Before the sun was up Ravi was awake and walking. He prayed to Ganesh as he moved from one street to another. After walking for a kilometer, the street began to look familiar. A battered green Honda with a cracked windshield backed out of the driveway ahead of him. In the passenger seat was a young girl, missing a hand. Ravi froze.
Mr. Shah looked up, and their eyes met. He threw the car into park, screaming at the girl, and bailed out. Ravi’s frozen body leaped into action. He knew his life depended on his ability to escape. As he sprinted through the streets, he could hear footsteps pounding on the cement behind him. “Ravi, come here. I forgive you, Ravi. Please come back, son.”
Ravi burst onto the main street by the market. He wove in between traffic, moving and stopping, and finally plunged into the crowd. He ran on, bumping and bouncing off people. His captor cursed and turned back, unable to see Ravi’s short frame among the adults.
Ravi finally stopped and hid behind a huge banyan tree, puffing and dry heaving. When he was able to finally calm himself, his thoughts turned to the girl in the front seat.
Run, girl, run. This is your chance.
Mr. Shah gave up and returned to his car to find the passenger door standing open. He cursed his luck, and he cursed Ravi.
“I swear, I’ll make that boy pay—twice.”
After hiding behind the tree for about 20 minutes, Ravi peeked out and then found the courage to enter the crowd.
Where should I go? He strolled by the vendors, eyeing the food. Will I eat today? His thoughts turned to the dump. Why would they accept me? I can’t go back; they’ll hurt me again.
Julie was making her way to the grocery store for the orphans’ lunch. The smells and bright colors were still unique to her, and she walked past Ravi without seeing him. Ravi’s first instinct was to run, but he decided to follow at a safe distance.
She entered the grocery store, and he trailed her, though he was careful to keep an aisle between them. His stomach growled. He was surrounded by so much food—none of it available. Until my parents died, I was never hungry; there was always plenty of good food to eat.
Julie was checking out with her food and drinks. His heart leapt at the thought of eating today. Who is this woman? What does she want? Can I trust her? He followed her until the crowds thinned out and then he backed off, ducking behind trees and cars.
Julie arrived at the dump to the orphans’ wild excitement. The oldest girl, Sashi, took charge again and directed the boys and girls to sit. Ravi went around the block and watched from behind the hedge. As she passed out the sandwiches, he longed to step forward, but he knew he couldn’t.
I stole her purse. Besides, what if she kidnaps kids like Mr. Shah? The desire for safety overcame his hunger—barely. He watched the other children ravenously attack their food. The children put the wrappers in one of Julie’s plastic sacks, and she tied the ends and laid it on the trash pile. But she still had another sack. There was food left.
She gave Nilaya’s food to Sashi, and there were still two servings. She looked preoccupied, staring in the direction of the alley.
After she waved good-bye to some of the braver children, she headed in that direction. Ravi ran as fast as he could back to the alley and lay down on the filthy cobblestone. What if the food isn’t for me? What if she can’t remember how to get here? After waiting for what seemed like a very long time, he heard her voice sing out, “Raaavv-i? Are you here?”
He pretended to be asleep. Maybe she will leave the food. His heart beat quicker as he heard her footsteps. He joyfully anticipated food, but what would be required in exchange?
She stood beside him now. Should I run? He popped one eye open and looked up at her. She towered over him. Then she held out the sack. He slowly sat up, feeling like a mouse being lured into a trap by the promise of cheese. He could feel his muscles tighten. His body was on alert and adrenaline coursed through his veins. She smiled at him, bent down, and extended the sack further.
Her earrings momentarily distracted him. Mom’s earrings. They represented the last thing on Earth that reminded him of his lost family. He was briefly mesmerized until his growling stomach snapped him back to the present.
“Here, Ravi, you need to eat to stay strong. I won’t hurt you. You can come back to the dump.” She turned to take a few steps, hoping to lure him like a hungry cat. When he saw her back away with the food, he leaped up, grabbed the sack, and ran out the other end of the alley.
“Ravi, Ravi, come back.” He was gone.
Julie flung her arms above her head in frustration. “Great! What now?”
Julie, if you don’t give up, you’ll win. I want to lay a foundation for the rest of his life. He’s like a wounded, frightened animal. But your consistent kindness will bring him to Me. I have great plans for him, but there is much healing to be done.
“Make my life easier and tell him that he can quit running from me!”
Julie spent the next hour walking the streets calling for Ravi, but there was no reply. What will happen to him? He won’t accept my help. The anger she had felt toward him for stealing her purse was dissolving. Seeing his wounds in the alley each day caused her stone-cold heart to develop a fissure. He was becoming her surrogate Logan.
At each block she was approached by beggars—old, young, and in-between. A young mother thrust her starving, hollow-eyed baby at Julie while frantically jabbering in Hindi. Julie learned to look at the street and keep walking.
Ravi walked the streets the rest of the day, being sure to avoid the direction of Mr. Shah’s house. As the sun sank, he headed back to the hedge. He crawled in from the backside and stared longingly at the children. The girls slept on one side and the boys several yards away. Some of the younger ones were already asleep. A few of the older girls chatted. Madhu was propped on his elbows trying to make a hole in several large dried seeds with a nail.
His heart longed to be accepted, to not be alone another night. He lay down and beseeched his god again. When the last orphan lay down to sleep, Ravi felt totally alone. Being the only one awake was too scary. He tried to force himself to go to sleep, but he was bombarded with thoughts about the accident, being captured again, and his uncertain present and future.
What will tomorrow be like? Will anyone love me again? As he lay there, he picked at several scabs on his knees and cried himself to sleep.
Julie climbed between the house and the bushes. She lay her head on her purse. In a bizarre way, this was starting to seem less weird. The bushes offered a measure of protection that she needed.
She talked to the Lord about her family, although it was really more like complaining. “Lord, I miss Logan and Michael. Can I please call them? I always call if I’m going to be late. They must think I’m dead. The National Guards are patrolling New York by now. My dad must know. I’m upsetting everyone’s lives. A simple phone call would solve it all.”
She wanted to beg the Lord again to send her home, but Ravi’s unknown condition kept interrupting her thoughts. “Lord, will Ravi be safe sleeping in the alley? He’s too young to be all alone. Did I blow it today when I backed away with the food?”
Then the tension of the whole situation overwhelmed her. She had to choose. “I can’t be two places at once. Lord, help me. It’s too hard. I can’t do this.” For a while she thought she might be physically sick. She put her hands to her temples and massaged. That old familiar feeling—a migraine again.
Julie, remember I asked you to trust Me? If you take care of My lambs, I’ll take care of yours.
“But, Lord, they must be worried sick. Logan will develop emotional problems from this. Just one phone call could resolve the whole issue. I could tell them where I am, and everything would be fine. They could even pray for me.”
Julie, everything would not be fine because you would not learn to trust Me. In addition to blessing the orphans, I brought you here to bless you.
“You’re blessing me? It seems like You’re killing me.”
Exactly.
She fell asleep early in the morning and slept until her aches and pains woke her. She sat up and twisted from the waist in a futile effort to try and alleviate her back pain.
“My neck is so tight,” she tried to knead away a large knot in her shoulder, then ran her fingers over the puffy flesh under her eyes. They’re bloated. “I’m dusty, dirty, and I stink.” The smell from her armpits repulsed her. “I need a bath.” She pulled a twig from her hair, then fumbled in her purse and pulled out her pick.
Ugh, my hair is greasy; my legs are way beyond stubbly. I don’t want to die of some unsanitary disease. Julie climbed from behind the bushes and brushed the dirt from her dress. Totally disgusting. Her dress was ripped, and the urine discoloration remained.
Julie, check your verse for today.
She gritted her teeth as she crawled back in the bushes. “‘My ways are not your ways and my thoughts not your thoughts.’1 Duh! That’s an understatement, Lord. If it was my way, You know where I’d be? Garden Oaks.”
Do not let the length or the intensity of this season deter you. Keep your eyes on Me, not the unsettling circumstances that swirl around you. When you are focused on Me, you will begin to view circumstances from My perspective. Nothing happens to you that I don’t allow. Do more than just submit to Me; rejoice in My wisdom and care. I just want to remind you that I am taking care of Logan and Michael.
“How?” She almost grinned. “How are You doing that? Did You tell them where I was?”
Release them to Me. Stop fretting. My ways, thoughts, and plans are higher than anything you can imagine.2 You must learn to trust Me or you will be in anguish.
“How? I try, but it seems all my mind will do is worry.”
First, put on My full armor3 each morning to resist the enemy’s fiery darts—temptations. Then you must take every thought captive.4 The devil is a liar and the father of all lies.5 Train your mind to reject his lies because whoever controls your mind controls you. When a worrisome thought comes, ask yourself, “Where is that from? God, myself, or the devil?” Don’t let the lie go unchallenged or it will take root in your brain, and you will believe it as truth.
Visualize yourself marking the cross over it and saying out loud, “I resist and rebuke this lie in Jesus’ name, and I replace it with the truth of….” This is how you take every thought captive. Remember, I am the truth.6
Every day you have two choices: You can dwell on and magnify Me, or you can dwell on and magnify your problems. If you ruminate on your problems, you give them your worship. You actually meditate on them like you should be meditating on My Word. You actually worship the devil when you worry.
“I don’t want to ever worship the devil!” Julie cringed at the thought.
Then take every thought captive.
“It sounds like a lot of work.”
It is a lot of work. It’s hand-to-hand combat with the enemy, but it leads to truth and peace instead of stress and anxiety. It’s well worth the cost. I do not have stress. I laugh uproariously in the face of My enemies.7
“OK, Lord. I rebuke and resist the lie that I will fail at this, and I replace it with the truth that I can do all things through You.”
The Lord smiled and sent a bolt of lightning.