Day 881: 5 Minute Freewrite: Thursday - Prompt: split

“God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble”...

That represented a great split in humanity, all by itself.

Selene Slocum-Lofton passed a night of weeping for having spent so much of her life on the proud side of that divide, and then slept in peace, having at last passed through to the other side.

Rev. Charles Baxter – a Black minister, of all things – had been the person to preach “Run for your life!” as she had run from the Ridgeline Fire, run from dying in sin to saving belief in Christ.

It had taken only a little while for that grace to be administered, shown in increasing levels …

Her grandson, whom she had offended so deeply he had as a 18-year-old attempted to start the Ridgeline Fire to kill her, had repented of that and forgiven her, and was showing more care and love than any of her other younger relatives.

Her neighbor, John Worley, had suddenly fallen in love with her, and he was a man who knew how. His love for his wife had been legendary, and the widower had started pouring that same quality of love and care on Mrs. Slocum-Lofton, although she was definitely an “older woman.”

But then, at 75 and 83, maybe it didn't matter.

An opportunity had arisen out of the Ridgeline Fire to do service to those she had thought were only good as servants of hers … she had been somehow moved to assist the families of those who worked for her and even those that had come because they knew she could help … and quietly, she had kept her checkbook open and used it often.

Then came the word that the Black and Latino communities had secured the right to their memorial at the site of the Ridgeline Fire, but the majority of the homeowners there were threatening the families of the 12,020 dead from the Black and Latino communities, to the point of a few of them attempting to set up an entire terrorist incident!

But Selene-Slocum Lofton owned the entire of Cedar Court – every house that had been there, and every lot that sat on it.

Something – Someone – had moved her to make that available to the families in need to have their memorial.

At that point, Mrs. Slocum-Lofton realized she was being called to salvation, and she was already moving because the knowledge of her own deep sins and the desire to repent – to agree with God about her wickedness – and to receive His forgiveness and salvation in Christ.

And so, kneeling in the office of Rev. Baxter and Rev. Gordon, Mrs. Selene Slocum-Lofton had yielded, and come to salvation in Christ.

Mr. Worley had rejoiced, literally crying out in his joy for Mrs. Slocum-Lofton.

Yet the magnitude of the change – the split from all that she had been and all that her circle had been, all her adult life – was heavy upon Mrs. Slocum-Lofton, that evening and into the night.
But in the morning, it was done. Mrs. Slocum-Lofton was at peace, and knew precisely what she had to do.

There was a knock at the door.

“Selene, are you up?”

“Yes, Johnny, I'm up.”

“Want some breakfast? I made the flapjacks myself.”

“Oh, you think you can cook – all right, I'm going to need the strength. We've got to go by City Hall and the County Clerk before going to the memorial.”

“I know – I've got you, Selene, and God has got us. Come on over and get this breakfast.”

“I'm coming, Johnny.”

“And remember, the sooner you marry me, the less you have to dress to have breakfast with me.”

“I'm bringing pillows over to beat you, Johnny – the nerve, at your age, to be such a cad!”