Prayer unhinged

“Are you there, God? It’s me… Sam… Samantha Lee Kerns from Dublin, Georgia, USA. I haven’t talked with you in a while, and....”

Oops. Sam hesitated, recalling something that had slipped her mind. “Oh, um, God? Umm, I’d like to thank you for returning my dog, Sam2. We had him for another four years. So, thanks. Amen."

“Darn,” Sam croaked. That was five years ago, and she hadn’t thanked him for the answered prayer. She couldn’t have asked for another request.

Sam and her sister had attended Sunday school when they were younger, and the teacher had instilled in the children the importance of saying thanks to God. During this same period, Sam2 disappeared. After Sam's earnest prayer, her dog was promptly returned. She had been so excited that she hadn’t bothered to thank God. In fact, she hadn’t bothered to talk to God since. And she knew without being told that it’s a complete, no, no to contact anyone, only when we want something from them, and especially God.

“Okay, so I’ll wait a few hours and pray again.”

Sam looked at the closet door where her sister Stephanie’s favorite dress, made from mulberry silk, hung with a chocolate stain down the front. And there might be a few loose threads at the waist, too. She was ashamed to admit that she had carelessly borrowed the dress to impress.

The worst part was that Stephanie had saved her babysitting money for nearly a year to buy the dress for her graduation in less than a month. It had been hanging there for three whole months. Three months of seeing that beautiful, flowered dress just hanging there. What a waste, Sam had thought each time she looked in the closet.

Then one day, without giving it one moment of consideration, Sam had borrowed the dress for a Saturday afternoon birthday party for the most popular girl in school. Sam was surprised she was even invited. She knew that her two best friends, Jodi and Trish, had been working the circuit around the school since the three girls were going to try out for cheerleader the next year. That’s what got them to the party.

Stephanie came back into the bedroom with her silky blond hair and her makeup done perfectly, as usual.

“Sam, you’d better hurry. The bus will be here in fifteen minutes.”

Stephanie went to the closet, and Sam watched her slip into her shoes, taking a moment to feel the fabric of that beautiful dress between her thumb and forefinger.

Sam leaped out of bed and pulled on her jeans. She opened a drawer, yanked out a tank top, and slipped it on as she stepped into a pair of platform sandals. Grabbing a brush, she whipped her bushy brown hair into a ponytail and got out of there. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she picked up her school bag and a Cereal Bar on the way out the door. Once on the bus, she applied a touch of rouge and some powder, then leaned her head back with a sigh.

The bus dropped the girls at the school thirty minutes later. Sam was in no talking mood. And she went out of her way to ignore her friends, Jodi and Trish. They’re the ones who influenced that garbage about being cheerleaders. She hadn’t even thought about doing something like that before.

The second-period gym class was over, and it was lunch break. Sam pulled the Cereal Bar from her bag, closed her locker, and headed out the side door. She walked up the sidewalk, eating the bar, wondering how she would get out of her predicament. That’s when she spotted a girl sitting on a bench under a tree. Her friends called her The Sappy Girl because she always carried her Bible.

Sam walked over and sat on the other side of the bench. She glanced at the girl’s Bible several times. When she looked over again, their eyes met and they exchanged smiles. Sam didn’t think she looked that sappy at all. She was clean, and her dark curly hair was clipped neatly behind her ears. The two sat quietly for several minutes before Sam looked at her, straight on.

“Does that work?”

“Pardon?”

“The Bible, praying?”

Sappy Girl smiled. “It does. Well… In God’s will.”

She stood, walked over, and sat next to Sam. “Is there something I can help you with? Something that I can pray about?”

Sam looked around, making sure none of her friends saw her. “Well. I’ve gotten myself into a fix. And I’m about to be murdered by my sister.”

“My, that does sound serious… Um… By the way, my name is Candy. And I’m sorry for whatever happened. Do you mind elaborating?”

Sam told Candy about the dress, the chocolate stain, and a few threads that may have loosened since she was a bit larger than her sister, all because of her desire to impress, for something she didn’t even want.

“I see.”

Candy thought for a few moments. “There’s no easy way out of that one. What I can say is that honesty is always the best way. It might seem like the end of the world right now. Although that dress being ruined is not the end of the world for you or your sister, if you don’t confess, on graduation morning, your sister will pull that dress off the hanger. And when she sees the stain, and it sounds like some structural damage, what do you think she’ll do?”

“I see what you mean.

“Okay, so, do you mind sending up a few prayers for me?”

“I’d be happy to.

“May I ask what your name is?”

“Sam, short for Samantha.”

The two said goodbye, and Sam left feeling hopeful but dreading what she must do.”

“God? Are you there? It’s me again... Sam. I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to catch up on my goings-on. But I royally messed up. I’m asking you to please help my sister to not kill me. I’m sorry for taking her dress and spilling chocolate down the front. It may have a slight rip, too. Please help. Thank you ahead of time, just in case I forget again. Amen."

That night, as Sam lay in bed with a heavy heart, her sister peacefully sleeping in the twin next to her, unaware that her beautiful dress hung ruined by the stain of pride.

“God? It’s me once again. Sam….”

The next morning, Sam woke before her sister, dressed, and went to tell her mother exactly what had happened.

“Well, Sam. I'm glad you came to me.

"So, we both know what Staphanie put into getting that dress, and how much she loves it. Do you know she won’t even try it on, for fear she may ruin it.”

Sam took a breath. “A reminder I didn’t need.”

“I understand. But you know, Sam. I’ve felt guilty since your father and my divorce, and how tough it’s been on you girls. But listen. I have an idea. There’s a little money in the cookie jar. And I’m willing to make a deal with you. I’ve finally decided to plant a garden this year. It’ll save us money, but it will be lots of work.

"I’m ashamed that I haven’t prayed much for the past several years. And I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but since I started praying about our financial situation, especially the house, taxes, and so on, it suddenly occurred to me that planting the garden would save us a ton of money on food costs. I just didn’t know how I would manage with my work.”

“Okay?” Sam knew where this was headed.

“So, I know you’ve been looking forward to going to camp this summer. But to be honest, I’ve been worried about the cost. I think you should look forward to going next year. I need help with the garden. It’s a lot of work, a lot of planting, watering, weeding, picking, and canning. But if you stay home and help, I’ll go out and buy Stephanie a duplicate of the same dress. When you’re ready, you can tell her what happened. Maybe just wait until after graduation. I don’t want a thing to dampen her spirits.

“Dear God… Sam here. I just want to thank you for how you got me out of the mess, you know, about my sister’s dress. Thank you so much for working it out and making things easier on my mother. Amen.”