, go get the wagon over there and bring it here,” she directed. She waited as Lynn came back with the old red wagon rumbling along behind her.
“What are we going to do, Annie?” Lynn asked as she followed Annie out to the pasture.
Out in the pasture was their dearest pet — Sally, the mother goat. She was munching on the fresh green grass. Sally seemed glad to see the girls and baaaaaed her greeting.
“Oh!” exclaimed Lynn, “Sally can be our horse!”
“That’s right,” Annie agreed. “This will be lots better than just pretending that we have a real horse. And besides, if we take Sally up the gravel road to the top of the hill, we can have a faster ride, and we won’t be so heavy for her.”
“That’s a good idea,” Lynn agreed.
So the girls tied Sally to the old red wagon. Soon they were on their way up the hill. The girls walked beside Sally, trying to coax her along. She didn’t want to go, but when Annie and Lynn held bunches of grass in front of her, she eagerly followed them.
At the top of the hill, they turned Sally and the wagon around. How fun this would be — just like the pioneers used to do! They had to hurry ... their enemies were after them!
Sally was in a hurry, too. She wanted to get back home. She started off down the hill. Quickly, Annie and Lynn hopped into the wagon, and down the hill they went.
Poor Sally! What was that awful noise that was following her? The faster she went, the more the old red wagon rumbled and squeaked as it hit rocks and holes in the road. Sally was scared! Faster and faster she ran. They were going so fast down the hill that Annie and Lynn were getting scared, too. Suddenly, they hit a big bump. The wagon dumped over, leaving the girls sprawled out in the road while Sally ran faster and faster with the wagon tumbling over and over behind her. Sally was running so fast that when the girls finally picked themselves up, they could hardly catch up with her. When they finally did catch her, they untied the wagon and let her go out to the pasture again.
That night, Daddy wondered why Sally didn’t give as much milk. He thought she seemed a little nervous. When he found out what his girls had done, he was not happy. Annie and Lynn felt bad, too, because they really did love Sally. They were sorry they had upset her.
Have you ever done something without thinking that hurt someone you love, or who loves you? Whether we know it or not, we all have, because we are all sinners, and every sin causes grief to God, who loves us very much. Sin is so awful to God that every sin deserves death. “The wages of sin is death” the Bible says in Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23). That means that we deserve death because of our sins. But God loves us so much that He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into this world to pay for our sins on the cross. It was there that God showed us how much He loves us, for He willingly gave His only Son to die for us so that we could be saved. All you have to do is realize your need of a Savior and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as your own Savior.
Messages of God’s Love 2/19/2023