“But I don’t want to change,” Deborah repeated for what
must have been the fifteenth time that afternoon. For years,
Deborah had lived the life of a pauper. The open sky had
been her shelter; the generosity of passerby’s her income.
Now her father stood before her, offering her what he had
offered her every day of her life—to give her a new life with
him.
“But, Deborah, why would you insist on clinging to your
pauper ways when I offer you a way of escape?”
Deborah could hear the pain in her father’s voice.
Nevertheless, she stubbornly shook her head and replied, “I
don’t want to change,” she repeated again. “I like the way
things are.”
“But just last week, you complained about how you went to
bed hungry. And don’t you remember how miserable life can
be in the rain?”
Deborah paused as she contemplated these points. It was
true. Life could get very miserable out on the streets. But
give up the life she’d known? Oh, no, that she could never
do! She would much rather go on complaining, even while
ignoring the solution to her complaints.
“I can’t change, Father,” Deborah argued. “I’m too set in
my ways. It’s just a hopeless case. I tried a few months
back to give up this life, remember? And the very first day I
was back on the streets! I just can’t help it!”
“Oh, but you could! I would help you! You could come live
with me. I would give you other things to do besides
aimlessly roaming the streets in this fashion. We could have
so much fun together! Oh, do come!” Deborah’s father
reached out his hand as if to invite her to join him in
happiness.
Deborah shook her head. “I just can’t change,” she
repeated.
“You can’t, or you won’t?” The question was made in a
voice barely above a whisper. Deborah made no reply. She
simply turned and walked down the street to continue her
self-imposed miserable life.
Deborah’s father forced back the tears as he watched his
daughter leave. He slowly turned and walked away. He
would come back again tomorrow. Maybe then his daughter
would be ready to accept his gift of love.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” John 3:16
must have been the fifteenth time that afternoon. For years,
Deborah had lived the life of a pauper. The open sky had
been her shelter; the generosity of passerby’s her income.
Now her father stood before her, offering her what he had
offered her every day of her life—to give her a new life with
him.
“But, Deborah, why would you insist on clinging to your
pauper ways when I offer you a way of escape?”
Deborah could hear the pain in her father’s voice.
Nevertheless, she stubbornly shook her head and replied, “I
don’t want to change,” she repeated again. “I like the way
things are.”
“But just last week, you complained about how you went to
bed hungry. And don’t you remember how miserable life can
be in the rain?”
Deborah paused as she contemplated these points. It was
true. Life could get very miserable out on the streets. But
give up the life she’d known? Oh, no, that she could never
do! She would much rather go on complaining, even while
ignoring the solution to her complaints.
“I can’t change, Father,” Deborah argued. “I’m too set in
my ways. It’s just a hopeless case. I tried a few months
back to give up this life, remember? And the very first day I
was back on the streets! I just can’t help it!”
“Oh, but you could! I would help you! You could come live
with me. I would give you other things to do besides
aimlessly roaming the streets in this fashion. We could have
so much fun together! Oh, do come!” Deborah’s father
reached out his hand as if to invite her to join him in
happiness.
Deborah shook her head. “I just can’t change,” she
repeated.
“You can’t, or you won’t?” The question was made in a
voice barely above a whisper. Deborah made no reply. She
simply turned and walked down the street to continue her
self-imposed miserable life.
Deborah’s father forced back the tears as he watched his
daughter leave. He slowly turned and walked away. He
would come back again tomorrow. Maybe then his daughter
would be ready to accept his gift of love.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” John 3:16
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