The Reading Warehouse

The beautiful mountain range known as the Hand of God framed the lush valley below. The valley glowed with pink and purple as the deep red sun slowly sank behind the mountains in the distance. The river below sang a pleasant watery song as it meandered down the valley. In her mind's eye, Elaine compared it to the old bluffs along the Mississippi where she grew up. Both places were beautiful in their own way, but nothing could compare to the magnificence that was before her.

Elaine had been a precocious child, giving her nanny much exasperation and trying her caregiver's patience more times than could be counted. She thought Nanny looked even blacker when she was angry because her eyes got so big, you could see the whites against her black skin But at night, Nanny would pull her up on her ample lap and sing to the little girl she loved so much. Elaine learned about Jesus in that old rocking chair. Nanny made Him sound so wonderful, and she talked to Him like He was right there in the room with them. Elaine wished she could see Him. Nanny said someday she would. Nanny had been very wise, and she wished she could snuggle into those comforting arms again. "Oh, dear Jesus, I need You now " Elaine bowed her head in despair.