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Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

Pilgrim’s Progress (1)

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“When’s Uncle Jeff coming round again, Mum?” Bobby asked one day after school. “Well, as a matter of fact, he’s coming round for tea tonight”, Mum said. “Oh good” said Bobby, “I wonder if he has any more stories for us!” “You’ll have to ask him when he gets here”, Mum said with a smile, “I’m sure he’ll have something to tell you anyway!” She knew that Uncle Jeff loved telling stories and he was very good at it.    After tea was over, and Uncle Jeff was sitting comfortably on the couch, Bobby went along and snuggled up beside him. “Can you tell us a story please Uncle Jeff?” he asked. “Oh, please”, Betty said and got up on the other side of him. Even Sarah pulled a chair up and pretended she was reading a book, but she was really listening to what Uncle Jeff was telling the others. “Well, it’s like this”, Uncle Jeff said, “I picked up this book that I had when I was little like you Bobby, and I thought that it was a really good story to tell you children next time I came round”. “What’s it called?” Bobby asked. “Well, it’s what is called a parable story”, Uncle Jeff said, “That means it’s an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Here goes….

  ” There was once a man whose name was Pilgrim, who was walking along a road away from his house. He had this huge bundle on his back like a back-pack and he was crying and sighing a lot as he went along. He was reading a book as he went, and it only seemed to make him sadder than ever. ‘Oh, what shall I do?’ he cried out loud.    When he went home to his wife and family, he would wipe his eyes, and blow his nose and try to be cheerful. One day his wife said to him, ‘I know something is bothering you. What are you reading in that book all the time?’ ‘Oh my dear’, he said, ‘ It tells me that dreadful things are going to come on this world, and I don’t know how to be saved from them’. But his wife had seen him like this other times, and she tried to cheer him up.           

One day, he was walking along the road again, when he met a man whose name was Evangelist. ‘This book I’m reading tells me that there are dreadful things going to happen and I’m not ready for them. I want to know how to be saved from them. This back-pack I’m carrying seems to get heavier every time I read this book’.

‘Well, you’d better get ready for this by going to that little gate right over the other side of this paddock. See that light over there? Head straight for it and you will find what to do when you get there. Don’t stop to talk to anyone, and don’t go off the path!’

‘Oh, thank-you so much’, Pilgrim said and set off at a good pace for the light. His wife and friends saw him going and they called out to him, ‘Come back, come back’, but he started to run.

Two of his friends ran after him and tried to get him to turn around. One was called Twisty, and the other one was Obstinate. ‘No, no!’ Pilgrim said, “I’m not going to listen to you. I’ve come from the City of Destruction and I want to find the City of Life where I’ll be safe”.     As he turned to carry on, Twisty said to him, “I’ve a good mind to come with you’, and he started to go with him.

‘Well, I’m going home’, said Obstinate, ‘I’m not going to be seen with you two crack-pots’, and he went back home. ‘Tell me more of what you expect to find’, Twisty said as they carried on.

‘Well it’s a wonderful place’, Pilgrim said, ‘And I know it’s true because the One Who wrote this book cannot tell a lie’. “I know who that is”, Bobby said, interrupting Uncle Jeff, “I bet it is meaning that it’s God!”

“That’s right Bobby”, said Uncle Jeff, and carried on with the story…. “Pilgrim got quite excited as he was walking along talking to Twisty. ‘It’s an awfully long way’, Twisty said after a bit, and he began to slow down. ‘Oh, but it’s worth it when you get there’, said Pilgrim, and he carried on telling him all about what to expect.

The next thing they knew was that the ground had got very wet and slippery and before they knew it, they were up to their middles in a swampy bit of ground. ‘Oh, this is the Swamp of Despair’, Pilgrim said, ‘I’ve heard of it. It’s so easy to caught in this’

‘This is dreadful’ cried Twisty, ‘I didn’t know it was going to be this hard. Yuk!’ and he spat some of the mud out of his mouth. ‘Why didn’t you watch where you were going?’ he snapped at Pilgrim, ‘If I ever get out of this, I’m going right back home!’ He heaved himself out of the slimy mud and splashed his way back to solid ground. ‘You can carry on by yourself’, he called out to Pilgrim, ‘I’m off!’ And Pilgrim didn’t see him again.”

“Why did he give up so easy?” Betty wanted  to know, “I wouldn’t have! I’d have kept going!”

“Well, you see some people don’t like trouble and they go back where they’ve come from when things get hard”, Uncle Jeff said.

“What happened next?” Bobby asked.

“We’ll leave that for next time,” Uncle Jeff said, “I don’t want you to forget the lessons in this part of the story”.

Grandma's Stories, Stories for Teens

The Travellers’ Bags….

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     Gran was visiting at Bobby’s  place one day, and the young ones were dying to see her and  hear about her adventures. Gran had just arrived back from an overseas trip and they all wanted to hear about it and to see if she had brought any presents with her. She usually picked up small things that she knew the children would like.

After all the “hellos” had been said and she had relaxed with a cup of tea, they gathered around her, and she said “Oh, it IS good to be back home. But before we look in my bag to see what I’ve brought you, I want to tell you a story I thought of while I was waiting for my flight this morning…..

“I was watching the people all coming in to the airport lounge to sit down and wait for their flights. They were all going somewhere and were all carrying different sorts of bags….some  were big and floppy and others were proper small suitcases with wheels. Others were back packs. As more people came in, they were getting more squashed up together, sitting closer as the seats were being filled up.

The bags were sitting on the floor, by people’s feet, and I imagined they were talking to each other. There was the smart blue bag on wheels with a matching handbag beside it. “Oh!”, it thought to itself, “What a lot of other tatty bags there are here! I’m so glad I don’t look like them! Why, I’ve even got a matching handbag. I’d move further along if I could!” and it gave a bit of a sniff.

Right next to it was a big floppy orange bag. It looked quite old and as though it had once carried baby’s bottles and nappies. It had a warm comfortable look about it. It was thinking to itself, “I wonder where my missus is going with me today. I DO hope there are some children there so I can carry things for them!”

Further along was a large backpack. It had quite an adventurous look about it. It had seen many different places, and had actually got badges from these places stuck on its sides. It looked around and thought to itself, “I’m glad I’ve been around a bit and seen more than these other bags! Look at those two blue bags over there, they look so new that they haven’t had time to see anything yet!”

Next to it was a large business case. It had been to the office all week and was going back to its home. It thought to itself, “Oh dear, I’ve had such a busy week. But I know a lot of important business has been done and I’ve been able to carry all the papers and the laptop to help get these things done. If I hadn’t been doing this the business meetings wouldn’t have been able to be held. But I WILL be glad to get home for the weekend!”

There was one last bag I could see. It was an ordinary looking bag, neither too big nor too small, not too new nor too old. It looked as though it belonged to someone very organised. I imagined it was thinking to itself, “I’m so glad I know where I’m going. I’ve got the passport ready and the plane ticket is tucked into my inside pocket along with the boarding pass, and my owner knows where it all is!”

The call came to board the plane, and the people all picked up their bags and moved  towards the boarding lanes.

The two blue bags said to each other, “I DO hope we aren’t piled into the cabin ports too close to these other bags, they might scratch our nice new shiny look!”

The big orange floppy bag with the comfortable look thought to itself, “Oh, it’s going to be such fun when the little ones see the presents I’m bringing for them, I can’t wait to get there!”

The backpack was anxious to get on its way and thought to itself, “I wonder what adventures I’ll have tomorrow! I don’t mind if I get squished into the overhead compartment, so long as I can get going!”

The business case thought, “I’m so glad I was able to be part of that big business deal we did this week, what a big improvement it’s going to make for everyone!”

The last case thought, “I’m so glad I’m not a great big bag that will have to be stowed in the overhead compartment. I’m all ready to go and I know where I’m going!”

I couldn’t help thinking these bags are just like we are sometimes. We feel so pleased with ourselves, and think we are smarter and more classy than other people (the blue bags). Or are we just happy to be able to help people and to take things that will give them pleasure? (the floppy orange bag)  Or are we too busy doing our own thing and wanting to go places to be able to help others?  Maybe we might want to do or see something new too badly  to think about helping other people. Especially when they have been away on holiday, do we take the time to ask them what it was like and what they did? (the backpack)

We could be thinking about other people and what they’ve been doing and not just thinking what WE’VE been doing! This was what the business bag was like. Even though he often felt tired, he knew that what he was doing was good for others.

But the last bag had the best place of all. It knew where it was going and it was all ready for the trip with its ticket and boarding pass right at hand”

“What a neat story!” Sarah said, “I don’t know how you think of all these things, Gran!”.

“Is that all there is?” asked Betty who had been listening with her mouth open, “I want to be like the last bag!!”

“Well,” said Gran, “All those bags sitting by their owners’ feet just reminded that it’s always good to put others first because this is what pleases God. But the best of all is to know where we are going when we die and to know that we are ready for this trip. So many people trust in their good looks and their good deeds, or in being kind. Others are just too busy and have too much to do and see to think about God. Still others are too busy working in their offices and making money to have time for God’s things. So I just want you to make sure that you are like the sensible bag and know where we are going at the end of our life and that we are ready for the trip!”

“Sure will!” said Bobby, “What did you bring us in your bag Gran?”

“Let’s have a look,” said Gran, “and every time you see these things just remember the story about the bags and the sort of people they are like!”

Random Devotional Thoughts

The Story of Queen Esther, Part Eight.

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                                                              Promotion of Good.

  Esther 5: 20 — 6: 3
     We see God  moving in every chapter of this story…
 Chapter one shows the old queen removed (the old nature in a believer’s life); chapter two tells of Esther being given the place of honour (the new nature in a believer); chapter three brings the villain into the picture (Satan as a roaring lion)…..his hatred of Mordecai (the Holy Spirit protecting and guiding) which brings about his own demise ultimately. Chapter four shows Esther begin to bring about the solution, and chapter five sees Haman’s pride and impatience to get rid of Mordecai immediately.
    He was so excited as he rushed home to tell his wife and friends of the great honour of being the only other person invited to the queen’s  banquet.  The words tumbled out of his mouth and then his face fell as he remembered Mordecai. His wife said she didn’t  know why he put up with him, why not build gallows and then get permission from the king to hang Mordecai and get rid of him for ever? No sooner said than done! So that evening  they were built.

That night the king could not sleep. He tossed and turned and in the end he called for one of his scribes to bring his diary and read of his great deeds. After a few minutes, the story changed and he heard how there was a plot against his life, and how Mordecai had reported the danger.  “What was done for this man to thank him for this?” he wanted to know. “Nothing, Your Majesty”, was the reply.  “I must see to that in the morning” he thought, and rolled over to fall asleep immediately.

We can see how God was preparing the ground for Mordecai’s and Esther’s promotion although no-one realised it at the time.  We too, never know what God has for us around the corner. It pays for us to be preparing ourselves for whatever might lie ahead in the future. Take every opportunity that comes your way and make the most of it (Romans 12:1-2). This was not organised or pushed for by Mordecai; he was totally unaware  of any future change in his circumstances.

We are not to seek or push for promotion, but be ready to take whatever God sends our way. We might have some talents that seem irrelevant and unimportant now, but we are to keep our skills up. When God’s time is right, He will open the way for you to use them for His glory.

Mordecai is waiting in the wings,  Until God’s time promotion brings,    Keep up your  talents,  hone your  skills, For you to use when God  so                                                             wills.

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