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Contents of the Weaker Vessel

Vessel Publishing

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The City
(posted 9/18/08)

I was living in a darkened world.
Darkness surrounded me.
Darkness overwhelmed me.
Nothing but darkness.
But a light pierced through that gloomy fog,
A dim light shining off in the distance.
Dimly lit, a twisting path led towards it.
A hope filled me,
A longing.
I attempted a step,
But a barrier blocked the path.
A barrier of mind or of matter I didn’t know,
Was something stopping me or
Did I really want to leave this place I had grown so accustomed to?
I tried again and again,
But never could penetrate the barricade.
A tear slipped down my cheek,
And I cried, “I want the light! I need it!”
The light grew slightly brighter,
And I hoping, praying,
That something had changed,
Tried again.
At my touch the obstacle I could not penetrate before dissolved,
I stepped through the darkness and onto the path,
Rough and sharp stones meeting my feet.
I ran,
Laughing and crying for joy,
My feet aching from the rocks embedding in them,
The light still growing slightly brighter by the minute.
I ran
And ran,
But the light was always in the distance.
On both sides of the path temptations advertised,
With bright neon signs flashing on and off, nearly lighting up the whole path.
Enticing words were calling to me;
“Come sleep on a nice soft bed, you're so tired!”
“Eat to your hearts desire, fill up that empty stomach!”
“Soak your feet in some nice hot water, then be on your way!”
But I never strayed from the path, nor stopped, I just kept on running,
Following my ever growing goal.
Finally, I fell to my knees from exhaustion,
The sharp rocks I had walked on now rushing up to meet me.
Nearly at my destination, I cried,
“Help me! I can’t do this on my own!”
As I was about to stray away from the path, a voice spoke,
“I will not allow you to be burdened by temptation more than you can bear,
Lean on me - for I can make the path easier.”
I lifted my tear stained face,
Stood up slowly,
And took another step.
A load seemed to lift off my shoulders,
And it felt as if the path was now small cool pebbles, instead of shattered glass.
My stomach no longer grumbled,
And the temptations to stray away from the road disappeared.
And with new strength,
I walked along with a new fire alight in my eyes.
I could almost see the source of light now,
And after a few more steps,
I reached it.
It was a small door ,
Which would be hardly noticeable if not for the light streaming out a little window.
With a small tug it opened,
And light flooded through its open doorway.
I could now see clearly the path I had walked on.
On both sides steep cliffs dropped off into something so far below I could not see it.
As I walked in the door the path was now sand,
And it faded away into a beautiful meadow.
A beautiful city sat a little ways away, with gates of pearls,
And lovely towers rising higher than the clouds,
A man, with bloodstained hands and feet, walked beside me,
His face shining with love and kindness.
He held a grimy, heavy, foul bag on his back.
In coming to the realization to why it seemed so familiar,
I stuttered,
“Is th-that mine?”
He turned toward me smiling, and said quietly,
“Yes. This was your burden which I lifted from you,
This was what weighed you down.”
I stared at him in amazement as I realized - he was the one I heard on the road!
Shuddering, I wondered how that could be mine!
He stopped, and threw the knapsack off the side of the road,
Where it, plunged down to the bottom where many other similar sacks lay.
Turning towards me he said,
“That will never bother you again.”
We walked along until we reached a small house,
Which he went into and brought out a shining robe.
“Lets get you changed, ” He said handing me the robe.
I looked down at my clothes speculating why he wanted me to change,
And understood in an instant.
Filthy, dirt covered, shredded rags clung to my body,
And not a single patch of the cloth was clean.
Ashamed of my outfit,
With so little cloth one could hardly call them clothing,
I changed quickly and promptly bathed.
I felt refreshed and renewed, all the old grime and muck was washed away,
So I felt ashamed no longer.
We now stood at the city's gates,
Which opened to reveal crowds of people who stood waiting for us.
“The king has arrived!”
They all shouted I glanced around, searching for this royalty, only to realize my companion was he.
He smiled and laughed, the pure joy of being home showing on his face.
This happiness was contagious, and soon everyone was shouting with bliss.
I didn’t feel right, I, who had only just been washed, with all these clean people!
I, who hadn’t done anything, to deserve happiness like these people!
He looked down at me and smiled,
Then announced,
“Here is the newest citizen to our city!”
Everyone cheered, and welcomed me to the city,
I was caught up in the wholesome pleasure all these people shared,
And laughed for the first time in a while,
When someone told me, “Welcome to the City of God!”

N. J. Elder