Ashley Hart (part 2)
Ashley and Glen had a son and three daughters. All four children had Biblical names: Deborah, Jonathon, Sarah, and Rebecca.
Deborah was the first-born. She went by Debbie for short. Because she was the oldest she felt intense pressure to perform and be perfect. She was a straight "A" student just like her mother was. She grew up being very involved in Church just like her mother was. She was quick to say "yes" to everyone who wanted her help. Debbie always gave everyone a big beautiful smile. She came across to everyone as always being happy and bubbly. But deep down inside she felt like a phony. Still Debbie felt like she really couldn't be real with anyone. She was convinced she had to show people what she thought that they wanted to see.
Jonathon was the second oldest. He went by Jon. Though older relatives always called him Jonathon. He was the only boy in his family. All of his cousins were girls. He grew up wishing that he had a brother or at least a boy cousin. But he still loved his sisters, and he felt protective of them. Jon tended to be quiet, and he always noticed the details of what was going on with the people around him. He saw the perfectionism going on in his family, and he decided to guard himself against it. In fact, Jon was closer to his Uncle Shawn than he was to his own father. Even though he was one of the quiet kids, he was still one of the leaders in the youth group at Church. He sometimes lead the Bible studies, and he sometimes lead the prayer times. Jon was one of the kids whom other kids went to when they needed someone to talk to.
Sarah was the third oldest, and the middle daughter. She was the quiet and shy one. Still she sang in the children's and youth choirs at Church when she was growing up. She often sang solos with her beautiful high soprano voice. Jon was the one who encouraged her to sing. Sarah and Jon became close friends. Whenever she needed someone to talk to she usually went to her brother. He always listened and prayed with her. Sarah had a problem with telling anyone "No" when they asked her to help them with something - even if she had other things that she herself needed to do. She strongly wanted to please everyone and not have anyone upset with her. But Jon often told Sarah that it was okay to say "No" to something that she didn't have peace about doing.
Rebecca was the youngest and the baby of the family. Older family members called her by her full name. But her siblings, cousins, and friends all called her Beckie. She was quiet like Jon and Sarah were. She was one of those private people who quietly observed everything going on around her and didn't share what she was thinking. She kept her thoughts all to herself. While Beckie was still a young child she started having doubts about God and the Church. But she didn't dare tell her family because the whole family was very involved in the Church. At school she started hanging out with kids who wanted nothing do with Church or religion.
Jon and Sarah were the ones who started picking up that something was wrong with Beckie. They both sensed that she was somehow slipping away from the family and away from God. They each prayed for her privately. Meanwhile, Ashley had no idea that anything bad was going on with her youngest child - her baby girl. She was convinced that all of her children were perfect and doing what they were supposed to be doing. But Ashley did not know what was really going on inside of her children's hearts.
(to be continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment