Eggs, Candy and The Word

I remember the first time I met Sandy. She walked into the recreation center with two little girls in tow. She was 25, single and was the mom of two of the sweetest little ones.

She volunteered to help with the kids club and assist the smaller children with their art work and crafts. As I told stories from the Bible to the kids, she would sit in the back of the group and soak up every word. She often would hang around after wards and ask me questions about the story - she wanted to retell the story to the girls but wanted to understand it better.

As the weeks went by, Sandy never missed a class. She was usually the first one there and would often help me clean up. She always stayed to the very end and asked me questions about the stories that I told.

Easter was coming up soon and we had planned a special event for the apartment complex. There was going to be an egg hunt and lots of fun and games. There was also going to be a special drawing for a large Easter basket full of goodies and a brand new Bible. The winner's name was going to be pulled from the forms that were filled out by all the participants. Games, food, giggles and lots of fun had parents and children enjoying this special day. Near the end of the event, I gathered everyone around and pulled the name of the family who had won the basket. David's family jumped up and down in excitement when their name was drawn. I looked over at Sandy and saw a disappointed face looking back at me.

As we were cleaning up, I had the chance to ask Sandy what was up. She looked down and simply explained that she had really hoped they would get the basket because she had wanted the Bible. I smiled, asked her to wait a minute, and ran out to my car. I had a box of new Bibles that had been donated. I brought in three, one for each of them.

I handed her the new Bible and she took it very slowly, looked at me in awe and then hugged it to her chest. She grinned from ear to ear and then started crying. She explained that she had never owned a Bible and now she did.

A week later, Sandy accepted Christ as her Savior. We spent the next 6 months meeting one on one and going through book after book of this incredible new journey.

It's been twenty years since I first met Sandy. I pray that the joy she had that day for her new Bible and then a week later when she met Jesus is still fresh and growing today.