Friday, April 25, 2014

Good-bye Luck, Hello Hope


Photo Made By Messy

I wrote this short story a few month back and I thought it would be fun to share it with you all. It is one of my favorite short stories I've written so I hope you all like it! 

Good-bye Luck, Hello Hope 


I don’t believe in luck. 

I think it is crazy how sometimes, people find their true love at age 18 and stay happily married for 80 years, while other equally awesome people have such a hard time finding their true love. I also think it is crazy how some people are born knowing the career they will pursue and they focus their whole life on it and they are successful and accomplish great things, while other people are finishing up their senior year in high school and still don’t know what they are going to do with their life. 

Timing baffles me, but I don’t believe in luck. 

Yet, I have this necklace. Well, I actually had this necklace. I got it from a clothing store in the mall a few years back. It wasn’t an heirloom or an investment piece. It was just a simple, very trendy necklace. The long, bronze chain held two small pendants at the end. One was of a time piece and the other was a heart shaped locket. Knowing me, a hopeful romantic, I attached to the neckless immediately. 

The heart shaped locket = Do what you love, follow your heart
The time piece = Time is short, don’t waist it.

Shortly after I bought this necklace I went to a church service. I was going through some hard times. My long-term boyfriend, the man I thought I was going to marry, broke up with me. I was struggling to keep up with the rent on my apartment. I could never seem to get applause from anyone I was trying to please, and I still didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. When I walked through the door of church that morning, I felt like God was looking down at me with a disapproving look. He didn’t feel close at all. He felt far away and distant, like a stern man up in the sky.  That all changed during the service. 

I was sitting in one of the back rows. The pastor’s sermon was a blur. My Bible was laying open on my lap while I was thinking about all I was going through. All of a sudden, a little girl, around the age of 2, toddled down the aisle. She clung to the peach skirt I was wearing and my Bible slid off my lap and came tumbling down to the floor. As all this was happening, the mother of the toddler hurried down a pick up her daughter. “I’m so sorry, she slipped away from me and I didn’t know,” the mother whispered to me. “Don’t worry about it, it’s fine,” I said, giving the mother a reassuring look. 

I couldn’t be more thankful for that little girl who grabbed on to my skirt. When I picked up my Bible from the ground, the pages flipped to Jeremiah 29:11. The verse met my eyes as I read “‘I say this because I know what I am planing for you’ says the Lord. ‘I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.’”

My heart sang as I read the verse.
Once the service was over, I went out to my old green VW and wrote down the verse on a small piece of paper. I folded it into a teeny-tiny accordion and stuffed it into the locket on my necklace. The verse has been in the locket ever since. There have been many times when my heart has been broken or my faith has been shaken. In those times I taken out the tiny accordion folded paper and read the verse over and over. I sometimes subconsciously press the locket between my thumb and finger when I pray. I don’t need to read the verse in those time, I just need to keep it near as I’m reminded what is hidden in the locket.

I don’t believe in luck, I believe in hope that is unseen. 

A few day ago, I wore the necklace as always. I also wore a navy blue lace dress, cowgirl boots, and an off-white cardigan (because it is cool weather here). The necklace was like an exclamation mark to my funky little outfit. 

I ended up going out shopping at the mall. I tried on a few dresses at JC Penny, browsed through the books at Barnes & Noble, got some coffee, and drove home. 

When I finally got home, I realized the necklace was no longer around my neck. 

I zoomed back to the mall as fast as I could. I scoured the dressing rooms, checked in the lost and found, and meandered through the parking lot looking for the familiar shine of the locket. Nada. After a final call to the store today, I accepted the truth:
The era of the necklace has come to an end.

Which was okay. It was cheap. It wasn't an heirloom. It was just a necklace. I wasn’t sad. I just kicked myself for not realizing when it fell off. 

I was thinking about my necklace today. Not everything that I hoped for happened...but so many wonderful things did happen, and great things will happen. The necklace wasn’t some talisman that ushered good fortunes into my life.  It was just a reminder. The necklace was just a brave declaration in a desolate season: God was planning great things for me. 

This is what I hope happened to the necklace:

I hope that when I was tugging off the super cute spring dress over my head, I hope the necklace went with it. Maybe it would land in the corner of the dressing room. The rhythm of my boots would match the tick-tick-tick of time piece as I walked away. 

I hope that another dreamer came in after me. Maybe she’s trying to find a casual dress for a dinner, a school function, or a party. She checks her refection in the mirror; the dress looks fine, but she is surprise my the look on her face. They’re bags under her eyes and worry waded down her smile. She wonders: 

Why do I even keep trying? 

Why are my plans not going the way they should? 

Why does life have to be so hard? 

She slips the dress off quickly only to see a necklace laying the corner of the dressing room. It looks kinda cheep but still trendy. She picks in up. She opens the locket. She unfolds the tiny accordion of words. It is the smallest victory banner she’s ever held. 

Don’t give up. God has got a great plan. One that is pleasing and perfect. One not to hurt you. 

It is meant to be hers. She doesn’t believe in luck. She just needs the permission to have a little bit of hope. God has passed down the necklace to her. 
I hope she wears it. I hope she wears it when she is running though a field of blooming flowers. When she writes. When she goes to a concert with her friends. When she drinks coffee in the mornings. When she leans in to kiss her true love. I hope she too, clutches it between her thumb and finger when she prays. I hope it reminds her that there really is good days to come.

It is wonderful to feel blazingly alive sometimes. 


I hope she wears the necklace out. I hope she wears it well.  I hope she puts it in a sparkly slingshot, and aims it for the stars. 

6 comments:

  1. It's good even the fourth time over. :)

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  2. Oh this is wonderfully written. You are so talented Messy.

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  3. It is so beautiful! <3

    xoxo Morning
    http://theworldthroughmywindowsill.blogspot.com/

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